Shawna J.C. Tenney's Blog, page 5

Art Supply Robot Character Design

I designed this "art supply" robot for a friend. Here are also a bunch of the preliminary idea sketches. The idea was to have a robot with a part or parts made out of art supplies. My favorite ideas were the ones that either involved a paint tube or an air brush. I ended up using the air brush idea for the final. I liked the idea because the robot is not only a robot, but he is also the bottle of paint for the air brush. This was tons of fun! I love being inventive, and I hope to become better at it with even more practice!

Maquette Making Process Video!

As promised, here's the video of how I made my maquette out of wire, aluminum foil, and Sculpey (oven bake clay)! Now I can use this maquette of my character for reference of lighting and angles. You should make one too, and tell me about it!

Be a Vis Dev Children's Illustrator!

I am having lots of fun on my personal project!! I want to make sure I am doing all the prep work to make sure it's the best book I can make! I've learned a lot this year from Visual Development/Concept Artists about the importance of planning. My goodness, before this year, I had no idea what "Vis Dev" even meant!

As Seth Godin would put it in his book  Linchpin - this is "thrashing." It's important to thrash (or do all the exploring, bad work, and planning) at the beginning of the project or you will be doing bad thrashing at the end of your project (with bad results). Thrashing at the beginning will make everything much better in the long run. How will you know if you have the best solutions unless you explore many of them?

Above is what I finally came up with for my characters. I decided to make Sculpey maquettes of the characters to use for reference- lighting and angles etc. The proportions are not exact, but it gives me a good reference anyway. I will probably paint them soon. I am also going to post a video soon of how I made them. I also started doing some color studies of the main character- Brunhilda. This is so much fun, I am loving this!

Celebrating a Year at the Oatley Academy!

Chris Oatley at the Salt Lake Art Institute. My first attempt at being Cake Boss. Lol!


Jessie Kate Patterson, Scott Wiser, Chris Oatley and me.
Oatley Academy meet-up at the art museum!It's been one amazing year, being part of the Oatley Academy! Here's a shout out to Chris Oatley for all he has taught me and for all the ways he has helped and mentored me. I'm truly grateful! I made a robot cake (as seen above) for Chris last week when he stopped in Salt Lake for a short visit, which happened to be on the one year anniversary of the first class of the Oatley Academy, of which I was part! What an incredible year it has been. I have learned so much and have been inspired in so many ways, not only by Chris, but by all the students in this wonderful learning environment he has created. So here's a little show of thanks for all the great artistic growth! Thanks Chris, for helping me push harder and dig deeper than I ever have before. 

If you, reader, get the opportunity to take a class from the Oatley Academy, I encourage you to do so. Your art and life will be changed for the better.

Finding A House for My Characters

I'm house shopping for the characters of my personal picture book project! I've been trying out some different styles and shapes to find the right fit for the personality of my characters.

Something I've learned this year from my concept artist friends, is not to be afraid to draw and draw and draw- and work things out in thumbnails first. I have always drawn thumbnails, but before this year, I felt like it was waisting my time if I didn't figure things out in the first or second thumbnail. Now I know that I'm waisting my time if I don't try out more options. It's so encouraging and empowering to know that you don't have to get it right the first time- in fact you shouldn't!

The fun thing (and maybe a very challenging thing) about making a picture book, especially if it is your own personal project, is that the illustrator has to put an entire production together. As the illustrator, you have to be the character designer, the background designer, the color designer, the painter and the director all rolled up into one. All this stuff takes a lot of people in a movie production. But with a picture book, it's all you. Once you send things off the the publisher, things are a little more collaborative, but still, it's a lot of work on the illustrators part.

 It's a fun challenge to take on, and coming up with lots of ideas and thumbnails in the beginning stages will help your project be a lot more successful!  It's like real house shopping. How do you know you have the right house unless you look at a bunch before you make your choice?

Designing Some Characters

Drawing and drawing and drawing. Sometimes you just have to sketch and sketch and sketch until the character feels right. I feel like I am just starting to learn how to draw good characters. There is so much I don't know and need to learn! Fake it 'till you make it...right?  I just keep drawing. I'm trying to find a good fit for some characters I am working on for a children's book manuscript I have written. I hope to start narrowing it down soon, but for now I'm just trying to discover the right look by using as many different shapes as I can. This is only a few of the drawings I have done. I love the freedom of knowing you don't have to get it right the first time. And working on a personal project helps me have more passion for what I am doing! Just keep drawing, just keep drawing!

Which Online Illustration Class Should I Take?

I recently asked for questions and tutorial requests on my blog. I'll start with Joanne's question. Joanne says:

 "I have been looking into the multitude of reputable online classes for illustrators, but am having trouble deciding. How did you go about choosing Oatley Academy, and how can an illustrator get the most for their money from a course like this?"

Thanks for the question, Joanne. Last fall I took Painting Drama 1 from Chris Oatley at the Oatley Academy. I am now taking The Art of Personal Projects from Cory Godbey at The Lampost Guild. Each is a very different and unique experience, but both are a wonderful opportunity to learn from one of the top industry professionals. 

Always A Student...

First, let me say that there is a huge variety of classes being offered. I think many of these classes could benefit any artist. Even if you have been an illustrator for years. Maybe you think since you graduated with a BFA in illustration 10 years ago, and you have been working in the industry ever since, you don't need to take any more classes. Well, my friend, I believe every artist should always be a student. There is so much you can learn from another artist. Whether it be taking one of these amazing classes, or learning from the masters, or reading art books. We should always be trying to learn more, no matter where we are in our careers. Never before have we had these kind of opportunities- to take amazing art classes from some of the best in the industry. But with the internet, it's possible!

Which Class?

How do you choose who to take classes from and which classes to take? All the different online art schools are always offering different classes at different times. So what do you want to learn and when do you have time to take a class? You may feel that you don't ever have time to take a class because you are so busy working on freelance work, or you are busy with a day job. But try and make time to take a class. It will be well worth it.  

Which Teacher?

Who should you take classes from? Look at who is teaching classes. Do they produce amazing work? Are they inspiring to you, not only through their artwork, but also through their communication skills? Do the things they say resonate with you? Why did I choose to take my first online class from Chris Oatley? Well because I knew him through his podcasts and blog posts. He always inspired me. He made me want to be a better artist. So when he offered his first class, I knew that I wanted to learn from Chris. I wanted to take a class from Cory Godbey because he always produces amazing artwork. I bought one of his personal project books a while back, and I appreciated that he took time to personalize the book just for me. He always inspires me with the personal projects he produces.

A Lesson in Social Media...

This is also a lesson in social media, my friends. Always be giving. Always take time to inspire. Always produce great artwork, and publish it. I take classes from these people because I've already learned a lot from them, and I know they will be good teachers in a class setting. So if you see a class being offered, but you are not sure if you should take it or not, start following the teacher on his/her blog. Do they produce good artwork, and are the things they say inspiring to you? Then they will probably be a great teacher also!

How to Get Your Money's Worth

How can you get the most for your money from one of these classes? Work hard. Work dang hard. Put your heart and soul into learning. Do the work. Finish the work. If you get discouraged, don't give up. If you put in the work, you will grow leaps and bounds as an artist.

New Opportunities for Everyone

Something I've learned from talking to Chris Oatley and also Will Terry and Jake Parker, who just started a school, The School of Storytelling, is that they are all amazed at how many people are interested in these online classes, and how many countries from around the world are represented. A lot of people from around the world are hungry for this knowledge that comes from these industry pros. A lot of people around the world have never had many opportunities to receive good art education before, and now the internet has opened a whole new world for them. I hope you, my fellow artists, will see what a wonderful opportunity this is for you, and take advantage of a great illustration class out there!

Here's a Few Illustration Schools to Check Out!

List of just a few illustration schools, that are either taught by good reputable artists that I know, or have been recommended to me by fellow illustrators/concept artists:

Oatley Academy of Concept Art and Design
School of Visual Storytelling
The Lamp Post Guild
Concept Design Academy
Schoolism
CGMA
Drawing Tutorials Online
Ctrl+Paint

And The Winner Is...

Thank you so much to my five friends- Lucy Elliot, Luda Kiperberg, Joanne Roberts, Meedy, and John Calvin-  who entered the drawing for a free print! I really appreciate your questions and suggestions for videos, and I will try to answer all of them. The videos may take some time, but I promise to try and get to all of them. I stuck all the names in the bag and randomly picked out a name to win a free signed 11x 14 print. And the winner is...

Meedy!

But wait, there's more! Since there was only 5 entries, I decided to send a signed 8 x 10 print to ALL OF YOU (including Meedy- you can pick out a second print). Thank you so much for your participation, I really appreciate it! To get your print, please send your name and physical address to me at my email which is shawna(dot)tenney(at)gmail(dot)com. Then tell me which print you would like. It can be any of the ones seen above, or you can request a print of any of the illustrations on my website and I will let you know if that particular illustration is available for print. Please try to get me this information by the beginning of next week as I would like to send the prints out as soon as possible, and all in one trip if possible. Thanks my friends, for being awesome!

A Call Out For Your Industry and Technique Questions and a Signed Print Give-Away!

Hello friends far and near! I would like to make more video tutorials and blog posts to help you and answer any questions you might have. Do you have questions about the children's book publishing industry? About how making a children's book works? About Photoshop techniques? About my process? Is there someone you would like to see me interview? Ask me anything!

If you ask me a questions in the comments of this post, you will automatically be entered into a drawing for a free 11 x 14 signed print! Have your questions to me by midnight on Wednesday July 10th to be entered into the drawing. The winner of the drawing may choose from any of the prints seen above, or any other of my illustrations. Feel free to ask me questions here any time and I will see if I can answer them for you! Pass the word on to other artists who might be interested! Also, if you want to ask me a question, but aren't interested in being part of the drawing for the print, let me know. Happy summer, everyone!

Fun at Denver Comic Con

If you ever go to Denver Comic Con, you should...

Geek out with your hubby (if you should have one)...

Meditate under a giant blue bear's bum...

Meet your teacher, friend and mentor, Chris Oatley in person...

Hang out with some awesome artists at The Oatley Academy of Concept Art and Design booth...

Play a random blue piano in the middle of the street...

Check out all the fabulous costumes (and some not so fabulous costumes)...

Wear a monicle while talking with your friend AJ Nazarro- it will increase your IQ 50%...

Check out all the nerdy things, like the build your own Star Wars Droid station...

Get some geekilicious pictures with cartoon characters you used to watch when you were 4 years old...

Hang out with Chris Oatley at the kids art station...

Maybe record a mini-podcast with Chris, while you're at it...
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Listen to Chris record a live Paperwings Podcast with Doug TenNapel...

Eat exotic food with Warren Tenney at Little India...

Hang with good friends like Ian Johnston at the Hardrock Cafe...

And check out the Denver Chalk Art festival!