Hey All!

I am so relieved that Inktober is finally over for 2022. It’s a fun challenge, but I am always happy when it’s finished.

This year, instead of following the prompts, I worked on just one piece for the entire month. If you haven’t seen the finished piece, head over to my social media pages and check it out! (@sandra.illustrates)

So, what have I been up to since then?

• Character Designs for a Chapter Book
• Sketching the male head
• Revising a new Manuscript

Last month, my daughter and I read a fantastic book by Lindsay Eager called Race to the Bottom of the Sea. A middle grade novel about pirates, treasure, mysteries, and CANDY! Needless to say, this was written for me.
I was so inspired that I even decided to design what I thought the characters would look like! Head over to my social media pages to see them (@sandra.illustrates) and check out more work from Lindsay Eager!! (@lindsaymccall on Twitter)

A middle grade novel about pirates, treasure, mysteries, and CANDY! Needless to say, this was written for me.

As I was designing the characters for the above-mentioned book, I realized something— I don’t know how to draw dudes.
I totally stink at it.
So, before starting the design for the main pirate-dude I figured I needed to practice. After watching some YouTube tutorials on the Loomis Method I got to work. I don’t have a finished male character yet, but here are some of my attempts at using the Loomis Method to create a masculine face:

Not super great yet, but practice makes progress!!

Last, but not least for this update, is the revision of a manuscript I’m working on that takes place in the ocean. I just sent that revision to my agent (Lynnette Novak at the Seymour Agency) and since I’m hoping to illustrate this one as well as write it, I’ve done some grayscale practice of underwater landscapes.

I followed the tutorial by Phillip Sue called Introduction to Landscapes at 21Draw, a great place to learn some new illustration skills. They have tons of great courses, so go check them out!

What are you working on? What kinds of artwork do you gravitate towards?
Let me know in the comments!

Happy creating!