Tag: labrador

Don’t Rush me…

On By MelIn Artwork 2024, books, character design, Illustration5 Comments

Or maybe please dooooo….

I am still on hold with my book project. Instead of finishing it I started working on the next story in this collection and hired an editor. So with the second story starting to get more shape, I think it is time to finish the last missing illustrations of the first story. If you have no idea what I am talking about… well, meet Madame Woof Woof. The main character for my upcoming children’s book.

Illustrations are 80 % done, after that it will be picture editing and type setting which is a whole new skill as well that I am trying to get better at… I will certainly not get bored. Stay tuned! 🙂

Finished Book Page

On By MelIn Art, Artwork 2024, books3 Comments

Here we go. It still needs some retouching and editing but this is the raw version for now. And of course the text is missing.

What do you think? Comments and criticism more than welcome.

I will let it rest for now and tackle some of the other book pages I am still unhappy about. Or I procrastinate and draw some more random animals for my Etsy shop... tempting! I am adding new designs daily. Go and check them out 😉

Drawing in progress…

On By MelIn Artwork 2024, Illustration2 Comments

Here is the full page. Not quite satisfied with their faces in the bottom part. But will finish and then possibly do again.

Happy 1st of May!

Madame Woof Woof_ink drawing dog Labrador illustration process _ Melanie Franz

Back to Work

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I finally got over my creative block, related to my book project, AND I fixed page 2 which had been bugging me for the last 3 months! So far I am quite happy with the result.

Here is a sneak peak of the work in progress.

Book Project – Work in Progress II

On By MelIn Art, Artwork 2024, books2 Comments

Another page almost finished for my upcoming children’s book. It will be total 32 pages and I think almost finished are about half of them. So expect more progress shots coming up.

The biggest part eventually will be the scanning and editing of the images. But that is for next month. Goal for this is to finish most of the drawings.

Have a great weekend!

2403 Labrador Teddy ink drawing illustration work in progress children's book_Melanie Franz

Curling up

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Super windy today. So this drawing fits the mood perfectly. Madame Woof Woof also feels like curling up.

Drawing for my upcoming children’s book titled Madame Woof Woof.

Book Dummy Mde Woof Woof Black Labrador ink drawing_ Melanie Franz

Work in progress

On By MelIn Artwork 2024, books1 Comment

So I spent the last month working on my book. It took me a while to actually figure out the final style that I wanted to go for. Now I kind of figured that out.

Next I am still in the process of tweaking some of the compositions. I liked the initial sketches and all but now that I am doing the fully rendered pages, I feel that some of them fall flat.

The story is about Madame Woof Woof, a black Labrador, and all the different reasons of why she barks at night.

Book Dummy Mde Woof Woof Labrador ink drawning_Melanie Franz

Practice makes perfect

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More doggies. I had so many ups and downs this past week. One day was great and I was all happy about my book progress and the next I felt like I cannot draw a single line and I should give up then and there. Quite a rollercoaster. And the progress is slow. I am seriously considering to start going digital after this. It will certainly be quicker. On the other hand, having ink stains on my hands is also fun….

But I ran out of paper and now I cannot find the same paper in the art supply shop anymore… bummer. Will do another shopping spree tomorrow to see what I can find. Until then, happy weekend!

Character sketches Labrador ink _Melanie Franz

One for the Dog Lovers out there

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I am still having fun coming up with new designs for my Etsy store. I have been adding some more cards since Valentine’s Day.
This is one is my favourite at the moment. What do you think? Perfect for your mate, friend, colleague.

2401 Teamwork Labrador Beagle dog lover printable card ink illustration by Melanie Franz

Another round of dog sketches…

On By MelIn Art, Artwork 2024, books1 Comment

More doggy sketches on this sunny day. Currently my illustration process alternates each day from “I love it” to “I hate it all and I cannot draw shit..!” I suppose that is normal? Either way, I decided to push trough and get all the pages done by the end of this month. So watch this space.

Character sketches Labrador ink _Melanie Franz

More dog sketches

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As you might guess from the sketches, Mouse´s favourite past time beside eating and running around is napping. I mean, dogs sleep 12-14 hours per day. I am pretty much envious at this point as I have been sleep deprived for a month.

And more dog sketches…

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I have been pretty much drawing dog after dog, exploring different poses and especially sleeping positions. Dogs can look too funny while sleeping.

I was stuck with my book dummy and some of the spot illustrations I wanted to add. So now I have a huge number of sketches from which I will pick my favourite ones.

Character sketches Labrador ink _Melanie Franz

Sketching Dogs!

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Actually it’s supposed to be character sketches for the same dog 🙂 I mentioned previously a book I am working on. So this is it. The original idea started 2 years ago with the first sketches, and it has been brewing ever since. As I am not a writer it took me a bit to put the story together and to have it professionally edited.

Since getting into illustration, I realized that for many illustrators it’s a race to the bottom with some authors not willing to pay more than dumping prices. So I decided I would rather do my own stories and illustrate them. I know that marketing will be the hardest part, but I will deal with that later.

Anyhow, since I started working on this book I have been coming up with multiple other story ideas, so there will be no shortage of ideas to explore once I am done with it.

Inspiration for the story is Mausi (Mouse, yep, what started as a nick name when she was little became her actual name.), my sister’s adorable Labrador. She is gentle, loveable, cheeky and a bit gaga at times, especially when it comes to water and sticks.

Character sketches Labrador ink _Melanie Franz
Character sketches labrador ink _Melanie Franz

Sleeping Time V

On By MelIn Art, Artworks 2022, character design, Illustration2 Comments

Still hibernating? Maybe. Time to start drawing again.

I guess this style is more me, rather than the last one.

Sleeping Time III

On By MelIn Artworks 2022, Illustration1 Comment

Another rough sketch. Same scene as before. Had this black paper for a while and finally got around to try it out.

Any comments and feedback welcome.

Would you like to see this style in a children´s book?

Sleeping Time II

On By MelIn Artworks 2022, Illustration6 Comments

I am still experimenting with different styles. Similar scene as before, this time in watercolour and pencil.

What do you think?

2202 Labrador on couch watercolour_Melanie Franz

Sleeping Time

On By MelIn Artworks 2022, Illustration2 Comments

I wanted to experiment with different techniques last month.

This is a piece in pencil and coloured pencil on paper. I think the paper was not quite ideal but I still like the texture of the chair.

2201 Labrador sleeping on couch pencil_Melanie Franz

Sleepy Dog

On By MelIn Art, Artworks 20212 Comments

Still learning how to use my new Caran d´ache coloured pencils. I have a vision in my mind but so far I have not been able to reproduce it on paper yet.

Practice makes perfect, so I will keep on drawing and see what comes out of it eventually.