Isaac’s birthday is quickly approaching – too quickly if you ask me! He’ll be turning 1 on November 1st, which is a month away. I want to throw him a wonderful party with all his friends, lots of great food, fun presents, and of course, a delicious cake! When it came to the cake, my first thought was, ‘I’m a creative person, I’ll make it myself!’. Little did I realize that making a cupcake bear isn’t quite the same as drawing a bear! For the entire process of decorating, I kept wondering where the ‘undo’ button was…

After throwing away a couple attempts, I’ve posted my ‘best’ result. (My attempt with fondant will go unposted as it was shamefully trashed) I admit to watching TLC’s Cake Boss and with my high standards for cake decorating, I’m not sure my skills will cut it. I thought I would post it anyway to see what you guys think. Should I give it another go or call the local bakery to order that super cute porcupine cake I saw in the window the other day?

My hats off to cake decorators everywhere! It’s truly a wonderful skill and much more difficult than I gave it credit. Maybe my dreams of being the next Martha Stewart should be put on hold…

I like to use patterns in a lot of my work. In this illustration, I’ve added a polka dot pattern to the little boy’s bear costume. This illustration was done for a church halloween event. Let me know what you think!

I’m still trying to decide what Isaac should be for Halloween! It’s the day before his birthday so I’ll be busy preparing for his party but still want to dress him up in something cute – I was thinking he’d make a cute dragon or dinosaur because he often makes funny growling sounds!

With the help of my wonderful hubby, I’m happy to launch my redesigned blog! Not only have we been working hard at redesigning my blog but we’ve also created a new portfolio website.

I wanted to separate my blog from my portfolio site for a couple reasons. Firstly, I didn’t like having my blog as my main page because the content continuously fluctuates on this page and it’s the first impression a viewer has of my site. I wanted to have a bit more control over the first impression. Secondly, I want my portfolio site to remain professional but also want the freedom to be more personal on my blog. By separating the two, I am able to have a bit more fun with my blog :)

I have designed a new logo, layout, and colour scheme. The logo represents me and my little one, Isaac! Anyone who knows me, knows that Isaac LOVES to be carried and that I put him in my Ergo baby carrier (best baby invention ever!) everywhere I go – even at 27lbs! He is my little inspiration and I wanted to include him in my redesign.

My blog is also a bit larger now and has more features – feel free to take a look around! Currently, you can subscribe to my RSS feed, add me as a contact on Flickr, become a fan on Facebook, add me as a contact on LinkedIn, follow me on Twitter, and subscribe to my email updates!

I’ve also managed to redesign my business card, letterhead, and envelopes. I’m hoping to make a post about those soon.

I’d love to hear your feedback on my redesign and the design of my new portfolio site!

Stampavie and I are trying out a new style of stamp that will be released very soon! I’ve posted one of the examples here. At first glance, it may appear very similar to my other stamps but the lines of this stamp are more free-flowing and natural. I’ve been experimenting with my line quality and feel that I’ve acheived a stamp outline that is much truer to my illustrating style. I love my work being free, light, and uncontrolled and I think that I’ve come close to acheiving that in my stamps. There are only a couple designs released for now to see how everyone likes them :) The stamps can’t be purchased yet, but I’d love to hear your feedback on what you think of the ‘new style’ and whether you think you’ll prefer this to my original style. I am still planning on releasing designs in the original style but thought it might be fun to spice things up a little!

You can view all the new stamp releases here. I’ve also created some fun accessory stamps in my original style. There is a birthday theme, garden theme, and more! Now you’ll be able to mix and match the stamps and create scenes. Let me know what you think of the accessories :)

On another note, Isaac is turning 1 in under 2 months and I have some birthday planning to do! I can’t believe he’s almost a year. Any suggestions for a 1st birthday party theme?

Disclaimer: This post will most likely interest digital artists and is more technical than my usual posts :)

As a digital artist, my drawing equipment is very important to me. Almost all my work is done directly on the computer. I occasionally break out a sketchbook for developing ideas, characters, or layouts but most everything is digital.

Until now, I’ve been drawing with a Wacom Intuos3 6 x 11 inch pen tablet on a 24″ iMac. It’s been a great setup for the past couple years but since the birth of my son, efficient work flow and time management have become of utmost importance. I have limited time to work: 1 – 2 hours during the day when my son naps and 2 – 4 hours in the evenings (the evening time varies depending on how much time I want to spend with my hubby!). Because of my limited time, I felt the need to examine my current setup and see if there were ways to become more efficient producing work.

“The Modbook is the revolutionary slate-style tablet that enables users to draw, sketch and write directly on the screen” – Axiotron Website. The Modbook uses a Macbook base and is ‘modded’ to include the tablet. Drawing right on the screen of my computer would definitely increase efficiency as this ability most closely mimics drawing on paper. My old setup of drawing with a tablet on my desk while looking up at my computer is disjointing and unnatural. I often found myself redrawing the same line many times just to get it right. This was frustrating and made my illustrations take much longer.

So I purchased a Modbook. I was excited to be able to draw on screen and also be able to carry this laptop around and draw anywhere I go (might come in handy while following a toddler around). After the excitement of receiving my Modbook wore off, I started to settle in with it and tried to establish a new work flow. To my surprise, I was very displeased with my new setup and definitely DID NOT feel like it was improving my work flow or use of time.

The following were my issues with the Modbook:

1. Because of mod, there is no keyboard on the laptop. I use keyboard shortcuts ALL the time while illustrating, and I wasn’t able to set up the palettes in a way that made my work flow as efficient as using a keyboard. I do have a wireless keyboard but setting myself up in order to use it effectively would mean being at a desk and therefore defeating the benefit of the Modbook being portable.
2. The screen is very small (13 inch) and difficult to work with in comparison to my 24 inch iMac (especially with all the extra palettes open).
3. The Macbook itself is not very powerful and load/save times are slow.
4. Most importantly, the pen reaction time and calibration were impossible (for me) to adjust to and it became harder to draw digitally than before. Whenever I wanted to draw near the sides or corner of the screen, the calibration was way off. The pen sensitivity is also HALF of what I was used to with my Wacom. The drawing experience was poor.
5. I found the idea of holding the laptop and drawing in my lap appealing but the reality of it was that the calibration needed changing every time I changed the angle of the computer or adjusted my seating position.

SUMMARY: Overall I found the Modbook size to be confining, the lack of keyboard reduced my efficiency, the pen sensitivity and accuracy was half of what I was used to with my Wacom, and the portability factor was no longer as appealing when dealing with difficult calibration.

This is where my wonderfully loved Wacom Cintiq 21UX comes in! After being very disappointed with my Modbook (especially at the price point – which I should mention is the same as the Cintiq 21UX), I decided to exchange it for a Cintiq. Am I ever glad I made the exchange! The Wacom Cintiq is a large screen display that you can draw directly on and is the leading tool for professional artists, illustrators, animators, photographers, etc.

The following is why I LOVE my Cintiq 21UX:

1. The screen is 21 inches and gives me TONS of room to draw.
2. The pen sensitivity and calibration are top notch and just what I’m used to from my previous Wacom Intuos 3.
3. I am able to use all my keyboard shortcuts. I’ve set up the Cintiq on my desk with a keyboard and second monitor.
4. There are touch pads and quick link buttons on either side that can be programmed for additional shortcuts.

To finalize, I ultimately bought the Modbook because I was interested in the portability factor but realized that a better quality drawing experience is more important to me. The Cintiq has surpassed all my expectations and I couldn’t recommend it any more highly. It has made drawing on the computer more fluid, efficient, and enjoyable!