Issue 7 Release + Pop-Up at Morningtide / Solano Stroll

Come celebrate the release of #7: The Black & White Issue with some black-and-white activities and crafts! We will provide all supplies to make zines, cards, and drawings using white ink on black paper. Also make your own adorable b&w pom-pom bookmarks! 

Our issue #7 sponsor Sakura of America will be giving away these FREE sets of Gelly Roll and Pigma Micron pens + pouch and stickers with every Illustoria Magazine purchase. All this at the lovely neighborhood shop, Morningtide, during the family-friendly, annual Solano Stroll. We look forward to seeing you there!

Free pens + pouch set by Sakura of America with every Illustoria magazine purchase on 9/9 at Morningtide!

Come doodle and craft with us and make some great art to take home. 

WHAT: ILLUSTORIA POP-UP + ISSUE 7 RELEASE!

WHERE: Morningtide
               847 Cornell Ave
               Albany, CA

WHEN: Sunday, September 9th, 2018
             11am-3pm

Art by Basak Agaoglu from "Not So Black-and-White Party," from Issue 7: Black & White.

We hope to see you there!

xoxo ~ ILLUSTORIA

White on Black: Sakura Gelly Roll White Pens

Today our art director, Elizabeth Haidle, shares a few tips on how to spark a certain magic with a simple tool which has quickly become our current best-ever, favorite doodle pen: Sakura's Gelly Roll White!

On the days when I put pencil to paper and nothing is coming to mind...or that point in a project where I've worked myself into a corner and none of the results are satisfying...I find that switching things up can work a certain magic.

Just reversing the light and darks—starting with black paper and drawing with white lines—usually leads to something refreshing, new and unexpected. 

Elizabeth's son Eli made this luminescent drawing of a feather using a White Gelly Roll Pen on black Strathmore paper.

My son Eli and I tried out a thin black Strathmore paper and also their thick and luscious 'blackboard' paper, more like a cardstock. 

(Which we both prefer, as more effects are possible....like smearing the paint before it dries and even layering more lines on top of that.)

Art by Elizabeth Haidle

We churned out a few as unusual birthday cards, with notes on the back—so much more interesting than buying something at the store.

Create your own original art. With these white pens you'll be guaranteed to get some stunning and impressive results.

Thanks to Sakura of America--our longtime sponsors--who will be giving away free Gelly Roll and Pigma Micron pens at the Illustoria pop-up shop at Morningtide next weekend, Sunday, Sept 9th. 

Creating Cover Art for #7: The Black & White Issue

Hi All! 

Rebecca Green here (you can call me Becca!). I had the pleasure of creating the cover for Illustoria Issue #7, The Black and White Issue, and today we're going to walk through a bit of the creative process behind the illustration. 

Illustration by ©  Rebecca Green 

Besides sending along keywords, details about the features, and some of my previous art they were drawn to, Joanne and Beth of Illustoria gave me a lot of freedom to choose which direction I wanted to go with the artwork. Immediately, I knew I wanted to draw a little boy with black and white animals. I started with this simple sketch. 

Illustration by © Rebecca Green

The drawing, I decided, needed something more. The boy would be...an artist! Complete with an easel and lots of brushes and markers. One thing I did like in the first drawing was the use of one simple color. Green felt right. (and not because it's my last name!) The sketch was drawn in colored pencil (I use Faber-Castell and Prismacolor). 

Illustrations by © Rebecca Green

As you can see, I drew some of the elements on a separate piece of paper and cut them out so I could try out placing them in multiple places. One I had my complete sketch, I scanned it, cleaned it up a bit in Procreate (on my IPad), and send it in for approval. 

Illustration by © Rebecca Green

Once the sketch was approved (this meant making the image a little bigger and enhancing the butterfly), I went to work on the final. I created the final illustration in gouache and colored pencil. Here are some peeks of the cover before it was edited!

Illustrations by © Rebecca Green

The final illustration was edited in Procreate and Photoshop, along with the hand-lettered text. When finished, it was sent to the kind folks at Illustoria and voilà! A cover was born!

Illustration by © Rebecca Green

There you have it - a glimpse into the world of the cover creation. Hope you guys enjoy the issue, and thanks for letting me share a peek into my process. And thanks to Illustoria for having me! 

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS! THE BLACK & WHITE ISSUE

Art by Elizabeth Haidle

Are you an artist or writer who would love to contribute to ILLUSTORIA? Well, we'd love to hear from you!

We have a few slots left in our upcoming issue, themed "BLACK & WHITE." In particular, we're looking for:

- a couple of 2- to 3-page comics or illustrated stories

-spot art or standalone illustrations + minimal text or poetry

-1–3 panel comic strips

Pssst...! We  may be a wee bit biased toward work that celebrates diversity, silent films, and b&w photography...but also totally open and excited to see your original ideas! 

Submissions due by October 12th, 2017. Find out more about our submissions guidelines here, then email your submission to: submissions@illustoria.com.

Good luck!