Children's book illustration

Senior Thesis!!!!

Senior Thesis:
So this is my last year at Parsons and our thesis project isn't as stressful as I thought it would be. Then again its only the second week of school and I'm still working on my sketches and composition. The concept for this years thesis project is OBSESSION. The obsession I chose is nail art! I'm completely fascinated with it and I wish I had my nails decorated all the time but school, handling bags, materials.... even writing is stressful when having long nails. The topic is interesting and has so many possibilities in terms of imagery. Making the illustrations will be fun and its my goal this week to have everything down on paper. I need to have the composition down then start with practicing with painting materials. So far I'm at a good pace with all my school work and I'm going to do my best throughout this semester to keep it that way.

I'll be posting some reference images and other sketches down soon!
-Nicole

Illustrator flower

Flower done by using illustrator. VERY time consuming but it feels nice to use the program almost as if I was painting using acrylic or oil.

This was one of my experimental pages where I used a glaze over the page first, waited for it to dry then used watercolor over the new textured page. When I placed the color down, it would spread over certain places.

Sunflower

First page of my second sketchbook done over the summer. Still working on this page, not sure if I should outline the sunflower using ink or illustrator.
Watercolor, oil pastels, pencil.

Sketching in Washington Sq. Park

Pen sketch at Washington Sq Park (while "my kids" were painting/talking, talking, talking) LOL.

Pen sketch at Washington Sq Park. Sketching at the park felt great! I have another sketch of the landscape from where I was sitting... I'll post it up soon... hope I don't mess it up with my scanner. : )

Paint tubes in class

Charcoal sketch of acrylic paint which belonged to one of my students I worked with this summer.
I was a TA (Teacher's Assistant) from the 3rd to the 14th of this month for Reade Bryan at Parsons, who taught the Junior Painting and Drawing class for high school students and who is also a Fine Artist. It was a great experience especially since it was my first time as a full time teacher's assistant and because I'd love to be an art teacher when I get out of college. It felt so good to go from table to table, easel to easel, giving tips/advice to a big group of thirteen and fourteen year olds. Over all, I'm going to continue to pursue my dream of being a teacher BUT I definitely know that the age group I spent those two weeks with is NOT the age group for me! LOL
-Nicole :)

More pigeons!

Sharpie. Pigeons at the park...

Sketches in traffic

Pencil, ink. Sketches going to Jersey.

NYC pigeons

Watercolor, oil pastels,

NYC pigeon within a pigeon

Watercolor, ink,

Watercolor doodle

doodling... with watercolor, ink

Street lamp

14 street, street lamp.
Acrylic, Watercolor, Oil pastels.

Panda sketches with watercolor

Panda sketches. It's funny to feel an urge to want to make the pandas look as real as I can, but the simple lines and colors might be enough. Why do I complicate my life! lol

Tree branches outline

Tree branches. I'll put some color later and post it up.

Hawk

Face

Just a sketch I did...I was bored. :)
watercolor, pen

Illus. Friday: Modify

Hey!
This is for this week's word, MODIFY. I read the definition of the word and was a bit taken back in terms of finding a drawing or illustration that matched the word. But then, while searching through my sketchbook, I found this painting/drawing... and it went through some serious modifying. Started with one color then it changed to another color and different drawings of things around me. So I just chose to draw my eyes and left my glasses out of it. Sort of scary and creepy.

-Nicole

Blue Eyes...

Ink, watercolor. I'm going to do some more of these...

-NP

Hand Studies

My hands and a strawberry I was eating :)

-Nicole

Mountains? Islands? Clouds? I don't know

Started with the idea of making waves with brown watercolor then it moved to buildings, clouds, water, lines...

-Nicole

Watercolor, pencil doodle

In the Clouds

This was the first drawing/sketch made for the first summer sketchbook I started. The idea just came to my head and there it is! I want to try to maybe make a series of portraits, some from life, some imagined, but I'm not sure what I would do for the background.

-Nicole

Illus. Friday: Idle

Hello!
I recently joined illustrationfriday.com. Its basically a website where you can add your web link to the drawing illustrating the "word of the week". This week's word was IDLE. I had some trouble trying to get the image of the word onto paper and I think I went too safe with this one. Being that its the first illustration made to be posted on the website, I'm pushing myself for next weeks "word". I think I could have done something better, more creative or at least if the image is hard to see, maybe correct the scan a bit more then I have on Photoshop. I don't feel bad about the drawing but there will be a follow up to the word even though next week there will be a new word to illustrate. SO, I'll be continuing to make illustrations inspired by the website because I've been feeling more confident with what I've been doing this summer.

OH, the drawing is of my Shih-tzu, Brownie! and he's all about being Idle lol.

Tomorrow I'll also post some images from my sketchbooks I've been working on....

GOODBYE!!
Nicole :)

The Warriors!!!!!!! '09 Final Project

I'm very happy how my last project for my illustration concepts class went. The project was based on creating the cover, the back cover, inside, the DVD and a poster for a DVD case my teacher provided my class. SO, I chose to illustrate my own version of The WarriorsDVD case using the movie as reference of course and using my own ideas so as I wouldn't be "copying" anything directly from the movie.

Here are the illustrations along with some comments....


This is the cover for the DVD case. It looks a bit squeezed together due to the changes I made on the computer... I just have to consider the size of the paper I'm using next time.



This one is the poster I had to have in the inside of the DVD... I like the drawings separately. I could have given each illustration a frame just to help the images to pop out.



The trains the Warriors had to take to and back to Coney Island is the concentration of this illustration. This one was in the inside the DVD behind the cover. Also, the DVD itself has part of the illustration stuck onto it.


Watercolor, ink, pencil, photoshop, marker.

Pulmonary Candle Set

For my Drawing Mixed Media class, I was to study a system and make a 3D sculpture based on the system. I chose the Pulmonary circulation and the media I'm going to use is wax. I've got the sculpture of the heart done and I have to work on making the sculptures of the lungs and the wax mold. This is going to take forever... Oh, this is the sketch as to how it should come out... It's basically my Pulmonary Candle Set.




And this is just a doodle of the heart and some details I'd lke to add onto the wax/ candle.

Watercolor, pencil

Postings under Drawing...

Check out my illustration posted up on the "drawings" link to the right. It's an assignment based on dance troupes and our interpretation of the dance in the format of The New Yorker. Once the illustration was done, we had to fit our image in one of the layouts our teacher provided...

I'll keep that posting under drawings for now but from now on, I think I'll just be posting under this blog. Just trying to organize my mess! 

Best,

Nicole

Just a thought

Hello!

Hope everyone who bumps into my blog had a great weekend. I know I did especially because of the gallery reception I went to on Saturday. It was at the Pen & Ink gallery on 10th street in Manhattan, NY. My mom's friend/coworker had two pieces up there so she invited us and we had a great time. 

It was also great that I went because I knew nothing about this gallery much less that it was located here downtown. I'd love to go back and see the place less crowded like it was on Saturday but nonetheless it was really good.

Soon I'll be making a blog based on the galleries and museums  I'll be going to when I have more time. Maybe I'll change my mind but I've been wanting to visit several places but... same old song, I haven't the time.  Well, I have to go, have a class soon...BYE!

Nicole

Sunset towards the Hudson River 2008

11 x 14 inches, acrylic on canvas.

Here's the third canvas based on construction and the sunset in Manhattan. Also done last semester, I think there is an older post here on this canvas as a work in progress image. I'm happy how this turned out but I would have preferred to make it bigger! I'll be taking another painting/drawing studio class during my senior year after the summer at Parsons so it'll be more time spent on this idea I'd like to make into a bigger project. 

Nicole :)

Sunset towards the Hudson River 2008

11 x 14 inches, acrylic on canvas.

Here's another city/ sunset based painting I did last semester. I wish there was less of a glare so that the details would pop out a bit more. I had a lot of fun making this one because the clouds and colors turned out to look good. It says a lot about that day and how great the black cloud just covered most of the sky. This is before the building on the left was finalized in it's construction so some things from this view has changed. I will most likely do another one based on this view but with new colors and a better sense of the environment. Can't wait till the summer vacation comes! (In about a month)... I'm counting the days left :)... Have a good one!

-Nicole

Construction/Sunset, Fall 2008

(11 x 14 inches, acrylic paint on canvas)

Finally! It's finally done... or at least it's close to being done. I finished this last semester during the first half of Junior year. I really want to continue these paintings that relate to where I live and sort of document Manhattan especially now that all this construction is going on. I think I'll continue this new thought during the summer. I am in my second semester of my Junior year and have a lot of classes, so that basically means I have no time to do anything outside of school work. 

I will be posting the portraits I started last semester so that whoever bumps into my blog will take a look! Bye!

OH, if you want to check out the previous image of this painting, click on the link below ( construction/sunset) and you'll see both posts.

-Nicole