Limbot - How-to-Draw Page

Ten monsters down...and two to go.  I'm on the home stretch with my monster how-to-draw pages.  After this I will write and illustrate the full-color introductory pages of the book.  There will be a bird's-eye view of Monster Island and some other descriptive art.

I'm in a rush to finish the book because the sooner I finish it, the more I will sell during this school year. I know the school year will be over before we know it. I'm happy about the topic I chose because I know that monsters never go out of style with elementary age kids. This will sell for years to come. They can't get enough of monsters, dragons and space creatures. Perhaps my next how-to-draw book will be a dragon book.

Have you seen my other blog, The Trowbridge Chronicles? Check it out.

Oregon Duck Going Long for a Pizza

Thought I would break the monster monotony with a Oregon Ducks pizza commerical. This was the only painting that I ever did for my Trowbridge Chronicles blog that was not a "Mrs. Trowbridge" painting. I cheated a couple years ago and posted this illustration that promoted the Ducks for a pizza company. Now I have this blog to post my own drawings, sketches and paintings. The next post will take us back to my Monster Safari book. Stay tuned.

Horned Toad - How-to-Draw Page

If you're just tuning in, I'm in the middle of creating a how-to-draw kids' book, called Monster Safari. I'm displaying each spread on this blog as I create it. It's good to be on the downside with about three more monster pages to go, plus a couple of full-color set-up spreads. Scroll down to see all the previous pages. 

It's not moving along as fast as I'd like it to since I can only work on it late nights (as I am now), early mornings and weekends. But I'm enjoying the process. I've created many kids books over the years, yet it's always a kick to release a new one.

The book will be available as an e-book as well as traditional. I also plan to bring these Little Beasties to YouTube in the form on how-to-draw tutorials for kids, after I'm finished with the book.

Check out my other blog, The Trowbridge Chronicles. It's totally different from this one.

Beakapoo - How-to-Draw Page

It takes patience to create a kids' book on the side. I wish I could work on it full-time and move through it quickly. But this is my late-night, early morning project. I'm pecking away at it as I can squeeze it in between my regular projects. But it's been fun to watch it steadily grow from week to week. It should be out for at least some of the school assembly programs that I have coming up this year.

I have written and/or illustrated many books over the years. But this will be my first ebook, hopefully the first of many. 

For this monster I wondered what a big beak with legs would look like. Now I know.

Have you seen my other blog, The Trowbridge Chronicles? Check it out.

Tyranopus - How-to-Draw Page

My Monster Safari book is slowly taking shape, one monster at a time. I  have now reached about the halfway point in my monster pages. By scrolling down you can see all of the previous monsters that I've drawn. 

The drawings are done with a 2B lead, using a Pilot mechanical pencil, nothing else. I darken the value slightly in Photoshop. 

The only other device that I use with the drawings is a section of newspaper upon which I put my drawing paper, to act as a cushion. It's much easier to get soft gradations when you're drawing on a cushioned surface. I never read about that technique...I just discovered it myself. The above drawing was drawn in such a fashion.

Have you seen my other blog, The Trowbridge Chronicles? It's an illustrated journal  that I found in the Quinault Rain Forest about ten years ago. It was written and illustrated by a Trowbridge shrew, who journaled life in her rain forest village about 200 years ago. Her name was Violet Trowbridge. I have admired her delicate watercolors so much that I must admit that my work may have been influenced by her. I especially like her elegant calligraphy work.

Snaggle-Tooth Crab - How-to-Draw Page

Here's the next creature that got signed for the part of the Snaggle-Tooth Crab in my up-coming book, Monster Safari. This is the only species of crab ever found that doesn't have pinchers. But those nasty canine-style teeth can leave a nasty set of puncture wounds. 

This is perhaps the most difficult of all the creatures to draw, mainly because of the six legs that are crunched together. That may be a bit difficult for a young artist.

Have you seen my other blog, The Trowbridge Chronicles? Check it out.

Snoot - How-to-Draw Page

Another Little Beastie joins the monster cast as I draw my way toward the completion of my new book, Monster Safari.  I'm posting each spread one by one, as I finish them, until the book is completed. Then the book will be available for sale. It will probably be released first as an ebook, then a traditional book.

On the right side of the spread will be the how-to-draw page, as seen above. I hope to make a video of each monster, showing how to draw him, then release it on YouTube. I'll keep you posted as I progress through the book. 

Have you seen my other blog, The Trowbridge Chronicles?