YouShouldYouShould: Character Design - Possum, Giraffe, Bird, Croc, etc! Any tips?

For newcomers who don't know yet, this story is already scheduled to be published by "Familius."

Here is what I've got for my other characters so far; I think they're fun.  :)  

The tricky part is keeping a consistent style throughout, making them all look like they are coming from the same artist.  The design of these guys ended up coming out geometricky, if that makes sense.  It's a lot about shape if you notice.  Hope you like them!

Feel free to let me know what you think!  Good or bad.

YouShouldYouShould: ReWorking the Ending--any help?

Re-working the last 2 pages... any thoughts?  I took out 6 lines from page 30, because otherwise it would have been too much text in comparison to the rest of the story.  They were important, but slightly irrelevant and not absolutely necessary.

Now my questions are:

1.  On page 30, is the word bizarre too complicated for young children?  

2.  Does it seem like the hippo calling the others seemingly "bizarre" is a step backward after the lesson we just learned from the story?

3.  On the final line, which fits better?

"I am happy to be me"

or

"I am glad to just be me"

or

"I am best when I am me"
or
"I am choosing to be me."

4.  (5 hours later) WHAT ABOUT THIS for pg 30???--I wrote brand new last 2 lines:

Upside down is not for me,

and I don’t like to climb, you see.

Today I think that I would rather

swim and watch the fishes gather.

As I float on my backside,

you’re welcome to come catch a ride.

I won't say “You should you should!”

I'll let you choose it, if you would.

We're different, true, from near and far.

But I like you the way you are.

Original:

You Should You Should: The Story

***The first 40 people to submit their email address to "FOLLOW BY EMAIL" (found at top right of my blog) will receive a FREE digital copy of "You Should You Should" if you're still following me when it gets published.  If you already submitted... congrats, you get a free digital copy!***  

Now, time to share my story!

This book targets problems associated with low self-esteem, shyness, people pleasing, dealing with being bullied or bossed around, toxic relationships, developing the self, helping kids learn to be assertive, fear of expressing feelings wants and needs, difficulty recognizing one's own feelings wants and needs, etc.  Social anxiety, depression, codependency, addiction, and their psychological effects.  And yes, this book is very therapeutic for me.  :)  (I'll talk more about that later)

I'd love to know which lessons you pick up in this story, and how it affects you.  If you comment well on which parts of the story taught you which lessons the way you interpret them, you can help me know how to write the "discussion tips for parents" page at the end.

You Should You Should

Written and (being) Illustrated by Ginny Tilby

Sketches N Doodles: New Blog Page

UPDATE: You can now find the sketches and doodles at my new website here.
---

I just added a new page to my blog up top there, see it?  It's called "Sketches N Doodles."  I invite you to have a look see!

One of my favorite places to go when I'm viewing artist's work is their pure pencil drawings and sketches.  I love seeing the lines, the mistakes, and the character it gives each drawing.  You can see where the artist pushed and pulled a line until it was in the right place, then darkened it to fit their satisfaction of shape, form, and detail.

Sketches also give away what the artist really loves to draw, especially if it's just the stuff they draw for fun, with no job or assignment given.  You get a glimpse of personality, sense of humor, what they think about, and their imagination.

The drawings posted in this page WERE actually an assignment from the amazing Don Seegmiller, but the assignment was, "Don't erase, draw what you WANT, and have fun."

YouShouldYouShould: Character Design - HIPPO (and some story boarding)

***I'd love to receive helpful input.  Feel free to post comments and thoughts you'd like to share.  For example:  "I think the hippo in the bottom left corner on page 7 is the best, but maybe his nose is too small" or "I hate the hippo on page 9, too fat, what were you thinking!"***

As you probably know, this is the first time I've illustrated a book.  I was all set to start making a dummy book, but then did some quick research and realized I was skipping a couple important steps... Oops!

1. Getting to know your character

 =  draw your character over and over until you've got him down.

So I was drawing my main character and realized I still wasn't satisfied with him, so I researched hippos AGAIN and drew and redrew him some more.  Now I have even more "looks" to play around with and choose from!  Which means I'm coming closer to the perfect Hippopotamus, but also means I have more work to do.

1

Speed Painting by Will Terry

This is one of my favorite (who'm I kidding, it IS my VERY favorite) speed painting videos.  I watch this over and over and over. Will Terry is my art professor at UVU (and awesome children's book illustrator of awesomeness), and I've been extremely privileged to learn from him.  At home, whenever I sit down to paint in acrylic and feel unsure, I pull up a few of his speed paint videos and take mental notes.  Enjoy!!  (first, see link below)

I prefer watching it on VIMEO instead at this link:  http://vimeo.com/10034343#at=0  (better music-very important to me)