Giraffe Nursery Art

I love this giraffe baby saying hello to his mom. It would be adorable in a nursery! Now one of my friends just need to have a baby.
If you want a print for your own nursery you can find one here: http://christy-beckwith.artistwebsites.com/featured/baby-giraffe-nursery-art-christy-beckwith.html

A Very Beckwith Christmas

When Chris and I were first married we didn't have much money and lived in a tiny apartment. Our first Christmas together we decorated one of our house plants with handmade ornaments. Even though we live in a much bigger house and have space and money for a real tree we still decorate a houseplant with the same handmade ornaments. This year we decorated the avocado tree we grew from a seed.

Are there any special ornaments on your tree this year?

Nile River Illustration

 I'm working on a new illustration for Winter Promise. It's part of their popular Sea and Sky curriculum. It is for the section on Egyptian boats and travel on the Nile. 

 

I started with a rough sketch and scanned it in. 

 

I started blocking in the color making. 

 

Then I refined the details and deepened the shadows, brightened the highlights and added reflected color. I would show you the whole image but I'm still cleaning it up. 

Illustration Friday: Mirror

I have another picture from Winter Promise for Illustration Friday today. I've been very busy doing work for them. This is Tatty and Buster using Silver Lake as a mirror.

Illustration Friday: Book

For illustration Friday this week I have a little illustration of Tatty the mouse reading a book about vikings. Tatty is one of my favorite characters I've gotten to draw for Winter Promise. She is shy and timid but loved and protected by all the other critters.

Mystery Book for Kids

Do your kids love a good mystery? Then they will love The Great Gumshoe: Case of the Missing Bear. I illustrated the book for Travelers Trunk Publishing. It was such a fun project.

"Teddy is Missing! Charlotte can't imagine her life without her best friend. She must get him back, so she enlists the aid of the most famous kid detective, the Great Gumshoe. Together they search the town for clues. Will they find Teddy? Will Charlotte ever play with her best friend again? The Great Gumshoe must use all of his skills to track Teddy down. This is a fun and fast paced detective story. In the 1930's, there were no high-tech gadgets to unravel the mystery. The Great Gumshoe must rely on his magnifying glass, quick wit, and powers of observation to solve the case. The Great Gumshoe is an 8 X 8, 32 page picture book. It is recommended for ages 4 to 7 years old"

Illustration Friday: Burst

Waiting for the bubble to burst.

I Hope You Know

Today I have an image from a book I worked on this spring. It is now available for purchase at http://www.ihopeyouknowbook.com/.  
I Hope You Know is a poem book and is easy for kids of all ages to enjoy. The messages in the book are simple and clear, and they are the most basic things our children should know as they leave our homes each day.

Mouse sleeping

I'm still doing a lot of work for Winter Promise. This little image is for their LA2 Reader.

Children's Book Illustration

The best thing about being an illustrator is that every job is fun and different in it's own way. I loved working on the illustrations for Hole Up in a Homemade Hideaway for Winter Promise.

Inspired By Time

My Favorite Things just released another stamp set I worked on. It's called Inspired by Time. Head on over to http://www.mftstamps.com/blog/?p=11748 to see the whole set. There are some special release goodies too that you wont want to miss.

Fairy Stamp

I've been working on a new stamp set for My Favorite Things the past couple days. I can't show you what I'm working on right now but I can show you the set that was just released. It's called Fairy Dust. You can check it out over at http://www.mftstamps.com/blog/?p=11745 along with all their other exciting releases.

Chiaroscuro

Louie the duck.

Chiaroscuro literally means light and dark. Some objects in the image are very dark while others are beautifully lit. I've always loved chiaroscuro and when my two year old wanted me to take pictures of some of his favorite toys I decided to give it a try. I don't consider myself a photographer. I just have fun and snap lots of pictures for inspiration. I don't have any fancy photography equipment. In fact, all I used for these shots was a window, an iPhone and a very giggly two year old. I think they turned out rather nice.

The Wes man. 

I love the bright shimmer of his hair and the fact that you can't see the messy playroom behind him. 

Mr. Bear

A little worn, a little matted but full of love (and probably boogers).

Here is how to create some of your own chiaroscuro photos:

1. Select a window with very bright direct sunlight. I chose a window on the West side of our house just before sunset. 
2. Place your subject in the middle of the beam of light. 
3. Set your exposure to the brightest area on your subject. If you are using an iPhone like I did tap the screen so that the blue focus box is on the brightest area. Wait. You should see the exposure change so that the background appears darker and you can see detail in the highlights.
4. Crop and adjust the contrast if needed. I only had to tweak these photos slightly so that the background was true black.

If you need a visual Mr. Giraffe has volunteered to be an example.

Well done Mr. Giraffe. 

Post links to your photos in the comments if you decide to try this. I would love to see them!

Bunny Character

I'm working on more illustrations for Winter Promise. The stories for their readers are cute and full of characters. It can be difficult to bring life and personality to each character. I try to include siple elements to make each character unique. This bunny is Aunt Lacey. She is nice but proper and defiantly dislikes clumsy porcupines who walk through her washing. I gave her pearls and an apron for her proper, organized side and a cheery sunflower to show she isn't disapproving all the time.

I Love Cake

 

It's true. I do love cake but I also love my son and learning new things. I thought this picture of Wes was adorable so I popped it into Photoshop, brightened the colors and added text. I just couldn't find the typeface I pictured in my mind. I normally stay away from hand lettering because of my terrible penmanship but I live in a create-everyday-try-new-things world now so I gave it a shot. I created a new calligraphic pen in Illustrator and drew the letters on the angle I wanted. I think it turned out nice but I have a lot more to learn.

Small Dog = Big Personality

Here is today's creation for you. Why is it that small dogs always have the biggest personalities?

Rat Cop

I've mentioned how much I like illustrating for Winter Promise. If you needed one more example of why it's so fun here you go. Rat Cop. That's right I got to draw a rat as a cop. Too fun!

Fawn Illustration

I have another Winter Promise illustration for you today. They sure keep me busy! This sweet creature is Fawn. She's lost her mother. Can the creatures of Pine Hollow help her? I hope so!

Fox Illustration

I've been doing a lot of work for Winter Promise. They are creating new language arts workbooks and I've been doing all the illustrations. The stories are fun and the characters are adorable. I'm really enjoying it. This sneaky guy is Rascal Dickens, a troublesome fox bent on pestering the little critters in Pine Hollow.

Rock and Roll Nursery Art

I love lime and navy for a baby boy's room. If we have another baby maybe we will do a rock and roll themed nursery.

Coral

One of my favorite trendy colors is coral. I have no love for coral on it's own especially in clothing. It tends to really bring out the blue in my skin tones and make me look a bit corpsey (is that a word?) But pair coral with mint, aqua, dusty blue or warm grey put it on a pillow or a card and I'll snap it up in a second.  

Here is some actual coral that resides in my bathroom.

 

One Creative Year

Who: I'm Christy Beckwith an illustrator, graphic designer, greeting card writer and mother of two little boys. I love to create visual imagery that is whimsical, charming and oftentimes humorous.

What: One Creative Year is a personal blog project where I have challenged myself and anyone who will join me to create something everyday for one year. It doesn't have to be big. It doesn't have to be good. It just has to be a daily process.

Why: Great idea aren't born in a vacuum they come through hard work, talking to others and a lot of just plain doing. Committing to creating something everyday is the first step in becoming great at your craft. I plan to use this year to explore new methods of image creation, new patterns, textures and unexpected color combinations.What do you want to be better at a year from now? What have you always wanted to try but never dared? Now is the time to try. If you fail you can just make something new tomorrow.

How: If you want join me place the image below with a link to this page then send me an email with your blog link. I'll post your link in my sidebar. Then create and post your work and check back here often for inspirational posts and creative discussions.

Elephant Nursery Art for William

 

Custom Elephant Nursery Art Boy or Girl Poster by ChristyBeckwith
More Nursery Posters

I made a little elephant poster for William today. You can have one too if you like. Just click the image and edit the text. Hope you like it!

Illustration Friday: Teacher

I have several friends and family members who are teachers. I don't know how they do it. I've been in front of a classroom full of children. It's terrifying. I am in complete awe of any one who can be at ease in a classroom setting and who can teach children with energy and passion. That is truly an art.

The Ugliest Bunny