AUGUST CONTEST: It's the first day of school for Albert!

[DaveLeekArt]

@notfitkid this is great. I love the texture you achieved and the way you drew the faces on all of the characters. Really good work!

[notfitkid]

@DaveLeekArt Thank you Dave. I loved the way you represented Albert's anxiety in such a tangible way. Hopefully your son's first day was much more enjoyable and relaxing!

[Melissa_Bailey]

@marek-halko awesome! (Your illustrations are always amazing!) Love the zoomed-in perspective. Great storytelling.

[Melissa_Bailey]

@aurelia what a cute and adorable illustration! Love your cute and simple style.

[Melissa_Bailey]

@DaveLeekArt this took me back to the first day in class, the butterflies when you had to introduce yourself. Well done!

[Melissa_Bailey]

@keithryanstudio thanks a bunch!

[Melissa_Bailey]

@Kim-Rosenlof thanks! I love yours too — the chaos your Albert causes is SO funny!

[Melissa_Bailey]

@notfitkid LOVE this! Hope you did submit in time. Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to seeing more of your work!

[notfitkid]

@Melissa-Bailey-0 Thanks Melissa! Btw, your submission was so spot on! Loved the way you depicted the tension caused by Albert and yet evoke sympathy for him due to the fact that he is a wild creature. You have my vote already

[Melissa_Bailey]

@notfitkid thanks so much! Yeah, I just couldn’t see how ALL of the wild animal instincts could be trained out of Albert and then I wondered how he would react to a structured school day. He can only behave himself for so long before he falls back into his wombat wildness!

[aurelia]

@Larue Thank you ! Your little anteater is very adorable, and I love the gesture he's giving a gift to the teacher on his first day of school, so sweet.

[aurelia]

@Melissa-Bailey-0 Thank you! I love that you showing Albert's mischievous character in this piece.. his behavior of eating people's work is so Albert. And in fact you just use some tables and kids to show it's a classroom is brilliant... maybe i shouldn't put a wall in my piece after all.. ha ha

[aurelia]

@keithryanstudio You have a great sense of humor... I can't stop laughing at him...So well done!

[Larue]

@Kim-Rosenlof So cute and playful...it's just a tiny little mouse.....

[DaveLeekArt]

@Melissa-Bailey-0 The WORST right?! Haha. Thanks!

[Larue]

@Jeremy-Ross Loving all the lovely textures, loose line work and rich colors! Poor lil guy

[Melissa_Bailey]

@aurelia thanks so much! Having a mischievous character just "writes" scenarios to illustrate, doesn't it? And thanks for appreciating my less-is-more approach -- sometimes you need to illustrate a full classroom to tell the story, like your illustration. Since your Albert is walking into class for the first time, it would be hard to really convey the story and his feelings if you didn't show the entire room. In mine, I tried to get away with showing as little as possible and it still communicating school.

[Jeremy Ross]

Thank you @Larue! That’s exactly what I was going for. So many great pieces this month!

[Jeremy Ross]

Nicely done @notfitkid!

[notfitkid]

@Jeremy-Ross Thanks Jeremy! I really liked the textures you used and your take on Albert. Super endearing!