// illustration

Illustration

Characters, landscapes, and mandalas, drawn by hand in Procreate. The print side of the practice, beyond patterns: two of these are framed and hanging on my wall.

// On my wall
A girl with an orange ponytail walks a forest path, eyes closed, as butterflies drift through tall trees
Girl in the Forest A quiet walk through tall trees and butterflies. Printed 12×12.
Layered hills in magenta, teal, and green open onto a starry sky, where a tiny girl stands on a peak
Girl in Starlight Layer on layer of hills, and one small figure under a big sky. Printed 11×14.
Girl in Starlight in a bright colorblock colorway of purple, orange, teal, and yellow

Also drawn in a colorblock colorway, and built from separate layers, so it moves in parallax →

// The Worm Was Slow
A coral worm with a black collar stands on a sidewalk beside a road while a turtle strolls up behind him; hand lettering reads “The worm was slow…”

A picture book in progress

A 32-page picture book my husband and I are writing together. The worm was slow, slower than a turtle, and he did not like it one bit. So he tries everything: a special diet, harder training, roller skates coated in oil. Nope, nope, and nope. Until he has an idea.

The opening spread is finished in color, the middle of the book is inked, and the ending is still on the sticky-note storyboard.

Watch the whole story as an animatic →

The story so far

  1. A turtle says “Excuse me!” as it passes a line-drawn worm on the sidewalk
    Slower than a turtle!
  2. A close-up of the worm with droopy eyes and a tear
    He did not like being slow.
  3. The worm grins, dreaming of himself zooming through the sky
    He wanted to be fast.
  4. The worm eats a big bowl of salad at a table by the window
    Maybe if he ate a special diet?
  5. A speed gun reads 0 MPH as the sweating worm wriggles past
    Nope.
  6. The worm, in a headband, sweats on a treadmill
    Maybe if he trained harder?
  7. In a race, a snail and a turtle head for the finish line far ahead of the worm
    Nope.
  8. The worm imagines roller skates, a can of oil, and a mountain
    Maybe roller skates, coated in oil, sliding down a mountain?
  9. Sticky-note sketch: an ambulance
    Nope.Sticky-note storyboard
  10. Sticky-note sketch: the worm alone in his burrow underground
    Worms are just slow.Sticky-note storyboard
  11. Sticky-note sketch: the worm opens a box labeled Turbo
    Wait a minute… That’s it!Sticky-note storyboard
  12. Sticky-note sketch: the worm drives a race car past the turtle
    See you later, Slowy McSlowertons!Sticky-note storyboard

How it was planned

Thirteen sticky-note thumbnails on a gray wall, laying out the whole story from the sidewalk to the race car
The whole book on sticky notes, before any page was drawn.
A pencil character sheet for the worm: sad, shocked, eating, and surprised faces, with storyboard thumbnails
Character development: his sad face, his shocked look, his eating face.
The character sheet coming together, sketch by sketch.
// More illustration
A smiling woman in a sun hat and overalls holding a bouquet of flowers
Garden Lady
A girl reading a book, sitting among tulips
Happy Space
A radial mandala of tiny buildings on a deep blue background
CityScape
A symmetrical abstract of curving shapes in pink, yellow, and purple
For the Love of Art
A symmetrical abstract of curving shapes in coral, navy, and blush
Abstract No. 2
A pastel art nouveau composition of mirrored wing-like shapes
Pop of Art
A line drawing of a calm face framed by swirls and hanging dots
Peaceful Zen
A black-and-white mandala of layered rose petals
Rose Mandala
Coloring pages, ColorStrips, and contour drawings in Passion Projects →