Robot Scroll

I made a robot scroll for my sister's birthday because she really likes robots.  It is made with paper mache, ear plugs, bottle caps, chocolate wrappers, electrical tape, ribbons, wooden sticks, paint and markers. 

I wanted to create 40 little images inside the mouth of the robot, but I think there are few more than 40.  

Watch the video below to count them for yourself!   

Sketchbook Project 2016

This year I participated in the Sketchbook Project located in Williamsburg Brooklyn. They have a beautiful collection of sketchbooks from around the world. 

Here is the accordion book I created with ink washes: 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!  

An image inspired by ballet dancing foxes and cats!

 

 

David Bowie


We will miss you David Bowie!!!

Making of the Characters for "O Gato e O Macaco" (The Cat and The Monkey)

Last year I illustrated the picture book "O Gato e O Macaco"  (The Cat and The Monkey) written by João Manuel Ribeiro and published by Trinta Por Uma Linha in Portugal.


The picture book is in Portuguese and I was given an English translation by the publishers to illustrate.  One day I hope to learn Portuguese!!
I will share the long step-by-step process of the Characters, Storyboarding and Final Artwork in the next three blog posts.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT:
First, I was given the manuscript by João Manuel Ribeiro.  The story was simple with two main characters taking place inside a house.  The text was mostly dialog between the Cat and the Monkey, conveying the relationship between the two personalities, the gullible Cat and the sly and smart Monkey.
I thought about comedic pairs, such as Ren and Stimpy:




Laurel and Hardy:
























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I thought about size relationship and decided the Monkey will be skinny and the Cat will be fat. Silhouette was also very important.



















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DRAWING FROM IMAGINATION:

I painted loose sketches with watercolor and drew with my five year old nephew.





































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DRAWING FROM LIFE:

I studied my friend's house cat (Rafi).  I also studied some lemurs at the Bronx Zoo:

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DRAWING FROM REFERENCE PHOTOS:

I looked at illustrations, engravings, and photos of monkeys and cats on the internet. The key was to understand the way they move their bodies and their animal mannerisms.


In addition to pictures, I watched a great documentary from PBS Nature about monkeys in Japan called, "Snow Monkeys".  These monkeys survive in the cold weather by bathing in natural hot springs during the winter months. They spend a lot of time grooming each other and the little ones ride on the older monkey's backs.

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Also, inspiration came from photos of family friends:

Making of the Storyboard and Sketches for "O Gato e O Macaco" (The Cat and The Monkey)

STORYBOARDING:

When I am satisfied with the identity of the characters, I begin the process of storyboarding.

The text by João Manuel Ribeiro was already broken up into pages, so I planned the drawings around the amount of space given for the illustrations.

During this process, added the two mice as extra characters for more visual storytelling.

The book was going to be small and square in format and simple in the narrative.  I admired the simple formatting and size of Beatrix Potter's books, with text on one page and a vignette on the other:


Keeping the same idea for vignettes and white space for text, I began to make a storyboard of all 28 pages of the book, trying to keep the characters and background consistent.

Below are the final drawings:






Making of the Final Artwork for "O Gato e O Macaco" (The Cat and The Monkey)

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COLOR STUDIES:

Before starting the final artwork, I made some small color studies to decide on a consistent color palette for the entire book.  The Cat is a Fire Cat - so I wanted him to be reddish while the blue background contrasts the warm characters and the fire place.








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INKING THE FINAL DRAWINGS:

Once the drawings for the book were all finalized, I transferred the drawings to smooth hot press watercolor paper in a light pencil.  Then I used waterproof colored acrylic inks and a 102 nib crow quill dip pen to ink all the line work.













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WATERCOLOR WASHES ON LINEWORK:

After I finished inking all the line work, I taped the paper to large masonite boards to keep the paper from wrinkling due to water washes. Then, I painted with watercolor and ink washes on top of the inked line work to create shadows and more color to the paintings.






















And then after lots of painting.....the finished illustration!

Therapy Sessions

About Therapy:

By talking about the interior world that exists within, one can let it out.  A Therapist can support self-awareness and growth, by listening, empathizing, and pointing out the things we don't realize we say or do so we can start to notice more about ourselves.  

Therapy can teach you about yourself.  It's a long journey. 


Musica de Powell



Here is the cover of a Binder for Music that I made, for a very talented Andrew Powell.  Now all his music tabs are organized together.

Emotional Clean-Up Crew

 Feel all the feels!

When life gets down, always know there are penguins out there to clean up your flood of tears.





Drawings from a Mexican Adventure!

At the end of February I went to visit my cousin Carolina Kopeloff in Mexico City and explore a little bit of the Pacific beaches in Oaxaca!!!

My cousin Carolina founded a fair of handmade items by designers and artists, called Fusion.  The fair grew and now is located in a renovated schoolhouse, a perfect location for the collection of designers.  Walking through the building feels like you are in the most fantastic special secret mall of one of a kind items, from custom made shoes, ponchos, jewelry, and kids backpacks decorated with chihuahuas. 

The ground level has a coffee shop, were I sat drew the surrounding plants and architecture.  Fusion hosts monthly special events and different designers every weekend to keep it fresh! 

It is a one of a kind place in Mexico City and worth seeing the collection of local artists and designers.  I am very impressed!!! 

Daniel Mendez Donis, a very knowledgeable guide, taught me a mountain of information about pre-colonial Mexico and we went to the pyramids of Teotihuacan! 

Then I took an overnight bus to Puerto Escondido and then made my way to Mazunte, a small hippy beach town one hour away.  It was so very hard to leave Mazunte, a town of stories and friends:  
Para placticar el chido con Vertin and Scarlett, el conejo y la cara en la luna, los puestos del sol, y siempre siempre con el sonido del mar. 

I stumbled upon OceanoMar, a hotel and cafeteria with the most gorgeous view and chill vibe.  The cool breezes and strong coffee relieved the burning tropical midday sun -  la hora de la siesta! 

I am in love with Mexico, la gente, los colores, los picosos, la historia y cultura indigena.  It was wonderful to stay with my cousin, who I have not seen since I was 6 years old!!!

Below are some sketches I made through out the trip!!!  

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