Creative Word #6: Shalala (Black and White)

The Shala singing his "La", in black and white. Let the color fun times begin!

Creative Word #6: Shalala

This illustration was inspired by the word "Shalala", submitted by Richelle. A Shalala is a magical story that is sung by a tribe of bears called the Shala that live inside majestic cloud kingdoms in the sky. Each song creates tiny clouds that carry bear cubs off to far corners of a distant world where new kingdoms are formed and new stories are told.

My last creative word illustration was last October and that is hard to believe! Where has the time gone? Life has been very busy and I am finally finding some time to spend drawing on personal projects again. :)

Just to recap, the creative word project is fueled by words submitted to me by you. I take each word and make up a simple story/description and illustration starting with a sketch and finishing with a completed full color image. So just leave a word in the comments below and I will add it to my list! Thanks!

The Gandys' New House

In 2012, two of my close friends purchased their first house. Here is the illustration that I created for them to commemorate that occasion. If you look closely you will see their two cats watching from the window. <3

Full Illustration 

Close up of the couple

Kitties! <3

Creative Word #5: Daboobadju Finished

Daboobadju

Jaime's word is finished!

Richelle's word, Shalala, is next.

Creative Word #5: Daboobadju (Black and White)

Daboobadju, black and white line work completed in Illustrator. 

Now it is time to focus on color.

Creative Word #5: Daboobadju

Jaime's word, Daboobadju, is the name of a magical totem that is a statue by day and a living creature by night. Legend has it that Daboobadju visits villages throughout the night softly beating his drum to chase evil spirits away.

Creative Word #4: Noxmunk Finished

Noxmunk

Ashley's word is finished!

Jaime's word, Boobadju, is next.

Creative Word #4: Noxmunk

The Noxmunk is a mysterious critter that is thought to be a distant relative of the chipmunk, chinchilla and skunk. (In make believe land anything is possible!) They are considered to be very lucky and are extremely soft. Also, Noxmunks do not stink, they just have a very long fluffy tail that closely resembles the tail of a skunk. When it is chilly outside they wrap themselves up in their tails to keep warm. How adorable!

Noxmunk is Ashley's word. I've included the initial thumbnail sketch in the top left to show the development from idea to the final rough drawing. The next step is to finalize this little critter in Adobe Illustrator. Stay tuned. ^_^

I used to call these drawings "silly word doodles"... but they have been so many things and not all of them have been silly. So I am changing the word "silly" to "creative". I'm also changing "doodles" to "illustrations" since they start with a doodle and finish with a completed illustration.

Creative Word #3: The Crombler (Finished)

Another Silly Word exercise finished. In case it hasn't been stated enough, do NOT eat this dessert. It's gone bad. Very bad. On to Silly Word #4: Noxmunk!

Creative Word #3: The Crombler (Transition)

How does a dessert go bad? Perhaps it happens overnight? Here is the Crombler illustration in progress. I've been super busy this weekend and haven't had much time to devote to him. Let's hope that the drawing doesn't go bad before I complete it!

Creative Word #3: The Crombler

This is why you don't make cobbler with bad fruit. Be warned. (Crombler is Larry's word. A color version based on this sketch will be coming soon.)

Sketchbook 1 Inked

I have a couple of ideas rolling in the back of my head for the next silly word, "Crombler," so that sketch is coming soon. In the meantime I have taken the sketches from this post and inked them in Adobe Illustrator. I'm using a custom calligraphic brush with a size of 2, pressure sensitive (using a Wacom tablet and stylus) with a variation of 2. I typically work in two different modes, illustrations with lines, and illustrations without lines. I am in a "liney" kind of mood so this exercise starts with strokes created with the paintbrush tool. More to come...

Jez's Birthday

It's Jez's birthday and tonight we celebrate with drinks and Mexican food! Yum! Jez has a fabulously dapper cat who looks very fashionable in his black tie and hat. Stay Awesome, Jez! Happy Birthday!

Sketchbook 1

A few sketches from my current sketchbook. 

Creative Word #2: Flumperscoot Color

Isn't he so soft and peaceful? These color versions of these silly word sketches are just the tip of what I can imagine. I'm looking forward to doing some more complex illustrations in the future with my new friends. For now I am on to the next word!

The next one is Larry's word, Crombler!