jessica linn evans

Take A Look Sunday – Jessica Linn Evans

A big thank you to Chris Tugeau and Christy Tugeau Ewers for taking the time to give feedback on these illustrations. And thank you to Kathleen Temean for posting. I found this article long after it was posted, but the information is still extremely helpful. These illustrations are both in the upcoming book, Little Mouse Finds A Friend, by Jeni Leidenfrost, (Jovial Press), to be released November 1st.

Writing and Illustrating

cattaguea tksLittleMouseCaterpillar CHRISTY: Immediately, I am drawn to the perspective used in both of these. The artist’s use of foreground/middle ground/background gives both of these illustrations an interesting dimension. More elements are revealed the longer the viewer looks at the image, which I really like.

This little mouse character is adorable (I like his hat!) and his subtle expressions are sweet. I think mice have less “finger-like” paws than he seems to have, and his feet/back paws are a little creepy, but it’s understood that he’s anthropomorphic, so it could work.

I have a few questions that may make these images a little more clear. One, is the caterpillar hiding behind that leaf? It appears as though the mouse can see him, given the look on his face, but the way the leaf is, it would block his view of the caterpillar. If the artist intended for the caterpillar to be hiding…

View original post 519 more words

Little Mouse Family website

I’m so excited about this gorgeous website for Little Mouse Finds A Friend, designed by SunDog Media, LLC. There are lots of fun facts about the characters in the book and coloring sheets for readers and a beautiful user-friendly interface. Come on over and visit the Little Mouse Family at https://www.littlemousefamily.com/!

LM website

Painting process

When I paint with watercolor, I lay in the shadow first and bring the color over the top. Then, for this style, I finish up with thin black strokes for the outline.

color

shadow

Dreamcatcher

Ahoy! I painted this for an Inland Northwest Society of Childrens’ Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Conference. The theme was “Plot Your Course.” The guest speakers and presenters were fantastic! I was able to meet many new friends and connect with old ones. Now that the conference is over, I’m making these prints available for purchase at my Etsy shop. Feel free to meander over and purchase one for your favorite little sailor!

DreamCatcher_8x10_300ppi

Cooler weather is comin’

It’s been hot in my home town lately. Really hot. But it’s September and cooler weather is just around the corner. I’m looking forward to it.

I just completed a painting from the upcoming book Solar the Polar, by Kim Constantinesco (Editor-In-Chief at Purpose 2 Play) and published by Maclaren-Cochrane Publishing, December, 2017. I really like how it turned out. Here’s the top portion, so I don’t give out any spoilers.

It reminds me that cooler weather is on it’s way. And that makes me happy.

solar only

Ozalids

Little Mouse Finds A Friend is at the printer, and they recently sent us something called ozalids to look at. If you’ve never heard of them, ozalids are paper examples of the way things will look once they get printed into a book.

The color on these were, well, gross. BUT, they also sent color proofs, and I’m happy to say that they were gorgeous! So I’m pretty excited to see the finished product in October. I hope you get to see it too! Stay tuned…
page 22-23 BW

Sketch to painting

I’m so excited for our next book, Little Mouse Finds A Friend, to come out in October. I’m counting the days!

Here is a little glimpse of one of the turning point images, from sketch to finished painting. sketch to painting

Psst!

From the Little Mouse Family facebook page:

Psst! We’ll let you in on a little project we’ve been working on: a descriptive audio recording! We love audio books, and Jeni has planned to record a read-along version from the moment we decided to publish her story. We want everyone to enjoy the story to it’s fullest, so for our visually impaired friends, Jeni is working on an audio recording with image descriptions. (You should see how excited she is! It’s ridiculous!) Huge thanks to Erin Jepsen and her daughter Abi for the professional consulting, Bartholomew Budwig for recording, and Jessica Linn Evans.

Fun mail from Franklin

There is nothing quite so cheering as receiving a thoughtful handwritten greeting in the mail. Even more fun is a whole manilla envelope full of hand-made thank you notes from third graders. Here’s a sample of the notes I got from the students at Franklin Elementary expressing their thanks for the school visit I did with them at their library time in late spring. I think some of them are future illustrators!

Thank you notes from Franklin Elementary third graders.

Artwalk 2017

I participated in a live artist event at New Saint Andrews College during the 13th Annual Artwalk in Moscow, Idaho. It was a lovely time with other artists and chatting with folks in the community. The city-wide event included a block party downtown with live music, food stalls, a giant chess board (as well as more traditional sized chess boards), and local art in many of the downtown businesses. The weather even cooperated… sort of. It really a very lovely event that improves in size and scope every year. I was thankful to be a part of it.