These are my latest from
Highlights' Eagle Eye Hidden Pictures. I love playing with lighting in my illustrations and these four were a treat! From the sunny beach to a dingy basement I tried to get it just right.
The challenge I have about making an outdoor illustration is that I really want the sun to look like it is out and not hiding behind a cloud somewhere. I find this is best accomplished through the use of warm shadows.
When we're indoors, as we have here, the light is more diffused, it comes from above and bounces off the floor creating some reflections. This is the trickiest to work on. I still don't feel like I've quite got it yet.
A dimly lit basement comes to life by placing a partly snow covered window.
Lastly, my favorite lighting to work on is dark nighttime scenes. By just adding some small light sources the eye is easily drawn exactly where I want it to be.
Be sure to get the kids in your life a subscription to Highlights. For ages 0-12 it's the best magazine on earth!
