portfolio ILLUSTRATION
by Glori Alexander
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to the four greatest inspirations in my life: Jonathon, Kahlan, Aedan and John
CONTENTS 5 7 25 37 43
bio children’s illustrations realism character development fun with color
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BIO I grew up in Rochester, NY and moved to Oklahoma when I was 18. The culture was so shocking at first and the accent so different, that I couldn’t understand what many people were saying. Now, I am proud to say that I am bilingual; I speak Oklahoman and Yankee fluently! I have 3 kids: Jonathon, 9, Kahlan, 7, and Aedan, 5 months. I am happily married to my best friend, John. We love being outdoors and love doing outdoorsy stuff, like, rockclimbing, hiking, swimming, bike riding, etc. I also love cooking and baking and as a result, snagged my husband 3 short years ago. I grew up with crayons in hand and loved to draw. Something was missing however and I didn’t understand what it was until I came to the University of Central Oklahoma and learned the difference between art and design. Design is solving problems creatively, which can be done in any area of life, illustration included. This made the left and right side of my brain very happy. Now I love drawing illustrations with a purpose and feel extremely lucky to make a living doing what I love most: drawing.
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children’s illustrations
toybot The Toybot project began as a product illustration. What product, that doesn’t already exist, would I want? Well, what would make my life a million times easier as a mom? Something to pick up toys. I used my kids as models. They were also excited at the idea of having a toy do their job for them. Of course, no one thought about the Toybot becoming obsessive compulsive and picking up EVERYTHING in sight! On this page are some of the color comps I did. This is one of my very first attempts at color, and I was very apprehensive. I tried not to be shy, but the colors still turned out very muted. On the following page is the first final I did. I don’t think the room was dirty enough and I didn’t think the composition worked. The colors of the arms of the Toybot mixed very well and had a very ‘metallic’ look. Media: prismacolor markers and ink
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When I decided to redo this project, I rearranged the layout and dirtied up the room. All I had to do for research was check out the kids’ room. I chose a primary color theme. While I still kept the colors somewhat muted, I used tons of color to highlight and shadow then entire scene. I chose a different, younger character because it seemed more believable that she would be terrified, not excited over such a monster. The arms of the Toybot, composition of the piece and the little girl’s horrified glance all point to the little doll that just got picked up. Media: prismacolor markers and pencils
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runaway balloon The Runaway Balloon project was one where I wanted to communicate the story through body language and facial expressions. As for the subject matter, I thought about what kids might consider frightening, but in reality would be quite humorous. In this piece I also mixed the colors to create shadows and highlights instead of using black and white to create the contrast. Media: prismacolor markers and pencils
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pirate mice Where’s the place kids are free to imagine the most? The bathtub. Toys come to life and adventure awaits on the high seas of the bathtub! I did the first illustration with watercolor and ink. While it was an interesting composition, there were a bunch of elements that were off. When I re drew the illustration, I cropped in a little closer and used
a media I was more comfortable with: pencil and charcoal. I also fixed the proportions of the little girl’s face and removed the feet and knee which I felt were too distracting.
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scaredy chicken
Have you ever wondered what the chicken feels about us eating him? This illustration focuses on his perspective. Maybe his ability to hide shows a sense of sentience that we never knew existed. The first attempt had too much going on. Although, the meat calendar was my favorite part! While I eliminated some of the busyness in the second piece, there was still too much for the viewer to focus on. I chose to go with just the chicken and focus on him escaping his fate. I wanted to use color to create the mood of the piece and the first two were too bright. The third is the final piece before I blurred the background in photoshop. Media: watercolor and ink, photoshop
rapunzel This is the part in the story where the wicked Enchantress finds out that Rapunzel is in love with the prince. She is about to cut off Rapunzel’s hair and thus cut off her ability to see the prince. Below are character and composition sketches.
The second piece is where the Enchantress uses Rapunzel’s cut hair to entrap the prince and once he’s in the tower, throws him out of the window into the sea of thorns. Media: pencil and carbon
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rollerskates Remember when you were a kid and every idea was a great one? This illustration takes us back to that time in our lives. I chose a worm’s eye view for the illustration because I wanted it from a kid’s perspective. The colors are bright and lively to reinforce this time period. The colors weren’t quite ‘there’ in the piece on the left, so I went over it again with prismacolor pencils to give it a boost of color (see right). Media: prismacolor markers and pencils
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realism
pen & ink
Both are examples of realism in pen and ink. Billy Blazes on the left is illustrated using pointalism. The hat girl is illustrated using cross hatching. Media: ink
compressed conte
Compressed conte is like a hardened chalk or pastel. The next few illustrations are studies of Michaelangelo’s drawings and sculptures. Media: compressed conte
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figure studies
Left: quick figure study Media: compressed conte Right: extended figure study Media: pencil and carbon
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political posters Political posters have become a dime a dozen. By illustrating the poster, and giving it a different ‘look’ than most other political posters around, I can almost ensure the viewer to take the time to look at it and read it. Instead of sticking to one side of the spectrum, I chose to come at the viewer from both sides politically. I felt this would prevent the viewer from getting too defensive and maybe actually take the time to figure out the message of the posters. I took iconic images of the past and current president and placed a quote on the poster. The quotes are actually said by the opposing president, but seems as if it could have been said by them. In doing this, I hope the reader can begin to think about how much he/she actually knows about their candidate of choice. The message of the posters is for viewers to know why they like or dislike a particular person. Do they know how the person voted before coming into office? Or do they only know what the media is saying? Do your research and find the truth. Media: pencil and carbon, photoshop and illustrator
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character development
characters welcome
Characters go through a bunch of color combinations to find the perfect match. Facial expressions and body language are extremely important in creating the mood of the character. Media: prismacolor markers and pencils
kids & animals
Kids and animals are always a winning combination! While most kids don’t often have closed mouths (at least mine don’t), its a good idea to try different expressions and poses. Don’t forget the expression of the animal too! Media: prismacolor markers and pencils
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little ninja
Little Ninja is a character I’m developing for a children’s book. A character must stay consistent throughout the book, so tons of drawings are necessary in order to accomplish this. Media: pencil, prismacolor markers and pencils
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fun with color
all the colors of the rainbow Working with color was diffiicult for me, until I worked on some speed coloring projects. In speed coloring you have a limited time to block in color and add the detail colors. While the pieces may or may not end up being finished ones, the process is very freeing and opens you up creatively on your other projects. Sticking to a color theme when blocking in your color is a good idea. ie: complimentary, analogous, primary, etc.
While I didn’t speed watercolor (is that the right way to say it?) this one, my color choices were based on my experimentations with speed color. Media: watercolor and ink
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