K is for Klipspringer

More digital drawing practice. One of the things on my idea/to-do list for the past year is an ABC book about African animal. A Kenyan friends gave me a list but so far I never really got around to do anything about it. So I thought this would be the perfect subject to practice on.
Comments, criticism welcome. Of course I couldn’t just do a standard drawing but wanted to make it fun and colourful. What do you think?

ABC BOOK_Klipspringer _Melanie Franz

Odd Turtle complete

Alright, my finished digital drawing attempt. What do you think about the style?

Not sure about the composition. Drew the first thing that came to mind… and added the birds because… reasons.. The pose could certainly be improved.

Happy Monday!

Progress with Turtle

I am experimenting more with different brushes, trying to find my digital drawing style. I don’t like digital illustrations when they look stiff and too neat and would like to still make it look hand drawn. So I have been experimenting with different brushes and techniques over the weekend. What do you think?

Turtle is my subject or rather victim of choice. I am just having fun with it.

Going New Places…

My to-do-list seems to get longer rather than shorter since I decided to put more emphasis on my art business.

Another digital illustration as warm up sketch. The prompt is skull.

I am in the works of illustrating a book, the traditional way. And I am also looking to set up an etsy shop. So watch this space.

2311 skull_ turtle _ Melanie Franz

Casting Shadows

I am just following the Inktober 52 prompt list now for easy inspiration. It helps me to find a quick idea of what to draw as a warm up sketch. I am still trying out different digital pens. That’s why the turtles have a different feel to them, at least in my opinion.

Under the Weather

Have been seriously under the weather today. Bed and movie day it is. Meanwhile, grab you free ebook of What’s the Weather picture book until midnight today here.

2302 Cat rain miserable paper-cut illustration _Melanie Franz

Snow time

Going to by a sled today for the little one. There is a decent amount of snow already and hopefully we will get more.

Meanwhile grab your free ebook of What´s the Weather here. Or get the print version of the picture book.

Have a great weekend!

First Snow!

Beautiful sunshine and everything is white. Good start for winter I would say.

We haven´t build a snowman yet, but it is definitely on the to do list.

Meanwhile you can get your free What’s the Weather ebook here! It will be available for free download until the 26th. Just happy to share. Of course the paper version is also available.

Have a great weekend!

Winter is here!

First snow arrived, just on time for my daughters birthday and the What’s the Weather book release!

The project came to life when I had a creative blog and bought a bunch of colourful paper last spring. The dining room table was covered in paper and glue for about a month I think. The results can be seen here in this very colourful picture book for 1-3 years old.

It not only helped me through my creative block, but it is also a fun way to go through the seasons and different kind of weather.

Vertical snow fall is rare in Iceland. It usually hits you horizontally. Just like that. This is an almost accurate depiction of me going to the car today.

Get your Mr Fox now

Last day to get your free Mr Fox ebook.

This was my first ever book project and my attempt at writing a story. And I am still quite happy with it.

I had no idea what I was doing back then when it came to story and book layout. I certainly improved since then. I am excited about the current project I am working on. Will be sharing it soon.

8 selfie Mr Fox_Melanie Franz

What’s the Weather?

I finally managed to finish the weather book! What started as a fun way to get over my creative block last spring, is now finally finished! Last spring I was stuck and a friend suggested to try something I have never done before. That’s what started this paper-cut project.

The finished project is a picture book that takes you through the seasons with funny weather pictures. You can see more of those in my earlier posts like here and here.

The book will be released on Wednesday the 22nd, just in time for my daughters first birthday! Until then you can find the kindle version here if you would like to take a look.

Mr Fox II

Picture Perfect – A Mr Fox Story was my first ever attempt at a children´s book on my own. I had no plan and no idea what I was doing 2 years ago and this is the result of it. And I have to say, I am still quite happy with it. I had never written a story before, so please bear with me.

If you are curious about the story, get your free kindle ebook on Amazon until the 22nd of November. I am just happy to put the story out there.

Have a lovely Sunday!

Mr Fox_Melanie Franz

Feeling foxy …

Happy weekend everyone! I spent the last couple of days going over my old books (while I am working on a new one). I tried to see where I had improved and where I still have lots of work to do when it comes to my illustrations. I am currently working on a book project and I am quite happy how it is progressing. More about that soon.

Meanwhile I also rediscovered my first own story that I did, more for practice than anything else. The story called Picture Perfect starring the little Mr Fox and his best friend Mr Mouse, two characters you might be familiar with if you have followed my blog for some time.

This was 2 years ago. Back then I had no idea about book or cover design, or making a concept to start with, and just went with it. I certainly improved in that respect, after several children’s book illustration classes. I just finished my first proper book dummy. So stay tuned for more on that.

Anyhow, if you are interest in the Mr Fox story, you can currently download the free kindle version here ! Reviews are more than welcome.

Enjoy your weekend! Cheers from Iceland!

Picture Perfect Mr Fox Melanie Franz

More Ink…

I had so much fun with the Inktober prompts and my turtle and spider that I decided to keep on going and use the Inktober 52 prompt list to keep on going. It’s a nice way to do warm up sketches while I am working on other projects.

Here is the first prompt – Build. I am not sure what mood I am currently in, building sand castles or snow ones? Or who knows, maybe ash castles, depending on whether the volcano decides to erupt or not 🙂

2311_1 Build_Inktober_Melanie Franz

Inktober 2023 Roundup

Despite having been late to the party, I really enjoyed the Inktober challenge as every year and I am really happy with the outcome. Just like in the previous years, I was not sure where the journey would take me. And as every year I am happy about what I learned and the results.

I got so much positive feedback about the little turtle and spider, that I am considering of putting an actual children´s book together with these two characters. So watch this space.

Here are all of the 32 drawings ( yes, I did one extra because I had so much fun)

Did you do inktober? What is your take away from the challenge?