tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995212051631191452024-02-20T15:30:04.469-08:00Polly Beam Illustrationpollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-71854780702238439812017-03-30T14:53:00.002-07:002017-03-30T14:53:56.066-07:00Illustrated Travel JournalResearching my summer travel destination!<br />
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pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-14077030163957722982016-11-05T17:34:00.001-07:002016-11-05T17:34:29.308-07:00NYC Holiday WindowsHere's a project I've been wanting to do for two or three years now and never got around to in November (when I've been ~inspired). I culled my list of stores from 8 to 4 when I realized several of the stores with amazing windows don't really decorate their buildings as well. I'm pretty happy with these, and could see them as holiday cards. I also have more respect for anyone who does architectural drawing without a computer - the copy function in Photoshop was a life-saver on this one!<br />
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<img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/thursdays_child/nyc/websaks.jpg" width="400" />pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-60156931166493052762015-08-29T20:47:00.000-07:002015-08-29T20:47:53.648-07:00Monochromatic Self-PortraitSometimes, I need to remind myself I can draw.<br />
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pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-63071091518950381282015-07-13T20:04:00.000-07:002015-07-13T20:05:24.946-07:00Grounded<br />
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I spent about seven years of my life completely obsessed with Harry Potter. This was due, in large part, to the brilliance of the characters that J.K. Rowling had created, but it was sustained by the like-minded people I met online. Only a few weeks after the events of September 11th, a group from the <a href="http://www.sugarquill.net/" target="_blank">Sugarquill</a> got together in New York City to watch the first Harry Potter movie. I might not have gone if I wasn't attending Pratt and living in Brooklyn at the time. But when I tell people that Harry Potter changed my life, I mean it, literally.<br />
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One of the people I met that weekend was Megan Morrison, a tall, charismatic redhead, who also happened to be an incredibly talented writer. I liked Meg instantly - we had many things in common, but I also admired the things that made her different from me. She was more vivacious and open than I was, for sure, and her gorgeously long hair inspired me to grow my own out. She was a few years older than me, out of college and attempting to balance making a living in New York with her pursuit of the arts - acting and writing especially. And as it turned out, she lived only a few blocks away from me.<br />
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The New Yorkers in our group got together frequently over the next few months. Eventually, Meg moved away to pursue a teaching degree, but she returned to the city shortly before I graduated college. I spent a few of my last days before graduation with Meg and (future New York Times <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Harry-History-Wizard-Inside-Phenomenon/dp/1416554955" target="_blank">bestselling author</a>!) Melissa Anelli, at Melissa's parents' house.
It was a perfect weekend - we watched 'Into the Woods' and sang along to 'Rent', caught Lindsay Lohan promoting her last good role (Mean Girls) on SNL, ate great food, star-gazed, and shared our various creative projects. Meg let us read a couple of chapters of a
draft of a fairy-tale story she'd been working on and like everything I've ever
read of hers, it was a total delight.<br />
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Jump to just a couple of years ago - understandably, I was thrilled to hear that Meg had secured a publishing deal with Scholastic. The tiny glimpse of 'Tyme' I'd seen back in 2004 was more than enough to convince me that this was a series that the world needed, much like the one that had brought us all together in the first place. So when Meg asked if she could hire me to do some images for her personal author website, I jumped at the chance.<br />
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We started e-mailing back and forth about what the main image should look like - Meg wanted a header or background showing Rapunzel's tower and its surroundings. She sent me a detailed description, along with links to a couple of Pinterest boards she'd created for visual inspiration. I wanted Rapunzel's tower to clearly fit in the fantasy world of Tyme, but I also wanted to draw from a variety of cultures and artistic traditions. Each area of Tyme has its own distinct geography and sensibility, and I wanted something that would look natural planted in the soil of the Redlands, amongst the tall evergreens and distant mountains. So I did a quick round of sketches and sent them to Meg for feedback.<br />
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<img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/illoblog/oldenglishtower.jpg" width="195" /> <img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/illoblog/scandinaviantower.jpg" width="190" /> <img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/illoblog/mushroomtower.jpg" width="190" /> <img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/illoblog/segoviatower.jpg" width="194" /> <img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/illoblog/sintratower.jpg" width="210" /> <img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/illoblog/glasstower.jpg" width="170" /> <img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/illoblog/witchtower.jpg" width="400" /></div>
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Meg looked the pictures over with Ruth, who co-created Tyme. They agreed that the spindly, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stave_church" target="_blank">Scandinavian-inspired</a> tower with the dark wooden shingles looked like something that Envearia, the witch in Rapunzel's story, would create. However, the balcony as I'd drawn it wouldn't fit with the description in the story. Meg also pointed out that the proportions needed to be changed a bit to make it large enough for Rapunzel to walk about. So I started my first round of revisions.<br />
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While I really liked the extra pointiness the balcony and its supports offered, it didn't fit with the story and needed to go. I revised the tower one last time before placing it in the landscape. In the end I think we came up with something that feels unique and organic while sticking to the story. It comes back to the heart of what attracted me to illustration in the first place, whether it was creating Harry Potter fan art alongside hundreds of other artists, or being the only kid at my elementary school who would check out 'Ramona Forever' repeatedly to draw all the characters in their finery for Aunt Bea's wedding.<br />
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Meg also asked me to create some little spot illos to use as buttons, and on <a href="http://meganmorrison.net/" target="_blank">the finished website</a>, they move, which charms me way more than it reasonably should. '<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tyme-Grounded-The-Adventures-Rapunzel/dp/0545638267" target="_blank">Grounded</a>' came out in April, and I devoured it within hours of getting the book. It's a wonderful, whimsical, adventurous read with memorable characters and an imaginative world. I can't wait to return to Tyme next year, when the second book in the series will be published. Congrats to Meg, and many thanks for including me on this wonderful journey!<br />
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pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-21824492371208194692013-12-31T16:00:00.000-08:002015-07-13T20:29:14.262-07:00SpiceboxSometimes, an idea takes a number of revisions to get it right. Other times, you strike gold on the first try. When my amazingly talented roommate, <a href="http://shimmyglisten.com/" target="_blank">Lis</a>, hired me to create a poster for the <a href="http://www.spiceboxshow.com/" target="_blank">belly dance show</a> she was producing, I had a definite vision in mind.<br />
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We went from this...<br />
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...in about a week. <a href="http://www.spiceboxshow.com/" target="_blank">The show</a> was a great success and a perfect treat for the holidays!pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-55213665894055105322013-03-30T20:17:00.000-07:002015-07-13T20:19:40.027-07:00LifestrawScientists are amazing and do things I could never do. But there's usually a point in the process where you hire an artist to take amazingly complex ideas and inventions and dumb them down into visuals for the rest of us.<br />
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For example: from this...<br />
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To this...<br />
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You can buy your own LifeStraw <a href="http://eartheasy.com/checkout/cart/" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-68251279870760130352013-02-04T14:57:00.000-08:002013-02-04T16:14:15.659-08:00#ny13scbwi1) A huge thanks to <a href="http://www.yellowhousenyc.org/YH/Welcome.html" target="_blank">Yellow House NYC</a>, for granting me the professional stipend to attend this year's conference.<br />
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2) I like going to SCBWI conferences - <a href="http://pollybeam.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-first-scbwi-conference-part-1.html" target="_blank">they keep giving me books</a>! I won the last book at the illustrator's intensive again this year. This time around I received <i>Winds ~ A Legend from the Lower Yukon</i>. Like a lot of legends, it has more text than your typical children's book. I haven't read it yet, but I'm looking forward to setting aside some quiet time to do so (preferably on a snowy day with a cup of tea).<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Lin Oliver said the purpose of the conference is to inform, inspire, and to make new friends. I'm not going to write as much on the informational side of things, because as immensely helpful and interesting as those technical tidbits were A) I have little commentary to add and B) they are ~conference secrets~. At some point, I will need to do a write-up for other illustrators with whom I promised to compare notes. Sorry, everybody else.<br />
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I think I'm going to tackle this by theme, so let's start with two quotes on the artist as a solitary creature:<br />
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<i>"The truth is, I'm kind of a hermit."</i> - Mark Teague<br />
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<i>"I was attracted to writing and illustration as a way to avoid people."</i> - Shaun Tan, who also spoke briefly about the effect growing up in remote Perth, Australia, had on him as an artist.<br />
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Hearing things like the above make me so much more comfortable with myself. Networking events like the conference leave me wondering what it's like to be a normal person who can socialize without wanting to crawl off into a dark corner, where I'll never have to make small talk, or eye contact, or be in anyone's way ever again. Today I'm stuck at home, and despite being sick, it's pretty much my favorite place to be. I need to piece together an action plan for getting a stay-at-home job (children's book illustrator, yes please?), stat.<br />
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That said, I met so many lovely, talented people this weekend. I compared notes with those who are on the same journey (destination: publication) as I am, was given great advice by published authors and illustrators in attendance, and enjoyed listening to the amazing variety of speakers SCBWI had pulled together.<br />
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Other fun quotes that I can't do justice, so will leave them to speak for themselves...<br />
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<i>"I love to ensure the manuscript is incomprehensible."</i> - Mo Willems<br />
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<i>"Comprehension is overrated."</i> - Shaun Tan<br />
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<i>"The truth I'm most interested in is the one that can't be spoken."</i> - Shaun Tan<br />
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<i>"Don't do dumb work."</i> - Mark Teague<br />
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John Fine, from Amazon.com, also stressed the importance of creating <i>good</i> work over everything else, including your media presence. I was really interested in everything he had to say, actually. SCBWI is fairly progressive and makes a point of discussing new-ish topics like ebooks and digital rights, but on the whole, I think the organization tends to move slowly and cautiously. (Which is understandable - they have a responsibility to give their members sound, lasting advice.) Unsurprisingly, when John mentioned fan fiction, there was a bit of a groan from the audience. Meanwhile, I was filled with a sort of wicked, secret glee. (Is there a German word for this feeling? I feel there should be.)<br />
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Anyone who has been following YA and adult fiction over the past few years has read about million dollar deals for stories discovered on smashwords or createspace, and authors who were picked up in part for their massive online following. (SCBWI has even invited some of them to speak at past winter conferences, but I digress...) Meg Rosoff provided some wonderful snark on the quality of <i>Fifty Shades of Grey</i>, but failed to mention that it originally came to life as a <i>Twilight</i> fan fic, which I think says it all, really - good and bad. <br />
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I don't think those on the outside quite grasp just how important "fandom" is becoming in today's creative world. You were writing from age 12, had a supportive family and inspiring teachers before going off to college and earning your degree? Great. But today's young writers are pouring out stories at an amazing rate, to anyone with an internet connection. They're constantly practicing, receiving feedback, and becoming more savvy at creating work that will "sell". A lot of the stories are awful, but a few of them contain amazing plotting, characters you come to care for deeply, and beautifully-crafted sentences that state things you know to be true, in ways you would never have expected. NANOWRIMO is also worth mentioning, as another avenue of "democratization" (as John Fine put it) of the publishing process. There was even a gratuitous tumblr mention in the 'Quitting Your Day Job' panel on Friday. As Lin Oliver said, "Welcome to the Wild West."<br />
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Another thing I noted about several of the talks this weekend - parents play such an important role in our creativity. Shaun Tan's father was an architect, Barbara McClintock's was a photographer, and Floyd Cooper used his builder father's plaster board for some of his first canvases. Margaret Peterson Haddix spoke about her young daughter asking for stories that contained a "...and then...", recognizing the elements of plot long before she could use words like "conflict" and "denouement". Years later, the same daughter expressed impatience at a friend who had to stay home and study SAT words - <i>why hadn't she just picked up a book as a child</i>?! But it's not even really about test prep - as Meg Rosoff said, "Most of the best books I've ever read, I read before I was twenty."<br />
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At the booksellers panel, Mary Brown, the owner of 'Books, Bytes, and Beyond', told us that bookstores are on the rise again - but 70% of her business is from schools and libraries. Both she and her husband, Robert Brown (of Scholastic Book Fairs), mentioned a need for books that follow the Common Core Curriculum. I rolled my eyes internally - not at their very true words, but at Common Core itself. While art standards have yet to be implemented (and from the direction I've heard it's going, I probably won't mind the standards, as they sound a lot like what I already do) educational programs come and go. We continue to wonder how we can improve children's test scores and prepare them for college and careers, when most educators can already tell you that the most vital key for a child's academic success is a parent who reads to him or her from an early age.<br />
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Of course, not all parents have the means to do this. And not all children will ~fail in life~ because Mom was too tired to read <i>Hop on Pop</i> after a fourteen-hour work day. Some kids even have the acumen to understand the situation that they're in and help themselves - as Mo Willems said, "If you're in the wrong book, leave." (Beautifully put advice for anyone, really.) He also told the audience of authors and illustrators that "your job is to be some child's best friend." Sometimes, a best friend can help you change your own story. <br />
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<i>"Books were my anchor. My escape. My safe haven... They became the most trustworthy of friends." </i>- Julie Andrews<br />
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I have to admit, I cribbed the above quote from twitter. I failed at note taking during Julie and Emma's talk; seeing Julie Andrews was one thing, but hearing her <b><i>voice</i></b>... At the end of their presentation, Lin Oliver had us call out words that described Julie and her daughter. "Enchanting" would have been mine. "Are we lucky or what?" indeed.<br />
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Speaking of legends, my favorite hour or so of the conference would have to be the illustrator's social after Saturday's cocktail gala. The gala was great - I mean, a mashed potato bar, really? But that was nothing next to getting to hear Tomie dePaola speak. I feel like just about everyone has "their" Tomie dePaola book, the one that really meant something to them as a child. J. K. Rowling has said her favorite comment on her books came from a kid who showed up to a signing, looked around at the crowd, and demanded to know what all these people were doing there for <b><i>her</i></b> book. I feel a bit of the same way about <i>Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs</i>, to the point where I don't think I would have brought it in to be signed even if I had it at home (it lives on my bookshelf at my parents' house, along with most of my childhood books). I did, however, get <i>The Art Lesson</i> signed on Sunday. It's a story I read the younger kids in my art classes every year. It's a great way to both let the students know that art class has limitations, but that I don't want that to limit <i>them</i>. Anyway, Tomie spoke a little about his time at Pratt (yay), his time as an art instructor (yay), and then talked about his famous master class. It was funny and inspiring and kind of made my weekend. Seeing as awkward turtle is indeed my spirit animal, I only talked to him for a second, but still! Tomie dePaola! <br />
<br />pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-86376070412884501252013-02-03T16:16:00.000-08:002013-02-03T16:22:02.368-08:00New Alistair ArtBefore I tackle my SCBWI 2013 Winter Conference megapost, I wanted to brag a bit about how awesome my promo postcards turned out. I think I've <i>finally</i> figured out how to do the color in my 'Alistair' finals. I wasn't happy with the watercolor/colored pencil finals I'd done last year - one looked too soft and babyish and the other was a legitimate mess. <br />
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I'd meant to work on them again before the conference, and ... didn't. Fast forward to this past Sunday and the sort of inspiration that only last-minute panic can inspire - armed with a few new sets of Photoshop brushes, I went to work on one of the most polished sketches in the book. I finished it that evening and sent it off to Vistaprint immediately. The postcards arrived Wednesday evening (thank god). I braced myself as I opened the package, having suffered over-saturation and muddy or unbalanced colors from practically every other print shop I've ever frequented.<br />
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The color was perfect, with a nice, subtle warmth the internet version above just doesn't convey.* Four for you, Vistaprint!<br />
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But back to the actual artwork... contrary to the promo image, Alistair and his sister inhabit a kind of retro, upper-crusty version of New York City. (Think Eloise, but with sibling drama and rhyme.) For the shape of the characters, I took my inspiration from the logo of my aunt's former restaurant, La Niçoise. <br />
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(Speaking of which, I feel Pixar owes my aunt, and her late husband's business partners, royalties for the roller-skating French waiter idea. Alfredo even looks a bit like my uncle. Just saying...)<br />
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Obviously, the La Niçoise logo owes everything to <a href="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mae8ibT5KU1qd2wy7o1_500.jpg" target="_blank">John Held Jr.'s flapper illustrations</a>. I imagine a little bit of <a href="http://24.media.tumblr.com/12869366b8974917cd674ec14c563b99/tumblr_mhnbeackwm1s0xqbro1_400.jpg" target="_blank">Tintin</a> snuck into my sketches as well. I "watched" <a href="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lgparovVF11qf7eqgo1_500.gif" target="_blank">Jeeves and Wooster</a> to keep me company as I colored as well.<br />
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The cover still looked a little flat, even with the new brushes, so I merged it with the traditional watercolor/colored pencil version I'd completed earlier. The earlier final had looked a bit rough in places, so adding the scratchy contrast of the pencil lines to smoother digital coloring added just the right amount of texture. I'm looking forward to doing more images in this style! <br />
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<i>*As I was apparently too lazy to convert the file to RGB before saving it for online use.</i>pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-70954859411985105202012-11-18T12:47:00.000-08:002012-11-18T12:47:03.969-08:00Xavi's Pitch, Redux<br />
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Due to popular demand, I redid the images from <a href="http://pollybeam.blogspot.com/2012/07/xavis-pitch.html" target="_blank">this post</a>, added a few more, formatted them in InDesign, and uploaded the book to Blurb. You can buy a copy <a href="http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/3523567" target="_blank">here</a>, if you are so inclined!pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-23761175214883613062012-09-11T18:26:00.001-07:002012-09-11T18:27:53.934-07:00Woodland Animals<p align="center"><img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/chipmunk.jpg">
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pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-18185884714943851032012-07-29T13:13:00.000-07:002012-07-29T13:16:16.742-07:00Xavi's PitchI did this during the Euros, during the second half of Ukraine vs. France. Hopelessly dorky? Yes. But I really wish I could manage to knock off an actual dummy book in 45 minutes, as I did with this one.
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<img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5onkvJU7f1qckkxu.jpg"></p>pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-48817157160280944482012-04-22T09:54:00.002-07:002012-04-22T09:58:32.479-07:00ReaffirmationWhen searched for as a pair, the phrases "query letter" and "panic attack" have over 7,000 results.pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-88884687324656254362012-04-19T20:19:00.004-07:002012-04-19T20:25:36.522-07:00<span style="font-style:italic;">Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.<br /><br />-Albert Einstein</span> (attributed)<br /><br /><br /><p align="center"><img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/seattleweb.jpg" width="90%" border="0"><br /><br /><img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/veneziamap.jpg" width="90%" border="0"><br /><br /><img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/palazzopapers.jpg" width="90%" border="0"></p>pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-88057821313264055582012-02-16T20:03:00.000-08:002012-11-18T12:51:54.090-08:00Last Sunday, I had a lovely diner breakfast with <a href="http://shesureissketchy.blogspot.com/">Amber</a>, and got to discuss all sorts of illustrator-y and picture book-ish things. It's always great to see Amber, and I got a sneak peek of some of her awesome new work as well. She also reassured me that my recently-finished dummy book is more or less ready to go out into the world. Next step, queries?!<br />
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However, at one point during our conversation, I believe I said, "Ugh, my blog." So, in the interest of keeping this sucker alive, here are some snippets of things I've been working on, plus something I hope will become a recurring feature. <br />
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My Australian roommate is getting married to her Kiwi boyfriend next January. I am so happy for Kate and Simon, and so excited that I'm invited to the wedding in New Zealand! It's one of those places I've always had on my "would REALLY like to go to" list, and now I have a perfect excuse. Here's a tiny snippet of the map I made for the invites. <br />
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Conversely, how I spent my Valentine's Day...<br />
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...illustrating bacteria and protozoa. Meet Giardia, E. Coli, and Cryptosporidium. Aren't they just dreamy?<br />
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Next up, an idea I'm still playing with. These characters hark back to a much earlier blog entry - I will honestly mail cookies to anyone who cares to find them.<br />
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And finally... <i>What's Been Eating My Brain</i><br />
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Often, I don't update because my illustration projects are totally scattered (see above) and without a lot of substance or polish (again, above). But sometimes, I don't update because I'm busy indulging in something unrelated to illustration, something that I am geeking out about so hard that I want to share it with everybody. In January, it was Community. This month, it's Breaking Bad. <br />
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If you haven't seen either show, <i>do it</i>. Watch them. Now. Totally worth your time and energy. And seeing <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2012/02/community.html?imw=Y">this news</a> today just wrinkles my brain in the best way possible.pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-66634291357309145742012-01-10T18:59:00.000-08:002012-01-10T19:04:16.195-08:00CommunityTroy and Abed in my skeeeeetchbook...<br /><br /><p align="center"><img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/troyandabed.jpg"></p>pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-56471682016821055432011-09-30T12:48:00.000-07:002011-09-30T13:05:11.630-07:00Oh, CanadaJust returned from a week-and-a-half-long trip up to Prince Edward Island to spend some time at the little house my parents built this spring/summer. Of course, while I was there they put me to work...<br /><br /><p align="center"><img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/IMG_5693.JPG" width="70%"><br /><br /><img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/IMG_0424.JPG" width="90%"><br /><br /><img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/IMG_5716.JPG" width="70%"><br /><br /><img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/IMG_5718.JPG" width="90%"><br /><br /><img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/IMG_5717.JPG" width="70%"></p><br /><br />The kitchen cupboards were done pretty hastily and will require another trip to finish. And no, of course I didn't plan it that way. >_> What would make you think that?<br /><br />We also made the obligatory trip to Green Gables, and to Lucy Maud Montgomery's birthplace. It was nice to see it <i>not</i> blanketed with three+ feet of snow, as has been the case every other time I've visited Canada. I'm already excited to visit next summer, and hopefully to get a set of the 'Anne' books for the cottage. It's a perfect place to curl up with a book and read!pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-30536745052275377682011-08-29T12:56:00.000-07:002011-08-29T13:08:03.032-07:00Book-MakingDummy book, finally!*
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<br />*It still needs massive work, obviously. Things I want to accomplish this week: 1) buy some magenta paper to serve as end paper to bind the whole thing together. 2) reprint and re-tape EVERYTHING. 3) Figure out if I want to go bright or retro with the colors and do two finals.
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<br />I put this project aside for several months, as I was starting to second-guess everything. Upon recent inspection, I'm only second guessing every other thing - progress! So now it's time to fix the things that bug me and make all necessary corrections. But it does look rather nice and semi-professional sitting here on my desk, which makes me happy. pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-24538907079148538692011-08-18T16:58:00.001-07:002012-04-19T20:26:02.688-07:00Mr. Boddington'sI've been slacking off on applying to graphic design jobs lately, as I finished an awesome freelance job (more on that when it debuts in the fall) and felt like resting on my laurels a bit. But when I saw an advertisement for a graphic design position at <a href="http://mrboddington.com/">Mr. Boddington's Studio</a>, I started sketching right away. I've seen some of their stuff before, at <a href="http://www.stylemepretty.com/">Style Me Pretty</a>, and while I'd love to work for any stationery design studio, I feel like my style is particularly suited to this job.<br /><br />I'm so happy that they asked A) for applications to be mailed and B) for a bit of design work specific to their studio and style. Here's what I ended up with.<br /><br /><p align="center"><img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/bodfront.jpg" width="90%"><br /><br /><img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/bodback.jpg" width="90%"></p><br /><br />The advertisement asked for applicants to create a moving announcement for the studio, as they've recently relocated cross-town to Chelsea.<br /><br /><p align="center"><img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/bodopen.jpg" width="60%"><br /><br /><img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/bodliner.jpg" width="90%"></p><br /><br />The liner, which may be my favorite part. It was much easier to make than I'd imagined - definitely something I want to start doing for myself. The pattern is one my best friend Meghan would doodle on notebooks when we were in high school - I totally stole it and have used it for different projects since. Meghan is *so* getting a credit in the first book in which I use it.<br /><br /><p align="center"><img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/bodsail.jpg" width="60%"><br /><br /><img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/bodmap.jpg" width="60%"></p><br /><br />The front and back of the announcement. Originally, I was going to make the map the front, but as it became so graphic heavy, I decided to move most of the text to the other side. <br /><br /><p align="center"><img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/bodsamples.jpg" width="90%"></p><br /><br />I also included samples from other, relevant jobs, including this Save-the-Date I designed a few months back. It features the couple's cats - I did several different designs, but I love the one they picked for the final. Just super sweet and pretty.<br /><br />And hurrah for triple checking my work, as somewhere in the process, I'd managed to write down the wrong zipcode and had to reprint/rewrite everything twenty minutes before leaving to mail it. I ended up losing the sailor's knot on the envelope. I loved it in theory, but in practice, it wasn't quite what I'd hoped.<br /><br /><p align="center"><img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/bath.jpg" width="90%"></p><br /><br />Also, as I was working on this, my color palette was influenced by another project I've been working on - painting the apartment! My roommate had kitted out our bathroom when I went to visit my parents a few weeks back, and I love the shower curtain she picked out (it doubles wonderfully as a photo backdrop). We wanted a color that would compliment it, but wasn't exactly the same. I pulled several paint swatches that worked, and from there we decided on a favorite - <a href="http://www.color-swatches.com/images/swatch.png?id=b91a046b083d17baedc86c32a488bcaa">shark</a>!pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-89049729630486646422011-08-07T10:08:00.000-07:002011-08-10T21:20:10.061-07:00McQueen*Finally* made it to the McQueen exhibit! My friend Liz was in town from DC, and the whole day worked out perfectly, in the end. After a trip that usually takes 2 trains and 45 minutes (but took 4 trains and an hour and a half yesterday - yay, weekends), the line to get into the building was moving pretty quickly when I got there. Liz was already in line for the exhibit, so after about 45 minutes of running around the museum (literally, a few times - which I'm embarrassed to admit was <i>much</i> more fun than it should have been), looking for stairways or elevators that had not been blocked off, we met up. From there, it was about a half hour wait, and we were in! We looked, we oohed and ahhed, we sketched...
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<br />As Liz said, after waiting in line for so long, and shuffling through the crowded first room, the second room was like walking into the grown-up version of Disney's haunted mansion. But after the rather disappointing display in the first room (some mirrors would have helped), the staging of the exhibit was pretty great. LOVED the masks by Guido Palau, though I didn't include many of them here.
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<br />We went at a very leisurely pace, and I ended up seeing things I probably would have missed otherwise. Like the angel/Nike (the goddess, not the swoosh) heel on a shoe I otherwise didn't care for.
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<br />LOVED the pieces from "It's Only a Game" (inspired by the wizard chess at the end of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone!), the British and Scottish-inspired "The Girl Who Lived in the Tree" and "Widows of Culloden" (respectively), and everything involving religion, history, art history, or a mix of all three. Which was pretty much everything...
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<br />By the time we got out (around 11:00), the rest of the museum was closed. After peering round a corner into an empty hall, we both arrived at the same conclusion - <i>time to 'Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler' it!</i> Of course, being responsible adult-type, not-wanting-to-be-arrested people, we walked over to Third Ave. to compare notes over drinks and sushi instead. After all, there's always next time.pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-57730998666822843692011-07-25T18:55:00.001-07:002011-07-25T19:11:46.819-07:00Dudes<p align="center"><img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/cr7.jpg"></p><br />Drew this last October, but it seems appropriate to post it now, after getting to see Real Madrid play in Philly this past weekend. Had a great time, needless to say.<br /><br />As an artist, I've always had more fun drawing girls (hair! dresses!). So it took me by surprise when, shortly after moving back to Brooklyn, I showed my new roommates what I'd been working on for the past six months and one of them commented, "Wow, so you draw a lot of guys."<br /><br />And it's definitely true, at the moment. Specifically, little cartoon soccer player guys. Hopefully, I'm going to branch out and draw some of the women's players soon as well. Also, you know, finish my own projects that are so close to completion. But for now, boys, boys, boys...<br /><br /><p align="center"><img src="http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lnz9i6QYXy1qdt6y1o4_500.jpg" width="90%"></p>pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-685334141685383922011-06-15T20:53:00.000-07:002019-02-28T04:20:49.659-08:00Game of ThronesLong time, no post. I'm currently drowning in a deluge of Etsy orders (yay?!), and packing for a long weekend at home. But a certain fantasy drama is eating my brain...<br />
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I bought the first book to read on the bus to DC. I wouldn't be surprised if I picked up the second for the return trip.pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-49705242706614033172011-04-14T21:08:00.000-07:002011-04-14T21:20:41.133-07:00High SeasI decided to do, and finished-ish, this Illustration Friday piece about two hours ago. I'm feeling pretty adrift myself today, so this picture started as a mouse in peril. It wasn't until I finished coloring in the Hokusai-inspired waves that I sat back and went, "Oh." I'd started with one story and ended up with another entirely.<br /><br /><p align="center"><img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/highseasweb.jpg" width="90%"></p><br />Safe travels, little mousie, regardless of your home port or your destination.pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-11101766996619002202011-04-04T10:43:00.000-07:002011-04-04T10:44:39.505-07:00Owls<img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/owls.jpg" width="%94">pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-33802153917287118322011-03-24T20:42:00.000-07:002011-03-24T21:31:56.844-07:00CultivateFrom a song my maternal grandmother used to sing to me. I can actually vaguely remember either her or my mother explaining to me what the word "cultivate" meant.<br /><br /><p align="center"><img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/cultivate.jpg" width="90%"><br /><br /><i>I'm a little prairie flower,<br />Growing wilder every hour.<br />Nobody cares to cultivate me,<br />'Cause I'm as wild as wild can be.</i></p>pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2199521205163119145.post-4382063420140384592011-03-12T16:52:00.000-08:002011-03-12T17:00:49.296-08:00Under the Tuscan SunI'm <i>so</i> close to finishing my dummy book. But I'll post about that later. Right now, I'm cleaning up my picture folders - I'm trying to keep up with that on this computer - and I came across this watercolor sketch. <br /><br /><p align="center"><img src="http://pollybeam.com/blogfiles/pollyitaly.jpg" height="90%" width="90%"></p><br /><br />It's tucked in an edge of the mirror on top of my chest-of-drawers at home, but I had my brother scan it and e-mail it to me last month to use as a sample for a job I applied to. (Thanks, Ross!) I'm looking forward to warmer days, and in that spirit, this just felt like something I wanted to share. :)pollybeamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858748665850302480noreply@blogger.com0