Looks really good!

Great tip, I was thinking the bears are looking a bit flat against each other, will give it a go

@Braden-Hallett These are awesome! Will you color any of them?

Hi Guys, I am trying to come up with some characters for the September art prompt about Inktober. I have never managed to do Inktober before, but have always wanted to. I am very excited to get to give it a shot this year. I want to give a bit of the story behind these guys just for context. These are characters from a middle grade novel I am working on. I chose them because A) I really need to flesh them out a bit so I can write them better, and the illustrations inside this book are going to be black and white anyway so it seemed appropriate to use them for this prompt. The book is called 'Captain Jack and the Frost Pirates'. It is about a boy named Jack who finds himself on a magical flying airship belonging to the Frost Pirates. The frost pirates role in the world is basically the same as the traditional story of Jack Frost. They sail around in the sky in their ship made of ice. The pirates dive down to earth and use magic to make everything cold and frosty... just like Jack Frost. I won't get into rest of the story because it is too much. I will say however that they spend most of the book under a hypnotic spell that controls their minds. (I want to know if this comes across in the illustration.) I am attaching a pic of the black and white line work (with no values yet), as well as the same one with a bit of color so you can see they are 'frosty' which is hard to show in the black and white illustrations. Please let me know what you think about he character designs. I am going for Pirate-ish, with a bit of viking, and some warm clothes because they live at the north pole. Any ideas to improve are welcome. I want them to be kind of fun, but also be able to come across as threatening before Jack gets to know them. Thanks!

Can't wait to pitch my books to Terry Parker White

@Annaaronson I'm curious about this too, as I haven't been able to see the critique arena in live stream this summer, and no new recordings seem to be available after May 2021 for me. I feel way behind.

@KathrynAdebayo congratulations with your book almost coming to fruition! Some feedback I have is that the cover image has a lot going on with the texture in the trees, clouds and grass. If you look at the image as a thumbnail, the child is almost blending into the grass and clouds. The value of his pants is similar to the grass and his shirt similar to the sky. I would simplify some of the areas to make him stand out more. Hope that helps! Good luck!

These look great! I love your style!

Hello everyone. I am fairly new to the forum and have been admiring some of the art you all put out. I am currently a private construction contractor, who has had a lifelong passion for creating art, and am now working towards building a career doing so. I have really enjoyed becoming a part of the artistic community and learning from all of you amazing artists. I will do my best to provide assistance to you all in whatever way I can. Thank you for accepting me into the community and I look forward to seeing everything you create. Please feel free to provide any and all feedback or CC about my work I have provided here. I always appreciate the opportunity to grow.

@carlianne This video was awesome. Thanks for sharing. I have loved seeing all of your posts on here and instagram, but hadn't watched any of your YouTube videos before... I LOVED seeing your fun personality in front of the screen. I definitely subscribed! Congratulations!!

@LauraA Hey that's a cool solution! And yes, I was pleasantly surprised by how affordable they are. I hope your overall experience is positive!

HI Elisa! This is tricky. I am running into sort of the same thing. Basically I am learning that I have been getting better way faster by doing MORE lower paying jobs. I am learning speed, skill, and communication at such an exponential rate compared to when I was just trying to work on my portfolio. I am not at the level where I can make what I want to per project yet... but I feel like I am playing the long game and I am getting there. I don't know what your art looks like (I'd love to see!) or what your financial situation is. I also see I your picture you have a baby (I have three- I get the time thing!) but that's what I have found in my own life. That was probably not super helpful lol. But, you're not alone in your ponderings... Best of luck!!

Posting more progress! I've moved into Procreate now while I work out poses and expressions and proportions, and just kind of getting to know my character. I think that next, I'm going to do another round of paint tests in ink wash with these on my lightbox, and settle on a style and value range that feels right.

Just had to be the one unearthing old topics... because in 2021 this subject is all me. In fact it may be the core reason why I'm roaming here at SVS. Not sure if my case is one of "transition" as I actually majored in art and design a long time ago, but of "fulfillment" since I've been at this crossroads of disconnection between what I currently do for a living and what holds meaning to my own self and my life, which is making illustrations, animations and dealing with creativity for the kids' market in general. I don't see myself restricting to children's books — I like to cast a wide net: 3D, 2D animation, mascot design, video editing — you name it. The advice of thinking twice of jumping ship is spot on, specially if you are used to a biweekly paycheck rain or shine. The creative life is more often than not a life of uncertainty, and I'm well aware that if I finally take the plunge there's no turning back — I'm close to my 48th birthday, single and have hefty savings, but that doesn't make the decision any easier. Everything's sunshine and rainbows until you begin to run short on funds; I've already been there and can't afford to go back again. Because I know my problem is one of time and energy availability to move further ahead, a part time position at my current job (IT) would be the ideal "golden ticket" to a smooth transition to the creative field. However that kind of arrangements are virtually unheard of in my local scene, even if according to a friend lawyer of mine they are technically possible. Probably the wisest move in my part is to wait past Christmas so as not to wreck my year bonus, to see what can be done. Rest assured this episode struck many chords with me. Wish I had discovered it earlier.

I’ve completed the digital ink for my Land of the Dead piece with Quentin, our hero searching for his risen and abducted family with the help of Barnabas, a pessimistic raven who traded his sight for the ability to see visions of the future. I’m really loving coming up with the story behind these characters while drawing. Now I can move on to colors, freeing up drawing time for Inktober.

Good job on diving into the arena @ShereeTomba you'll find them a great way to push yourself and learn! Your character is cute, looking forward to watching her develop!

I think what you're looking for are watercolour triads. Choosing 1 red, 1 yellow, and 1 blue from which to mix all your colours in a limited palette. This will ensure your colour palette is harmonious. For example this is a colour wheel I created with just three primaries and a little colour study of a character I did using this limited palette. And here's a fantastic resource that will elaborate on the topic and provide many more triads! https://www.janeblundellart.com/watercolour-triads.html I could spend all day every day just playing with watercolour triads I hope you get as much delight out of them as I do!

@Navya-Raju Thanks Navya. Appreciate it!

@Katherine Cool, I should check out that video too!

That the parents are artists and have other children doesn't really add into the equation...their choices aren't your responsibility. I totally understand the impulse to take their circumstances into consideration, but you need to do right for yourself and respect the value of your time and experience. If you want to contribute to young artists, you could probably find a local charity that helps kids with less opportunity to create. You might want to make it clear that you need to have a quiet work area with the child, and that the other children will be occupied elsewhere during the lesson (if they are younger than the 11 year old). Otherwise, you might have them joining in.