Moving the blog!

Hi all,
I am moving my blog over here to my portfolio site.
Please follow me there for new posts and...whatnot.
Thanks!

Mr. Toad studies

Here's a few really loose Wind in the Willows Mr. Toad sketches.
There are a million things I SHOULD be working on instead...

Big news!

OMG YOU GUYS! I am happy to report that I am now represented by Teresa Kietlinski at Prospect Agency.

"Be Wise" hand lettering

Part three is done!

"Be Strong" hand lettering

Another design for my Zazzle shop. This will be 1/3 of a triptych (Be Kind, Be Strong, Be Wise).
I'm having way too much fun with hand lettering!

New stuff in Zazzle Shop!

Toot! Toot! Some new goodies featuring this new design are here.

Wine label design!

I just illustrated a wine label for the good people at Prooples. They are a San Diego-based real estate company, and needed a custom label design for their client housewarming gifts. (What a great idea!)

Guest Artist Corner

A leprechaun by the 6-year-old. I keep cracking up every time I look at it. Also, note the curly toed shoes.

black & white illo

The Little Troll Baby

(click to enlarge)

village background

So I'm working on another promo piece and just drew this background layer. It's going to end up behind my characters so you'll hardly see it, but I liked it so much I thought I'd post it before it gets all covered up.

Illustration Friday- "Capable"

Why, these superheroes are capable of anything! The Caped Carrot, Kale Gal & Broccoli Boy.

Hot seller!

My iPhone case with this artwork is suddenly a big seller on Zazzle.
Have you checked out my Zazzle shop yet?

Frida Kahlo- new postcard mailer

New promo postcard! I revised the color on an earlier piece I did of Frida, and added another pose on the back. I am trying to tone down my palette a bit.
Hope she brings me luck!

Zingy French salad dressing recipe

(click to enlarge)
Have you guys ever heard of Penzey's Spices? If you are into cooking, they are amazing, and their catalog is awesome too. They have a seasoning blend called "Forward" (Wisconsin's state motto) that is a zippy mix of black pepper, paprika, garlic & other good stuff and I use it in my homemade French dressing. I love it so much I thought I'd draw it.
This also fits in with Illustration Friday's theme, fluid.

random scribble

Website revamp in progress

(click to enlarge)

Game plan step one: revamp website.
First a new header...

I'm in "They Draw & Cook!"

Not the most gourmet recipe, but it's cheaper than both Starbucks and therapy for your kids after you have a major freak-out. Just hide in the kitchen & fix yourself one of these & everything will be oookay. Here's the link.

Illustration Friday- "Suspense"

Well, technically, it's more anticipation than suspense, I suppose. Unless I was the one jumping in, then it was complete terror.

Science Rocks!

New promo piece! And the scribble behind it. Click to enlarge.

Free printable valentines!

On our fun illustration blog Between the End Pages, I uploaded a pdf file with 4 different school-size valentines. Print onto letter-size cardstock, cut apart & enjoy!
Here's the link. Pass it on!

Different kind of doodle

A little Saturday afternoon tribute to one of my all-time faves. Done in my, ehh, pre-illustration-style style.

A little morning coffee scribble

Illustration Friday- "Prepare"

A quick scribble for Illustration Friday- "prepare." Won't Mother be surprised!

new hand-lettering design

Saw this sentiment on a car in San Francisco. Wanted to buy it for myself, but only found icky generic-looking versions, so I made one!
I put it in my zazzle.com shop if you want it on a T-shirt, like me.

My favorite illustrator of all time...

...is Wallace Tripp.
Do you know Wallace Tripp?
These three books are my FAVORITES. All, sadly, out of print (don't get me started), but available through used-book sites. His animal characters are so lively & wonderful, his linework is amazing, I just adore him.
Track down his books if you can, it's worth the effort!!

Here are some links for used books (try eBay too), if you are looking to pick them up:
http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?qwork=6106887&matches=32&keyword=tripp%2C+wallace&cm_sp=works*listing*title

http://product.half.ebay.com/The-Adventures-of-Mole-Troll-by-Tony-Johnston-1972-Hardcover-Illustrated/2141157&tg=info

http://www.abebooks.com/9780316852807/Great-Big-Ugly-Man-Came-0316852805/plp

SCBWI 2012 Tomie dePaola entry

Here's my entry. Also check out Diandra Mae's totally awesome gallery of participants!!

OMG YOU GUYS

I am deeply honored to be the SCBWI Featured Illustrator for January 2012! Wow!

This year's goals are 1. to find a good agent, and 2. get my NEW picture book dummy a) finished and b) submitted to publishers/agents, so this is quite the start!!

"A Christmas Carol"

The rough & final color.
The Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge out into the chilly night. In the book, he sprinkled incense from his torch that filled people’s hearts with feelings of goodwill.
Happy holidays, everyone!

Sneaky-peeky from my dummy book

So I haven't been posting much here because I am working furiously on the dummy for my new picture book. This fellow is from my rough model sheet. I create a model sheet & size comp (like a line-up) for all the characters before I start drawing, like I used for drawing cartoon storyboards way back when.
That's all I can tell you. For now.

Illustration Friday- Stripes

A scene from the Wind in the Willows, where Ratty (the water rat) takes Mole (who has just given up on spring cleaning) out on a boat for the first time. So Mole is all, "Wow! The river! Look at that! Holy cats!" and Ratty is all, "Ehh, it's cool, man."

Ratty is wearing a striped shirt, like a good water rat should...hence Illustration Friday.

new facebook page

I finally got around to setting up a facebook page for my illustration work.
(You're on facebook, right?)
Find me here: www.facebook.com/tinakuglerstudio

A very Steven Spielberg Halloween

So, our kids are really into "Indiana Jones." Obsessed, actually.
For Halloween, the middle one wanted to be Indy (he already had the hat, which he wears everywhere anyway). The little one was perfect for his sidekick Satipo (Alfred Molina), otherwise known as the guy covered in tarantulas. When I asked the oldest one who he wanted to be (I was silently planning a papier mache Mola Ram headdress), he answered without hesitation: Steven Spielberg.
How does one make a Steven Spielberg costume? He suggested a Blue Harvest hat, and we went from there.

Thanks for our friend Vanessa (who also runs Klick Photographic) for the pics. That's her Captain Haddock in the background.

My first pattern!

I created all the elements in Adobe Illustrator & followed this extremely helpful tutorial.

Zazzle.com shop is now up!

Please check out my new shop on Zazzle.com at:
froufrau's Store at Zazzle

I will be transitioning from my Cafe Press to Zazzle as I have time to upload stuff.

Wynken, Blynken & Nod

Illustration Friday- "Boundaries"

I am pushing the boundaries of my illustration style by experimenting with hand-lettering the past couple of days. It is great fun, but I am intimidated by it at the same time.

New children's illustration blog!

Please check out Between the End Pages, a new blog featuring three wonderful children's illustrators, Marsha Riti, Brooke Boynton Hughes, and Jill Bergman, and myself!
(Jill designed the cool header!)

Woo-hoo! Sputnikfest 2011 Poster!

Yay! It's almost time for Sputnikfest 2011!!
This year's poster is an edition of 100, hand-screened in 4 colors, available for $25 + $10 shipping.
I will NOT be signing them in person this year, BUT if you pre-order from the Rahr-West Art Museum BEFORE August 19, 2011, I will be able to personalize a poster before they are shipped to Manitowoc. Call the Rahr-West at (920) 686-3090.

Illustration Friday- "Obsession"

A portrait of Amy Winehouse for "Obsession." Felt compelled to do this- it's a nod to the famous image of Jane Avril by Toulouse-Lautrec, with the snake on her dress.

Illustration Friday- "Perennial"

An elephant made of perennials, on a promo postcard I did a little while ago. Bottom banner had my old phone number.

garden harvest

Illustration Friday- "Gesture"

Pulling a goodie from the archives for this one- but it is topical for me at this point too: I love getting snail mail. A thoughtful letter is a such a sweet gesture!
Since recently moving away from my close friends, I've started writing letters (letters! on paper! with stamps!) to them, versus emails/Facebook. I love the leisurely practice of sitting down at the table with a cup of coffee, writing on paper, cool stationery, the whole process. I've been trying to get the kids to write their Wisconsin friends & relatives too, both for the writing practice & the thrill of getting a response.
Plus, it's so nice to get mail that's not a bill, isn't it?

promo postcard

abandoned mermaid

An unfinished concept for a print. Maybe at some point I'll refine it further.