Finished!

It has been painted, it has been edited, it has text designed on it, and here is the final two page spread:

So, what do you think?

M

"Strive For Excellence NOT Perfection"

I have read this motto in my doctor's office and a tremendous weight has been lifted off of my shoulders.  I have always been a perfectionist, obsessively so, and let's face it: perfection does not exist.  For something to be perfect, it has to be absolutely flawless.  In my life I have never discovered anything of the kind.  Perfection has no room for improvement, excellence does.

This simple motto has allowed me to move on from one project to another during times when a deadline depended upon my own discretion   Before, I use to spend so much time working on one piece of art, that it was never ever done.  Sometimes, I would overwork it to a point where it became much worse than it ever was hours, days, weeks ago; earning it a one way ticket to the back of my closet, or (dare I say it) the dump.

So, allow yourself to learn this ancient wisdom; allow yourself to make mistakes; allow yourself room for improvement: "Strive or Excellence NOT Perfection"!

_____________

Now, let's see how many passes this illustration will have to go through, before I'm satisfied. :-)

Clean Rough--Attempt #05

FACEBOOK THANK YOU!!! CONTEST: Winners, Prizes, Etc.

First of all I would like to thank everyone who has participated in the 2012/2013 THANK YOU!!! CONTEST.  I had as much fun composing all the riddles, as you've assured me you had fun answering them.  With the last riddle answered, the contest is over, and now is the time to pronounce the winners.

If you have read my earlier post, I intended to have only one winner.  However, as the contest progressed I decided to reward everyone who managed to answer a riddle.  Sadly, there is still only one AMAZING MYSTERY PRIZE, but I hope that the other winners will not find their prizes regrettable. 

So, without further ado:

The winner of the 2012/2013 THANK YOU!!! CONTEST is:

BRANKA GLADANAC

(Applause, please.)

This lady managed to answer EIGHT riddles and to unscramble the FINAL WORD.  Earning a total of 9 points!  (You can search for all the details on my Facebook Page, or you can read about them in the section "Riddles, Answers, and Winners" of this post.)

She is the winner of the AMAZING MYSTERY PRIZE which includes the following items:

• 20% OFF of her future Mili Fay Art order (Expires: March 15. 2013); Value: Depends on the order
• "Animals In My Hair" by Mili Fay, First Edition; Value: To Be Determined (~$25.00 CAN)
• Original Horsing Around Limited Edition Prints package, including the special Holiday Edition Print, "Silent Night"; Value: $125.00 CAN
• Three 8.5" x 11" Art Prints of any artwork (not constricted by legal prevention) found on Mili Fay Art Facebook Page or in the gallery of www.artofmili.ca. Value: $75.00 CAN
• Original Greeting Card Design; Value: $50.00 CAN
• 5 Printed Greeting Cards with Envelops of her choice: $30.00 CAN
• Custom-Art; Value: $800.00 CAN

The total value of this package is > $1100.00 CAN.

______________________________________________________________________________

The Second Place winner of 2012/2013 THANK YOU!!! CONTEST is:

DARREN RODRIGUEZ

(Applause, please.)

This gentleman was the early leader, managing to answer 5 riddles and assist with 2 answers, earning him a total of 6 points!

For his amazing effort, he wins:

• 20% OFF of his future Mili Fay Art order (Expires: March 15. 2013); Value: Depends on the order
• Three 8.5" x 11" Art Prints of any artwork (not constricted by legal prevention) found on Mili Fay Art Facebook Page or in the gallery of www.artofmili.ca. Value: $75.00 CAN

The total value of this package is >$75.00

______________________________________________________________________________

The Third Place winners of 2012/2013 THANK YOU!!! CONTEST are:

ADRIANA BLAKE

JOVANA GOLUBOVIĆ

and

NINA HOVANEC

(Applause, please.)

These ladies managed to answer one riddle each.  They each win 20% OFF of their future Mili Fay Art order (Expires: March 15. 2013).

______________________________________________________________________________

I will be contacting each of these winners shortly with details on how they can receive their prizes.  

Once again, thank you all for playing and supporting Mili Fay Art.  Look for future contest here, or on my Facebook Page.

All the best!

Mili Fay

__________________________________

RIDDLES, ANSWERS AND WINNERS

Week 01

"It may be BIG, or it may be tall;
it may be fat, or it may be small.
It has eyes, sometimes a grin,
and it keeps a light within.
It may scare you, or beckon forth,
depending on what's your sort.
In a battle you will win if only once, on Halloween.

Answer: Jack-o-lantern

Winner: Darren Rodriguez (1 point)


Week 02

"A worded question before your eyes,
in truth the answer in disguise.

What is it?"

Answer: A riddle.

Winner: Darren Rodriguez (1 point)


Week 03

"Prismed sunlight trapped in its wheel,
with artist's strokes new scenes reveals.
Some see more, and some see less;
a man's best friend is not as blessed.

What is it?"

Answer: Colour

Winner: Branka Gladanac (1 point) assisted by Darren Rodriguez (0.5 point)



Week 04

"It may be a cake in a dish,
but to eat it you won't wish.
Water is its best friend,
but it destroys it in the end.

What is it?"

Answer: Soap

Winner: Nina Hovanec (1 point)


Week 04

"TUMBLE, a shade of its other name.
But, that name is not what I need.
Second last from the end,
crowned in red, gold and a bit of green.
What is it?"

>Answer: Autumn

Winner: Branka Gladanac (1 point) assisted by Darren Rodriguez (0.5 point)


Week 06

"A key forged by ABCs opens doors to worlds unseen,
permitting visits as you dare and open secrets you can share.

What are they?"

Answer: Books

Winner: Darren Rodriguez (1 point)


Week 07

"From my hand a beam of light cuts through the darkest night.

What is it?"

Answer: Flashlight

Winner: Branka Gladanac (1 point)


Week 08:

"An arrow spinning 'round and 'round shows a way that's always sound.

What is it?"

Answer: Compass

Winner: Darren Rodriguez (1 point)


Week 09:

"A star-like crystal I barely see,
falls form heavens down on me.
In a cluster of its friends
upon the ground it gently lands.
Its cold kiss upon  my cheek
makes me glad it's Christmas week.

What is it?"

Answer: Snowflake

Winner: Darren Rodriguez (1 point)


Week 10:

"It begins at its end, and at its end begins again.

What is it?"

Answer: New Year (or Year)

Winner: Jovana Golubovć, who answered "Day", but since it works, it works! (1 point)


ULTIMATE RIDDLE CHALLENGE
(Note: Not in posted order.)

Riddle 01:

"It gives life, it may bring death.
It has no taste. It has no scent.
Colourless though it may be,
it is blue we often see.

What is it?"

Answer: Water

Winner: Branka Gladanac (1 point)


Riddle 02

"We're sure we see something, but nothing's there...
'From and empty hat, He pulled a hare!'
All convictions that are falsely made,
the IT I seek's a magician's trade.

What is it?'

Answer: Illusion

Winner: Branka Gladanac (1 point)


Riddle 03

"A spinning ball, all blue and green,
from distance we've seen on screen.
It's majesty cannot be beat,
yet it's trod by many feet.

What is it?"

Answer: Earth

Winner: Adriana Blake (1 point)


Riddle 04:

"Men's bane, a length of cloth,
wrapped around, around and through.
Women tease with it dressed,
but men can't wait to give it rest.
Though compared to hangman's noose,
it goes well with polished shoes.

What is it?"

Answer: Necktie

Winner: Branka Gladanac (1 point)


Riddle 05

"A tool fishermen often use.
A daily grind to money bring.
In business to get ahead,
you must do some __________.

What?"

Answer: Networking

Winner: Branka Gladanac (1 point)


Riddle 06:

"The sound Bell's invention makes;
two warriors face off in the thing;
a symbol of undying love;
the word I'm looking for is: _____. "

Answer: Ring

Winner: Branka Gladanac (1 point)


UNSCRAMBLED WORD: WINNER

Winner: Branka Gladanac (1 point)
________________________________________________________________

Creative Struggle

With only two illustrations needed to complete my first solo picture book, I find myself quite tired of the project.  This book was first conceived in 2008, and I have been working on it form time to time for nearly 5 years now.  My skills have changed.  And I do confess I am bored of working on the same project for so long, especially, since I have all these other stories bumping around in my head.

Two illustrations, and I will be done.

However, this is not the way to complete the project to the best of one's ability.  To achieve great artwork, one must have love.  The artist must love what he/she is working on, otherwise the impatience shows through.

The way I combat this is to remind myself why I wanted to do this book in the first place.  I do love it.  I still love the idea, the concept and the lovely characters.  So I try to pour that love into each drawing, I draw.  However, the impatience does shine through.  And even though there are only two drawings to complete, it is a struggle to complete them.  I have a vision in my head, but I fear I lack the skill to get it just right.  I miss the days when I use to create artwork by copying photographs.  That is easy.  To create something out of nothing, is draining.

It doesn't matter how many others think my artwork is great.  I look at it and thing: I should brush up on my anatomy; what has made me pick a book about animals, when my specialty is people; why have I not gone with the simpler Disney-like cartoon style, instead of a fusing of cartoon and realism; why...

Negative thoughts.

So, to escape them, I give myself breaks and work on something else, hoping that once I return to my artwork, the magic would return with me.

This is one such break, and to illustrate, I will post the progression of that second last illustration:

This is the original thumbnail sketch, I have done in 2009.

This is the sketch I came up with in 2012 based on the original sketch.  Very rough.

I played with the elements of the sketch, trying to create a better composition.

I printed out the above sketch and proceeded to draw the illustration rough.  Here should be some more detailed sketches, but I have never bothered to scan them.  So just take my word for it that they did not work as well as I hoped they would.  I found them too busy.  Then inspiration struck: 

NO BACKGROUND!

There is way too much text, way too many people I was planning to sketch that the entire illustration looked like someone barfed out characters and text.   It was just too busy, and though it may have worked when painted (subtly in some areas, more intensely in others) I decided to remove the background form the drawing, because background is not what is important to the story at this juncture.

So I drew a rough illustration, but then realized that it wold be better if I kept the elements of the sketch separate.  After scanning all of these drawing in, and playing with sizes and composition, the following resulted:

I would call this a clean rough.

I printed out this composition, and redrew it again, changing certain elements:

Final Illustration Clean Rough

I drew in proper perspective (horizon line is at the main character's eyes--boy in the chair), and made sure all the characters were looking at the two peary caribou.  I also exchanged the red-haired hairdresser for the African-American, because I think she will stand out better against the white of the barber's shirt.

So, there you have it.  My intention now is to step away from this drawing until tomorrow, and look at it with fresh eyes, before I proceed to size it, ink it, and then paint it with watercolour.

(I do believe I should have the little Asian boy turning inwards a little more...)

If you see something I could improve in the drawing, please let me know.  My eyes are too tired to pick up on any mistakes.

Till next time...

M

THE ULTIMATE RIDDLE CHALLENGE

Tomorrow is THE ULTIMATE RIDDLE CHALLENGE. Please see my Facebook Page for more details. Though there is only one incredible mystery prize to be won, I have decided to reward everyone who has answered any of the riddles throughout the contest. Good luck tomorrow, and may the best Riddler win. :-)