I just completed a new hidden picture puzzle for Jennifer Newbold, a client who plans to send it out with her Christmas cards this year. All the hidden items are things that have meaning for her family this year. I didn’t get an explanation for all of them, but for one example, the family took a special trip to Canada this summer. So, she wanted to hide a Canadian flag.
As always, I am open for commissions.
Page 14 doesn’t have an image, so we skip on to page 15 from The Neighborhood’s Night by Juliana Catherine. This is the last illustration and the end of the book.
It’s not a completely happy ending because, even though Leena’s back in her own home, Amaya’s family lost their house. This is supposed to be a “tough subjects” series, so a not entirely happy ending is appropriate. But it’s not all bad because Amaya has sent Leena a letter saying how they found a place to live and are doing okay. They even sent pictures.
I made sure it’s the same couch and wall as page 4 so it’s definitely the same house. It comes full circle.
Here’s the second illustration for the book project I just finished for Learning A-Z. Page 4 of The Neighborhood’s Night by Juliana Catherine. This scene is in a cloud to show that it’s a flashback to the previous day when they family had all packed their emergency supplies in preparation to evacuate if the fires got too near. You can see a collection of emergency supplies laid out on the floor ready to be packed into duffle bags, one per person. Mama is putting a tag on little Amir’s ankle so that he can be reunited with the family if he gets separated.
Here’s a new one for that series I’m doing with this group of middle school kids. This one’s a sleepover and our main character (I should really give her a name) is having a sleepover with all her BFFs. She’s playing a video game (Mario Cart, perhaps?) against her very best bestie. Two more friends are painting nails on the floor and a fifth girl has already conked out and gone to sleep. (Hopefully they won’t put her bra in the freezer later!)
Edit: It was too green, so I made it bluer and updated the image. Better now, I think. 🙂
Another commission for Learning A-Z. This one is a family packing up their living room and kitchen, getting ready to move.
One problem with this scene was that they wanted both rooms to show, but in a portrait-oriented image. So, I decided to make this house a front-to-back split with a short stairway between the two levels. That let me put the two rooms one in front of the other, but with the kitchen a half-story higher so as to increase the height of the image and keep the living room from blocking it.
It’s done entirely in one-point perspective. Everything except the people and a few curves was drawn with virtual rulers.
It’s probably a small mid-eighties tract home, judging by the layout. One that’s been updated with wood floors and new appliances. But the kitchen is still too small and it doesn’t have a dishwasher. I’d move too, if I were them.
Here I am working with my Wacom graphics tablet on my laptop. This is more-or-less how I think I look when I’m working. Sometimes there’s also a cat.
As you can see, it doesn’t really take much. I don’t even need a studio unless I’m framing prints. Just me, my laptop, and my tablet.
I created the following cartoons for Kellene Addison with 521 Promo. I understand they’re intended to be printed on T-shirts. They were created in Adobe Photoshop. I’m posting them as art samples only and all copyrights are owned by Kellene Addison.
While developing the dog character in the second cartoon, I drew out this guy as well. He ultimately wasn’t used. So, he’s still mine. He’s a little unfinished, but I like him.
This is why we don’t allow dinosaurs on the couch!
Karen B. Jones - Illustrator 