IF: Shades

Beauty's father was lost in the dark shadows of a haunted forest in a terrible storm. . .

Here's another illustration from Beauty and the Beast which I illustrated for Compass Media.

Also, check out my give away which will end this Wednesday March 21st at Midnight!

Facing Your Fears

Quick warm-up sketch, Pencil and Watercolor 3/19/12

I want to talk about making your weaknesses and fears into your strengths.

Senior year at BYU. My teacher tells me, "Shawna, you don't understand how to make a good compositions. You can't put everything smack dab in the middle of the paper. You need a forground, middle ground and a background." Click. It finally clicked. Fast forward a couple years to a children's lit conference. Brett Helquist is talking about composition. He said one thing. "Use diagonals to make good dynamic compositions." Click. Why does it sometimes just take a few words for something to click when all your friends and teachers have been trying to tell you something about your artwork for years?!

When I graduated from college I thought I was ready to dive into a career as an acrylic painting illustrator. I was pretty sure I had my style where it needed to be- after all it had taken me 5 years of college to finally figure out where I was going! Little did I know that I would learn so much more out of school than I had in school.

When I graduated from school, there were a few things I was scared of. #1 thing I was scared of: the computer. #2 Thing I was scared of: watercolors. I believed the only thing I was really good at was acrylics.

Fast forward 8 years. What mediums am I using in my current work? My number one medium is the computer. How did I get there? I realized that acrylics were way to slow for what my deadlines demanded. I had always wanted to use the computer, but I had been to afraid of using it because of all of my failures and lack of knowledge I had experienced during school. So I faced my fears. I asked a couple of friends to share their knowledge with me. Then I jumped right in and started using the computer. Whenever I saw something I liked that a friend was doing on the computer, I would ask them how they did it. And so my skills multiplied. Now the computer is my number one medium- and much better suited for the demands of my schedule and family.

As mentioned before, I was also afraid of watercolors. But then I decided I liked how they looked. They are also a much faster medium than acrylics. So I dove right in and started trying them out in my sketchbook. Now I am using them in part with my digital painting. I plan on continuing to learn more about watercolors and improving my skills with that medium.

Did I mention that I used to be scared of teaching other people art? I didn't know where to begin.  This year I decided it was time for me to stop being afraid of teaching other people art. So I asked some friends for advice on how they started teaching art to children. I went to my friends house and she showed me art projects she had done with kids and gave me some great tips. I started finding great ideas online from other art teachers. So I dove right into teaching an art class for kids out of my house, and I love it.

Maybe my point is humility. Maybe you need to humble yourself and ask your friends for a critique or advice. And really listen. And listen again. And then change. Your friends will help you make your weaknesses into strengths. If you are scared of something, face that fear, and jump right in. If you don't make the leap, you will never leave the ground.

Two more things that I am scared of but plan to face head on in the very near future: Mural painting and ebooks. Here's to a great future for all of us in taking those leaps and facing our fears!

Don't forget to enter my give-away that will end Wednesday March 21st at midnight.

A Little Extra Incentive!

Hi Friends! Thanks to all of you who have entered my give away! I think we can do even better at spreading the word, so here's a little extra incentive! If we can reach 115 blog followers or 60 Facebook followers, I will give away one more 11 x 14 signed print to another lucky winner. And if you help me reach both goals, I will give away 3 prints all together. So there is a little extra incentive to help me spread the word. And friends, family and fellow illustrators are invited to enter the contest too (comment on the contest post). I will pull the names out of a hat and it will be a fair drawing!

So go to the contest post and follow all the directions to enter my drawing!  Here is the link to the post! Remember the contest ends this Wednesday, March 21st at midnight! Good luck!

Fun in the Second Grade

Today I had fun in the Second Grade. I was presenting for my other girl's class. I talked about sketching and a little about finding your character and researching. We had a fun time. While I drew, I encouraged the kids to get really silly and creative and we ended up with an elephant with duck feet. It's funny how I help out with my kids classes every week, but the kids don't start to notice me until I do an illustration presentation. Then they say hi to me and ask me questions every time they see me. I enjoy being in front of these kids and seeing their reactions to my drawings!

Fun Give Away #1!

Hi Friends! I starting to get my blog really rolling again as a super awesome blog. I plan on posting every week. So welcome to my first fun give away! (More to come!!) I am giving away a signed print (big enough to fit in an 11 x 14 frame). If you are the winner, you may choose from ANY of my illustrations. It will be printed on arches watercolor paper with high quality archival / waterproof ink. (Oh yes, I have a beautiful new Epson Artisan 1430). Here's what you need to do:

1. Comment on this post- Don't forget this step because this is how I know who has entered!!
2. Be a follower on my blog if you are not already (see the side bar)!
3. "Like" Shawna JC Tenney, Illustrator on Facebook.
4. Tweet or Post a link on Facebook to this blog post. 

All entries must be in before midnight on Wednesday March 21st. Good luck!

Also, be sure to visit my print shop and my card shop!

Illustrator's Conference Post #1

Here are a couple of sketches of children I drew at the conference. We observed a family with 5 children and drew them from life. It was tricky because children move so quickly, but it's important to capture the gesture quickly and then draw in the rest from what you know.

Illustrator Sherry Meidell was the first speaker at the Utah SCBWI illustrator's conference on February 25th. Sherry was also in charge of putting this great conference together- and she did a great job! Here are a few highlights from my notes from her speech-

How do you draw kids? Sherry talked about going to elementary schools to sketch kids (Of course this is something you would need special permission to do). She talked about different ages of kids and their physical and emotional characteristics. If you're going to be a children's book illustrator, you have to expect that you are going to be drawing a lot of kids- and different ages of kids. So start observing and drawing children from life. Your hand, eye, mind and imagination work from observation.

Getting ideas for your illustrations:

•Play with your artwork- keep drawing, and drawing and drawing... (don't stop on the first sketch/idea)
 •Daydream- give yourself time to think. Just sit and think. Go for a walk- leave your surroundings to think.

Finding your character:

•Ask questions about your character- what is his/her likes, wants, motivations.
•Make a model of your character and try out different lighting.
•How is my character stylized? What are his/her emotions and feelings?

Is your illustration well designed?

•How is the color and the values (color and value studies are very helpful)?
•Can I get lost in the picture?
•Does the illustration have a good mood?
•Is my artwork unique?
•Does my second grade self like my illustration?
•Have other illustrators critique your work (oh so true!!).

Thanks for the words of wisdom, Sherry!

How fun!

Oh my! I had no idea! My illustration was chosen to be the "Pick of the Week" on Illustration Friday! That will be up all week! I feel honored! How fun!

Utah SCBWI Illustrator's Conference 2012

The Speakers for the conference- Anne Bowen, Sherry Meidell and Will Terry

Here I am with some of my artsy fartsy friends: Top Row:  Jen Eichelberger,  Shawna (That's me!), Sherry Meidell, Kirstine Hales, Will Terry, Bottom Row: Veronica Pearson, Manelle Oliphant Miller, Julie Thorup

I attended the Utah SCBWI Illustrator's Conference that was held at the Bountiful Davis Art Center on February 25th. You can read more about the conference here!

I had a great time learning new things, drawing, networking and visiting with friends. Over the next few days I am going to blog about some of the things the speakers talked about! So stay tuned for more to come!

Visiting Kindergarten!

On March 2, I did a little presentation for my little girl's Kindergarten class about being an illustrator. I talked about how I practiced a lot to become better at drawing. I talked a little (in simplified terms) how I do a job- thumbnails, sketches and painting. I showed the kids some of my published work and a couple of my books. Then I drew for the kids. I had them decide what kind of animal to draw and what kinds of clothes the animal was wearing. We ended up with a horse wearing a Pizza Planet shirt, a tutu and clown shoes. Very silly and both I and the kids had a great time!!

IF: Intention

 

It was not Beauty's Father's intention to anger the beast. He only wanted to bring his poor daughter one perfect rose.

This illustration is another illustration from the book "Beauty and the Beast" which I illustrated for Compass Media. Illustrated digitally in Photoshop and Painter.

3x3 Directory 2012!

I received my copy of 3x3's Directory 12 yesterday! I'm was excited to be intived to be a part of this directory as it is a by invitation only illustration directory. There will be an online version soon, I think...

I've been thinking about my blogging lately. It seems like in earlier years, I wrote more posts that showed my process or sketches and I did more posts with helpful hints for other illustrators. I have not been as good at blogging lately. I think this is because I have a lot less time for personal projects as my time has been filled up with more and more client projects. This is good for the fact that I need to help support our family. It seems like I am able to do my best artwork, thinking and blogging when I have a little more time for personal projects. But I won't complain, because I'm thankful for the work I have been getting. And I will make an effort to do better blogging in the future!

I also want to apologize to some people who have emailed me about illustrating their projects. It seems like with the option of Self-Publishing being a lot more accessible, many more people are trying to go that route and find their own illustrator. Sadly, quite a few people have emailed me about illustrating their self published projects, and I haven't even written them back. I am sorry for that. I am not trying to be rude! It's just that this year I have been swamped with so many deadlines from publishers, it is hard for me to finish my projects, take care of my family/church/community responsibilities and have time to answer everybody's emails. So I hope no one takes it personally. I will do my best to answer emails when I get the chance! And I wish I could help everyone with their personal projects, but I need to take the jobs I get from publishers to support my family.

I also enjoy getting emails from other illustrators or students who have questions, and I will answer those as best I can if I am not too swamped. I appreciate all the support I get for my artwork. Cheers to all!

Updated Website

I updated my website. You can see it here! I tried to make it more simple and professional looking, easier to navigate and more focused on the art. I would love some feedback. Let me know what you think!

As you can see, I've been really busy trying to get all my online things updated while I've had a short break. I now have a Facebook page for my illustration updates! Click on the link and click "like" to get regular updates of what I am up to! And while you're at it, follow me on Twitter! Cheers everyone!

Beauty and the Beast

Here's the cover that I did last summer for a reader of Beauty and the Beast for Compass Media. I enjoyed illustrating this classic fairy tale. It's always been one of my favorites!

One More From Rosie

Here's one more from Rosie the Reindeer. It was fun to create all the different personalities for the reindeer in this story. Next I will be posting some illustrations from Beauty and the Beast. If you've seen my Behance portfolio, you've probably already seen these, but it's fun to post them here anyway!

New Behance Portfolio!

This past year has been busy for me! I think I got one break from illustrations jobs for a week. I finally have another break. I have been very grateful for the work, but it's good to have a little down time to do some self promotion and maybe even some personal samples. I put a new portfolio up on the Behance Network. It's different than any other portfolio I have because the illustrations are grouped in projects- unless they are a stand alone illustration. Hop on over there and check it out. There are quite a few new projects I haven't posted anywhere before. I will post some of those illustrations here, but for now go check them out! You can "appreciate" my work to help promote it... if you want. :) There are also some illustrations that are linked to my Society 6 print shop.  I have also updated my Childrensillustrators.com portfolio. I hope to post some new work soon, have a happy day!

IF: Brigade

Rosie leads the brigade on to victory!
Check out my new shop on Socitey 6!