Illustration and the Total Pet Expo

Hey ya'll-- it's been a busy summer!

Well I am gearing up for Backer's Total Pet Expo this fall in Chicago, IL while also continuing to work on my illustration portfolio.  The result?  Illustrations designed to promote my work in the pet business!  This has been a lot of fun.

At the show...
I am launching my new line of printed "pet themed" wholesale products.  This includes prints, greeting cards and a 2014 calendar :) Click Here to check them out at my site.

On illustration...
I have been working towards my goal of getting published in the world of illustration.  My particular focus has been children's books.  I am part of the Society of Children's Books Writers & Illustrators.

Looking forward to a busy and eventful fall season!

Pancakes!

I decided that I really wanted to explore painting food.  Since I have also been exploring cooking it, this  project went hand in hand.  The challenge is that we recently moved to a very small town and I am in the studio by myself a lot, so making lots of food to paint was not ideal.  My resolution?  I am making "mini" versions of food!  I LOVE anything in miniature and I love close up photography.  There are a lot of things I really love in this project.  Here I made mini (eggless) yogurt blackberry pancakes.  They are plated on a teacup saucer :)  They were fun to eat too!

Mr. Valentine

Expanding into illustration

I always say that I specialize in animal portraiture...and I do, but I am currently working on expanding my abilities.  I am concentrating on illustration now.  I hope it will lead to new and exciting adventures and projects.  I attended the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators conference last summer and got 1st runner up in the contest for best portfolio...(click here to read more).  Since then I have been working to scratch the surface in this new field of study.

Click Here to view a few past illustrations for children's books.

Kiwi Fruit Pizza

I made this delicious "Kiwi Fruit Pizza" a few weeks ago.  It was basically fruit  pizza, but all I had in the house for fruit was kiwis.  I am trying to expand my portfolio, so I thought it would be something fun to paint!

Fun Poster Design :)

This is a poster I designed for the Harmony Brewing Company's "Black Squirrel University." :)

The Tacocat Challenge

illustration by Amy Hofacker

illustration by Roberta Rivera

illustration by Ryan Hipp

I posted this idea to anyone on Facebook who was interested in pursuing the "Tacocat" challenge and drawing their own version of Tacocat--which Ryan Hipp pointed out, is spelled the same forwards and back.  I think this project was definitely worth the fun :)  The photo that inspired all of this is the one below...

The Rabbit + the Acorn: A Short Story

The rabbit couldn’t handle it.  One shiny acorn gleaming in the sunlight on the ground.  Thelma adored them.  "She would, too," thought Jane.  Thelma never really did the same things as other rabbits.  Jane sat there and sniffed.  Why Thelma had collected an acorn was beyond her.  There were some lovely flowers only feet from where they were sitting and any rabbit would have gone straight to those for a bite to eat.  Not Thelma.   Beyond eating them, it was like she just sat there admired the shiny exterior of the acorn.  Jane was disgusted.  She had seen enough for one day.  She hopped toward the pine trees.  There was no sense in trying to understand Thelma’s logic.  If she wanted to chomp on acorns while the others found fresh greens to eat, then that was her prerogative.  Jane made a note in her mind to find a reason not to have a meal with Thelma again.  Something would come up.  She would think of a good excuse when the time came.  There was always a good reason when you needed one anyway.

Lunch at Home with a Hippo

Click the image to view larger

Turtle and Giraffe Meet Adventure

click the image for a larger view

I just finished this painting this morning.  I am looking to get some of my work made into prints to sell.  I am wondering if this one would be worthy of printing.  If anyone could give me some feedback on whether I should print it I would REALLY appreciate it.  You can leave your comments here or email me at funamals@gmail.com.  Thanks!

A Huge Honor...

Well I went to "Shine 2," a state wide portfolio review and competition for children's book illustrators.  (Writer's attended too, but they had their own conference).  The conference was ran by SCBWI, or the Society of Children's Book Writer's and Illustrators and held in Lansing, Michigan.  A panelist of judges, successfully published illustrators, Cyd Moore, Wendy Anderson Halperin and Aaron Zenz reviewed each portfolio.  There was a ton of talent and the feedback was wonderful.  I took LOTS of notes!

At the end they announced the winner of the illustration competition "Illustration Idol."  The winner was Bradley Cooper who received a one year mentorship with Wendy Anderson Halperin.   I received 1st runner up!  I will be getting a one hour session with Wendy to discuss my work and the future of my career!  I'm so honored to receive this award and very excited to work with Wendy.  I will be in the studio all this week working on applying all of the feedback I received at the conference.

Wendy Anderson Halperin, Amy Hofacker & Ryan Hipp

I'm Ready! Children's Book Illustration

I am all ready for a conference I am headed to in Lansing, Michigan tomorrow for children's book illustration.  I have three printed copies of my new portfolio.  I sewed the sheets of paper down the middle to make the book. 

 

I took some left over postcards from my last gallery showing "Don't Think, Don't Blink" and sewed fabric and new information to the backs of them.  Now they are repurposed into what we call "leave behinds"--something to give to someone for networking or a potential client.  I got a fresh set of business cards printed too as I was really low.  

 

I just received my official membership card in the mail for the Society of Children's Book Writer's & Illustrators. 

 

Mini Booklet

 

So I have been working on my Children's Book Illustration Portfolio and I needed to get my work printed professionally so that it is presented nicely to potential clients and the like.  I have 8 pieces to show in this collection, all laid out in a book.  The finished product will consist of three copies of what you see in the photos, but on a much larger scale.  To make sure that it is done right, I printed a mini version of the pages and pieced it together.  The result was a cute little booklet not much bigger than an inch square.  I thought it was deserving of a photo shoot. 

Ants :D

Just finished an illustration that I have been working on all day.  It is a double page spread for my portfolio for children's book illustration. (click the picture to see it larger).  I chose to illustrate part of a story I wrote a while back.  It is about ants trying to survive when the rain comes.  The work is still very fresh so there might be a lot of adjustments to it yet...we'll see.

Children's Book Illustration...a new adventure

So I really want to be a children's book illustrator.  Last week I met a really awesome artist, and a supporter, Ryan Hipp who has been giving me a lot of pointers.  I joined the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators and am headed to a conference in Lansing, MI in a few weeks.  I am working on building my portfolio and there are a few things that I really need to improve on.  I need to make my work more narrative, and this adventure has been really fun.  I also need to show that I can paint children, and people.  These paintings are what I have been working on in the studio to improve these things.

This is part of a full spread illustration.