kid lit art

Uh oh Frog

| Gina Lento

On my Zoom call today with Mike Lowery, we had to decide on what prompt to draw. Someone suggested a frog. We have frogs all over the place, here. When my husband and I go for our morning walk, we have to dodge these tiny little frogs. You can barely see them. One morning there were hundreds of them and my husband remarked about the quantity. I said it was just logical, there needed to be so many babies because of how many get eaten or suffer some other ill fate.

So of course, my idea of “frog” is “egret chow.” The egrets (herons and ibis) stroll around the neighborhood, scarfing up frogs and lizards, and whatever else they find edible.

My sketch of frog was more of an egret and a frog hiding from the egret.

Pens and ink sketch of frog hiding from an egret in a marsh.
Egret and frog sketch

I pulled the sketch into Procreate and then tweaked it:

Egret and frog in a marsh. digital black and white
Digital version of Frog and Egret

The frog needs to find a better hiding spot.

Horse on a bike sketch

| Gina Lento

I am taking Mike Lowery’s workshop “Getting Paid to Draw” and on our Zoom call, we were given the task to draw a horse on bike while he did his lesson.

This is my horse on a wobbly bike. This is untouched except that I removed my notes around it. I might take this one further.

PS, this is a good class!

Black and white w/grey line drawing of a horse on a bicycle.

Time machine

| Gina Lento

The story of Florencia is also about a time machine. Part 2 of the assignment for Florencia is to create a toy to go with the story. This is my toy proposal.

I had a bunch of ideas about the time machine. No specifics were given so we could do whatever we wanted. I thought of tree houses, boxes, blankets covering furniture, and so forth, but in the end, I went for some more like a spacecraft.

Child's toy illustration, guitar, goggles, compass, binoculars, flower sunglasses, fishing rod, a box of bird seed, fruit snacks, time machine that resembles a lunar module. Colors: mint green brown yellow gold taupe silver

Character art

| Gina Lento

This is a page spread for the character I posted yesterday, created by Zoe Tucker. The character, Florencia, is a time traveler and her current mission is to bring back the last surviving dodos. We had to do a spread with just that little bit of info.

Here’s mine interpretation of when the two “explorers” first land on the island (dodos lived on an island) and they are looking for the dodos….

Digital children's book illustration or Kid Lit Art. Child standing on high point of an island looking through binoculars. Lunar module style time machine in the background. The child has a goose companion. Lots of blues and greens
Florencia and Toot arrive at Dodo Island

Character map

| Gina Lento

These are sketches of a character created by Zoe Tucker for the MATS Character Bootcamp. I sketched these out and then decided which pose I wanted to develop further. The story is about Florencia, a time explorer, who is sent to look for Dodos back in time.

Sketches done of a little girl in 5 different poses. The little girl is in a hat in the middle pose with a backpack and a field coat...with hiking shoes. Another image is of the little girl dressed in the field coast looking off in the distance with binoculars. Another sketch has the little girl holding a magnifying glass, studying a rabbit. Another has her hiking. The final sketch is the little girl sitting and reading research books.

Bunny Play set

| Gina Lento

This is my concept idea for a bunny character play set. I love the idea of a little environment in a carry case that a child can take with them. These sort of toys have always fascinated me.

Description: Two toy bunnies/rabbits. Play set with desert background. Accessories include a cactus, camp chairs, toy carrots, binoculars, a top map, note book with pencil, sunglasses, sunscreen, first aid kit and toy camp fire. Khaki color exterior case with desert tones inside.
Description: Two toy bunnies/rabbits. Play set with desert background. Accessories include a cactus, camp chairs, toy carrots, binoculars, a top map, note book with pencil, sunglasses, sunscreen, first aid kit and toy camp fire. Khaki color exterior case with desert tones inside.

It’s Bunny Month

| Gina Lento

This Illustration is a workshop project which helps me add some extra pieces to my illustration portfolio. The subject is based on a story excerpt by Zoë Tucker. This is my interpretation of the two bunnies going on an adventure in the desert.

For those of you who are curious, the workshop is the “Make Art That Sells Character Bootcamp.” MATS workshops are very intense and not for the faint of heart, that’s for sure. I like that they are challenging and force me to step up my game.

Two bunnies done in desert colors with red rocks in the background. There are tumbleweeds and prairie dogs in the background. The image is low res for the internet. colors are sandy, brick red and pastel purples with earthy greens.
Bunnies on an adventure

Description: Two bunnies done in desert colors with red rocks in the background. There are tumbleweeds and prairie dogs in the background. The image is low res for the internet. colors are sandy, brick red and pastel purples with earthy greens.