A little teaser...

My blogs have been lacking lately, but trust me when I say it's not for lack of work! I've been drawing and painting my booty off working on The Mermaid and the Moon with Get Out Books. My deadline is two weeks away, and after that it's marketing, marketing, marketing before it's released this fall! I can't wait to see it in print. There's not much I can post yet, but I do have a few teasers that I can show you in the meantime. Enjoy! 

Moon's and Mermaids

Tax season is over which means one of my four jobs has come to an end, leaving me time to finally get started on "The Mermaid and the Moon," written by Susan Pace Koch and published by Get Out Books. I wanted to do a practice run/color study before I get started on the actual watercolor pieces, and below is the finished product. I was fortunate enough to have it be selected to be shown in AAU Children's Book Gallery show at Tr!ckster Gallery in Berkeley, starting May 3rd! 

Marnie the Mermaid Character Designs

I'm getting started on my very first book! Here are some of the character designs for "The Mermaid and the Moon," written by Susan Pace Koch and illustrated by yours truly. Pick your favorite! 

©Tracie Timmer 2014, All Rights Reserved. 

SCBWI Masthead Contest!

So this one was tricky… Website mastheads obviously have pretty thin dimensions, and within those I had to include imagery from Contra Costa, Alameda, Marin, and Napa counties. And also had to include kids in some way and incorporate the idea behind the Society of Children's Book Writer's and Illustrator's. Also had to include that big long title that you see in the image, and be able to make a smaller logo out of it, phew! So the idea I came up with was to have some kids painting a mural of the Bay Area.

In other news, I'm currently in the process of signing my first book contract! Look for "The Mermaid and the Moon," Written by Susan Pace Koch and illustrated by yours truly, Fall 2014!!

I've been working on a commission for someone who wanted to give his new bride a short 8-page book about their relationship as a wedding gift. I've devoted about two hours to each piece, so their all relatively quick digital illustrations. Here's what I've come up with so far:

From doing these pieces I've learned that I still have A LOT to learn when it comes to color, and I struggle a lot with drawing people in different poses, especially on a limited time-table. I really wish I lived in the city still so I could make it to the quick studies workshops. More to come soon!

My first CTN

Well! I survived my first CTN, and what an awesome experience it was. It was both awe-inspiring and overwhelming to be surrounded by so many amazing artists that I have studied and looked-up to for several years now. I wracked up the nerve to ask Steven Silver for a portfolio review (all while trying not to act too starstruck and awkward), and he was super nice and gave me a very straight-forward and helpful critique. I stood mere feet away from both Brittney Lee and Sean Galloway, and despite numerous attempts to edge my way in to chat/get a portfolio review, they were both (understandably) swamped with people doing the exact same thing as me. Did manage to snag me this Brittney Lee print though :) It was a tough call choosing between this or a mermaid print (if you know me you'd know I harbor a lifetime love of all things mermaid, thanks Disney). It's a testament to how much I miss San Francisco that I chose this one.

One of the first things we did upon arrival was go to Alina Chau's watercolor demo. She chose a model from the crowd, and thanks to my lacy, texture-y shirt, she chose me! She just happened to also choose my friend Joie Brown for her gesture sketch drawing. Aren't we special! Here's some of her beautiful work. 

I was also lucky enough to get a fast pass to the Drew Struzen panel. If you think you have no clue who Drew Struzen is, check yo'self. He's the guy who painted pretty much every illustrated movie poster/cover ever made. Think Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Basically, he's a living legend, and I got to sit through an illuminating Q&A with him. Sadly, his panel overlapped with Claire Keane's panel and Lorelay Bove's demo… Next year! 

Got in trouble for taking this pic…. worth it! 

I got to meet so many awesome people just walking around all the booths, and it was also like a mini AAU reunion with all the former classmates and teachers that I ran into. Miss those guys. Here's sampling of the many business cards I managed to snag. 

Until next year CTN! 

Cards and Con's!

I've been a busy girl. First and foremost, ART. I've been working on getting my dragon card line down in time for multiple events over the next two months, the most important one being APE! Come look for me and my cards at the AAU children's book table October 12-13 at the Concourse Convention center in SOMA, SF. I'll be selling boxed packs of thank you cards ($15) and single birthday and thank you cards ($3). Here are the two most recent cards.

In addition to the artistic frenzy, I've had a lot of exciting events happen since my last post. One being that I got a job at a paint-and-sip studio called Canvas and Cabernet, where we teach you how to paint and drink copious amounts of wine at the same time ;). So far it's a lot of fun, and I'm hoping to be able to teach there after my 30 days are up. If you're in the area, come in and sign up for a class! www.canvascabernet.com. I also started my second new job as an art teacher for kids one night a week! 

Jobs aside, my September - November is PACKED with art events. This past week, myself and twelve other AAU students/alumni got to go to Chronicle Books Publishing (http://www.chroniclebooks.com) for a tour and portfolio reviews! What an amazing opportunity that I may have never gotten otherwise, HUGE THANK YOU to my awesome former teacher/mentor Angela Dominguez (see her awesome illustrations here: http://www.andillustrations.com) for setting this up for us. The Chronicle building was AWESOME and seems like such a fun place to work, wish I could have taken pictures! Instead, here's one of my new portfolio and promo materials :)

Next was my first SCBWI San Francisco Conference! Another great learning experience, and listening to the Editor and Art Director from Chronicle and Random House, along with awesome Illustrator Melissa Sweet speak was inspirational. Also got a very helpful portfolio review from Illustrator/AAU teacher Julie Downing (check out her work here). The one picture I got is of Melissa Manlove (the editor at Chronicle who I also got to meet when we visited there) reading aloud Melissa Sweet's hilarious book "Little Red Writing". 

Last but not least, yesterday I worked at a booth at the Jelly Belly Candy Palooza Fest in Fairfield. I was invited by my director at Get Out Books Susan Pace-Koch, and had my cards for sale there. It was my first experience selling my stuff at any kind of event, and I learned a lot and hopefully made a few contacts :)

Also snagged a few sketches of some characters that were running around...

Now I get to take a much needed breather before the frenzy that will be APE in two weeks. Oh and by the way, check out my brand spankin' new website! :)