Christmas Hidden Picture Puzzle

December 13, 2024December 13, 2024Leave a comment

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.

A line drawing of a living room decorated for Christmas. Santa is placing a present under the tree. Stockings hang from the mantle on the fireplace. A dog lies on the floor. There are two cats, one looking out the window. Outside is a snowy night scene. There is a couch with a guitar and a coffee table with a cup of cocoa and a jigsaw puzzle. Hidden items include: golf club, musical note, acai bowl, heart, taco, paintbrush, mortarboard, Christian cross, coffee cup, pointe shoe, and a Canadian flag. A picture frame on the wall contains the words, "Newbold Family Gifts of 2024".

A line of text at the bottom reads, "Copyright (c) 2024 Jennifer Newbold. All rights reserved."

Nott the Brave

March 7, 2022March 8, 2022Leave a comment

Here’s a fanart of Nott the Brave from Campaign 2 of Critical Role.

A goblin girl kneels in the grass with a troubled expression on her face. She holds an open flask in one hand and a full moon is in the night sky behind her.

The Neighborhood’s Night – Page 6

March 29, 2021March 25, 20212 Comments

Here’s the 4th illustration for the book project I just finished for Learning A-Z. Page 6 of The Neighborhood’s Night by Juliana Catherine.

So, this is actually the full-wrap version of cover image, including a half inch bleed all around it. But it’s also going to be used on page 6 as a spot illustration. For that they’ll crop off about a quarter of the image from the left side and some from the top, bottom and right as necessary to fit the spot.

An illustration for page 6 of The Neighborhood's Night by Juliana Catherine. This is an image of a neighborhood evacuating due to encroaching wildfires.

The Neighborhood’s Night – Page 5

March 28, 2021March 25, 20214 Comments

Here’s the third illustration for the book project I just finished for Learning A-Z. Page 5 of The Neighborhood’s Night by Juliana Catherine.

In this one, it’s a bedroom at night, but red and blue emergency lights from the window and a white light from the hall are lighting it up. The girl, Leena, is running across the room with her shoes and emergency bag while her mom and little brother wait for her at the door. They’re about to leave the house because they’ve been ordered to evacuate.

An illustration for page 5 of The Neighborhood's Night by Juliana Catherine. A girl runs across her bedroom to the doorway where her mother and little brother wait for her. They are about to evacuate the house. The room is lit by emergency lights from the window and white light from the hallway.

The Neighborhood’s Night – Page 3

March 26, 2021March 25, 2021Leave a comment

Here’s the first illustration for the book project I just finished for Learning A-Z. Page 3 of The Neighborhood’s Night by Juliana Catherine. Like with all the interior illustrations in this project, this one’s a spot illustration that will be the width of one page without any bleed. The image has a half inch on either side that will likely be cut off, but allows the publisher some room to shift the image left or right or to adjust the size a bit if they like. Like the cover image, the lighting was quite important on this one too. I rather like the swirling smoke.

An illustration for page 3 of The Neighborhood's Night by Juliana Catherine. The image shows an interior shot of a girl's bedroom. A worried girl in bed has the covers pulled up to her chin and is looking out the window. Outside, it is nighttime, but the sky is red and there is smoke swirling around a streetlight;

Project Complete! The Neighborhood’s Night

March 25, 2021March 25, 20214 Comments

I just finished illustrating a graded reader from Learning A-Z. The Neighborhood’s Night by Juliana Catherine. It’s about a family who has to evacuate their home due to forest fires near their neighborhood. Here’s a mock-up of the cover. It was work-for-hire, so it’s copyright Learning A-Z.

A mock-up of the cover of the book The Neighborhood's Night by Juliana Catherine Illustrated by Karen B. Jones. The image includes text over an illustration of people and vehicles on a street during an evacuation due to a nighttime forest fire.

I sure got practice drawing vehicles on this one and the changing perspective along the curve was challenging, but the most important part of this illustration was the lighting. I wanted it bright enough to show what was going on and all the people and such, but still look like it’s actually nighttime. An argument could be made that maybe it should have been more smoky, but the haze would have obscured more of the background details, so I went light on the smoke. This image took longer than all the rest of the images in the book.

The full cover image actually wraps around the back. I’ll share that later.

I’m going to dole out the interior illustrations over the next few days here, so keep an eye out if that interests you.

Inktober 2020 #30 – Ominous

October 30, 2020October 30, 2020Leave a comment

I considered several possibilities to answer this prompt, but you know what? Sometimes the less you know, the worse it could be.

A two panel comic. The first panel shows eyes in the dark, wide open with pupils contracted. A thought bubble reads, "IT'S QUIET..." The second panel shows eyes in the dark, narrowed with suspicion. A thought bubble reads, in smaller text, "TOO QUIET." — \

Inktober 2020 #27 – Music

October 27, 2020October 27, 20202 Comments

Siren song counts as music, right? I hope so, but really… I just felt like drawing a mermaid. 🙂

It seems like every time I draw water, I do it differently. This style seems pretty good for mid-ocean swells.