Sketchbook Project 2011 Pages 32-35

Page 32-35 of my Sketchbook Project 2011. To read this story from the beginning, please visit here or my flickr set.

(please click to enlarge and read)

Wow, its been almost two months now since I've been keeping up with this comics story every week. I still can't believe it! Ideas are brewing as to how I can continue to keep this up after the sketchbook ends.

*please come back every TUESDAY for a new post for this project!*

Chickengirl Comics Presents...A Halloween Special (+IF: Spooky)

 

I was going to wait and post these on Tuesday instead of pages from my sketchbook project. But since this week's illustration friday topic is "spooky," and I haven't participated in IF in a very very long time, I thought I would post it now. Plus, I am eager to get these pages out there :-)

This was fun and a good exercise since I hardly ever touch photoshop and this is definitely a different technique than what I'm use to. I'm also happy to write a little story for Chicken Girl and Rooster Boy that is more fictional rather than based on real life. I hope I've got more stories like this in me.

Sketchbook Project Page 28-31

Page 28-31 of my Sketchbook Project 2011. To read this story from the beginning, please visit here or my flickr set.

(please click to enlarge and read)

Its getting harder and harder to do these pages every week, but looking through my sketchbook so far-its nice to see it getting filled up!

*please come back every TUESDAY for a new post for this project!*

Chicken Girl for President

I made these badges and wore them at the Highlight Illustrators Party a few weeks ago. The theme was "silly." I have no idea how this came to mind. It was fun making them though.

The Sketchables Interview

What do you sketch on and where?

There is a fun interview of me over at The Sketchables where I answered all the questions in sketches. Thanks to Heather Powers and the rest of the ladies over there for letting me have yet another excuse to draw more chickens.

Sketchbook Project 2011 Pages 24-27

I finally go to jewelry class and it gets pathetic. Page 24-27 of my Sketchbook Project 2011.

To read this story from the beginning, please visit here or my flickr set.

(please click to enlarge and read)

 

Whew! I barely finished on time for this week's post. I crammed all the sketching up to the last possible moment. Thank you again to those of you who are keeping up with this story, it truly motivates me every week!

*please come back every TUESDAY for a new post for this project!*

Chicken Girl Design Digistamps- October and Final Collection

 

This is the October and yes, final collection of the Chicken Girl Design Digistamps. I want to thank the awesome ladies of the design team who makes gorgeous cards with my images month after month: Loretta, Lori, Tammy, Michele, Laura, Christy and Judy. Its been very interesting to see how they use these images with fresh new colors. Its been very inspiring.

And a special thank you to Kate over at I {heart} Papers for the opportunity to make this happen. I'm happy I got a chance to get a glimpse of the crafting world. Thank you very much, Kate.

Never fear, the polymer and digistamps will continue to be for sale over at I {heart} Papers, along with alot of other fun crafting materials (which I learned alot about at CHA this summer...wow). So go check it out, alright?

Hooray for Halloween Book Giveaway Winner

Using random.org, the winner is Nina Seven! Congratulations, Nina! 

Thanks to everyone who entered the book giveaway, and the tips for chicken costumes. I ended up  sewing chicken and rooster hats out of felt I had around the house. More on that later.

And it seems like alot of folks are into Reeses peanut butter cups and M&Ms! Will probably pick some up to hand out to the trick or treaters. Happy Halloween! It is one of the best holidays, isn't it?

Top Ten things Illustrators can do to make Highlights Happy

At the Highlights Illustrators party, there was a seminar with a panel of Highlights' editors and art directors. There was a list of "Top Ten Things Illustrators can do to Make Highlights Happy" - (a la Letterman style). Thought I would share it here:

     10- Bring your unique style.

       9- Read the story, have details reflected in the art.

       8- Read the art notes.

       7- Do your homework, research details. (even cartoony spiders have 8 legs.)

       6- Leave room for caption, art should fit in space.

       5- Remember the age group.

       4- Be responsive to sketch revisions. Re-compose the layout if necessary.

       3- Remember the Highlights statement. (They are fun, but not sassy...)

       2- Meet the deadlines.

       1- Humor them. (Put seat belts on aliens in spaceships, life vests on
           Canoeing raccoons!)

Highlights Illustrators Party 2010

Outside of the Highlights Office

This past weekend, I was at the Highlights Illustrators party in Honesdale, PA. An opportunity to get out my studio and talk with...other people! And illustrators at that! This time was extra special since 4 out of 7 of us in our Illustration for Kids group got to get together (Paula, Susan, Jenn, and I).These ladies have been with me at the very beginning of my illustration career and its amazing that 4 years later we get to meet in person.

And I also got to meet alot of other great illustrators, alot of them in which I've gotten to know from online- Jennifer Thermes, Karen Lee, Julie Fortenberry, Liz Dubois, Barry Gott, Jim Paillot, Mike Moran, Brian White (and so many others to mention! Forgive me its been a long weekend.)

Portfolio Sharing

There was an illustrators seminar (which I will do another post on) and portfolio sharing afterwards. 

My Portfolio, books, and cards

There were silly costumes and square dancing. They know how to throw a good party! Thank you so much to all the folks over at Highlights. Hope to see you all next year.

Sketchbook Project 2011 Pages 20-23

More talks about my favorite subject, food. Page 20-23 of my Sketchbook Project 2011.

To read this story from the beginning, please visit here or my flickr set.

(please click to enlarge and read)

*please come back every TUESDAY for a new post for this project!*

This week was a tough week to get these done-I was at the annual Highlights Illustrators party all weekend (will do a post about it soon.) But committing to a Tuesday posting really pushed me to finish it.

And a quick reminder: I am hosting a giveaway of my Halloween is Here sticker book- you can still enter. Check it out on my previous post. Good luck!

Halloween is Here Sticker Book Giveaway!!!

I'm finally hosting a giveaway! I'm giving away a copy this Halloween is Here sticker book I illustrated, published by Running Press Kids-which was just recently released. There is a story plus plenty of stickers to put into the scenes. Yay, stickers!!!

TO ENTER:

-Please leave me a comment and let me know what your favorite candy is when trick or treating. (mine = Twix!!)

-If you are on Twitter, please follow me at @JannieHo. If you could retweet about this giveaway, it would be greatly appreciated. Please include @JannieHo in your tweet.


**I will randomly pick a winner next Friday, October 8th.** Good luck!

P.S.-Anyone know where I can get a cheap chicken costume? Why are they so expensive?

Sketchbook Project 2011 Pages 16-19

Pages 16-19 of my sketchbook project 2011. I thought I would show a pic of the sketchbook along with the scans. Because of my self imposed schedule, they are still pretty rough so I can get them done. I've started to lightly sketch with pencil and ink with microns since I don't have a storyline written out and my thoughts are starting to be all over the place.

To read this story from the beginning, please visit here or my flickr set.

(please click to enlarge and read)

*please come back every TUESDAY for a new post for this project!*

Tales of a Checkered Man Fan Art

This is a piece of fan art I did of Tales of a Checkered Man, a webcomic by Denver Brubaker. I met Denver back at the comics fundamentals worskshop I took at my local library this summer. Now there is a comic artists forum that meets every month, and Denver gave an inspiring presentation on his work there. I loved how he was very specific and described exactly what The Checkered Man wore, so it was easy and fun for me to come up with this fan art. I was also impressed by his discipline to stick with a schedule that comes along in doing a webcomic.

It has really pushed me along with my sketchbook project. I'm not sure what my future plans are with it, but I'm determined to finish it. And also I've been exploring traditional mediums again! Who would of thought. The smell of art stores are so nostalgic.

ABC Floor Puzzle

It seems like I've been doing alot of work involving the ABCs lately. Here is a floor puzzle for Scholastic Book Clubs, now available through this month's Firefly catalog.

Sketchbook Project 2011 Pages 12-15

Missing the subways, and getting a driver's license. Pages 12-15 of my sketchbook project 2011. To read this story from the beginning, please visit here or my flickr set.

(please click to enlarge and read)

**I will be posting new pages for this project every TUESDAY**

I did it! I posted two Tuesdays in a row!

My Better World Savings Bank

Last year, I worked on a fun project called My Better World Savings Bank. It is a high quality wooden house bank that has three compartments, and it teaches kids about spending, saving, and sharing. It comes with tons of stickers to decorate the house with and a passbook to keep track of expenses.


Along with founder John Weatherley and designer Alex Knowlton, I illustrated the stickers and the art work for the site. You can buy the bank online or check out some useful links to teach children to be financially smart!

Sketchbook Project 2011- Pages 8-11

Pages 8-11 of my sketchbook project 2011. To read this story from the beginning, please visit here or my flickr set.

(please click to enlarge and read)

**I will be posting new pages for this project every TUESDAY from now on until the end of this year.**

The deadline to send the book back to Art House Co-op is January 15th. I was doing the math and if I didn't come up with something every week, it will never get done. So please come back every Tuesday to follow the story.

And thank you again for reading.

P.S.-In case you were wondering, I don't actually own a book that is entitled " How to Make Friends 101." As if I'm not pathetic enough! ;-)

German Children's Books

I just came back from a great vacation with my girlfriends to Germany. A good friend moved there a few years ago and now live in Fehmarn, a beautiful island in the Baltic Sea that is about a hour and a half from Hamburg. I'm always fascinated by children's books in other countries so here are two books I picked up.
This mini, wordless book is very cute which follows people in a town for 12 months (12 spreads). It is very fun to flip through each spread and see what happens to the various people, with lots to details to find.

(one of the spreads)

And one of the books I'm working on right now consists of transportation so I picked up the other book for inspiration. Plus, look at all the cut out little cars! (they are also magnets!)

CGD Digistamps-Sept Collection

The September Digistamps are now available at I {heart} Papers.

For ideas on how to use these digistamps, check out the design team: Christy Loretta Lori Tammy Carlie Michele Laura Judy Kate

***********
On another note, I just wanted to thank you for all the support and comments on my previous post with my Sketchbook Project. I was really touched by the response, it encouraged me to keep going, even if its a bit personal. I must say it felt good to do something that is completely fun and art for the sake of art.

And a thank you to The Sassy Pack Rat for featuring me on her blog today! Check out her blog and her etsy shop (she makes very cute penguins!)

Sketchbook Project 2011- Pages 1-7

When I signed up for the Sketchbook Project, I was also taking a comics fundamentals workshop at my local library with Jerzy Drozd, (take a listen to his Art & Story podcast!) I think Jerzy's passion for comics is pretty contagious. So I was really happy to attend the workshop and meet him. I've dabbled in comics throughout the years; having a piece in an anthology, even participated in the MoCCA Artfest selling my work, but always getting distracted and going back to illustrating children's books.

I've always wanted to write and love the comic style of story telling. But writing is difficult for me. So when I was at the workshop and was told "Write what you know!" it clicked with me. I was going to write about my experiences and feelings of moving from a big city (New York) to a small town (Ann Arbor, MI), in comic form.

I'm intrigued by people who write autobiographical stories. How daring-to have the good, the bad, and the ugly out there for the world to see. I'm sort of nervous about it, afraid of offending anyone's feelings, afraid of people seeing my weak side. But here it is, page 1 to 7...

"If You Lived Here..."

(please click on the images to enlarge and read)

I have not pre-planned any storylines or layouts. I'm using this as a genuine sketchbook so to speak, and working directly on the paper (which is unfortunately, very thin, with ink showing through a little bit on the other side.). So the artwork is not "perfect" by any means and that is another side I will be exposing myself of.

I'll be posting new pages when I can and right now I plan to house all the pages in a set over at my Flickr.

And if you actually read all this rambling AND read my comic story so far, I thank you from the bottom of my heart! :-)

Arthouse Co-op + Sketchbook Project 2011

I'm probably a little late in posting this already but many people already know about the Sketchbook Project 2011 that is going on over at Arthouse Co-op (and my portfolio profile here.) There is still time to participate. $25 will get you a sketchbook, fill it with sketches, send it back by January and it will be part of The Brooklyn Art Library. The sketchbooks will be going on tour all over the world as well.

I picked the theme "If You Lived Here." Its been officially a year since my move from New York to Ann Arbor. And I've had so many feelings and new experiences that I was like to record down, so I'll be telling my story in this sketchbook. It will be a little bit different than my usual work but whats a sketchbook for but to explore new ideas, right?

Evites and e-card Designs

I've got some of my designs over at Pingg if you need to send out an ecard or evite. Thanks to the folks over there, I'm today's spotlight designer.

I took some existing art I had and it was interesting to see how it translated into invites and such.
I've also got a few Halloween designs up too- (yes, we've got to think ahead!)

August Digistamps

The August Digistamps are now available at I {heart} Papers! Thanks again to the design team for doing some great stuff with it:

Christy Loretta Lori Tammy Carlie Michele Laura Judy Kate

Art for iPhone/iPad app- ABC Song

I worked on a pretty cool project earlier this year that is now out- an iPhone/iPad app for HarperCollins Publishers called ABC Song. I did the art for it and they did an amazing job of bringing my art to life. It is pretty cool to see my art animated.

Some screen shots:

To see a preview, please check it out over at Curious Puppy!

**Its only $0.99 and you can download it over at iTunes here.** It will keep your little ones entertained. The singalong works great but I found the game part to be a little buggy, hopefully that will be fixed soon enough.

I'm thrilled to be part of something like this, and look forward to doing more interactive e-books, apps, and the like. It is definitely where the future is headed.

Painting with iPhone's Brushes App- Pig