Brand new piece, just finished this morning! For the 2015 New England SCBWI Illustration Challenge, we were asked to create a double-page spread for “Don’t worry – I fixed it!” Thanks to Illustration Friday, I have an excuse to post this piece right away! This week’s IF topic is “window.” Perfect!
Mixed media techniques:
• Colored pencil outlines (black) hand-drawn on vellum → scanned into Photoshop.
• Canson pastel paper → scanned into Photoshop for texture and medium gray background.
• I adjusted some custom Photoshop brushes to mimic my colored pencil lines, then used them to fill in all the colors.
Challenge #1: Getting the perspective right.
How I solved it: To understand the space, I sat in my dining room and drew the windows, radiator, lighting, and all the angles. The orange chair is real – it belonged to my husband’s grandmother – and it is even more vibrant than this!
Challenge #2: Dad’s posture.
How I solved it: I wanted the dad to be obviously distraught, but patient. I had my husband take pictures of me acting out the pose, which were helpful references for showing this body language from a certain angle.
Meg Sodano - Illustration & Design 