Quick Draw Ideas

This blog is slowly transforming with time and I'm learning to readjust along side. I really like the concept of working towards printing a tangible book around the end of this year and the concepts are more going to stand as benchmarks as we work towards that goal; showing our progress along the way. Are you guys okay with that? All in favor say Ay!

In light of that slight variation that has really already started creeping in I wanted to morph the random contests from before into a weekly quick draw contest where a shorter period of time was given for a quick drawing of an idea/illustration. We're talking like a week or two weeks per time period. What do you think about that idea? These pictures would be more rough and more centered on content and presentation than the depths to which you develop them. We don't want pieces that will hang in the Louve but pictures to explore composition and concepts. Marksmanship can reach your own prefered level. Let me know what you think.

Illustration Workshop Entries - Concept

Here we have the 3 entries for our children's book illustration challenge. The three entries are going to be developed and, with collaboration through the blog, we will help the illustrators work these concepts down to a finalized book in the fall, ready to print. Thank you for your continual interest, you guys make this fun for me and I hope you feel the same way. Let's get working! Leave a bunch of comment dialogue to begin this process.

Story Concept) Kristi G.


So here is my book idea. It is very rough - so don't expect a lot right now. I want to make a very girly book with lots of pink and glitter, but would also like to contrast that with boy-ish stuff too. There are a lot of girl specific and boy specific books out, but not many celebrating both together. I would like to show off both sides and also maybe show the wonderful differences between first, second, and third children. The idea is of a group of three little boys coming over for a play date to a house of three little girls. At first they are excited to see each other, but they can not agree on what to play together. Once it seems hopeless, they see a swing set in the background. Then they decide on lots of things they can play together. By the time they go, the girls are wearing some of the pirate gear the boys were wearing at the beginning of the book, and they boys have babies and wands in tote. I want the pictures to do most of the talking and would like it easy for beginning readers, so each page will have one to two words. Here are the words I have come up with for each page so far. 1.Playdate!! 2.Princess? 3.No, Pirates! 4.Karate? 5.No, Ballet! 6. Babies!Barbies! Cars!trains! 7.Bouquets! Mud! 8. (no words, just some frustrated faces and some looking hopefully at the swings) 9.Swing! 10.crafts! 11.Music! 12. books! 13. see you soon.

I am going to have to do some research on boys. I have found that while sketching some ideas, I did not know what boys wear, how to draw their hair, how to draw a car let alone how to draw a boy playing with it.


Story Concept) Scott W.

Well since Kristi and her girls liked the bubble girl so much (Becca said her name should be Heather) I realized I have a story here. Here are some ideas so far (feel free to add and remove any ideas): The moment she meets her bubble friend, a struggle begins: to save her friend from popping. She tries a leaf and her mom lends a fan...Wind also aids in sending them on a small chase through a field (past a windmill) and into a river. She finally catches the bubble in a jar with the fan underneath so the bubble friend can hover. But the bubble friend, excited to be reunited with his friend, tries to fly through the glass and "pop!" Devastated to lose her friend, the girl drifts down the river on her piece of wood until she hears something on the banks and sees a little boy chasing his own bubble friend, together they help preserve that bubble's life and then later build a house where bubble friends can live longer lives.

All comments desired...I'd especially love to hear all the bubble ideas Kristi and her girls came up with.


Story Concept) Nate S.

The story I’m working on currently is centered on a new fairy learning how to fit into the world around her. Her job is hard and not exactly what she would love to be doing so eventually she finds she needs to put her personality and vitality into what she does and badabing badaboom; there you have the true story of the Tooth Fairy and how she came to be. I really envision it being a magical journey for the young fairy and hope to dispel some misunderstandings that we humans have from the media. My inspiration for this story comes from the writing style and illustrations in the old classic Winnie the Pooh story. I love reading that book to my little girl and I want to make a book that I can read to her. I’m afraid I may be too vague but ask questions if you have some and I’ll gladly answer as long as I don’t give away the conclusion. Please let me know what you think.

Mommy and Me Illustration Contest

Here are the Mommy and Me Dance Time Illustration Contest entries. Feel free to give your input. The contest winner will be determined by the blog's writer. She will notify you with details on illustrating her latest blog entry. Thank you for your entries and interest. I hope you're working hard into the next contest...you have only two days. Keep up the great work.

Kristi G.

Liezl G.

Nate S.

(Just so you know: the writer of Mommy and Me Dance Time is my wife so I'm not actually in the running for the contest. I just wanted to participate and show what my brain saw for this contest and show my support for our regular contestants.)

Illustration Workshop Challenge

Let's really get working now towards a goal. I'm working on writting a 10 lesson course on illustrating your own children's book, the first lesson came out a couple of weeks ago and was centered around the concept. A running contest will we have throughout the rest of the year will be illustrating your first children's book (assuming you haven't already done so).

I am so excited to work towards this goal as a group and find out what you to bring to the table as we learn as a group. Please leave comments filled with your ideas and answer eachothers' questions as we try to find something worthy of our time and talents. Come up with your own ideas and we'll work together to make them into something to be proud of.

I am going to try and have the lessons move forward in 2 week time periods. The Challenge will move along with them towards October, the expected date of completion. These books can be anything from a book filled with only pictures to a book with lengthy word use with pictures to complement. Get working though and we'll worry about the legistics later.

Get drawing out ideas if you haven't already started. Deadline: May 22nd, midnight.

Newest Illustration Contest

Welcome friends to the newest quick challenge. Your mission will be to check out the blog http://www.mommyandmedancetime.blogspot.com/ and come up with a series of 3 illustrations for this week's newest Tutu Tuesday post. I have the permission of the author of the blog to do such a contest so don't feel shy. You can draw over the photo's if you like, take out detail, stylize the pictures, whatever you feel. The purpose of this challenge is to familiarize yourself with the inside world of being an illustrator.

Normally you would be given a project to illustrate, one you would not have much of a say over. Let's try out a challenge where you have less of a say over what you're doing but can decide how you're doing it. Put forward your best work as the winer of this challenge will have their illustrations used on the Mommy and Me Dance Time blog to illustrate the week's lesson. You will have one week to finish this challenge.

Due date: May 20th at midnight

Our Funny Friends Contest

Great work everyone! I enjoyed the subject for this contest and it looks to me like you guys did as well. Thanks for participating. Here were our entries:

Kristi G. - I was thinking this girl would have come back from a trip to the aquarium with a perfect pink pet named Sparky, but I don't want it to seem like she stole it. Maybe she found her on the beach. I am pleased with it, but I am afraid Sparky looks more like an octopus - like the one on Nemo.

Liezl G. - Liezl has created two small beans (size and color of pinto beans) that live inside her head. They have a zipper that they use to leave their brain house to visit Liezl's shoulder when she is bored at school.

Nate S. - This one is really rough. Just wanted to get a depth of size comparison. It's based on this funny stuffed animal that my little baby girl has: a pink monster that must be a dragon because it has wings on back that flap as it sings. Just playing around with the idea of her meeting the dragon full size.

Nate S. - I used to draw dragons all the time when I was younger. This is a look back to those days.

Nate S. - Ever wished you had an imaginary friend that could go do your daily tasks in your place? I was just playing around with that idea and sketced out this gorilla doing work for someone else.

Nate S. - I've been sketching in an idea of a boy that builds a time machine to go back and hopefully make friends with famous people of the past like in this picture when he wants to go meet a viking.

Quincy G. - Quincy decided she needed to create a robot that eats her vegetables for her. Very clever, even though she loves eating veggies.

Scott W.