Trick or treat! . This illustration was inspired by my grandsons, Luca & Roman who are getting ready for Halloween. I created this using Procreate in my Ipad and is available as a print or cards in my Society6 shop
Joining Folktale Week Challenge 2021
I'm very excited to participate in this years Folktale Week Challenge. I'm inspired by the Asian Pacific & Pacific Islanders folktales Organized by the amazing & talented artists:
@debrastyer @laure_illustrations @louve.draws @kellyannedalton and @kalyquarles
Here is a poster I made of Pele, goddess of fire, from Hawaii.
This Goddess of Fire is available as stationary cards at my Society6 shop: https://society6.com/product/goddess1030753_cards...
Below are some of my illustration for Folktale Week 2021 with their corresponding prompts:
(Nov15) MOON:
Hena, The Beautiful Godess of the Moon (Hawaiian) representing the Asian Pacific & Pacific Islanders folktales.
(Nov16 )DREAM:
"The Dream of Akinosuke" , A Japanese folktale Representaing the Asian Pacific & Pacific Islanders folktales.
(Nov17 ) AWAKEN:
Chinese folktale :
Lo-Sun the Blind Boy. It's a story about how Lo_Sun regained his eyesight after waking up one day. He was forced to beg for food when his parents abandoned him at birth with only his dog as his faithful companion. Representing the Asian Pacific & Pacific Islanders folktales..
(Nov18 ) FEAST:
Folktale from Singapore :
"the Two Widows" a story about two hard working & helpful widows who after preparing a delicious feast for the Royal Princes who was passing by their village, was bestowed the gift of abundance forever. I illustrated the scene where the two widows made food & fed children of their villag Representing the Asian Pacific & Pacific Islanders folktales.
(Nov 19 ) BIRD:
Folktale from The Philippines: "Sarimanok, Legendary Bird" originally from the island of Mindanao, one of the major islands of the Philippines. Representing the Asian Pacific & Pacific Islanders folktales.
( Nov 20 ) RIVER:
Folktale from Indonesia:
"The Mouse Deer & the Crocodile" .Representing the Asian Pacific & Pacific Islanders folktales.
( Nov 21 ) SKY:
Folktale from Bali, Indonesia:
"Balinese Hansel & Gretel". Representing the Asian Pacific & Pacific Islanders folktales.
Classic Book Week Challenge " Hansel & Gretel"
Here are my illustrations for the #classicbookweek challenge ‘Hansel and Gretel’. My Balinese version of Hansel & Gretel, inspired by the island of the gods, Bali, Indonesia.
Hosted by @make.new.trails @adamwalkerparker @illustratorpooh and supported by @illustration_the_best
@classicbookweek
I'm inspired by this challenge and had a great time creating it using Procreate.
#Hansel&Gretel, #Balinesefolktale #childrensbookillustration #madonnadavidoff #folkart #childrensbook #kidlitart #artchallenge #hansel&gretelart #kidlitart
Hansel & Gretel in Bali illustrated by Madonna Davidoff
Hansel & Gretel in Bali illustrated by Madonna Davidoff
Front Cover
How I Illustrated the picture book JITTERY JENNY
JITTERY JENNY
by Jamie Sussel Turner (Author),
Madonna Davidoff (Illustrator)
Publication date: October 12, 2021
Published by: Less Stress Publishing
Jittery Jenny is a picture book about Jenny, a 2nd grader who worries about almost everything. At school, she is often bullied, teased and the kids call out “Jittery Jenny” when she's near. She wants to be calm and relaxed but doesn’t know how. But, thanks to her loving grandfather’s advice, Jenny found the perfect solution to conquering her fear and anxiety.
MY ILLUSTRATION PROCESS:
RESEARCH:
My favorite part of the illustration process is researching for references, seeking inspiration for my color palette, and investigating different styles & techniques. I often leverage Pinterest, Instagram, and Google for ideas. I then create a “mood” board in Pinterest that I can refer to during the process. I also researched what the main character (Jenny) would look like. While researching, I sketched using some images from my references. Below some samples of my sketches done in pencil:
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT:
Here are some samples of my character development process:
THUMBNAIL SKETCHES:
When all the character studies were approved, I then proceeded to make the Storyboard, starting with some very rough thumbnail sketches below:
STORYBOARD:
A storyboard is where you visually narrate a layout for all the pages of a picture book. In my case, I had to create a 32 page storyboard. The editor broke down the text of the manuscript into 32 pages and I used that as a guide making sure there is enough space in the pages to insert the text that will be inserted by the art director.
ROUGH SKETCHES:
After the storyboard was approved I then started the rough sketches. I initially did black & white pencil renderings of the pages. I've included below some samples of my rough sketches. I move from manually drawing, scanning in Photoshop and then finishing the sketch using the pencil tool in ProCreate to do these sketches.
Once the rough sketches were approved, I then proceeded to finalize the sketches. I submitted the final sketches and below are some samples - from rough to final sketch:
COLOR STUDIES:
Once the rough sketches were approved, I then proceeded to finalize the sketches & start the color study. Coloring is the most time consuming but in my opinion, the most exciting part of the illustration process.
I had to work closely with the Art director on multiple revisions until the colors were finally approved.
Here’s some color study samples from rough to finish.
BOOK COVER:
After coloring the illustrations, one of the pages I illustrated was chosen for the book cover:
Below is the back and front cover of Jittery Jenny:
Back & Front cover of Jittery Jenny, Illustrated by Madonna Davidoff
AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR PROFILE Illustration
I created these author & illustrator stylized portraits for the book:
Finally, on October 12, 2021, Jittery Jenny was released!
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble & Target.
I can honestly say I was happy with the result and I even dedicated this book to my grandsons, Luca Sonoda and Roman Sonoda.
Here are the copies I received in both paperback and hard cover.
Little Mado: My graphic memoir growing up in the ‘60’s
I am participating in the 100 project challenge where I chose to do a project a day for 100 days, and share the process on my Instagram with the hashtag #The100DayProject. My project for this challenge is to post a comic a day from My graphic memoir entitled” Little Mado, A Schoolgirl Adventure”.
Little Mado is my graphic memoir about growing up in the ‘60’s and going to school in an all-girls catholic school in Manila, run by American nuns. This is a work in progress, so accepting the challenge is a way for me to work on it daily , posting it through social media and hopefully, getting constructive feed backs and comments.
Here is Day 1 for The 100 day project challenge of My graphic memoir entitled Little Mado, A schoolgirl Adventure.
My Day1 post for The 100dayproject challenge is My graphic memoir entitled Little Mado, A schoolgirl Adventure .
It’s a graphic memoir based on my experiences growing up in the ‘60’s
#makeart2020 #the100dayproject #maketimeforart #doitfortheprocess #creativepractice #infuncomic #comics #drawing #illustration #comicstrip #webcomics #drawingeveryday #drawaday #webcomic #dailyproject #comic #cartoon #funny #lol #humor #indiecomic #zine #graphic memoir #growingupinthe60’s
Here is Day 2 for The 100 day project challenge of My graphic memoir entitled Little Mado, A schoolgirl Adventure.
My Day2 post for The 100dayproject challenge is My graphic memoir entitled Little Mado, A schoolgirl Adventure .
It’s a graphic memoir based on my experiences growing up in the ‘60’s
#makeart2020 #the100dayproject #maketimeforart #doitfortheprocess #creativepractice #infuncomic #comics #drawing #illustration #comicstrip #webcomics #drawingeveryday #drawaday #webcomic #dailyproject #comic #cartoon #funny #lol #humor #indiecomic #zine #graphic memoir #growingupinthe60’s
Lockdown during Covid 19 Pandemic
Life in March changed instantly because of Corona virus (Covid 19). We are now practicing social distancing , wearing masks when we go out, & washing our hands all the time. We have to cancel our plans of travelling this year for our 25th year wedding anniversary, but the worst is not being able to hug and be with loved ones, especially our daughter Bianca & our grandson Luca.
A Board Book I illustrated & designed for our grandson Luca
As an artist, sometimes I feel sad and have a hard time focusing due to the negative things happening right now, but I realized that creating art helps to ease the pain. Aside from continuing my freelance work as an artist, I also participated in some online Illustration groups and classes. One of these are the MATS Editorial Live 2020 taught by a wonderful agent/teacher Lilla Rogers. I’ve heard of the MATS courses before from fellow CBIG illustrators who has taken them, but now that I have more time due to the lockdown, I finally took the course.
#Digital illustration created with iPad Pro, #Procreate
Another online class I took is Sketching People March 2020 taught by a fantastic Italian illustrator, Irene Silvino based in the UK. Not only did I unlearn and relearn how to sketch people, but when I couldn’t focus due to the stress of hearing negative news, Irene took the time to share her tips on how to cope and was open enough to share her own situation-that of being far from her own family in Italy, especially far from her father, a doctor who is helping treat Covid 19 patients in her home country.
My assignment from Sketching People 2020 class (baking)
Aside from creating artworks, I also sewed some handmade masks and yes, l did my share of baking like crazy &
I will try to post some of my recipes next time.
Those are just some of the ways I cope during the pandemic.
How do you deal with the lockdown & social distancing situation right now?
I baked the ff; from left to right:
Almond?orange cake, Carob” Chocolat”e cupcake, Jewish Apple cake, Vegan almond cake
My art studio where I create my children’s book & editorial illustration & surface pattern design. I work from home which is set in historic Bucks County, PA very close to the Delaware canal where I take regular walks during my break. I also create mix media and Batik paintings which I exhibit domestically and internationally.
My Art Studio
Happy New Year!
2019 was a year of traveling to Argentina, Prague & Greece.
Plus a year of taking care of our grandson, Luca and
publishing a baby board book about him which I designed & illustrated.
Looking forward to 2020 & Happy New Year to all!
A Step by Step process of My Valentine Card
It's Valentine's Day soon and I would like to share with you how I made this valentine card.
The inspiration for this card came from one of my vintage greeting card collections.
I've always love the vintage, nostalgic look of another era and this particular card caught my eye.
I just love the way these greeting cards look. I imagined the sender and the receiver of these cards, what their relationships were with each other, where do they live? What are their favorite food, what do they wear? What books do they like, etc. My imagination took me far and beyond that different characters start to appear in my mind until finally, other images appear until I chose one that I finally worked on.
For my Valentine Card, I chose the vintage card on the right as my source of inspiration:
Below is the Step by Step process:
Step 1. I like the idea of the tree with a character hugging it. I chose a character of a girl so I made a rough sketch by hand of a girl hugging the tree.
Step 2. I finalize the sketch, inked it with a Micron pen.and scan it in Photoshop, document size 5" x 7", which is the exact size of the card when printed. For My Etsy store, I used a professional POD printer. But my for Society6 shop, I just used my home printer to create proofs.
Step 3. I colored the line art in Photoshop. I find it easier to change the color combination and correct mistakes when you work digitally.
Step 4. I decided to create a collage of hand sewn skirt, ribbons and laces for the girl's outfit. On the right ,here are the hand-sewn little skirt and ribbons I made ( yes I did the sewing by hand) which I then scanned it again in Photoshop and added it in the card design. This part was really a lot of fun for me since it reminded me of playing with my paper dolls and sewing clothes for my dolls when I was a child.
Step 5. Here's the final Version of my Valentine Card.
Now I am ready to submit it to my shop at Society6 and my etsy store
New Year, New Blog & Website
Happy New year! Welcome to my new Blog and my new website .
2017 was a busy year! Our lovely daughter got married, we vacationed in Bali, bought a new house in Yardley, PA, and my work is being exhibited in a new gallery in Yardley - Touchstone Art Gallery. Between creating new illustrations and developing my new art licensing business, thanks to my wonderful techie hubby Bart Davidoff, who built my new website via squarespace. I've also been inspired by our trip to Bali where I learnt Batik painting and had several of them exhibited here in the States.
Madonna Davidoff at CBIG (Childrens Book Illustrators Group) illustrator Directory
My colored illustration and as a member and
former officer of CBIG (Childrens Book Illustrators Group) based in New York City,
I am included in the CBIG Illustration directory.
Here is my colored Promo page:
It can be viewed at the CBIG ( Childrens Book Illustrators Group) website below:
http://cbig-nyc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015-CBIG-Directory-Color.pdf
(Madonna Davidoff on page 30)
Madonna Davidoff at CBIG illustration Directory
As a member & former officer of CBIG (Childrens Book Illustrators Group) based in New York City, I am included in the CBIG Illustration directory.
Here is my Black and white Promo page:
It can also be viewed at the CBIG ( Childrens Book Illustrator Group ) website below:
http://cbig-nyc.com/…/2…/09/2015-CBIG-Illustrator-Dir-BW.pdf
(Madonna Davidoff on page 29)
Madonna Davidoff artworks at the Brooklyn Central Library Fairy Tales Exhibition 2015
I am one of the 20 artists from CBIG (Childrens Book Illustrators Group)
exhibiting at the Brooklyn Public Library (Central Library) for the Fairy Tales Exhibition .
The exhibit will be at the Youth Wing of the Brooklyn Central Library from
June 11- Sept.25, 2015 located at Grand Army Plaza Brooklyn, NY 11238.
Here are the two original artworks I created for the show entitled:
1) Pele,the Hawaiian Goddess of Fire
Balinese Hansel & Gretel
ABFE Art Auction to Benefit Free Speech in Children's Books
Here is the book cover illustration and design I created which will be included at the
ABFE Art Auction to Benefit Free Speech in Children's Books at
the Grand Hyatt New York, Manhattan Ballroom
on Tuesday, May 26, 2015 5:30 to 7:30 pm.
ABFE Art Auction to Benefit Free Speech in Children's Books at
the Grand Hyatt New York, Manhattan Ballroom
on Tuesday, May 26, 2015 5:30 to 7:30 pm.
(Tickets required and may be purchased through the ABFE website) You can buy tickets here: http://www.bookweb.org/aba-bookexpo-america-2015-special-events#bea-abfe.
If you're going to Book Expo this year, please join The American Booksellers for Free Expression (ABFE) on May 26th from 5:30 to 7:30 at The Grand Hyatt Hotel to celebrate children's book art with Judy Blume and leading artists! More than 100 pieces of original art by luminaries such as Rosemary Wells, Jon Agee, LeUyen Pham and Chris Raschka will be auctioned to support the free speech rights of kids. This year ABFE is honoring Judy Blume for her anti-censorship work and is asking artists to create a piece inspired by one of her books
I am leaving this week for Asia
I am traveling again:
This time to Hongkong, Bali and Australia
below, my travel checklist:
illustrated by Maria Madonna Davidoff
Madonna Davidoff at the New Museum NYC
As a member of the CBIG Childrens' Book Illustrators Group, based in NYC, I will be one of the artists to paint the gallery walls (today, Feb. 16, 2014) in a Collective Participatory Artwork at the New Museum in New York City. This is part of the New Museums's first US Exhibition for Pawel Althamer which features the Artist's Iconic Portraits and Sculpture Workshop.
 |
| Cover Image:
Paweł Althamer, Draftsmen’s Congress, 2010. Exhibition view: 7th Berlin Biennial, 2010.
Courtesy the artist, Foksal Gallery Foundation, Warsaw, and neugerriemschneider, Berlin |
The exhibition will include a new presentation of the artist’s work, Draftsmen’s Congress, originally presented at the 7th Berlin Biennial. During the course of the exhibition, the blank white space of the New Museum’s Fourth Floor gallery will be transformed through the gradual accumulation of drawings and paintings by invited Art organizations, including the CBIG.
About the New Museum
The New Museum is the only museum in New York City exclusively devoted to contemporary art.
Founded in 1977, the New Museum is a center for exhibitions, information, and documentation about living artists from around the world. the New Museum continues to be a place of experimentation and a hub of new art and new ideas.
The New Museum is located at 235 Bowery New York, NY 10002
Madonna Davidoff Illustrations
Below are three of the latest samples of my illustrations :
Colored illustrations
SPOT illustrations
Black and white illustrations
Book I Illustrated at the New Jersey ( Mercer County) Public Library System
There's nothing like seeing one of the books I illustrated featured
on the shelves of the Children's book area at one of
the branches of the New Jersey Public Library ( Mercer County)
the branches of the New Jersey Public Library ( Mercer County)
Today, I had my picture taken behind the book entitled " Momsie's Book"
written by my hubby Bart Davidoff, published by Bali Bliss Press.
written by my hubby Bart Davidoff, published by Bali Bliss Press.
Momsies’ book includes a memoir entitled "Natie and Me"
originally written and illustrated by Muriel Shutan-Davidoff in which
she describes her childhood adventures growing up in New Haven
in the late 1920's with her younger brother Nate.
originally written and illustrated by Muriel Shutan-Davidoff in which
she describes her childhood adventures growing up in New Haven
in the late 1920's with her younger brother Nate.
Below is the Mercer County Library online Catalog including " Momsie's Book"
and it is also availabe at the Book Garden bookstore in Frenchtown NJ,
28 Bridge Street Frenchtown, NJ 08825
Here's a picture of myself with " Momsie's Book" at the Book Garden
Madonna Davidoff at Book Expo America 2013
One of my original illustrations will be auctioned off at the
on May 29, 2013 from 5:30 -9:30 PM
during the Book Expo America at the Javits Center in New York City
The proceeds of this auction will support
freedom of speech for everyone in the children’s books industry.
freedom of speech for everyone in the children’s books industry.
The Book Expo America runs from May 29 - June 1,2013
My illustration and design for the Picture book entitled:
At Home Around the World
Written and illustrated by Madonna Davidoff
© 2012 Madonna Davidoff
publication date: Sept.2013 published by BaliBliss Press
Momsie's Book at Book Garden in Frenchtown,New Jersey
We are happy to Announce that " Momsie's Book"
is now available
for purchase at the Book Garden
in historical Frenchtown NJ.
