"Little Book of Doodles" and "Doodle Your Heart Out" - COMING SOON! #LBOD #DYHO

 I have two new coloring books coming out soon! I've created 50 pages of doodles, from simple to complex, for kids to color. I've included some pages for kids to create their own doodles. The books are the same inside, but the "Little Book of Doodles" is a small 6 x 9 version, making it easier to take with you when you are on the go, or to fit into Christmas stockings, and the "Doodle Your Heart Out" book is a full-sized 8 x 10 book, making it easier for kids to take their time coloring in the shapes and patterns. The larger size is also better for younger children.

The prices aren't too bad either. In the US, the "Little Book of doodles" will cost about $4.59, and it will cost about £2.94 in the UK. The "Doodle Your Heart Out" book will only cost around $4.99 in the US and £2.99 in the UK. These prices may change, but this is where they are set for now.

Here's a preview of the covers:

        

And here is a preview of some of the pages you will find inside the books:

   

I'll let everyone know as soon as the books become available for purchase! :)







Tweet

Doodle Day May Challenge!

A friend of mine, Alison K. Hertz, is hosting a challenge for the month of May called Doodle Day May. The challenge is to draw a doodle every day from May 1st through May 31st. Okay, she's an illustrator, so her doodles are probably going to be massively better than my own, but this should be fun anyway. My kids are going to join in and will be sharing their doodles on their own blogs.

Gabriella's blog is Gabriella's Art.

Isabella's blog is Isabella's Imagination.

Connor's blog is Spirit of Imagination.

Cameron's blog is Cameron's Creations.

The kids have been busy creating art, videos and stories often, but it has been over a year since I have helped them add anything to their blogs. And Gabby's blog, which used to be Gabby's Art, got deleted by Blogger for unexplained reasons, so all of the comments she had received on her many posts disappeared. I am trying to rebuild her blog as Gabriella's Art now, but it is slow going, and it's difficult to remember everything that she had posted on it previously. So this challenge will help me get back to helping my children keep their blogs up to date as well as get me to start practicing drawing again.

Tweet

Happy Halloween 2011!

Just a little Halloween doodle for you!



Tweet

Flying Butterfly Faery

I know I still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do before my art is any good, but here is my latest drawing of a fairy. I drew the wings first, and I think it would have been easier if I had drawn the fairy's body first.



Tweet

Mermaid Kneeling

I'm still not very skilled at drawing, but I enjoy trying and my kids always love what I come up with.



Tweet

Ballerina Faery

Here's a ballerina fairy flying that I drew by following the instructions in the How to Draw Fairies and Mermaids (Usborne Activities)
book. It didn't turn out the way I had hoped. I messed up a bit on the proportions and on the skirt, but I'm sharing it here anyway.



It can be bought in the US:


Or it can be bought in the UK:




Tweet
Tweet

Faery Dancing On A Toadstool

Here's a little fairy dancing on a toadstool that I drew by following the instructions in the How to Draw Fairies and Mermaids (Usborne Activities)
book.



It can be bought in the US:


Or it can be bought in the UK:





Tweet

Tulip Fairy

Here's a little fairy flying towards a tulip that I drew by following the instructions in the How to Draw Fairies and Mermaids (Usborne Activities)
book.



It can be bought in the US:


Or it can be bought in the UK:




Tweet

Rose Fairy

Here's a little fairy above a rose that I drew by following the instructions in the How to Draw Fairies and Mermaids (Usborne Activities)
book.



It can be bought in the US:


Or it can be bought in the UK:



Tweet

New Year's Mermaid Moon

Happy New Year! I hope 2011 will be a great year for everyone!

I was going to draw a little new year baby sleeping on a crescent moon, but my lack of drawing ability got in the way. I couldn't draw a baby that looked even slightly baby-like. So instead, I drew a mermaid on the moon, and here she is, complete with eraser marks.



Tweet

Merry Christmas 2010!

I haven't drawn anything in a while, but since today is Christmas, I thought I'd draw something to wish everyone a happy Christmas!



Tweet

Drawing - Fifth Attempt - Mermaid

Today, I tried to draw a simple cartoon-style mermaid. I used a book on how to draw mermaids and fairies. I still didn't quite get it right. This was my first try at it. I actually tried again with a second mermaid, but it was worse than the first one!

I have trouble gettng the hands right. Also, I couldn't find any pencils, so I was using a ballpoint pen, so I wasn't able to erase any mistakes. I also made her too big on the page and had to have part of the picture go off the page.



Here is where to buy the book I used (mine was an earlier edition though):

In the US:


In the UK:

Drawing - Fourth Attempt - Flowers & Dragonfly

Still practicing. At least my children like it! I think I need to use a darker pencil in order for these to scan better though. This one scanned a little bit light.

Drawing - Third Attempt - Butterfly

This one was just for fun.

Drawing - Second Attempt - Girl Face

Her eyes are too big, her upper body is too small, and her chin is too prominent. There are other problems with this, but hopefully if I keep at it, I will get better at this. (Also, the scan was not very good.)

Drawing - First Attempt - Fairy

I mentioned in my my writing blog that I was going to try and teach myself how to draw, so that I can illustrate the children's stories that I have written. I also said that I would be sharing my drawings there as I attempted them. I have also decided to create this separate blog for sharing my drawings.

Today's attempt:


My 7 year old daughter draws better than this! I have no concept of how to shade the drawing, so I didn't even attempt that yet. I'm not sure I succeeded in making the fairy look as though she is sitting with her knees pulled up in front of her. She is much more simplified than I intended her to be (as is the tiny dragon in the picture). I made her smaller on the toadstool than I meant to, so I didn't have a lot of room to really draw her face properly. I did not get the proportions correct. The list of my failures in this attempt at drawing could go on and on, but at least you can tell my fairy is a fairy.

And I will improve.