10.01.12 Where did the summer go??

Well, the summer is over and I didn't have a chance to post!  That is because I was insanely busy working on 2 coloring books and a set of Posters for the Columbia Children's Theatre and The Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis.  I wasn't allowed to post much until now so here are my favorites from the coloring books.  The first are Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

                          
This is an image for Pinocchio.  I had no idea how dark that story was and I have to say... I like it a lot better now that I know.

 What illustrator doesn't want to draw Alice?  How lucky am I?  This one is getting colored and going up on my wall.  The first of many. (:

It's obviously a treat for any illustrator to work with such classic characters and these were such so much fun, I saved them for last in order of production.  These next illustrations were also quite fun  but  a bit more of a challenge.  I wanted to keep the Seussian elements as clear as possible without losing my own style...not quite as easy as you'd think but the results are quite pleasing:

So now on to the biggest challenge of this project which is to take an original script and, with no input from anything or anyone else, completely design a look for the characters, the set and the feel of the show.  Also, keep in mind that this is a musical and all I to work with was the lyrics, no music!  A daunting task?  Perhaps, but creating whole worlds and populating them with myriad complex societies is something I like to do for fun so, of course, this is a perfect challenge for me.  "The Buccaneers" opened at The Children's Theatre in Minneapolis on Sept. 11, 2012 and runs til Oct. 21, 2012--if you are in the Minneapolis area you should check it out!  After seeing the play, I must say that I captured the feeling of it quite well, especially considering how little I had to work with, so if you like this image then you will LOVE that play!

So, now on to the posters.  I decided to show you the final colored image right next to the black and white because I love the difference the color makes.  It's almost a completely different image!  (Color Theory, I love you!)

 Who, who has known and loved a child, has not read "Goodnight Moon?"  

I have it memorized--surprised?-- and, needless to say, I was very happy to work on this one.  

People who know me can tell you I'm not a very "pink" girl and  I have never made anything this pink in my life!  But I'm not afraid of a challenge and I feel certain that conquered that color. 

"Rapunzel".... I think it's pretty obvious how much fun I had with the hair.

"A Year With Frog and Toad" is one of my very favorite plays!

And yes, there are more but you will have to check out Columbia Children's Theatre's website and Facebook page if you want to see the what is coming out next!

http://www.columbiachildrenstheatre.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ColumbiaChildrensTheatre

Well, as you can see I've had a very busy and very fun summer that flew right by.  I can't wait to work on this project again next year!  Also, my website is going through a major over-haul this month and will return much better than before the following month.  You'll just have to hold tight til then.

Stay posted for new "Hero's Journey" art.....

--Beckarooo

4.3.2012 April is here!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome back to the studio!  I have been hard at work on my comic, "Hero's Journey".  Some of you out there may have read my first attempt at this story and for you, I hope you are happy with the updates.  I've decided to make some design tweaks on some of the characters--all for the better--and I've also made a few edits to the original script.  I am very pleased with the outcome.  Yay! So here is the new look for Sayid, the unfortunate giraffe:

He looks more like a giraffe now.  Here are some fun action sketches for Hero:

He's such a nice little bunny!

Here is a sketch for the Goddess Proserpina, she makes an appearance toward the end of the book.  I decided to use her as a young girl so she and Demeter are still a happy mother/daughter unit in my story.

So here is the first 9 pages of layouts for Hero's Journey--It's all you will get for now--can't reveal all my tricks at once!  Read, enjoy, give me feedback.

Oh, snap!  there was a Goddess in there the whole time!  That's the first 9 pages and if you want more, email me or message me on Facebook and let me know!

Thanks for taking the time to visit and check out my work. 

I'm enjoying the spring, here on the Northern Hemisphere, I'm going to go ride a bike now. 

Later!

Beckaroo Out.

3.22.12 Spring is here!

Spring means my birthday is coming!  Woot!

Hey, thanks for visiting!  The world's a crazy place right now but that won't stop me from drawing pictures all the time, so don't worry!  For all those who have been liking my Phantom art THANKS!!  but I have to put Phantom aside for a short while whilst I concentrate on another story I'm working "Hero's Journey".   But that doesn't mean I won't be sketching or working on Phantom and I will post whatever I draw--that is good enough to post, I mean.  Here's some sketches of the Phantom and Christine since that is what everyone wants to see and I like to give my audience what they want. ;-)

 "Hero's Journey" is an original story by me but I use the term "original" loosely since it is really an illustration of Joseph Campell's Hero's Quest story arc in action.  Want to know more about that?  

Click here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey     

I know it's wikipedia but I read through it for you and it's right on the mark.  Here are some character sketches so you can get a feel for the style I'm going for, you may recognize "Ondine" form an earlier post.  . It'll be fun to work in a more light-hearted style and to work on my own, original story, too.  

Soon you will see more bunnies, giraffes and snake-bunnies!

I hope you will stop by again, soon because I will be updating again, soon.  Til then, enjoy your wanderings on the webbernets and thanks for visiting!

Beckaroo Out

2/24/12 Untitled Post

Hey there and thanks for stopping by!

I've been continuing working on Phantom and though I haven't posted in a while I have been making really good progress!  Most of it is too sketchy to bother posting so I decided to show you some conceptual art that you haven't seen yet.  These are sketches or panels that exemplify the style I am going for.  So you can get a very good idea of what it look like when it is more finished.  Here you go:

I've also been working on a series of posters for the Children's Theatre in Minneapolis.  They are based on some of the images from the coloring book that I do for them annually.  Here are two examples of the coloring book image next to its corresponding poster art:

I think its really amazing the difference the color makes.  I love color theory, I think that was one of the most exciting things I learned at MCAD, it completely changed the way I look at everything!  If you would like to take a little tour through the world of color theory here is very good website dedicated to the subject:

http://www.colormatters.com/color-and-design/basic-color-theory


I will close today by sharing a picture of the Aurora Borealis.  Even though I've lived in Minnesota for TEN years (what?!) I still haven't seen it in action.  I have no-one but myself to blame for this and I plan on going up north soon to see it in real time.  SO excited!

So pretty.....
Well!  I have to go.  I got lots of stuff to do today.  Thanks for visiting!
Beckaroo OUT!

1.2.12 Happy New Year!

Hi, everyone on the internet!
I've had a very productive holiday vacation week!  I've made a lot of progress on the first chapter of my adaptation of Gaston Leroux's "The Phantom of the Opera."  I am already moving on to larger, more detailed layouts but I decided to post a few of the more fleshed-out sketches.  Here are pages 5 through 7:

And here are pages 15 through 16:

I will follow the progress of these pages on this blog.  So check back soon!
Well, I have to get back to drawing, now.  My vacation is almost over so I'm trying to get as much drawn out as possible.  I will have a lot to show next week!
Thanks for stopping by and felicitations on the New Year!!!
Beckaroooo out.

12/19/11 Almost the Holidays.

Well, this year went by really fast!  Wow.
I've been very busy in the studio, even though I've been quiet.  I've finished a large chunk of writing so now it's time to draw again. I have a lot of sketches to share but nothing finished. I'm working on the first chapter of my adaptation of "The Phantom of the Opera" and it's going really well!  I'm going to release it on my website when it's ready so I won't be posting TOO much process work about it.  But don't worry, I draw fast!
  Here's some sketches:

SO, of course, a huge part of getting this adaptation perfect is getting the look of the characters just right.  For me, this involves a lot of face drawings.  I'm definitely happy and comfortable with how the characters are looking and that can only come from having drawn those faces repeatedly.  I think the final sketches are always fun to look at, even the ones that aren't right.  So here's a bunch of faces:

Am I making holiday pictures for friends and family?  Funny you should ask that because yes, indeed I am.  I am working on some portraits for a family I know and one for my twin sister.  Of course, I don't want to spoil the surprise so I'm only going to post these sketches for now:

I've got a lot of choices.  It's a tough call but I think they will be pleased with whatever I choose.  

I have so much work ahead of me and the new year promises to be busy, which is good!  So I'm going to get back to work.  Thanks for visiting!

Happy Wintertime!

Beckarooo out.

11.09.11

Well, Hello there, friends!
It's been quite awhile since I last posted and for that I am so so sorry.  Lately I've been working on writing stuff: scripts, proposals, synopses, etc.  And so even though I have been quite busy and very productive, I haven't been working on anything I can really post.  I will be better about this from now on, though, I promise--so come back next week and there will be something fun for you to see.

Well for those of you who have been following my blog, you are probably aware that I am working on an adaptation of Gaston Leroux's "The Phantom of the Opera."  Currently my main focus has been the script, which is very nearly ready to start drawing up--I do stop to sketch during the writing process so here are some of those sketches.  They are sketchy!

So, yes, I'm having a TON of fun working on this book--I can hardly stop working on it--so I'm making really good progress each week on the writing end.  I will begin sketching out more scenes now that the script is so fleshed out. I will, of course post more of that soon, soon, soon!  But for now I have to get going.  My beloved twin sister is getting married and I'm off to be a bridesmaid!  YAY!
Here's a pic of us a wee ones:

As you can see, I'm drawing.  It's always been this way!

Thanks so much for visiting my little space here in the web-iverse!  Come back soon!

Beckaroooooo out.

09.05.11

Hello, out there!

I hope you are enjoying the end of summer.  I am looking forward to the fall!

Here, in the studio, I have been pretty productive.  I finished up the panels for Atalanta's Race so now I have just a few finishing touches and it's done!  Here's the last sequence of panels:

I am definitely planning on continuing this story later on but for now I think it's a good representation of the style of art and pacing I am going for.  I will post the final piece next week so be sure to check back!  For now I am off to the next sequence which will be a chase scene from "The Phantom of the Opera".  This one will give me a lot of opportunity to play with space and pacing as well as a chance to draw humans instead of sock monkeys and I have more fun with that!  Here is a sketch of the sequence, originally designed as a comic:

I am going to take these sketches and expand on them, just like I did with Atalanta's Race.  I'm excited to work with this subject and with this particular environment. Here's a link to info about Garnier's Opera house in Paris:
http://www.operadeparis.fr/cns11/live/onp/L_Opera/Palais_Garnier/PalaisGarnier.php?lang=en

Plus, I love opera.  Win, win.
 I've also been working on color and playing with familiar characters.  So far I've been using Disney characters but I decided my next image will be of The Lady Amalthea from The Last Unicorn, one of my favorite books and films.  here's a link to the wikipedia page for it:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Unicorn_(film)
   Here's what I've done this week:

Today I am working on the image of Briar Rose/Aurora from Disney's Sleeping Beauty.  I'm happy with how it's coming along.  I'm looking forward to coloring her because I like her gray and beige, communist-like color scheme.  You will have to check back here next week to see what I mean!  

I'm anxious to get started so I am going to close this post.  Here is an image of the Red Bull from the Last Unicorn. You should watch The Last Unicorn today, I think.  

Thanks for the visit, come back next week!

beckaroo out.