Sunday, August 14, 2011

A Kiss for Koala



A Kiss for Koala

8x10 inches

Coloured Pencil on drafting film, with a digital background


You never can tell where life takes you. After six months of having no illustration enquiries, out of the blue, I had three in one week which has meant a busy couple of weeks. I spent the first week working on an illustration for a cider ad, with a donkey in an apple orchard - all went smoothly and the client was happy, so I was thrilled to bits.


I was also contacted by a publisher wanting to know if I'd be interested in illustrating a children's picture book!!! This was a sample illustration that I completed for them, based on their brief. I've learnt not to get too excited when these opportunities come along (in case they don't pan out) - just take it a step at a time and hope for the best!!!

11 comments:

geraldine.boley@googlemail.com said...

Beautiful, love the softness of the fur and delicacy of the background

Autumn Leaves said...

This is gorgeous, Karen! Truly beautiful. I wish you luck with gaining those contracts too.

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for your very kind comments Geraldine and lovely to meet you!

Thank you Sherry - fingers crossed!!! :)

Mona Diane Conner said...

Karen I've been consumed lately over grant application prep, but congratulations on all your good news, esp. the part about the children's book! This Koala bear piece is sure to be well-received, so gorgeous good luck!

Artoholic said...

Wonderful!! You SO deserve to be published - about time I say!

It's head down bum up time Karen - best of luck with EVERYTHING!

Unknown said...

No worries Mona - I know what it is like - it is such a juggle trying to fit in everything, especially all the internet stuff. Best of luck with your application for a grant.

Thanks heaps Cindy, although I'm still not 100% it will go ahead. They said they like the illustration, but hold off on doing anymore until they are in a position to make me an offer, so I'm really not sure if that's encouraging or a gentle fob off :)

Unknown said...

Wow Karen, this is beautiful. You deserve to get a lot of interest in your work, its exceptional. I hope you do well with the publishers)

Wendy Mould AFCA said...

Very nice picture, the digital background gives it quite a different effect. Good luck on the projects, hope they happen.

Unknown said...

Thank you so much Sam and Wendy for your wonderful, encouraging words - they mean a lot, especially at the moment!!! :)

Sue Clinker said...

Beautiful work (as always) Karen.
Can you explain about the 'digital background' - is that the backing sheet or the reverse of the film?

Sorry to be dense ... :o)

Unknown said...

You're not dense at all Sue LOL - I did the Koala and butterfly first in coloured pencil on drafting film, and then scanned it into the computer. I then added the background digitally using Corel Painter and a tablet. The background was added as a separate layer, and then within the program, I digitally erased all around the koala and butterfly and gumtree, which then reveals the background. Getting a nice smooth background on the drafting film has always been a challenge for me. This process also makes it easier for me to quickly make adjustments to the background according to the publisher's needs, without having to redo the rest of the illustration. Hope that makes sense :)