On My Way Home collaboration project

Hey up ahead. I wonder if you knew
I’d see you. Through an aperture of heart,
And shutter in her mind, the both of you.
I’d see you leave, and say goodnight, then start
A ripple in the shadows as you walked,
And slough away a still-warm crust of night,
As bits of skin. She followed, while you talked
Of nothing, this or that, she hungered. Light
Was all you gave her. Gath’ring it with greed,
Collecting it from sidewalk crack, and star,
For just a while she satisfied a need
And captured you, then slept. And here you are,
A bit ahead, and just beyond the light,
Forever walking home that winter night.

Painting Before Bed written by Christian Hege, 

"On My Way Home" illustrated by Panda Erica (yours truly)

Hey Panda People,

I'm reposting this small 2"x2" watercolor sketch I did a few weeks ago of a cute couple I saw walking on my way back home. A lovely sonnet has been written to accompany it written by my new friend, Christian, whom I met at the SCBWI winter conference in early February. I hope to collaborate on fun little projects like this with him again in the future. Well written text just goes so well with a well placed illustration. Don't you think so? :]

Love, Erica

A New Favorite Inspiration

Welcome new & old panda followers!

This is not a post about my own art, but more about an artist and a book and an insight into what/whom inspires me most and helps me learn and fuel my drive to continue on this path of life that is called: ART.

As many of you all know, I am an aspiring author/illustrator of my own children's books. I have not yet published one yet, but trust me, I am getting there. There are just so many things to do in between and it's a bit hard, I admit, to make the right decisions on which path I should walk down next. (More on my many stories and brainstormings of my own children's book ideas in a later post, I promise). Felicia Hoshino is an artist that I recently discovered in my search for a job at many of the amazing indie publishers in CA. Her art is gorgeous and reminiscent of Hayao Miyazaki movies and brings the culture of Japan that I love reading about in the mangas I own and read online. 

I just received in the mail the other day her most recent children's books, Sora and the Cloud, and let me just say, it is amazing, aesthetically and emotionally. The story is not only simple, endearing and heart-tuggingly perfectly conveying of a childhood filled with imagination and adventure, but it really is so well written. I struggle myself with how to simplify my own manuscripts and decide what to leave out and let the pictures speak in place of words. But I just am amazed at the amazing skill she has at foreshadowing and symbolism with the syntax and kerning of the words to the page and the imagery that leads you from page to page and back again. It is really a story that comes full circle and it really was a joy to read and the study. 

I will keep this book at my working desk side for weeks (months) I'm sure and use it as reference in writing my own stories and illustrating my own storyboards and illustrations. Hoshino is my new hero and I hope this post gave you a bit of an insight into what influences me and what art I am looking at to teach me what 4 years of schooling could not. :3

I didn't want to spoil the book for anyone so I just took a pic of my favorite spread in the book, although i LOVED all of them. LOL. it was hard to choose, but I really admire the great POVs in this book. Note taken. ;]

Love, Erica.

p.s. le sighs. It is an inspiration and a burden/promise that reading books like these leave me with.  Inspiration to keep creating  my own art and writing my own stories. A burden   of a reminder that I still have SO much to learn and a long way to go before I can achieve such finesse and recognition with my own artwork. And a promise to myself to keep striving to get as good as I can get and BEYOND! :D now on to my night's work. ;] Yes, I keep a very weird and late schedule, but oddly it works for me. :3 Missing my partner in crime tonight and all nights I spend away from him, my pandaboy.

Senior Self Portraits

 So every illustration senior at Ringling College of Art + Design has to create a self portrait that will be printed on our senior show poster. And I did two versions so far. And I'm thinking of doing another version soon in watercolor and colored pencil. But I did my best attempt at a rendered computer illustration. It still needs more painting into, so I still consider it a work in progress. The second is a vectored version that features my cute, adorable doggy, Maxwell Parrish. I did that one in illustrator and I found it was a lot more fun. ^^;; highly rendering things in photoshop just isn't my natural style it seems. :] go figure. But I still want to work on it. Anyways. Hope you enjoy this extra post for today. Carter's work to come soon. Hopefully I get into the workshop, but there were quite a number of entered portfolios and I saw that a lot of them were awesomely Carter's style. But well, we'll see.

Photshop cs5.

It still need some more opaque flesh tones and highlights in the hair.

Work in Progress.

I like this one way better. I think it describes me a lot more. ^^;;

This is the version that I submitted to be featured on the senior poster. I'm excited. I really want to get a poster when they're printed.

Illustrator cs 3.

Love, Erica.