Run Rabbit Run

'Terrrrroooooooop! Terrrrrrrooooop!' or whatever sound it is that elephants make...

The cat family sketch redrawn and coloured in photoshop...
I kind of wish I had a dress like the older sister has on...

This is a quick little drawing of an image that has been percolating in my mind for quite some time.  I have been wanting to create this scene of a cat family posed portrait with puppets but haven't quite figured out how yet.  So why not draw it?  The original idea was to have a mother and two daughters, but for this one we have the classic mother, father, older sister and younger brother, who is definitely not happy to be there.  The girl is though.  She's a darling angel.  Her parents must be proud.
Why does only the mother have whiskers?  I don't know.  Maybe the children are too young and the father shaved his off.

Generally, when drawing an illustration, I keep the line work controlled and neat, because I like the way it looks when I draw that way; also, I can control the addition of colour more easily.  However, I also really like the way some of my sketches turn out and not wanting to finesse them into a tidy drawing, leave them as is.  This in turn means that if I colour it digitally I am leaving quite a bit of it up to chance, and whether I closed in an area or not. 
Fun!

A tomato on the table, an owl in my head.  Helpfully labelled, just in case I forget what an owl looks like.  Thanks, Kelly-from-the-past.

I have been keeping sketchbooks since art school, and have accumulated quite a few of them of all different types and papers.  Sometimes I see the beginnings of finished pieces when looking back through them; other times I see images and cryptic notes I have written to myself and wonder what exactly I was thinking. It's good to get your ideas sketched or written out, even if they seem silly or unworkable at the time; you never know when you might be inspired by something you jotted down.  And sometimes, the sketch turns out better than the finished piece...

Went to a general meeting for CANSCAIP for the first time last night with a couple of puppet/illustrator friends of mine.  Glad I went!  There was a discussion about the writers union, which I thought I wouldn't get much out of , but it turned out to be quite interesting.  Anyone can attend the meetings, which are held once a month; you can join them as well.  I really enjoyed hearing and seeing people get up to share their newly published books, whether it was picture books or novels.  An interesting and talented group of people, I look forward to going back.  Hope I get to know some illustrators and check out their work!

Check out this excellent post by writer and artist Austin Kleon on being an artist.  If this doesn't get you excited to get to work/play, I don't know what will...