greenbeanbaby art

hope: in the lil things....

meet molly... no, she does not belong on south park! she's just a lil girl bundled up and awaiting for springtime.... still chilly out, with a few more months left before the coat can retire... before the season is over.... here in wisconsin, we can see green grass (okay, well, its moreso brown and dead) and temperature seems mediocre... then a big blizzard comes right when we are ready to kick off the boots and grab those flip-flops... so we must remain hopeful, look for lil signs that prove we will not freeze our tail off- that we will once again, survive a chilly winter (and an oh-so-high gas bill)...

two notes: this pc was made especially for my friend esther... its only 24 days late but in the meantime, we enjoyed canoli and many-a-movies... also, if you wanna see my process work, see the entry below, entitled "in the process"...

in the process...

it begins with a sketch... well, really about 4 messy sketches revised to one precise illustration... good enough for a children's book sorta sketch.... this is my template (thus, the missing eyeball---) by the time i am done cutting all my pcs, my sketch has become mere shreds that hold the droppings of a hot mini glue gun....

this is how my illustration looks in pcs.... the bald girl.... itty bitty legs... everything laid out and ready to begin gluing all the tiny parts (like the buttons, trimmings on the coat, mittens, eyeballs, bows, etc)

next, is placement... bigger pcs are taped together for the time being... since i work in a specific size (8x10) i must make sure that all pcs are within the limits... so sometimes, my pcs are cut a slight bit bigger and must be trimmed down or repositioned... then i glue all the major pcs such as the arms and legs and hat and scarf together... like putting a paper doll's clothes on! a background is guesstimated; about a 1/2hr is spent on finding the "bestest" background that won't kill my pc and its mood

finally, the illustration is glued onto the background... tweezers are used to rid of any unruly balls of icky glue... i scan the pc in for safe keeping... i clean the frame's glass which only takes 20min. in itself... and then i put the illustration in, only to find a fuzzy caught between glass and illo... reclean, repositsion, another fuzzy.... after a couple more times, all is perfected... and the name of this pc is called "hope" (you can find a closer look and a description of the pc, not the process, in that link)

the lil lighthouse

here is  an illustration i did for a friend's mom... i think this one of the first pcs i've done that is as close to realism as i can possibly get... and non-human, i might add... not the typical ellia-istic work... but every illustrator needs a challenge right? or else every character looks alike in every illustration (alas, am i not known for that?!)... since college, i've really been plastered to making similar looking illustrations so its nice to finally see what else i am capable of... originally, i planned to make this one a REAL paper sculpture, but since i've been working so flat lately, my brain (and hands) refused to cooperate with intent vs. skill... thus, this IS a flat pc made 3d by adding foamcore to raise different levels... (yeah, you cant tell by the scanned in pc)

my girl, thursday

meet pippie's look-a-like.... her name, poppy?! nah, that is too close to papi, which is dad in spanish... and i happen to call my dad that so she has yet to be named officially... and a story... she took awhile to make this time... since my favorite pc (up until now) was my "small" pc, i pressured myself to top myself.... i dont think i did- but i DO think its darn near leveled! originally, i was trying to make an illustration for my friend's birthday, which was last week, but her colors are more like my "blue necklace" pc, so after one more illustration, i think i will be able to decide which one is more esther-esque.... if i can keep this pace up, as far as making illustrations, i could make everyone custom pcs for christmas... (even i think they would still end up getting them late)...

a tiny note: i lowered all my pictures' resolutions... unfortunately, you can't click on it for it to become enlarged and see all the bitty detail... this is ONLY because i dont want my artwork used for commercial purposes... i am slightly bummed because its the textures and details that make my pcs what they are, but well, it must be done....

blue necklace

in holiday spirit, or perhaps a mindless splurge, Molly decided to treat herself to a beautiful blue necklace. as happy as a schoolgirl, she skips home with her lovely gift in her bag. she enters her apartment, flicks on the lights but nothing. electricity must have been cut off; her unpaid bill lies on a cluttered counter. looking at her shopping bag, she realizes she has three sad choices. return the necklace. wear it for a few days then sell it on ebay for money. keep it and wear it in the dark.

a beautiful day gone wrong...