The "Characters" of 12x12 in 2012

Wow! I can't believe it's been more than a month since my last post....! Time does certainly fly.

Well, despite the fact that I haven't posted lately, I have been staying out of trouble and keeping busy :-). In between deadlines for my current educational project and a few pieces for some private clients, I am also working on my writing. One of my motivational projects happens to include being a participant in the 12 x 12 in 2012 Project. Hosted by blogger, Julie Hedlund, the challenge is to complete a brand new picture book draft for each month of 2012.

It's a little daunting, but there is a supportive Facebook Group with access to so much information my brain nearly explodes every time I log on! Along with my fabulous local critique group, this challenge has really kept me sharp and prevented me from letting all of those sparks and concepts from just fading into the sunset.

In addition to this truly global project, I have given myself a personal goal - character designs to go along with my picture book drafts! It is definitely a challenge for me to design characters from scratch and have them match the images I have dancing around in my head. Below I've posted a few from January and February (March still isn't ready for public consumption!)

These are pretty loose sketches... but you get the idea!

Meet Bruno, the Butcher Cat of Corciano. Being a good Italian cat, Bruno loves to eat. Unfortunately he doesn't always like to share. He soon finds out that hoarding isn't always the best thing to do when you want to make friends.

Petunia enjoys depending on the kindness of strangers. Folks tend to run away when they see her coming, but she can only see the goodness in their acts. A modern homage to The Story of Ferdinand, Petunia soon finds out what happens when her looks deceive the people around her and they don't realize how kind she really is.

Hope you enjoy...there will be more to come!