Day 53: The Barn Owl

I've always loved barn owls. Like any owl they seem to have a certain wisdom about them. I love the heart-shaped frames around their faces. They almost look like dolls.

I'm not sure how many more farm animals I'm going to do, because I'm running out of different looking animals. Most of them are birds, and animals that look like horses or cows. Maybe I should try some farm equipment next?

A Question Answered About My Materials

I wanted to answer a question that was left in my comments in a post so everyone could see. I hope I don't embarrass you by putting you on the spot, Amy, but I thought everyone should know the answer.

Amy Asked: "What materials do you use for your work?"

Right now, all my illustrations are done digitally in Photoshop. Often I'll draw things in pencil and scan them into my computer. For many of the recent animal drawings I looked at many references, but did them using the pen tool in Photoshop. If you don't use the pen tool in Photoshop, you don't know what you're missing!

It's becoming rarer now, but some people are still of the mindset that Digital means "easy", or completely computer generated. I was shocked when I heard that there are a few that think it doesn't take artistic talent to create computer generated images. The computer is a tool just like any other, and you do need talent to create good digital art.

Thank you for your question Amy! I would be happy to answer any other questions people have about my art, picture books, and everything in between and around these things. Feel free to email me at daniduckart[@]gmail.com. Remember to remove the brackets! So what's your question?


Edit: One thing that I forgot to mention is my all important Wacom pad. I have a Wacom Intuos 3. I got it just before the Intuos 4 came out. I love it, and I'm not sure how I ever did art on the computer without it.

Final Illustrations, Finally!

I've got my first three illustrations done! I'm happy. Of course finals are only finals after they are published, so if you have any ideas how I can improve these do let me know! I was going to wait until tomorrow to finish them, or to post, but I hate waiting. I also hate making other people wait. For all of you people who slept tonight instead of staying up late for me to post, shaaaammmme shammmeee! I think I'm going to go get some sleep now. Enjoy the illustrations!

Day 52: Sheeeeep

I'm getting closer to finishing my farm illustrations. I can't help but to keep it up. It's too fun making these cute animals! Today I drew a sheep. He looks like the best pillow ever! Gigi commented that these drawings would make a good children's book. I didn't really think about that when I was making them. I know that's what this blog is for, but still! Anyway, it doesn't hurt to have lots of extra animal drawings.

Here is the final farm background. Some things may change in this drawing, but it's basically what I came up with. Most of the things are the same from the sketch I did, but I added the window. I was sad looking at the drawing where there would be all these animals that didn't have a window to look out of it. Yes, I'm a big sap sometimes.

Hopefully the animals will love their new barn. At one point I had hoped to have a little spider in or around the barn. It didn't really make much sense, because none of my animals have feet. I don't think I could make a successful spider without feet. Even if I could, I'd be sad that he didn't have feet. Yes, there is something wrong with that last statement, but I stand by it!

I don't know if this format works better for my blog or not. I thought I'd try something new, and if it doesn't work I'll go back to the old way. I'm not sure if I'll finish my farm today, but I'll give it a go. 

Day 51: 2nd Farm Background and a Plane

Terrible, terrible day today... Photoshop crashed again for the Nth time. Really annoying because I was just moving to save. I think my computer knows when I'm about to save something, because that's always when I have the most trouble. Oh well, I did get the second farm background done:

I had planned to have a bird in the sky in one of the first two farm scenes, but I figured I had way too many birds already. I decided a plane would be more fun. It's a little brighter than most planes, but more fun than another yellow bird... though it is very yellow.

Day 50: A Rooster Almost on the Farm

Today I did a rooster. I figured if I didn't include him he'd come to my house and wake me up at the crack of dawn.

I also did the line work and colours for one of my farm pictures. Now to populate it with animals.

Hopefully I'll be able to finish all three of these farm pictures this weekend.

Day 49: A Horse is a Horse and a Post is a Post

Today I braved the crowds and did a little exploring of down town Vancouver with my husband. We didn't have tickets to any of the Olympic events, but we still had a lot of fun. It was really nice to see the Olympic Flame in person (first time ever seeing it in person!). It was beautiful, but seemed much smaller than it looked on TV. There were lots of street performers, and people selling anything from decorative pins to fine art. There was a small outdoor area for ice skating and people six stories off the ground zipping across cables on  Robson Street. We weren't there very long, but it was nice to get caught up in the high spirits and fun of the Olympics. Hrm, there was something else... oh yeah I did a drawing today!

Today's drawing is of a horse. Everyone knows you can't have a farm without a horse!

Here are all my sketches from week 7: