The return of Book Beauty Monday : The whimsical classic Dr. Seuss

From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere---Dr. Seuss

Once upon a time when I blogged more regularly, I had a blog section called Book Beauty Monday, in which I would talk about beautiful books I collected. As a book and graphic designer and going to be an illustrator, books are my main source of inspiration and now that I intend and attempt to post as regularly as I used to, this section will be needed again :)

To celebrate the return of Book Beauty Monday, let me present you the popular whimsy and the most beloved classic, Dr. Seuss.

To tell you the truth, I didn't like Dr. Seuss characters much. I thought they were not so cute and a bit ugly to my eyes. Then my sister, who is just as crazy about books as I am, pointed out how unique his books were. It's the color combinations she focused on. After really looking into his works, I absolutely agree with her!

There are millions shades of colors in this world and how you choose one to put side by side with another is very critical in illustrating pictures. It effects mood, sends out messages and draws attention. Good color combinations can make a picture unique and memorable. I think Dr. Seuss books are the best example, added up with his sense of humor and funny whimsical characters (which I eventually like), no wonder he is a classic in children's books world.

I have two Dr. Seuss books with two different color schemes to show you here. One is full of bright, dashing colors while the other is more pastel, soft and subtle. Both amazingly send out the same reading atmosphere, fun and whimsy! Enjoy!





























Wonderful, aren't they? If you like beautiful books, I have a facebook page, administered by me, showing lovely pages from books I collect. Or if you prefer flickr, I store all my pictures there too.

Revamping MerryDay : work in progress

I think I need to share more of my work progress for my shop now. I thought I would keep everything to myself until I could have something complete to show in public. But on second thought, posting something unfinished might be a good way to push myself to work harder. :)

Here is a flower design I'm working on. I generally sketch ideas with ink or pencil on paper first. Then scan in and trace in Illustrator program. This one is a bit different though. I drew right onto the program based on initial pencil sketches in my book. The idea is to have something sweet, swirly and fresh. The challenging part is color selection. I always struggle when it comes to coloring part. I prefer using 2-3 colors in my work if I could. Too many different colors confuse me and it would take me a long time to finish it.

I'm pleased with this drawing's color scheme so far but can't help wondering how I could make it more unique. I just have to keep trying and learning. :)

Talk about color learning. I have found some blogs that could be helpful in term of color study.

Orange you lucky is my most favorite illustration and pattern blog. The artist, Helen Dardik, is a genius in choosing colors. You have to look at her gorgeous pattern designs. They are all amazing :D

Emma Lamb's blog is also one of my favorites. She has a good sense in color coordination and I really love her crochet handmade.

I found a creative mint through Blogging Your Way e-course. This blog is very beautiful and you can read posts by color. Interesting.

That's it for today. We will see what I come up with tomorrow :)

Now for the PiBoIdMo day 2 : The Demon Grim captures Rainbow princess and put her in a high tower, how can Brave Prince rescue her?