A Girl Who Creates - Holli Conger Illustration

First Family Vacation

2008-10-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

We're all getting ready for our first family vacation next week and the above is from today's Woogie Wednesday. Go check it out!

Also, today was the launch of Pumpkin Junkin' 2008. I haven't received any entries yet so start sending them in! I still need to make mine. I started when the Woog did her's but I just couldn't get into it. Maybe when we get back.

Clique

2008-09-22T05:04:00.000-07:00

I haven't done an Illustration Friday in forever so while doing my creative warmup today, I continued it with this week's theme: clique. These guys are kind of forced to stay together.

#1: This little piggy went to market
#2: This little piggy stayed home
#3: This little piggy had roast beef
#4: This little piggy had none
#5: this little piggy cried wee-wee-wee all the way home

Also, if you're coming from Illustration Friday, look here for a fall contest! Now off to wash my foot :)

Let the Promoting

2008-09-17T10:51:00.000-07:00

I finally have my licensing site up and organized how I want it. I still have some tweaking to do but it's suitable for public viewing now :) Above is a rooster form my junk-a-doodle-doo™ collection.

Over the last few months I've been collecting contacts and researching licensing. I've found out a lot The possibilities seem endless. With everything I have going on, I've brought on a Licensing Manager who will allow me to have more time being creative. She seems just as excited as I am which makes me more excited!

I've also feel in love (it's become an obsession actually) with making repeat patterns. It had been so long since I made them I had forgotten most of the steps. So, I purchased
Tara Reed's e-book and my memory was instantly refreshed on those few simple steps. It was well worth the money for the one page of steps I really needed.

Pizza Puzzler

2008-09-10T09:59:00.001-07:00

I had forgotten I did this piece for Highlights until I got a copy of the magazine the other day. I've been so busy lately I've forgotten about most of the projects I've completed so it's nice to have reminders sent in the mail. Since I have been so busy I've been slacking on my creative warm-ups but I've kind of gotten back on track if anyone is interested in looking.

The World of Licensing

2008-09-08T09:30:00.000-07:00

The above is my full color logo that reflects they type of work I've been getting ready for my licensing portfolio. It's nice to do something a little different from drawing kids :)

I have totally engulfed myself in the licensing world and what I've been finding out is that there are a gazillion companies out there that license work and there is this air of secrecy that surrounds the entire industry from both artist and companies. It's really hard to explain but it's become very evident to me. I understand that some artist have to keep their licensing partners confidential due to specific contract agreements but when you can't see any of a companies or artist's work unless you are a manufacturer, that seems a little weird to me. I totally get why they do it that way, but I'm wondering if people are hurting their business by being so hush-hush (visually and informationally). I'm in no way telling people how to run their business (I still have secrets under my belt) and maybe they've been burned in the past? I think I feel this way because I've always had an "open" portfolio and freely talk about my experiences in the illustration field. It has gotten me thinking if I should be secretive with my work and information. I don't know the answer yet... Anyone else get this vibe about the licensing industry?

I had a great, awesome, long-overdue, meet-up with an old professor of mine from college. She was my absolute favorite and I had lost touch with her after graduation. Over the last 8 years I've been periodically googling her seeing what she was up to and couldn't find anything. When I started thinking seriously about licensing, I thought about how great it would be to pick her brain since I remembered she had dealt with licensing and product development for a company. Well, low and behold, while doing my research on licensing, I happened to find her on the staff page of a licensing agency. Serendipity? Serendipitous in deed! So I was able to pick her brain last week and my brain hasn't stopped firing since.

I've also been reading a lot of blogs from licensing artists and since Christy (love her!) tagged me, I'll share some of my recent licensing favorites:

Tara Reed's Art Licensing Information Blog
Heather Bailey's HELLOmynameisHeather
Paula Prass' Show + Tell
Amy Schimler's Red Fish Circle

And here's a fun piece I did this weekend. It's been on my to-do list for a while. Now I'm working on some things to compliment it:

just a peek

2008-08-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a snipet from what I was working on yesterday. I'm please with how the entire piece turned out. I see myself going more and more in this direction for licensing and children's work. There's something so relaxing about making 3-D art :) Now, off to the two, 2-D projects due today...

Pattern

2008-08-27T12:57:00.000-07:00

I love when you just stick stuff on a scanner, do a little in photoshop and it becomes something cool. This is from today's Woogie Wednesday. These will appear in an assignment I'm working on and also future pattern designs for licensing. A few weeks back I designed some stamps specifically for my junk a doodles work so this is really the first time I've had a chance to use them.

Old School going on now!

2008-08-25T11:53:00.000-07:00

The Old School exhibit is going on now at Uppercase Gallery. My piece is there and for sale here. The above is an article I found (photo via uppercase on Flickr) that features my piece. My piece was also chosen as the backcover of the book. You can see great images from the exhibition here.

Licensing Postcard

2008-08-23T05:59:00.000-07:00

I worked on a new mailer for licensing. Not 100% sure I like it yet though. I want to go ahead and get some promos out there and then figure out what my next step is for promotion. I don't think postcards are the entire way to go for this type of work so I'm coming up with some other ideas. I've found a lot of companies who have take email submissions so I've emailed them my tearsheets. It's been fun watching my stats as these companies come to visit my site.

I've also loved having the opportunity to just play. I've been experimenting with textures and more collage in my work. I've been able to break more rules and get out of the ridgidness (is that a word?) I've put myself into with children's illustration. I'm loving it!

I have big plans and expectations for my licensing work and I've been tackling it like I did when I first started out to become an illustrator. It's been so fun and I've already learned so much!! I've even decided to take on a marketing assitant who will do a great job for my business and I think be a great agent/rep one day. She has a sales background and is used to the phone call, meet and greet scene (something I'm not into and don't like very much) plus, I'll have someone to travel with for trade shows and such. Plus part of her responsibilities is window shopping so that's right down her alley! I'll be sharing what all she's doing for me throughout the process.

Thanks to everyone for the "good luck" and "advice" emails. I really want to thank Vela at Little Star Soup for being so generous with information. Isn't her work the cutest?

By the way, my desk still looks like it does from the last post. Maybe I'll have time to clean it today....

What a mess!

2008-08-21T07:13:00.000-07:00

taken with my iphone

This mess is killing me. I haven't been able to find the time to just clean my studio. Maybe today I'll get the chance. I hate it when it gets like this because I don't think I work as well. The Woog's art area is also a mess. She's discovered she can print out coloring pages from Noggin.com (notice Moose A. Moose on my desk) and those are just everywhere!

It's back!!

2008-08-19T07:57:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Junkin' starts soon! I'm accepting entries now so get junkin' and send them in. I've added prizes for kids too! I'll be doing a bigger announcement mid-September or so.

Licensing

2008-08-04T16:59:00.000-07:00

See. It did help showing my logo to the world. I took action! I'm getting everything together for my licensing push. I have a meeting with an attorney tomorrow about it all and then I'll start making some contacts and getting my work out there. The site is coming but I need to figure out a few things before it goes live. I have a pretty big client wish list so here's hoping they like my work!

Logo add-ons

2008-07-30T16:36:00.000-07:00

Added a little to it today for a home page marker. The button and nut seem to fit me a little better. The other one seemed a little too plain and sweet.

Stop planning and take action

2008-07-30T08:23:00.000-07:00

Maybe if I show this to the world I'll start making it happen...

Inspiration

2008-07-23T07:51:00.000-07:00

I ran across illustrator Amanda Shepherd on childrensillustrators.com last week and followed that to her site and then her etsy shop. I purchased the 2 pieces below for my inspiration board. I am so not a cat person but these really caught my eye since she used type in her work like I do.

The second piece is an ACEO which is something I've been pondering for a long time and has been on my "possible" to-do list this year. I love little small works of art but am not up on the ACEO craze. I just know they are cool and several people collect them. Still not sure if I'll make any or not, but I love having little Cecil & Cece as inspiration.

Books of the Bible

2008-07-21T14:58:00.001-07:00

I did a poster for a client a while back and this is how it looked:

After they sat on it for a while, they ended up not liking it for the age group it was geared towards so they wanted something a little simpler and more straightforward. This is what they went with:

Things like this happen from time-to-time as an illustrator. I can't take it personally. I'm actually happy with both of them and obviously the first one was more fun to make.

the plane, the plane

2008-07-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

We tagged along with my husband for a conference so we're in Austin, TX this week and the Woog's first plane ride was a hit! Smiles galore!

pumpkin pie

2008-07-10T13:20:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin pie to go with my turkey from the other day.

RECIPE:

1 vintage milk cap
1 swirly button

Paint center of milk cap orange and paint silver inverted scalloped edge. Top with white painted swirly button.

Serves: Smiles :)

A portrait

2008-07-09T16:50:00.000-07:00

We're currently working on our Woogie Wednesday project over here, but thought I'd share this. The Woog had problems hanging her pictures on the wall today ("They won't stick!" which is pretty much the reason she is using painter's tape. Otherwise I'd be peeling off masking tape from the wall along with nice chunks of paint) so she decided to make a small gallery on the floor. The is a portrait of a non-existent cousin (I forgot the name she gave her). I think it's her best portrait yet and it's the first time I've noticed eyebrows on her drawings. Too bad this is on newsprint and not an archival paper :(

Turkey

2008-07-08T10:01:00.000-07:00

Working on turkey today for an educational poster about Thanksgiving. Whenever I sit down to create my junk a doodles pieces, it's instant relaxation for some reason.

Obsessions

2008-07-07T10:59:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to show off my new pencils and pen for a while but just never had. The two top pencils I found at an arts and crafts market. I can't remember what the red wood is but the blueish one is made from a corn cob. I keep one on my desk and the other in my purse. The pen was a gift from my grandfather which I love. It's a Mont Blanc fountain pen (I love fountain pens!) and I make a point of writing with it when I think of new ideas, goals, signing contracts etc.

I was reminded of my pen/pencil/marker obsession the other day when I was looking through a box of old makers and pens. I found several that I have had since elementary school. I'm sure they're all dried out now but I can't seem to get rid of them. I remember spending a week at my Grandparent's house when I was around 11 or 12 and I had brought this hug collection of things to write and draw with and I remember my Grandmom saying that my dad always had a bunch a pens when he was younger so I guess it runs in the family. I'm afraid I'm raising the Woog with the same obsession too. Oh well, I guess there are worse things to be obsessed with!

Uncle Sam

2008-07-04T16:15:00.000-07:00

Our Woogie Wednesday that turned into a Woogie Weekend (yes, it is Friday but we try to have 3 day weekends every weekend) is finally done!

Happy 4th!

2008-07-04T13:22:00.000-07:00

We've been working on something over here. Hopefully we'll finished it up today while the sun is still out for photographing. If not, check in tomorrow!

Old School

2008-07-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

I finished up my Old School piece for Uppercase Gallery. I'm please with how it turned out (you can click on the images for a larger view).

Here's the front:

Here's a looky-loo behind the key:

And here's the back (what school desk would be complete without old chewing gum underneath?):

Old School girl

2008-06-30T04:52:00.000-07:00

Spunkin' up the girl a little.