Custom Label - Giraffe

We had a client that stated that she wanted to have a small giraffe as her trademark.

With this custom art she can now include it in whatever project she does, like at the end of this book as "A Kiza Miller Project". 

Arle of the Sand

We were approched by author R.E. Close to work on some illustrations for all three of the trilogy that he is working on to be published this year.  Autumn was given some examples of what the client was looking for and was sent to task. We actually though that the original concept was pretty good.  Here is her finished work ...

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Lunar Eclipse & Ready to Fly

Here are a couple examples of "Large Color" Illustrations ... (click to enlarge)

Chibi Art

Here are some Chibi (chubby character illustrations) that Autumn did for commission. I love this style and think that it would be a great choice to illustrate any children's book, let her do something for you!

The Hot Air Balloon Ride - Step by Step

I thought it would be fun to show you a little step-by-step of the process that we do to make a fully Illustrated page. Here is a sample from the book "The Hot Air Balloon Ride" written by Emily Hurst.

STEP 1: Once we receive the complete typed version of a manuscript along with the authors notes we have the artist do a concept sketch of what the characters should look like. We then send them to the client for approval before continuing. As you can see we did changed them a little, we made the shorter and took off the material on the top of the curtians.

STEP 2: The first thing we do is to have everyone involved sit and do a reading of the manuscript and figure out how to block it into the number of pages we need to get it into. We then talk about each and every page and what it should look like. We will then do some thumbnails of the page until we agree on the basic concept.

STEP 3: If the client chooses we would then send a refined sketch. Then the sketch is inked by hand and scanned into the computer for coloring.

STEP 4: Our illustrations are digitally colored usually using Adobe Photoshop. This gives us a lot of control on the final image, we not only can make color adjustments to the page but can completely change the color of each piece. When we first started this book we made the curtains blue and quickly realized that they needed to stand out in contrast against the sky and with the raccoon so we changed them to red.

STEP 5: Typically each piece is painted on it's own layer so we can reuse part of the illustration if necessary, for example if we wanted to isolate the owl and use it somewhere else in the book we can and that gives us a lot of options, saves us time and saves our clients money!

STEP 6: Once we finish the illustration we send a proof to the client and make any minor changes requested. It is then sent to the layout artist where the page layout, color and font choices are made and then put together. Another proof is sent to the client to approve before being sent to the printer.

I hope this gives you some insight into our illustration process...let us know how we can bring your story to life!

Click on any of these pictures for a close up!

Illustrations by Autumn, Layout by Sally.

Chelucci Cookbook Art

This art was created for the cookbook "Add Flour 'Til It Feels Right" and was created by Autumn. Barb is the author of this interactive book and knew that she wanted a "Waltons" kind of feel for the book with an old fashioned fair with checks and pines. I think the sketchy look to these pieces were just the boost that the book needed.

Autumn's New Portfolio Page

Autumn now has a new Portfolio page and I know she plans to add even more to it so go and take a look and check back to see what's new in the works! http://aki--art.daportfolio.com/
Oh, I have to add that she is becoming quite the talented sculptor too!

Sally Ford's Art Studio

Ok, here is a sneak peek at my work. Like I said, Autumn does most of the artwork but I have a body of work that is on display at www.platteproductions.com/sally . I tried to show you a variety of styles and mediums in which I have worked. I just wish I had more time to paint / draw! (yes, that painting is of Autumn)

Baby Sticker Art

Recently we made some templates for sale for clients that wanted to make their own book so I came up with some baby styled images that could be used as "stickers" to be used with a Photoshop file. I did the artwork and Autumn was kind enough to do the line-work and coloring.
I just love how these turned out - aren't they the cutest?! Oh, I forgot to be modest ... I mean they're ok.

Wonderful Woman, Greeting Book 2

Greeting Book 2 is the second book we have helped design for Madeline Pragnell in her series of greeting card booklets that seconds as a flip-book and include poetry & sayings along with a place for a personal message to the receiver. Autumn did the beautiful Illustrations both inside and out.

Greeting Book 1 is available HERE

"A Lightening Bug's Message of Love" - Close Up on Art

"A Lightening Bug's Message of Love"

Marilyn Scott is a new author and retired teacher that always wanted to write children's books and had a special book in mind, dedicated to the love she has for her granddaughter. This book tells of a magical way she relayed that message to her through a Lightening bug. Marilyn had a clear idea of what she wanted but needed an illustrator that could render her vision. Autumn was able to work on this project and did a beautiful job.

This book is available to preview and purchase at:
www.blurb.com/user/1November

CLIENT RESPONSES:"I really like the art sample. Just what I had in mind!", "Thank you again for your help and advice in making a dream come true!", "I can't thank you and your team enough for making this possible. What a very special gift."

Greeting Book 1

Madeline contacted us to help her put together a book to start off a series of gift booklets and needed some art for the cover and spot illustrations inside. She told us exactly what she was looking for - some beach scenes. There were to be 2 that were similar in description ... beach & land on the left with trees and ocean so I painted the cover art and my daughter painted the art for the back (also used on the postcard below) to get two different looks.

Click here to preview!

CLIENT RESPONSES: "Wow, I am excited.","I sure appreciate all you have helped me so far.", "I really love the covers", "LOOKS Great"

Don't I Look Smart - Close Up on Art

Just a couple of close ups on the art used in "Don't I Look Smart" book

Don't I Look Smart

Here is the first book that Autumn illustrated for PP. This was commissioned by Authors Meredith and Joshua Braunstein, both producers for Nickelodeon.

It is a book about their son and the challenges of a young child wearing glasses. Meredith wanted the character to resemble their son, Zach and sent us photos for other characters in the story. Autumn really was able to capture the essence of their little boy.

click here for a preview!

CLIENT RESPONSES: "We couldn't be happier.", She's amazing and has captured our ideas perfectly.""we did show her work to the graphics department, they couldn't believe she's only 17. Loved her work. ", " Oh my god. We're dying over here. Wow!!!!! Don't change anything. I'm in love. I can't stpp looking at it. Neither can Josh. :) ", "She makes us So happy. We love her work, we picked the right girl for the job. :)", "Honestly, you two were a pleasure and so very talented. I believe this project won't be the last from us though. :). We'll definitely be in touch after this one is through. We loved working with you as well."