I'm working on illustrating a picture book and needed a visual reference for the two main characters, so I made small busts from a plasticine-like clay. Even though they're only about 3" tall, they're great for helping with lighting and character consistency throughout the book. Take a look!

Just replied to a call for illustration references from the Illustration group on the WAE Network site (Writers, Agents & Editors Network) and thought you might like the info as well.

I have a ton of references and would like to share some of the best ones, here:

Joseph Sheppard's "Bringing Textures to Life"
James Gurney's "Imaginative Realism"

Picture book illustrators: Keith Baker, Yuyi Morales, Jim LaMarche, and Carol Heyer (especially her "Humphrey" books).

For less recent illustration inspiration, I look to Elsa Beskow, John Bauer, Tove Jansson, N.C. Wyeth, the d'Aulaires, Wanda Gag, and Ivan Bilibin.

Fine artists:  Duane Keiser, Karen Jurick, Jeffrey T. Larson, Carl Larsson, Mary Cassatt, Alphonse Mucha, John W. Waterhouse, Degas, Gauguin, Lautrec, Klimt, Picasso's minotaurs and doves, and a Finnish artist named Askel Gallen-Kallela.

YouTube tutorials for painting: http://youtube.com  (search for the media you use, there are too many to list)

Tutorials for Photoshop: http://psd.tutsplus.com/category/tutorials/illustration/

Tutorials for Illustrator: http://vector.tutsplus.com/category/tutorials/illustration/

Other online inspiration: http://muddycolors.blogspot.com/

And, last but certainly not least, the Library of Congress' Prints and Photographs Collection for historical reference: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/

Hope these fire some inspiration!  If you'
~Siri

This painting is for D. August Baertlein's upcoming eBook, Synapse. You can see it close-up on the Covers page, or incorporated into the cover design, here (scroll down to the Young Adult books section).

There's a new girl on the cover illustration page, and something's up with her hair . . ..

Just got done redesigning/rethinking my site and have uploaded a bunch of new illustrations to go with the new format. Click here to check them out! ~Siri