Don’t Rush me…

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

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…

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

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 VI

After a short East break I am back on the drawing table. After a break it always takes me a bit to warm up again. So I spent about 2 hours sketching and inking people. I am still on my way to 100. Currently at 76…

Not sure if these two below count. Maybe they should! They are part of a page from my book project . Keep walking and talking…

Book Project – Work in Progress V

Hoot hoot! 🙂 Quite happy how this owl turned out.

For this page I thought I will try to put the whole image together digitally after drawing all the individual parts. I couldn’t make the page work with the first rendering, plus I had spilled some ink, so I decided to try it this way instead of starting with the full page all over again. One of the biggest challenges when drawing traditionally it the lack of the CTRL + Z shortcut….

Do I have fun drawing traditionally? Definitely. Would it be easier to do it all digitally? Most likely.

Do you prefer digital or traditional drawing?

Let’s see what will happen.

Book Project – Work in Progress IV

Here is a close up, sneak peak, of another page I just finished. The original sketch for this page was completely different, I had the book dummy and layout, did the drawing and rendering and half way through I gave up, twice actually, as I simply couldn’t make the drawing work. So I then completely change the whole page around from a close up to a high angle perspective… Not 100% sure yet whether I like it or not… I might redo it again.

2403 city lights at night people walking and cat running ink illustration book project _Melanie Franz

I guess these are the micro despairs along the way, crawling slowly uphill from the pit of despair (see picture below.)

Book Project – Work in Progress III

Another page sketch ready to be inked today. Although I still need to tweak a few bits and pieces.

2403 Book project dog Labrador children's book pencil sketch work in progress _Melanie Franz

Book Project – Work in Progress II

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

A little bit of everything…

This week I feel like I have been all over the place. New uploads to my Etsy shop, book illustrations, people drawing…. And nothing really got finished… Oh well..

2403 ink drawing street at night _Melanie Franz
Current page I am working on. A work in progress…

At least I haven’t spilled any ink today…

What’s next?

Honey Badger Coffee ETSY 5x7 printable Greeting card _Melanie Franz

More book progress

This is another test page. Trying to figure out the overall style I want to have….

I have inked some more pages since doing this that I am more happy with. Still need to scan them. So watch this space.

Happy Monday!

Curling up

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

Making a Splash!

Rendered another book page. I like how it turned out but after having rendered a few other pages this one does not fit in the overall style. so I will have to redo it.

Do you like the composition?

Book Dummy Madame Woof Woof_frog mouse ink drawing_Melanie Franz

Work in progress II

Still working on this page. After some feedback changed it from the previous one, to the one below. Definitely an improvement but not quite there yet. What do you think?

Book Dummy Madame Woof Woof black Labrador ink illustration_Melanie Franz

Practice makes perfect

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

Another round of dog sketches…

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

And more dog sketches…

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!

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

Snow Snow Snow

The plan for today looks like this! SLedding!

Followed by the pool. It’s only in Iceland where the outdoor pools are packed when it is snowing. Best time to soak in the hot water when it is freezing out there. And to watch children´s play in swimsuits in the snow.

Have a great week!

snow-sledding-paper cut illustration_Melanie Franz

The Weather Today

We are having the best snowstorm ever right now and we ran out of coffee. I guess I have no other option than to venture out…. See ya!

03 snowstom_Paper illustration _ Melanie Franz