Amber's Brain!

Title: To-Be-Announced.

2012-01-30T18:05:00.000-08:00

This drawing is a composition for an upcoming illustration. Personal work, of course. Someday I'll have that commission. One more piece to add to the Weird Creatures Museum.

Vampire Fish

2012-01-30T18:01:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking about a series of Vampire Fish to add to my Weird Creatures Museum.

Drawing of the day

2012-01-06T19:03:00.000-08:00

This is another Uni-cat sketch for an upcoming 'Weird Creatures Museum' painting. 'Weird Creatures Museum' is a theme I came up with a few years ago. It started out as a portfolio theme, and I hope to turn it into an actual product line of prints, jigzaw puzzles, trading cards, face cards, stickers, etc....

Yesterday's Sketch

2012-01-02T15:21:00.000-08:00

So. I was sitting in Church yesterday, and every time I look down at the carpet, I always see weird faces or weird characters in the patterns of the carpet. It's so weird how artists get inspired. Anyway, I was looking down at the carpet and saw this whole new world. This world consisted of all these weird animals with sort of angry expressions. Not sure how these popped in there during church, but whatever. The bad news about it is that I forgot most of those images halfway through the meeting, so by the time I could sketch in my book, this is what was left of it. If you are an artist, and have those moments of creators block, take a look at the floor in front of you. You might be surprised what images pop in your head. In some ways it's a better place to get ideas than staring up at the sky and finding shapes in the clouds. And always, no matter what, have your sketchbook ready.

All You Need Is Love

2012-01-02T14:49:00.000-08:00

Hi There. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years. I have to say 2011 was one of the best Christmases I've had in a long time. Anyway I don't believe in making new years resolutions because I never stick to them. Instead I believe in making goals anytime during the year, and hopefully stick to them. I do hope that 2012 will be the year that great things will start to happen. I will try to be a frequent blogger and continue to put my art out there, somehow. Here is my latest work of art. I don't really know what it means. It was just a fun concept and design that I came up with, and I was listening to my iPod the other day, and 'All You Need Is Love' by The Beatles was playing, so I figured it would be a fitting title for the piece. Anyway I hope all you artists out there are hoping for the best this year and not giving up hope. I'm sure life begins for all of us artists sometime.

Day 28-30: Work on Muse Christmas Competition Designs

2011-11-28T20:15:00.000-08:00

So it's that time of year again. I've been working in my studio all evening. My eyes are tired. This is a layout I submitted last year, and it wasn't selected. This year is my third try. We'll see what happens. New layout will be posted soon.

Day 26: Create a composition

2011-11-26T19:30:00.000-08:00

This is a composition I worked on today. It will be the next painting....

Day 23-25:

2011-11-25T16:36:00.000-08:00

Day 23. Create portfolio pages or prints using the best paintings. Here is one of them....

Day 24-25. Take family photos at Thanksgiving. The next day create a scrapbook page layout using some of the photos. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Check out the cool carpet pattern...

Day 22: Draw something and blog about it.

2011-11-22T19:13:00.000-08:00

So I couldn't think much tonight. Been a long day, so I was doing some silly scribbles in my sketchbook and found a snakes head in it, so I decided to draw it. The one on the left is from the sketchbook, the one on the right is a larger version. My scanner isn't large enough to scan the entire image, and I was too lazy to scan in the other half and piece them together.

Day 21: Design a Mailer that looks as professional as possible.

2011-11-21T19:26:00.000-08:00

I've been working on a few more possibilities. Still can't decide which one to use.....

Day 18 & 19

2011-11-19T17:58:00.000-08:00

Day 18: Create a cartoon character in vector format (Adobe Illustrator)

This took me almost 4 hours to complete, but I enjoyed it a lot. I don't do vector art very often, so I'm a little slower than the pros. As for Day 19 there is really no art to post. I took a trip to Barnes & Noble to look at children's books and novels, and make a list of publishers and the illustrators that worked on the books. Until next time, Happy Drawing.

Day 17: Build some compositions

2011-11-17T19:00:00.000-08:00

I've taken animals and placed them in these surrealist environments. It's amazing what you can come up with when you take a little break from building concepts.

Day 16:

2011-11-16T19:34:00.000-08:00

Draw something and blog about it. Big congrats to Bradley Cooper for making People Magazines top 10 Sexiest Man Alive. I might agree on this, but there are a lot of sexy men in this world. Hee. Hee. Anyway, I thought I would draw a portrait in honor of this award.

Day 15: Continue animal sketches

2011-11-15T19:55:00.000-08:00

I learned that Chameleons have the cutest feet. Lizards are adorable creatures.

Day 13&14

2011-11-14T21:20:00.000-08:00

So I decided to crunch 13 and 14 together, due to unforeseen circumstances. While day 13 was to draw something and blog about it, day 14 was about researching animals and doing sketches and share on blog. I decided to investigate frogs. I'm trying to find ways to stylize them, but it turns out it's more challenging than I thought, so I thought I would start out sketching their anatomy, and the second drawing is my attempt at doing some modifications. I think I need to draw more of these to get this down. Cats and Fish are a lot easier for me to stylize than frogs.

Day 12: Paint something fun and blog about it.

2011-11-13T18:22:00.000-08:00

This is a digital painting of a dragon that I started in Photoshop. As you can see it's not quite finished. This is what I've got so far.

Day 11: Design a postcard mailer

2011-11-11T19:39:00.000-08:00

I thought I would find a way to fit more works of art on one postcard.

Day 10: Do a portrait.

2011-11-10T20:02:00.000-08:00

Tonight I did a portrait of Edward Norton as the Illusionist. Great film, and amazing actor. It's not finished, but this is what I've got so far.

Day 9: Work on animals for quilt blocks

2011-11-09T19:44:00.000-08:00

So my mom is working on this quilt and I've been working on the drawings for the quilt blocks. Tonight I drew a sheep and an elephant.

Day 8

2011-11-08T19:02:00.000-08:00

Draw something fun and blog about it. It seems that since Halloween is over, my creativity has been drained. This is what came out of my brain today.... Interesting.

Day 7

2011-11-07T19:25:00.000-08:00

Select highlights from old Sketchbooks. Scan them in and save them for records. These image came from Sketchbooks I kept starting from 2002 thru 2003. In some ways, I was better because I was drawing a lot more than I am now.

Day 5 & 6

2011-11-06T17:46:00.000-08:00

Day 5: Do a quick study painting of one of the Characters. This is what I have so far. I will probably revisit this in the future for refinement.

Day 6: Look for patterns in the carpet at church and draw what you see. Have you ever looked at a textured wall, or the mixed colors of threads in carpet and seen faces or other patterns? I have. So as I was looking at the odd faced patterns in the carpet, I felt it should be documented. This character kind of reminds me of the Tim Burton Film The Corpse Bride, one of my favorites. Plus I love anything produced by Tim Burton, so I guess it sort of slipped out.

Day 3-4

2011-11-05T14:23:00.001-07:00

A drawing of a decorative element, and cartoon studies of people.

30 Day Challenge: Day 3-5

2011-11-05T10:28:00.000-07:00

Day 3: Observe any objects or decorative elements in every place you visit. Keep them for memory and sketch them out on a piece of paper.
Day 4: Start building drawings of three different characters of people you have searched online.
Day 5: Do a painting study of one of the three characters.

~this is a work in progress. Pictures will be posted upon completion~

30 Day Challenge: Day 1

2011-11-01T19:22:00.000-07:00

Nov 1, 2011: Day 1. Photograph up to 6 different Objects surrounding the neighboorhood that are of interest. Create a letter sized page and arrange or modify photos in a professional, yet interesting way. You may refer to Communication Arts Magazine for creative ideas. Okay, so I cheated a little on the second image because I only used 4 of the images, but I like it better.

One Week Left....

2011-10-24T19:38:00.000-07:00

I present you: My Pumpkins!

Alright. It's something.....

2011-10-19T19:24:00.000-07:00

My latest postcard mailer design.

And now she has a king...or the king has her.

2011-10-11T18:11:00.000-07:00

Marketing Tuesday & Thoughts of the Day:

While following my dream as an artist, I've been working on this 'Weird Creatures Museum' as a theme. I've also been brainstorming a product line to accompany this theme. I've been thinking of the possibility of designing face cards, perhaps making them more elaborate or non- traditional than the average deck of face cards. So far I've come up with the King and Queen of hearts concept. As far as producing the actual product, that will be a greater challenge. I've been pondering questions like, What type of printing resource should I go with? Will there be separate set up fees for every different card?, etc. My plan is to come up with a layout for the back of the cards, which of course will have to be the same to maintain suspicion, and then keeping the different numbered suits simple, just like regular face cards, but coming up with a concept for each King, Queen, and Jack for every suit... which becomes another challenge. This is what makes art and design so much fun.

It's finished: I present to you, The Zombie Cats.

2011-09-22T19:52:00.000-07:00

Halloween is in the air. Though it's still a balmy 85 degrees out here in Utah, and I still have green tomatoes that must get ripe before the frost, I always get Halloween fever early. I always think there is something wrong about playing Christmas tunes in the middle of October, but I have a deep love for Halloween the most. Must be the little pop-surrealist in me and my interest in Tim Burton movies. My personality is just drawn to Halloween, and it's always the time of year where my creativity is on fire. Anyway, I thought I would avoid the cliche atmosphere about Halloween and go towards the Zombie route, only this time, it's cats. Hope you all have a lovely Halloween this year, stay tuned for more.....

Day 8-9: Getting there, but not quite finished.

2011-09-19T19:41:00.000-07:00

Day 7: The pumpkins start to appear.

2011-09-15T21:41:00.000-07:00

This has been a rather unexpected eventful week, so it was nice to have a night to paint again. So soothing. Anyway the pumpkins almost look better than the cats, so I'm thinking they could use a bit more work.

Day 6: Left side almost done

2011-09-12T19:49:00.000-07:00

Day 5: almost halfway through.

2011-09-10T18:31:00.000-07:00

First zombie cat is starting to appear.

Day 4: First cat almost finished. He's got some stripes.

2011-09-09T21:38:00.000-07:00

Day 3: Starting Detail on first cat.

2011-09-08T19:27:00.000-07:00

Day 3 had to be cut a little short so I can still get my jogging in tonight. It's possible the cat will take a different direction. Not sure how I feel about it at this point.

Day 2: Adding Details

2011-09-07T19:38:00.000-07:00

Details are added to the trees. Cats still have to wait.....

Day 1: Blocking in

2011-09-06T19:52:00.000-07:00

I'm left handed, so I think I will start building details on the left side of the painting starting tomorrow. I've already started on the tree. The composition was built from a series of scanned drawings in Photoshop and printed out in pieces and transferred onto Winsor & Newton 140lb watercolor paper that has been stretched onto stretcher bars. I paint with acrylics.

The Halloween Line-up.

2011-08-24T19:56:00.000-07:00

I know. It's a little early for Halloween, and believe me, I am not ready in anyway for summer to be over. Just look at my tomatoes. There are only 5 small green tomatoes that still need to grow and turn ripe, and plenty of blossoms left ready to become fruit. Seems a little late in the year. Anyway, I thought it would be a good idea to start thinking about making the best Halloween Illustration ever, and a couple months in advance never hurts, so this better turn out fabulous. There will be more to come, so feel free to take part in this journey. Input is always welcome.

Illustration Friday: Swell

2011-08-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

"I'll never eat another Angry Bird again. They take so long to digest. Bleh!"

Portrait Fun.

2011-08-15T18:02:00.000-07:00

I present you: Reese Witherspoon. And by the way, I hear a rumor that August is Artist Appreciation Month, so all you artists need to get out there and strut your stuff.

Marketing Thursday

2011-08-11T17:41:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at a Mermaid illustration. I've always wanted to create a Mermaid piece. It requires a little thinking outside the available visual reference out there. Lots of fun. Painted in Acrylic on stretched watercolor paper.

Snail Painting. 1st Attempt: Digital

2011-07-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

Okay, so. This is my first attempt at painting snails. It's possible to get this elaborate doing it digitally. Not sure I could pull this off with a real snail. I'll just have to wait and see, when I encounter one.

Marketing Thursday.

2011-06-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

Yes. It's that time. It's the moment all of us dread at times, but the design part of it can be so fun, and why not make the marketing side of illustration fun? After all we are creative, and we are perfectly capable of creating a fun marketing experience for ourselves. Anyway, this is a new and improved layout for a postcard mailer. In fact, I might consider this same layout for a single sheet mailer or e-mail sample as well. Please give me your feedback on this layout, it would be greatly appreciated.

Need Help!!!!

2011-06-27T19:36:00.001-07:00

Alright artsy friends. I need suggestions with this rough comp. Yes it's rather rough. Does her left hand look as though it might be resting naturally on the seashell behind her? I hope it's still large enough so you can tell what's going on. I would love suggestions. I'm going to be moving further with this on Wednesday night. Your suggestions will be much appreciated. xoxoAmber.

The Weird Creatures Museum: The Goat & Dog Hybrid

2011-06-13T19:57:00.000-07:00

Here is my attempt at creating my hybrid creatures. This particular animal consists of a goat, dog, perhaps even cat or squirrel. Notice they have claws instead of hooves. The males have horns much like a billy goat, and the females have a uni-horn, much like the unicorn, or perhaps it came from the unicat. These creatures have heavy fur and prefer to live in Antarctica.

...and here's one I drew today.

2011-05-14T17:49:00.000-07:00

I drew this one today......

Figure Drawing...from earlier this year...

2011-05-14T17:46:00.000-07:00

I can't remember when I did this...It was at the Saturday Drawing Session in Springville....It was the model's last day...She'll be missed. She's a great model. I added the bubbles in case you are wondering.

Portraits of Geddy Lee - Drawing and Painting.

2011-05-14T17:41:00.000-07:00

Here is the drawing. He had on a set of headphones, but I like his hair, more than the headphones, so they were eliminated.

....and this is the painting.

Portrait of Matt - Acrylic Painting

2011-05-14T17:36:00.000-07:00

Remember that drawing I did a while back? Here is the painting. It seems a little pointless for us aspiring illustrators to do these silly portraits, since they aren't always marketable for the freelance outlets, unless of course they want to do portraits for Rolling Stone or something like that, anyway it's good practice and it's also fun, so why not?

I've improved it....

2011-05-10T17:52:00.000-07:00

Remember that piece I did called "The Chasers?" A few months ago I felt it needed some work, and I wasn't happy about it, so I made some minor adjustments. I reworked the details on the fish and 'chaser' creatures, and reworked the bubbles. I thought it would be fun to work with a mixed media this time, so for the details on the bubbles I used colored pencil instead of paint.

Well it's about freakin' time!

2011-05-09T19:25:00.000-07:00

My scanner has finally arrived, after a much long wait. Now I am back in business, ready to promote again. Good things come to those who wait, of course, but as an artist, I feel handicapped without access to certain devices. This is another piece to add to my 'Weird Creatures Museum' collection. I don't know what to name her yet. She is a cat fish, fully equipped with a horn, much like the 'Unicat.' She lives in the depths of the Mediterranean Sea, or is it an Ocean? Anyway, last year I took the opportunity to travel to southern Spain and Morocco. I always wanted to go there, because I was well aware of their beautiful architecture, and I wanted to see it in real life. I love the style, and I felt it would be important to allow its moment to shine, in this illustration.

Weird Creature

2011-04-06T17:54:00.000-07:00

A little something that came out of my brain last night. Not sure what to call this. Scanner doesn't work, so I had to use the camera.

Queen of Hearts

2011-03-07T19:11:00.000-08:00

So...I've been working on an idea to create a set of Face Cards with my artwork on it. This is the one I have completed so far. Not sure how I will do this because this could mean for high costs of printing and lots of setup fees. Who knows.

New Website it up!

2011-01-22T15:18:00.001-08:00

Meowy Kwissmiss!

2010-12-23T18:21:00.000-08:00

2010-11-30T19:42:00.000-08:00

Museum of Weird Creatures: The Chasers. Better watch out. These curious little underwater pests are attracted to any living creature that passes by. They will follow anything that comes they're way. Better get moving, because they are fast. Their narrow little bodies can zip through any obstruction that comes their way.

Eyeballs...They Come to Life!

2010-11-21T14:40:00.000-08:00

So, remember that painting I did way back when...where he was surrounded by fish and all these different colored wisps. Well I didn't really like it and I felt like I needed to redo it somehow, and this idea just came to me and hit me over the head and I thought.."Well duh. Eyeball balloons with lazers...it's perfect." Plus it tells this story, like the eyeballs are supposed to be balloons, but because of the music and the atmosphere that a Muse Concert creates, the eyeballs just come to life. You like?

My Pumpkins. You like?

2010-10-23T22:58:00.001-07:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year

Drawing of the Day

2010-10-19T19:10:00.001-07:00

Loosely based on Botticelli's 'Birth of Venus'

Drawing of the Day

2010-10-17T13:47:00.001-07:00

The Coral Bed

Drawing of the Day

2010-10-16T18:24:00.000-07:00

What happens in the ocean...stays in the ocean.

2010-08-03T19:39:00.001-07:00

I loved doing this one. He is one of my favorite musicians. I like to consider this celebrating music with painting.

Museum of Weird Creatures - Silly animals....reality is for the birds.

2010-07-13T18:54:00.000-07:00

The Octy-Fishy
Not sure what to name this.
The Great Horned Snail. Can you go wrong with a Great Horned Snail?

2010-06-10T18:49:00.001-07:00

This is MY Ship!!!!! Get off MY Ship!!!!!

Ugly Bug Ball....Complete!!!!

2010-05-07T18:31:00.000-07:00

Sketch for next project

2010-02-24T19:18:00.000-08:00

Not sure what to do for a background. Suggestions????

My lastest and greatest works of art.

2010-02-07T15:16:00.001-08:00

Above: The true meaning of Valentines Day. Below: Brown-Chicken-Brown-Cow.

Merry Christmas!!!!!

2009-12-25T18:02:00.001-08:00

Illustration Friday: Undone

2009-12-22T20:24:00.000-08:00

I hate it when this happens. Hopefully with the stress of the holidays we can all still remain in tact. Don't let this happen to you.

IF: Unbalanced

2009-11-19T21:15:00.000-08:00

This is a rather unbalanced situation. Fish got to swim, and so do the birds. I felt adding Scuba gear to the Peacock was kind of cramping my style, so we just pretend that he can breathe under water. That's what makes being an illustrator so much fun.

Museum of Weird Creatures: "The Devil Fish"

2009-10-30T21:43:00.001-07:00

Happy Helloween Everyone!

It's Done!

2009-05-31T10:36:00.000-07:00

Well actually, I finished this last month, but haven't posted it yet. This is the 'Real Tori Fan Club.' Part two to my Museum of Weird Creatures project. Stick around for more!

Illustration Friday : Legendary

2009-03-16T18:19:00.000-07:00

This is the Unicat. This item is a start to the Fancy Cat Collection in my Museum of Weird Creatures Project.

Illustration Friday : Voices

2008-12-20T20:11:00.001-08:00

These three men have the best voices in the best rock bands ever! This would not be possible without them.

Illustration Friday: Balloon

2008-12-04T19:37:00.000-08:00

Yeah..... this is pretty much what happens when Kittie has too much "puffer" fish! Happy Illustration Friday!

Happy Halloween

2008-10-19T18:01:00.000-07:00

Here is another one. I love Halloween. I love Painting!

Something Wicked This Way Comes

2008-10-19T17:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Time to Find Some Dinner!

2008-10-05T13:56:00.000-07:00

I've neglected my blog, and have finally gotten around to scan in some projects I've been working on. This is one of them. It's been a crazy summer. I've wanted to work on a piece that involved lizards. This piece was inspired by my commute to and from work everyday. I always drive past duck ponds when I go home through the industrial park in my hometown of Springville, Utah. I particularly like to see the heard of Geese that stand in a group sticking their bills up in the air in a rather pompous fashion. When my sister saw the concept drawings, she wondered if it was an illustration about what would happen if Aflac decided to buy out Geico.

IF: Electricity

2008-05-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

"Fish in a Plasma Bowl: This'll wake 'em up!"

What the Prey Would Pray For

2008-04-25T20:03:00.000-07:00

Or: "Going to My Happy Place"

"That's right little bunny. Just nibble his bum!"

Whenever you are being picked on by something larger than you, there is only one place to go: Your happy place.

Illustration Friday: Soar

2008-01-03T18:07:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know. Black and Gray Cats normally don't have pink noses, or pink feet padding, but this one does. He's even got wings. He's a Bird! He's a Plane! He's Super Kitty!

Illustration Friday: Excess

2007-12-03T19:00:00.000-08:00

Yeah.. I know I posted this before, but I've decided to make it the "Excess" project as well. This cat definitely has the excess of Christmas decor.

Meowy Kwismiss!

2007-12-01T15:11:00.000-08:00

The painting on top is my latest Meowy Kwismiss piece. The image below is the one I made last year in pen and colored in Photoshop. Remember to keep your furr ball away from your tree this Christmas. This is why I don't have a cat. Meowy Kwismiss everyone!

Illustration Friday: Scales

2007-11-12T17:14:00.000-08:00

I don't know what I would do without such great topics! This one was a mixed media experiment with Acrylic paint and Prismacolor colored pencils.

Illustration Friday: Grow

2007-10-25T20:33:00.001-07:00

This is what I came up with last minute.

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-24T18:52:00.000-07:00

Please be nice to your pumpkins this Halloween.

Sketches from the Kitty Rock Band piece

2007-09-30T17:26:00.000-07:00

These images represent some of the challenges I faced with working on this piece. As you know, Cats do not have opposable thumbs, and in order to present them playing in a rock band, I had to draw them as if they do. Unfortunately, you can't see the best in the painting, because of the size. Also, when I put the drumming cat on the painting, the one hand where you can see the opposable thumb best had to be covered up by drums when I put him in the illustration.

Kitty Rock Band

2007-09-24T17:54:00.000-07:00

"Oh yeah, we're gonna fry some serious bass onstage!"

Illustration Friday: Geeky

2007-07-12T16:20:00.001-07:00

It seems fish have been one of my favorite subjects for an illustration. You can do so much with them.

Cat and the Fiddle: Home for dinner.

2007-07-06T19:34:00.000-07:00

This one is a sequel to my "Cat and the Fiddle" project. In the last illustration, I couldn't add the part with the dish running away with the spoon because somehow I couldn't find a way to fit it, so I replaced it with the fish singing a "bubbly tune." This time I found a better way to do it. I'm not much of a writer. I only think in pictures.

My Latest Developments

2007-07-06T18:39:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog! This is where you can view my latest developments. Someday they will eventually be added to my portfolio page, when I can find room for them.