ArtGhost

New logo for a new year

2012-02-01T22:08:00.000-08:00

I redesigned my logo for the new year. It's done in watercolor and is intended to better match my new illustration style. I am busily working on updating my portfolio and my website.

Happy Year of the Dragon!

2012-01-24T23:37:00.000-08:00

Starting the new year off right by finishing a new children's illustration. This one is done in watercolor.

Work in Progress

2012-01-11T22:51:00.000-08:00

Work in progress - pencil on bristol board.

Silver Phoenix

2012-01-05T00:40:00.000-08:00

A bit different from my usual, but I'm trying out a new style and new way of working. This was inspired by the young adult fantasy Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon.
Edit: I'm continuing to work on this image... and here's an updated version of the heroine's face.

Basilisk study

2011-12-11T22:00:00.000-08:00

My version of a basilisk... a pencil study for a personal project I've been working on.

Mysterious Window

2011-11-30T21:51:00.000-08:00

A sketch for another portfolio piece in my new style... trying to combine mermaids, Venice, and lovely hair in one piece... all the things I love to draw.

The finished piece

2011-11-23T22:35:00.000-08:00

Here is the finished piece from the previous post - it's done with graphite on watercolor paper.

Work in Progress

2011-11-21T21:25:00.000-08:00

As you can see, I'm partway through this piece. I'm working on changing my style and I'm really liking it so far... though it's pretty labor intensive.

Mystery

2011-11-14T09:50:00.000-08:00

Another black and white image for the back of a different illustration promo postcard.

Girl and Fish

2011-11-10T23:42:00.000-08:00

I'm working on producing new illustration promo postcards... here's a black and white image I'm working on for the back of the card.

Illustration Friday - Scary

2011-10-28T23:33:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I participated in Illustration Friday. Here's a Halloween themed family portrait.

Frog Prince Sketch

2011-09-10T22:25:00.000-07:00

Just goofing around. Methinks her legs are looking a bit strange.

Illustration Friday - Disguise

2011-08-31T20:23:00.000-07:00

This portfolio piece I'm working on conveniently fits this week's theme.

The Thief Lord

2011-08-18T23:32:00.000-07:00

A work in progress for an illustration class - we are doing YA book covers this week. I chose The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke.

Treasure Island

2011-08-13T00:56:00.000-07:00

What I've been up to lately... this is a scene from Treasure Island, done in watercolor with some photoshop. Still needs a bit more refining with the figure in the foreground, I think, but it's getting close to being done.

Bunnies, bunnies, bunnies...

2011-07-28T23:54:00.000-07:00

More bunnies. Should be the last one for a while. This one in regular ol' pencil.

Bunny illustration

2011-07-28T23:25:00.000-07:00

Another illustration for the class I'm taking with Craig Orback, done in colored pencil. It was fun to do, but I learned that rendering grass in colored pencil takes FOREVER.

Sleepy Bunnies

2011-07-21T23:48:00.000-07:00

Some sleepy bunnies for you tonight. This is for a class I'm taking... done in colored pencil with a bit of photoshop thrown in.

New Portfolio Piece?

2011-07-18T22:52:00.000-07:00

I think I may have finally finished this portfolio piece...

Bellydancer

2011-07-06T21:29:00.000-07:00

Just got some new drawing pencils so I used them to do this sketch of a bellydancer.

Just Blossoms Soap

2011-06-28T22:54:00.000-07:00

This is a project from some time ago that I neglected to post - this image was originally created for another project, but found a second use for Just Blossoms Soap. Below are some images of the illustration in use on the website and products.

Wizard Rockers

2011-06-17T23:22:00.000-07:00

I have to admit that I do love Wizard Rock, especially Harry and the Potters and The Hermione Crookshanks Experience.

If Harry, Ron, and Hermione formed a band, what would they be called? I need a band name to put on that bass drum.

Z is for Zillah who drank too much gin...

2011-06-17T23:01:00.000-07:00

This started as a piece for an Edward Gorey challenge, inspired by the sentence, "Z is for Zillah who drank too much gin." A bit too morbid for my kid-friendly portfolio, though it might work if I replace the passed out drunk with something else... might try a tiger in there.

Ursa Minor Coffee Logo

2011-06-06T23:29:00.000-07:00

I completed this project a bit ago - a logo and menu design for Ursa Minor Coffee, which is a mobile espresso shop based out of Asheville, NC. I even created my own handwritten font for

this project! The logo, menu, and a smattering of stars were enlarged and attached to the trailer; scroll down for images or check out their Facebook page for more images.

Rapunzel's Haircut

2011-06-06T23:13:00.000-07:00

Rapunzel

2011-06-02T22:27:00.001-07:00

Trying to combine my love of drawing women's hair with an actual, useful portfolio piece...

More images from a cancelled project

2011-05-31T23:53:00.001-07:00

Some more images that will never see publication... too bad, I still quite like these.

Cancelled project

2011-05-31T23:14:00.001-07:00

An unavoidable fact in the life of an illustrator: projects will get cancelled. Here are some images from a project that got to the color rough stage before it was scrapped.

Cute Animals

2011-05-31T23:07:00.000-07:00

More experimentation with colored pencils; also seeing what animals I can make out of the same peanut shape.

Heads

2011-05-23T00:11:00.001-07:00

My usual activity when I am stuck and don't know what to draw. Draw heads. Lots of em.

Swimming Girl

2011-05-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

Just goofing around with colored pencils.

Enjoy the Ride

2011-05-22T23:38:00.000-07:00

Here's another old image for the same card company that I still quite like.

Sad Toast

2011-05-22T23:34:00.000-07:00

Goodness it's been forever since I've posted anything. It appears I went into hibernation for the winter. Well, I'm finally back and will attempt to post something on a more regular basis.

Here's an old image for a card company, though I'm not sure if it ever saw the light of day.

Wedding Program

2010-10-20T23:52:00.000-07:00

A recently completed project - illustrations for a close friend's wedding programs. She asked for an image of their hands, hers with mehndi (henna). The color image was used on the outside of the program, the line drawing on the inside.

The couple sent a picture of her hands after she had the mehndi applied - they used the design that I created for the illustration. Pretty cool!

Recent project - wedding logo

2010-10-05T00:48:00.000-07:00

Here's one fairly recent project - a logo for a wedding. The couple wanted something they could use on all their printed materials - their menus, website, programs, etc. .

Color studies for dragon sketch

2010-09-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

Here's some revised sketches and color studies for the dragon sketch that I had posted previously. The only difference in the bottom two is that one has the ball that the dragon is chasing; the other doesn't. I'm leaning towards leaving it out.

Sketch for a new portfolio piece

2010-08-31T23:43:00.000-07:00

I'm working on adding to my portfolio, and am trying to do something a little different from my normal point of view. I'm going to try to render this in watercolor, which is a relatively new medium for me. Should be an interesting experiment.

Faking Tilt Shift Photography

2010-08-25T22:20:00.000-07:00

Using this tutorial, I took some of our photos from Italy and made them look like miniatures. Some were more successful than others - you have to have the right photo to start with, but overall it was surprisingly easy.

Another mermaid/giant hair drawing

2010-08-23T23:54:00.000-07:00

The hair got a little out of control on this one. But I really had fun drawing it.

Mermaids with big hair

2010-08-23T23:40:00.000-07:00

I have decided to combine my love of drawing mermaids with my love of drawing women with big hair.

I have a new wacom tablet

2010-07-31T00:13:00.000-07:00

I bought a new Wacom Cintiq 12wx and it's awesome. It really is very similar to just drawing on a piece of paper - that is, if that piece of paper was THE MOST AWESOME PIECE OF PAPER EVER MADE!! I think I'm in love.

In the meantime, I probably won't be posting much for a while, due to a top secret illustration project that will be taking up all my time for the next few months.

Cards for Art Star

2010-07-22T22:47:00.000-07:00

A bunch of cards are on their way to Art Star in Philadelphia!

I signed up for Twitter

2010-07-22T00:35:00.001-07:00

Well, I signed up for Twitter. I can't tell right now if it will be a great promotional tool or just a colossal time sucker. Right now it's tending towards the time sucker end of the spectrum.

Here's my twitter account - I'm sure I'll have no end of fascinating things to say, right? https://twitter.com/lizwongart

Breakfast

2010-07-20T01:07:00.000-07:00

Who wants pancakes and carrot juice? Yum, yum!

Breakfast for Illustration Friday - done in a combo of Illustrator and Photoshop.

Magic carrot ride?

2010-07-18T01:01:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's a blue rabbit riding a carrot. I don't really know what else to say about this one.

Have some tea

2010-07-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

Another drawing in Adobe Illustrator. Going for sort of a retro look.

Coffee

2010-07-17T01:53:00.000-07:00

Not sure where this came from - just playing around in Illustrator. I've been using Illustrator for a lot of projects lately; it's kind of fun.

Jane Austen Font

2010-07-16T20:59:00.000-07:00

For you Janeites out there, I found this Jane Austen font on Dafont.com. It's based on her actual handwriting. There's quite a nice explanation of the font on the font creator's site.

Giant Hair

2010-07-15T22:37:00.001-07:00

This is a perfectly reasonable hairstyle, I assure you.

Drawing with brush pens is so much fun.

Illustration Friday - Diary

2010-07-15T21:58:00.001-07:00

This was way too much fun to do. I'm really loving the hand lettering.

Ripple Blog - raising money for the Gulf Oil Spill

2010-07-13T12:53:00.000-07:00

The Ripple Blog is a pretty amazing site. They've raised almost $8000 for the Gulf Oil Spill so far - $10 at a time. Also, they have some big name illustrators (Mo Willems, Jared Krosoczka, Dan Santat, among others) whose art is available for $50. Check it out, buy some art, help some animals.

Fashionable Girl

2010-07-10T00:45:00.000-07:00

Just a quick drawing tonight, didn't have time to do much with this one.

New Cards

2010-07-08T22:21:00.000-07:00

Hey - remember those potential birthday card designs? Let's hope so, since I just posted about it yesterday. Anyhow, they are now actual cards - very soon to be on their way to Art Star, along with a whole bunch of other cards.

The inside of the unicorn card:

May all your wishes come true

2010-07-07T23:35:00.000-07:00

Another illustration for a potential birthday card design. I don't know if anyone will buy it, but I sure had fun drawing her hair.

Happy Birthday, sorry about your present.

2010-07-07T00:02:00.001-07:00

Working on a potential new birthday card design. Again, I am just missing posting on the 6th because it's 4 minutes after midnight.

Character Studies and Spot Illustrations

2010-07-05T23:55:00.000-07:00

Just some character studies and spot illustrations of a pioneer girl. I just read the Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, which was great, by the way; guess these were loosely inspired by that book.

Scooter Girl Illustration

2010-07-05T00:33:00.000-07:00

I have come to the realization that I have no idea how to draw a scooter. Also, technically I missed posting on the 4th of July, but only because it's just past midnight.

Hipster Illustration

2010-07-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try to post more in July, every day if I possibly can. Admittedly, I missed the first day of July, but it was my birthday, so I think I can be excused.

Anyhow, I was just having fun drawing a hipster guy.

Chick Habit Buttons

2010-07-02T13:56:00.000-07:00

A club in the UK is using my "Hey DJ" image to produce some buttons. It's called Chick Habit, and they only play music by women - pretty cool!

Website Update

2010-06-08T23:04:00.000-07:00

I am very happy to say that I just updated my illustration website (LizWongIllustration.com) with a new header and some new portfolio images. I am especially excited about my new handwritten type.

Watercolor self portrait

2010-05-30T22:12:00.000-07:00

It was self portrait day in watercolor class. We did a project in which we took a photograph of ourselves and gridded it off, then drew an identical grid on our watercolor paper. We had two index cards with 1" squares cut out of the center. As we painted, we put one card over one square on our photograph, and another card over the same square on our painting, and painted exactly what we saw in that square. Thus, my face is broken into 1" squares. It did come out amazingly accurate, though.

Illustration Friday - Slither?

2010-05-30T19:56:00.000-07:00

Well, it's not slithering exactly, more swimming, but it vaguely fits the theme.

This is a study for a potential new portfolio piece. I was inspired when reading Grace Lin's Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, which is one of the Newberry Honor books this year.

Recently completed project - wedding invitation

2010-05-16T14:37:00.000-07:00

I just finished up this project - these are images for a wedding invitation. Any project where I get to draw unicorns, merpeople, and period costumes is okay by me.

Watercolor flowers

2010-05-16T14:23:00.000-07:00

Another assignment from my watercolor class:

Watercolor fruit

2010-04-21T22:10:00.000-07:00

I am taking a watercolor class in order to improve my skills. Our week 2 assignment was a fruit still life. I'm fairly happy with the results. Normally painting a still life bores me to death, but I can see why it's a good exercise. And I must say, I have always read that using good paper makes a big difference, and I always sort of scoffed at that idea, but now I must admit I am a convert to Arches watercolor paper.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-03T14:34:00.000-07:00

Here are some bunnies for you.

Some useful portfolio tips

2010-03-24T16:52:00.000-07:00

I ran across these rather useful posts about what art directors like to see in your portfolio and thought I'd share:

http://chavelaque.blogspot.com/2008/04/squids-101-what-i-like-to-see-in.html

http://scottefranson.com/3-books/publishing/analyzeportfolio.html

Watercolor experiment, 2

2010-03-24T16:49:00.000-07:00

Here's the second of my watercolor experiments. I find that I actually have ended up painting several different parts on different pieces of paper, and then combine them digitally, so it ends up being a mix of traditional and digital.

Watercolor experiments

2010-03-17T23:37:00.000-07:00

I've been experimenting with watercolor, and have decided to redo some of my older digital pieces in watercolor. Here's the old piece and the new watercolor version. My inking skills have improved quite a bit since I created this, too. I think it looks so much better, don't you?

Indie Fixx Logo Design Competition

2010-03-12T16:39:00.000-08:00

Normally I am not a fan of design competitions, since it requires work on my part and no guarantee of pay, but this one is for Jen of Indie Fixx. I did her illustrations for Indie Fixx, the Indie Fixx Shop, the Indie Fixx Galleria, submitted a image for another project of hers called Feed Your Soul, and did a logo for Tickle Fancy. So, you can see she is a pretty faithful client with a lot of projects!

Here's an image I did for the (sadly, now closed) Indie Fixx Shop:

Anyhow, she has decided that it's time for a new look at Indie Fixx, and she is holding a logo design competition.

Here's the details:

http://indiefixx.com/2010/02/25/logo-design-competition/

New Drawings for Sale

2010-02-28T10:18:00.000-08:00

New drawings have been posted on ArtGhost for sale:

New illustrations for Aeolidia

2010-02-25T22:55:00.000-08:00

Aeolidia recently redid their site (they are awesome web designers), and they had their artists create new illustrations for them.

It's an underwater theme. By the way, the white things are sea slugs, Aeolidia papillosa a.ka. the shaggy mouse. It's a nudibranch, which is French for "naked lung," and also one of my favorite words, along with "atlatl" and "mukluks."

Anyhow, if you go to their site, you can see all the new illustrations. There's a nifty theme switcher doodad that will allow you to see all the artists' work.

Old sketchbook pages

2010-02-24T22:53:00.000-08:00

I must be feeling nostalgic, because I dug out some old sketchbooks and was looking through them. Here's some collaged pages from several years ago:This is an altered Target ad:
Some elements from a toy catalog:

Dragon Tattoo

2010-02-22T22:59:00.000-08:00

Watercolor and brush pen on vellum, some additional color in photoshop.

Happy Valentine's Day (Almost)

2010-02-11T22:34:00.000-08:00

Babies!

2010-02-10T22:35:00.000-08:00

Recent projects: Some baby-themed images for Just Blossoms Soap Company's labels.

Illustration Friday - Pioneer

2009-12-29T23:25:00.000-08:00

In honor of the impending arrival of the year 2010, I am looking to the future. I am trying a new technique out in Photoshop and I'm pretty happy with it. This was done with my Kuretake brush pen and colored digitally.

Illustration Friday - Undone

2009-12-22T23:38:00.001-08:00

Sometimes things just don't turn out the way you want them to.

Next thing you know, all your work is undone.

Brush Pen Review

2009-12-21T23:36:00.000-08:00

I just received some pens from Jet Pens, so here's my review:
Left to right:
Pentel Color Brush, Pentel Fountain Brush Pen, Kuretake Fountain Brush Pen, Sailor DE Brush Style Fountain Pen (55 degree angle), Sakura Pigma Brush Pen, and for comparison to an actual brush, Winsor and Newton Series 7 No 2.

I drew a bunch of similar looking heads for comparison, and then a few lines underneath showing the width of the line when the brush is pushed down to its maximum spread, and a few increasingly finer lines. This test was performed on Bienfang bristol board. The Pentel Color Brush (which I didn't get from Jet Pens, but have owned for several years) is a big plastic pen with a barrel that you squeeze in order to dispense more ink. I have owned it for a few years now and am still on my first ink refill. In order to refill the pen, you have to detach the entire bottom of the pen and discard, but as I noted, it will last for a long time. Surprising, I found it to perform quite well in my test, maybe just because I am so familiar with it.

Pros: dark ink, large brush, relatively responsive, ink cartridge lasts a long time
Cons: not waterproof, no converter, ink flow is not as good as some others (can be dry, especially on rougher paper)

Pentel Fountain Pen Brush ($12)
This pen comes with cartridges, and though a plastic pen, is a little nicer than the Pentel Color Brush. This one actually looks like a pen instead of a giant plastic thing. The ink was not as opaque as the Pentel Color Brush, but it performed pretty well. The ink flow is a little better than the Pentel Color Brush, but it seems to get a little dry on rougher paper or with faster strokes. It seems to be a popular pen.

Pros: ink is waterproof, cartridges are convenient, decent ink flow, but not as good as Kuretake
Cons: no converter available

The Kuretake Fountain Pen Brush ($30) was my favorite of the bunch (next to the actual brush, of course). It was very responsive and had good ink flow. The ink is darker than the Pentel fountain pen, and it also works with the Platinum converter, so you can use whatever ink you desire. The pen snaps back to a nice sharp point. It is a little softer than the Pentel fountain pen. The pen has an aluminum barrel that comes in black or a snazzy red.

Pros: Good ink flow, works with Platinum converter, most like a real brush
Cons: not waterproof

The Sailor DE Brush Style Fountain pen ($15) is not a brush pen, but I was intrigued enough to order one. It has a nib that is bent up at the end, and will give variable line quality depending on the angle at which you hold it relative to the page. The ink flow was not as good as I hoped, but it might be promising with practice. It comes with cartridges or can also use a Sailor converter.

The Sakura Pigma Brush Pen doesn't have actual bristles like the other pens tested. I've had this pen for a while, and I find that the tip gets worn easily. It is not very flexible and functions more like a marker. I find it most useful for filling in areas rather than outlining details.

Pros: waterproof, inexpensive

Cons: doesn't last long, less line variability and control (doesn't mimic the feel of a brush very well)

Lastly, here's the sketch with the actual brush for comparison. I found the Pentel Color Brush was similar for bristle spread, but the Kuretake was closer for feel, ink flow and line quality. I saw that Jet Pens also sells a sable brush pen, which I bet would be awesome, but it's also pretty pricey.

In the end, once you scan these in, they all look pretty similar.

My sister as a vampire

2009-12-20T23:01:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I am the worst procrastinator. I was going to do something productive tonight, but instead I spent way too much time making this little portrait of my sister as a vampire, as a gift tag to put on her birthday present.

It was fun, though.

Some northwest inspired images

2009-12-16T21:45:00.000-08:00

A couple of new portfolio pieces, inspired by the Northwest - one showing the sea life of Puget Sound, and one showing a spotted owl spotting.

Holiday Cards

2009-11-17T21:58:00.000-08:00

Here's a bunch of holiday cards, also available at Art Star:

New Birthday Cards

2009-11-17T21:56:00.000-08:00

A couple of new birthday cards, now available at Art Star:

Christmas Card Reject

2009-11-17T21:28:00.000-08:00

Somehow, it's already time to start thinking about Christmas. Here's an image that I drew for a holiday card, then rejected when I realized that they look like they are thieves stealing the tree and the presents. Hmm. At least they are cute thieves.

Recent projects

2009-11-08T16:10:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted for a while, because I had an arm injury that prevented me from doing much work (shoulder strain, tennis elbow and carpal tunnel combo). Basically, it made my whole right arm useless. But I am back! And here's some recent projects that I neglected to post.

This is for a label for organic dog shampoo:

This is a sample image for a picture book:

Illustration Friday - Infinite

2009-09-23T22:02:00.000-07:00

Infinite fun:

Infinite creativity:

Infinite peace:

Last ghost for a while

2009-09-15T22:24:00.000-07:00

A ghostly trick or treater.
Okay.
Enough ghosts for now.

More ghosts

2009-09-15T22:10:00.000-07:00

Ghosts or spooky punctuation marks? You decide.

Ghost Illustration

2009-09-14T22:31:00.000-07:00

Right around this time of year, we start to get lots of searches for "ghost art" (instead of ArtGhost). So, to satisfy people looking for ghosts, here's a ghost drawing.

Fuzzy Cat

2009-09-14T21:55:00.000-07:00

Here's a character sketch for a picture book idea that I'm working on. I wanted a very fuzzy kitty.

Illustration Friday - Strong

2009-09-10T22:26:00.000-07:00

This is what life is like with a toddler (if that toddler was a rabbit).

Another mermaid drawing

2009-08-24T23:30:00.000-07:00

Yet another mermaid drawing, colored in photoshop.

Caw Caw

2009-08-20T22:51:00.000-07:00

An illustration about being out of the loop on the social networking.

Blue and Yellow Girl

2009-08-19T23:27:00.000-07:00

Just goofing around in Photoshop.

Self Portrait with Unicorns and Lightning Bolts

2009-08-16T23:23:00.000-07:00

This started off as a pretty normal self portrait until I decided it needed some unicorns and lightning bolts.

Mr. Darcy, vampire, part 2

2009-08-10T22:34:00.000-07:00

Another quick image for my own entertainment. The idea of Mr. Darcy as a vampire has proved most diverting. Jane's arm from shoulder to elbow is really abnormally short, but I don't want to bother to fix it now.

"Pray tell, my dear Lizzy, what are these strange marks upon your neck?"

"Jane, I know not, but I must confess that I have been feeling a bit unwell since my marriage to Mr. Darcy."

Mr. Darcy, Vampire

2009-08-07T22:58:00.000-07:00

Just something I did for fun.

Recent Project - Trabant Coffee and Chai

2009-08-07T21:42:00.000-07:00

A recent pair of illustrations for Trabant Coffee - they wanted some coffee-themed monster images.

Jane Austen's Revenge: A Comic

2009-07-25T12:51:00.001-07:00

A comic inspired by the recent Jane Austen Paranormal trend (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monters, Jane Bites Back, The Immortal Jane Austen, Mr. Darcy, Vampyre, Mr. Darcy's Hunger... yes, these are all actual published books...).

This is Jane's revenge for taking such liberties with her work.

Floral Card

2009-07-19T21:33:00.001-07:00

There's quite a plethora of birthdays at this time of year, apparently. Here's a floral themed card that I whipped up this morning.