Author Archives: Dani

Christmas Coloring Book

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Dani

I made these illustrations for a company called LDS Mobile Apps for an app called LDS Coloring Book. It is a digital coloring book for the iPad and iPhone. These images are part of an extra set that they are selling for Christmastime.

Posted in Artwork, News | Tagged Black Line Work, Client Work, Illustrations | Leave a comment

Doctor Who Christmas Carol Fan Art

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Dani

This is a piece of fan art I made based on last year’s Doctor Who Christmas special, A Christmas Carol. I love this episode! It has quickly become one of my favorite things to watch around the holidays. I recently re-watched it, and I might have to do so again before the season is over. It is brilliant. Thanks Steven Moffat.

You can check out the entire painting process in the vid below. It was done in Photoshop. Actual painting time was around four hours.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRgNHdMWn-I

And for your further enjoyment:

Watch it if you haven’t yet! [iTunes]

Merry Christmas!

Posted in Artwork, Process, Videos | Tagged Adobe Photoshop, Fan Art, Process, Videos | 6 Comments

Building an Artist’s Website with WordPress

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Dani

I’m finally going to answer, in depth, one of the most common questions I’ve gotten over the past few years – how did I build my website?

Most artists ask me this because they want to know a) how I built my portfolio gallery or b) how I integrated my blog into my website. I will attempt to answer both of those questions.

Continue reading →

Posted in Tutorials | Tagged Web Portfolios, Websites, Wordpress | 5 Comments

Womanthology

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Dani

I had the opportunity to contribute to a project called Womanthology. It is an anthology graphic novel featuring stories written, illustrated, edited, and organized all by women. Over 140 people have worked on this book, including everyone from young girls to industry professionals. It is being released under IDW publishing and all the proceeds from this book will go to charity.

I worked on a four-page story called “Swimming” by Ashley Avard. It is a simple yet powerful story and I’m proud to have worked on it.

You can pre-order the Womanthology book and the accompanying process sketchbook now on Amazon. It will ship early next year. All profits go to the Global Giving Foundation.

Click to see the process behind my Womanthology comic

Posted in Artwork, News | Tagged Comics, News, Womanthology | Leave a comment

Picture This

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Dani

I am contributing to a new blog called Picture This. Check it out at http://justpicturethis.tumblr.com!

The other day, I was lamenting on Twitter how there are few art blogs out there that are highlighting children’s illustration. There’s a lot of general illustration blogs who only occasionally mention children’s illustration. Most emphasize editorial and contemporary stuff. I strongly hinted that someone should start a new site with a more kids lit flavor.

Casey Girard came to the rescue. Casey is the illustrator coordinator for NESCBWI. We decided to partner up and get a site running, and she has been kind enough to set it up.

We are going to use Picture This to post any news, links, events, and artwork related to children’s books that we find interesting. Please subscribe, follow, and share the site with your friends and help us spread the word!

Send Your Submissions!

We are opening Picture This to reader submissions. Just go to the Submit page and send us your links. We’ll post anything we find interesting.

Posted in News | Tagged Picture This | 1 Comment

How to Make It As An Artist

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Dani

I am extremely lucky to do what I do every day.

That being said, becoming an illustrator is not a big game of chance. I’m a firm believer that success as a working artist is just a splash of luck, a little bit of talent, and a lot of hard work and persistence.

“Making it” is a matter of PRACTICE and TIME. Lots of people say that the odds are slim you can make a living as an artist, but that’s only because most people are lacking one of those two elements. Do both, and your odds go up greatly. Granted, some people might have to practice harder, and others may need more time, but I believe most people can do it if they have enough drive.

Artists go through different stages. How you succeed depends on how you move from one stage to the next.

Continue reading →

Posted in Thoughts & Advice | Tagged Illustration Industry, Inspiration, Random Thoughts | 11 Comments

Sleepy Hollow Illustration Process

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Dani

On Halloween, I shared a new illustration that I recently finished featuring Ichabod Crane from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Here’s some of the process work that went into the painting:

The original sketch, drawn on a regular sheet of paper. I used a red pencil to rough it out and then went over it with a regular pencil line.