What’s on the go for the summer?

AngelinaKizz

@Mary-Toth wow! Great take on the monsters go! What a cute project that page is. I wish there were videos of the kids reacting to seeing their monsters redone.

PenAndrew

@AngelinaKizz Yes and I am so tired this morning- it should have been a national holiday but they didn't give us a break- so tired I replied to Asya not you. Sorry.

Asyas_illos

@PenAndrew @AngelinaKizz cheers to breaks!

Robert Henderson

@Mary-Toth

That is a whimsical and awesome monster. Well done,

ArtMelC

I'm working on my picture book manuscripts. Two of them which will be making its round at my critique group next week.

Making a bunch of illos for educational cards in between conducting holiday workshops...

AngelinaKizz

@Melissa-Candrasaputra that sounds fun! I can't even begin to think of the holidays yet though. It's still cold here which it shouldn't be. I need some summer to enjoy before I can think of winter again

PenAndrew

@AngelinaKizz Here is too hot already!

ArtMelC

@AngelinaKizz I feel you. One of the hardest thing about being an artist for me is that I just can't get used to creating seasonal stuff wayyy in advance when the vibe is totally off. Like making Christmas stuff in July so it is ready for launch by October or something. It is just super awkward for me lol...

PenAndrew

@Melissa-Candrasaputra Good luck on your manuscripts. What kind of things do you do in your workshops?

ArtMelC

@PenAndrew Art journaling. Mainly for students and corporate clients as part of their mental wellness programme

PenAndrew

@Melissa-Candrasaputra I have never heard of art journaling before, just regular journal work. That sounds really interesting Melissa.

ArtMelC

@PenAndrew it is like regular journal but incorporating drawings, sketches, teach adults how to draw for fun with no pressure give them some exercises on how they represent certain words/ideas/feelings with drawing. Sometimes it involves observational drawing. It's very fun!

AlliFaith

@Melissa-Candrasaputra I’ve been trying to do this but it’s quite difficult on my own! Haha. Though it does help, even when it feels like pulling teeth

PenAndrew

@Melissa-Candrasaputra Sounds great and rewarding always to help others with art and see their work, I love being a part of this.

@Melissa-Candrasaputra That sounds great! What critique group are you part of? Is it in Singapore? I'd be interested in checking it out if it's open to new members XD

Meekipink

Good question! This'll be my first time entering Critique Arena (newbie subscriber here, hi!!), and I'm relieved I've got the extra time to work on Rabbit Road Race.

Honestly, the prompt and what I had in mind is probably far above my current skill level, so I'm planning to take the following classes to help me out:

How to Draw Everything (Jake Parker)
Developing Great Visual Stories (Will Terry)

Plus some others if there's time. After watching the last Critique Arena ("Lucky"), I realised I really need to nail my concept before I even get started - I don't want to spend a whole month or more working on a piece that's ho-hum, but I also don't want to get paralysed by indecision and beat myself up if I don't hit the mark - it's a learning process! I just want to push myself to finish a great portfolio piece.

ArtMelC

@JQ SCBWI! You need to register for the membership from SCBWI website. We have a small Singapore chapter here but I think the writers are wayyyy more active than the illustrators. I am in the Picture Book (writing) critique group, sadly there is no illo critique structure here that I know of even though there are a number of accomplished illustrators in it.

@Melissa-Candrasaputra oohh thanks for the info! Yeah I've checked out SCBWI but the Singapore chapter was like so...small I remember only seeing 2 or 3 illustrators from my casual browsing, but maybe I didn't look closely.

Nonetheless, even a writing critique group would be welcome - I'm also writing my own books! (However, my current ones are in Chinese, but I will definitely be working on English ones in the future)

For anyone who uses open source tools and does vector art, Inksacpe is holding an ice cream illustration challenge for June! https://inkscape.org/forums/competitions/inkscape-challenge-1-june-2022-31-june-2022/

Already have some ideas swirling in my head for this...

Kristen Lango

@AngelinaKizz aw thanks so much! I didn't do any sketch or color planning really and now I'm a little nervous about consistency as I move forward