Author Archives: Dani

Doctor Who Christmas Carol Fan Art

This is a piece of fan art I made based on last year’s Doctor Who Christmas special, A Christmas Carol. I love this episode! It has quickly become one of my favorite things to watch around the holidays. I recently re-watched it, and I might have to do so again before the season is over. It is brilliant. Thanks Steven Moffat.

You can check out the entire painting process in the vid below. It was done in Photoshop. Actual painting time was around four hours.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRgNHdMWn-I

And for your further enjoyment:


Watch it if you haven’t yet! [iTunes]

Merry Christmas!

Posted in Artwork, Process, Videos | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Building an Artist’s Website with WordPress

I’m finally going to answer, in depth, one of the most common questions I’ve gotten over the past few years – how did I build my website?

Most artists ask me this because they want to know a) how I built my portfolio gallery or b) how I integrated my blog into my website. I will attempt to answer both of those questions.

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Womanthology

I had the opportunity to contribute to a project called Womanthology. It is an anthology graphic novel featuring stories written, illustrated, edited, and organized all by women. Over 140 people have worked on this book, including everyone from young girls to industry professionals. It is being released under IDW publishing and all the proceeds from this book will go to charity.

I worked on a four-page story called “Swimming” by Ashley Avard. It is a simple yet powerful story and I’m proud to have worked on it.

You can pre-order the Womanthology book and the accompanying process sketchbook now on Amazon. It will ship early next year. All profits go to the Global Giving Foundation.

Click to see the process behind my Womanthology comic

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Picture This

I am contributing to a new blog called Picture This. Check it out at http://justpicturethis.tumblr.com!

The other day, I was lamenting on Twitter how there are few art blogs out there that are highlighting children’s illustration. There’s a lot of general illustration blogs who only occasionally mention children’s illustration. Most emphasize editorial and contemporary stuff. I strongly hinted that someone should start a new site with a more kids lit flavor.

Casey Girard came to the rescue. Casey is the illustrator coordinator for NESCBWI. We decided to partner up and get a site running, and she has been kind enough to set it up.

We are going to use Picture This to post any news, links, events, and artwork related to children’s books that we find interesting. Please subscribe, follow, and share the site with your friends and help us spread the word!

Send Your Submissions!

We are opening Picture This to reader submissions. Just go to the Submit page and send us your links. We’ll post anything we find interesting.

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How to Make It As An Artist

I am extremely lucky to do what I do every day.

That being said, becoming an illustrator is not a big game of chance. I’m a firm believer that success as a working artist is just a splash of luck, a little bit of talent, and a lot of hard work and persistence.

“Making it” is a matter of PRACTICE and TIME. Lots of people say that the odds are slim you can make a living as an artist, but that’s only because most people are lacking one of those two elements. Do both, and your odds go up greatly. Granted, some people might have to practice harder, and others may need more time, but I believe most people can do it if they have enough drive.

Artists go through different stages. How you succeed depends on how you move from one stage to the next.

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Sleepy Hollow Illustration Process

On Halloween, I shared a new illustration that I recently finished featuring Ichabod Crane from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Here’s some of the process work that went into the painting:

The original sketch, drawn on a regular sheet of paper. I used a red pencil to rough it out and then went over it with a regular pencil line.

Before I started painting, I did a few studies to figure out what direction I wanted to go with the color.

The initial color block-in:

Texture, shading, and details:

Final painting, with effects like wind and stars added:

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My Sister the Freak Volume 1 Books

I recently got a bunch of My Sister the Freak Volume 1 books in the mail. They look awesome! Thanks to Ka-Blam for the printing job.

This book marks a big milestone for me. It collects the first four issues of MSTF together in one volume to create one full graphic novel. It represents over a year’s worth of work and the completion of my first major writing/comic project. I’m so happy to see this story all together as it should be read.

The book is over 100 pages. Nearly half the book is bonus material, including a peek into my process, activities, and a super guest art section.

I have been slowly but surely getting all the preorders signed, sketched up, and mailed out. Thanks so much to everyone who preordered the book – I could not have gotten the printing done without you!

Every person that took advantage of the preorder is receiving a full-color watercolor sketch. Here is a sampling of some of the sketches I made for the orders already:

Thanks for waiting so patiently while I get these all done. I should have them all mailed off within the next week or so.

Here’s one book that already has a happy home!


[Captain Bacon for Mike!]

If you receive your copy, email or tweet me some pics. I love seeing ‘em!

The book is still available in my store. New orders won’t receive the watercolor sketches, but I’ll include a pencil sketch (and I’ll sign the book too of course!). There is limited quantities available. Once I get all the preorders mailed out, I’ll have to figure out just how many I have left. If I run out, you can also order it from IndyPlanet, who can print it on-demand.

And if you don’t want to spend $20, you can also get the digital copy for much cheaper here.

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