The Preserver

The final portrait in my Sisters Series. This sister is in charge of drying and preserving herbs before they’re made into potions.

The Brewer

This piece is called “The Brewer”. This little lady is in charge of brewing potions and making sure they come out *just* right. Its a very exact science. Just one more portrait in this series and I’ll be moving on to my next project. Stay tuned!

The Gatherer

I’m working on a small series (3-4 illustrations) about 3 witches who live in the woods making potions. This is the youngest of the three, who has the job of taking care of the crows who gather their ingredients.

Black and white (update)

So for the past month I’ve been working on developing a good black and white style, mainly for use in book interiors. Its been a lot of trial and error (see my last several posts for examples), but I’ve found what I was looking for. Here are some little illustrations I just completed.

beneath sand and rock pt.1

beneath sand and rock pt.2

the rocky cell

More to come in the next few days!

 Copyright Serena Malyon 2015

Golden Embers and SFAL

First thing’s first: here’s my latest illustration, Golden Embers.

This woman is very prepared to destroy the world in her search for riches and power. I suppose in the middle ages there wasn’t much of an alternative…

This illustration was brought on by my sudden need to revamp my portfolio. Last weekend I had the opportunity to go to Spectrum Fantastic Art Live, a sci-fi/fantasy art convention. I won Muddy Colors’ Rising Stars contest, so I got to exhibit in a booth with Britt Snyder, Lindsey Look and Rebecca Yanovskaya!

Photo taken by my lovely boyfriend Nathan Swayze

The convention was amazing. My favourite events of the weekend were the lectures by the Drawn and Drafted team (Lauren Panepinto and Marc Scheff), where I learned how to market my artwork and talk to art directors. Drawn and Drafted are putting together art resources for illustrators, and they’re even coming out with a book. Its going to be absolutely invaluable to illustrators starting out, like myself, so please sign up for their website!

I was also lucky enough to receive a few portfolio reviews. I had some impromptu reviews from amazing ADs, and I scheduled one with storytelling masters Donato Giancola and Dave Palumbo. I got a lot of valuable feedback, but Donato and Dave helped the most to push me in a stylistic direction. So I’ve gotten rid of a few projects in my portfolio, and I’m working on creating 5 or more new pieces in the next couple of months.

photo by the lovely Tara Larsen Chang

I want to say thank you to Spectrum and Muddy Colors for supporting us so much, and to the art community there who made us feel so welcome. It was an incredible experience to meet everyone there, and I hope to be back next year.

 

Other write ups about the convention by Carl V. Anderson, Alicia Vogel, Wylie Beckert.

 Copyright Serena Malyon 2015

Zoe’s Zoo pt.2

Here’s another illustration featuring Zoe. I did these illustrations for my next promotional postcard. This is going to be the back of the card, so I had to design it around Canada Post postcard regulations. It was a fun project, and I think I’ll use this 2-illustration approach in most of my future promotional postcards.

 Copyright Serena Malyon 2015

Zoe’s Zoo

Its about time I did another kids illustration. My last big illustration was packed with little fussy details, so it was lots of fun to simplify things again. I’ve been itching to do a portrait recently, but I wanted it to tell a story.

I decided to create a character, Zoe, who has a keen interest in bugs. Growing up hating bugs, I’ve always hoped to get over my fear and enjoy nature to the fullest. Sadly, this is still in progress. However, I will live vicariously through my paintings of Zoe. She’s not creeped out by bugs; in fact, she’s a suburban entomologist. She collects and studies bugs around her neighbourhood and finds them absolutely fascinating. She doesn’t even care that she’s got a beetle in her hair. More to come of this little lady soon!

 Copyright Serena Malyon 2015