Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Paper bag camouflage


Prismacolor colored pencil on Stonehenge Kraft
click to enlarge

Stonehenge Kraft drawing paper is such a classic "paper bag" color that I couldn't resist doing the obvious. I could have gone with bolder highlights, but I like the way this bag is just lying there, trying to blend in...

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

An April birthday cupcake


There are lots of April birthdays among my family and friends, so I have been repeatedly reminded that I don't have a "birthday card" image in my portfolio. I often use this one as a kind of all-purpose card, but a cupcake with a candle seems to say "Happy Birthday" much better.

I went in search of  a "classic" cupcake and ended up with this carrot cupcake from Whole Foods, as I liked the swirls in its icing. (I actually bought two—just in case one got smooshed on its way to its modeling gig. And also so my husband and I each got our own.)

Now for its "birthday suit": I scraped off the little icing carrot, sprinkled on some very old non-pareils that I found in my pantry, and donned a little blue candle, and...


...my little cupcake was ready for its close-up!


I decided to make the cake part look a bit more like chocolate, and realized that a person could easily get carried away baking drawing all sorts of cupcakes! And, as often happens, I started making WIP scans and then completely forgot to do more.




After I gave it away on several birthday cards, I realized that it looked a little forlorn sitting there unlit, so I added a little flame. (It's "optional" because I drew it separately and laid it on top in Photoshop.)


Make a wish!