birds of a feather

I have set my felting needles aside for the moment, in an effort to return to critters of another kind...the digital sort.  Working in Illustrator and Photoshop is a true love of mine.  Way back in college, as I was entrenched in the world of illustration, I quickly learned that illustrating was by no means limited to the more traditional mediums of watercolor, acrylic, colored pencils, and the like.  I developed a fascination with mixed media and 3-dimensional forms of illustrating (which could then be photographed for 2D forms of production...like books, for instance).  And while I knew of digital illustrators, I didn't count myself amongst them.  I respected the work but left it to others.  Art by hand was more my style, thank you very much.

But, fast forward a few years and you'd find me working in an art studio where digital art was a necessary skill.  I learned Illustrator from fellow co-workers and fell in love.  Between studio work and my own stuff, I honed my skills and later found ways to merge the fabulous, crisp, graphic look of Illustrator with the textures of Photoshop.  Because texture was always something that had drawn me to mixed media work, this discovery within the digital realm was most welcome. 

Anyway, I have been working on these little birds for awhile now but finally had a chance to finish up a foursome.  I'd like to also create some hand-painted, 3D versions of these guys by painting them onto wooden eggs.  I think that's a lovely blending of digital and made-by-hand.  One inspires the other, and they end up living in perfect harmony...just as the most charming of birds should do.