I did this for the Illustration Friday challenge word, “Rescue.” So much came to mind, but I liked best the idea of a child as superhero, rescuing a dog from the animal shelter. This was done with an ink brush on vellum, scanned and then painted in Photoshop. You can see the original sketch here.
Monthly Archives: August 2013
Power! – Illustration Friday
I did this just for the Illustration Friday challenge word, “Power.” I imagine it would take a lot of power to tame a t-rex. This is pencil, 2B, 4B, and a little ink on the outlines. Bristol, vellum. 9″x12″
Here are some sketches I did before the final drawing.
Bee Girl Painted
The Bee Girl from Blind Melon’s No Rain. I added wings because I want her to fly. See previous post for sketches. Gouache on bristol, 5.5″x7″
Bee Girl and Olive


The Bee Girl from Blind Melon’s No Rain. And Olive from Little Miss Sunshine. I was struck by how similar these two girls are. They are both adorable and strive beyond the opinions of others about body image to achieve their dream goals. Joy and hard work can get you places.
Fresh : for Illustration Friday
2013 SCBWI Summer Conference
Yes, I’m going. The 2013 SCBWI Summer Conference is on! This will be my 3rd conference. My first was in 2008. Back then I had cancer. Following the conference I went through 7 operations (3 of them life-threatening) and multiple chemo and radiation therapies. In 2010 I met Dr. Lenz at USC Norris and he changed my life. The cancer removed (along with half of my gut). Chemo and operations every year… this is the first year since 2005 I have not had an operation! And I’m 3 years cancer-free! So it’s time for a new start.
I went to the SCBWI Summer Conference last year and learned a lot and was once again inspired. Since then I have decided that if I wait until I think I’m ready I’ll never be ready. So I made motions to start working. I have done a couple of jobs that I will talk about when it’s published but my real goal is children’s books. I’m ready for this conference and I will be working to achieve my goals when I get back (as I am now). I’ll paraphrase the highlights of what I learn here and then get down to business. It won’t be too long before you see a picture book with the words “by Mike R. Baker” on it.
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