Inktober 2014 (Week Four)

Hi friends! Months later, I realized I never posted the end to my #inktober koala tale! You can view the whole story in my facebook album or on my website! 

Thanks for following along!

Cheers!

~Renee

Inktober 2014 (Week Three)

Inktober 2014 (Week Two)

Inktober 2014 (Week One)

I didn't mean for this to happen, but my #inktober turned into a story about friendship: 

In a perfect world (one where I realized I wanted to follow the story of koala right from the start), I would have built up the story between koala and bird a little more before bird took off on his own...

...and left koala feeling a little lost.

Because I wanted to express what it feels like when you seem to have lost something or someone...

...and show how you can overcome that sad feeling.

Some of this art will eventually make it into my Kickstarter sketchbook. I have the entire book in layout and in 7 days, I'll be ready to hit GO! I'm very excited and just a little hesitant because I am realizing as I'm laying it out, how much emotion I put into everything I draw. I'll be sharing all of that emotion with over 100 people who will hold my book in their hands. 

It's a crazy feeling!

Stay tuned for Week Two of my #inktober koala story.

Cheers!

~Renee

A Little Kick Start

Hi guys!

I'm just writing up a little post over here on the blog to help promote my Kickstarter project in it's last two weeks! 

I mentioned a while ago that I was toying with the idea of printing a collection of my sketchbooks... and I can't even believe it, but thanks to so many generous folks, it's happening! There is still time to order one if you're interested...for just $15! 

Some details:

• 52 page perfect bound booklet
• Full color cover / black and white interior, with color pages mixed in!
• Size: 6.625" x 10.25" (standard comic size)
• Paper: 100lb. Silk Matte
• Ships in December of this year

And to those of you who have already backed the project...I, along with all my cats, hippos, pigs, cows, and bears thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

PROJECT LINK: www.kickstarter.com/projects/reneekurilla/so-many-sketchbooks

Cheers!

~Renee

Sketchbook Giveaway

Hi everyone! I have something exciting brewing over here!

Recently, I put together a sketchbook filled to the brim with my favorite sketches from 2013. My plan is to sell these homemade books through my website, but I thought it might be fun to do a little giveaway before I put them up for sale!

To be eligible, please just visit my Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram page and give a like! I will choose two follower winners from each site (no double-winsies though, sorry!). When I choose winners, I will ask you for an address, and ship you a sketchbook! Easy peasy!

*If you already follow along...you're entered! Thank you so much for your support through the years!*

Here is a little preview of the book, and to see more of my sketches, please visit my website!

*Please note: I'll be picking names on May 9, 2014!* 

Cheers and happy spring!

~Renee

*****UPDATE! And the winners are:

From Facebook: Megan Kinneen / Lori Nichols
From Instagram: James Proimos @proimosjames / Samantha Wilson @ohsoillustrating
From Twitter: Chris Purdin @ChrisPurdin / Preschool Foodie @PreschoolFoodie

And a big, hearty THANK YOU to everyone who follows along. I appreciate it so much!

Process Post: Keep Calm! My Stress-Busting Tips

In my last post, I declared that one of my New Years Resolutions was to be more observant. Another resolution of mine is to document more projects and the process involved. Luckily, I had this in mind early on in 2013 when I began work on Cloverleaf Books for Millbrook Press! 

My first book in the Healthy Habits series is Keep Calm! My Stress Busting Tips, written by Gina Bellisario (who happens to be in my kidlit family at Andrea Brown Literary Agency)! I also had the privilege of working with Laura Waxman (Editor) and Emily Harris (Designer) from Lerner Publishing. At the time I had signed on for three books and didn't know that I would continue on to work with Emily on FIVE books throughout the year. It was truly a blessing.

The beginnings of bookmaking are usually for my eyes only. I spend an afternoon ordering pages, making doodles, and sketching characters that most likely nobody else but me can understand. It looks like this:

From there, I keep sketching, but I go bigger and more detailed. These will be sketches the client will see. The next round of sketches will usually go through one more pass before I start coloring, but I will show some of them here side by side.

The first thing I do is decide on a main character. This is Anna. I read through the manuscript and develop her personality based on the text. She has a little "Stress Monster" that follows her around. I decided to keep him cute.

She is really stressed out! So much to do: homework, chores, and soccer practice! 

Her parents are a little stressed, too. Their mornings are just a little bit hectic. This is what my mornings look like when I wake up late. Please click on the images to make them larger!

I often overdo it when I'm sketching, it helps me to figure out the world the characters live in. I delete a lot of the details that get in the way and make room for text. You can see this in the soccer game spread top left. 

I always add details that I'm familiar with. At the time, I had just organized my colored pencils into canning jars, which made it into Anna's room, and I was thinking of my high school when I added he cougar paws to the bulletin board. Go cougars. (Haha!)

This is just a sweet little moment that I am fond of, but in the final art they have opposite emotions because Anna is starting to learn how to manage her stress. 

This book and the others in the series will be available in April 2014 on Amazon, at Barnes and Noble, and other retailers! Look for a process post video demo soon over on my other blog, Simply Messing About!

Cheers!

~Renee

I Know You're in There!

My cat, Timmy, likes to sleep next to me when I draw or write. He doesn't know it, but his purring kind of puts me at ease and I'll study him while he lays there. Sometimes I just watch, sometimes I draw him, and sometimes (probably too often) those drawings make it onto a piece of paper. 

In this case, he fit right in to an ink and colored pencil commission from my Etsy store:

And in this case, some sketches for a sample I did earlier this year: 

And in this case, I discovered the technique I developed for fur...also works with pine trees!

One of my New Years Resolutions is to make sure I keep my eyes open for everything the way I do for Timmy. Those great ideas and character sketches are in there somewhere and they may be right in front of my eyes and I don't even know it yet.

2014 is getting off to a very slow start, but I am hopeful! So, I will try to be conscious, maintain a positive attitude in this difficult business....and keep pursuing.

I wish each and every one of you a very Happy and Healthy New Year!

Cheers!

~Renee