RESULTS #140

Welcome friends!

Thanks for stopping by. If you’re new to the CREATE A CHARACTER Activity, this is my first batch of results since 2021. I took a short break last year to work on my 2022 picture book, MY NAME IS NOT ED TUG.

It felt great to jump back in and experiment with characters this week! Did you and your child give Activity sheet #140 a try this month? Or did you create characters on your own? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

This week, I worked on all of my character designs versus breaking them up throughout the month (pencil sketches, pen sketches, draft post, etc.). And on Tuesday, I received a delightful surprise! A local artist shared his character designs with me!

Please welcome Ken Eaton! Ken is not only a freelance illustrator but also, an automotive engineer! We met at a summer sketching event hosted by our local SCBWI chapter this year. Ken shared his watercolor sketchbook with us and we were in awe of his nature studies. Every sketch was stunning and looked so effortless. Learn about Ken and his work here. Check out his completed Activity sheet below. Thank you Ken for sharing your characters on the blog this month! I hope you had fun!

Ken’s Activity sheet!

Before we zoom in on results, let’s talk about inspiration!

Where did this month’s shapes come from? Here are clues I shared in my last post…

• We visited a building in Detroit.

• It opened for service in 1825.

• This popular gathering space has a cozy section just for kids!

We collected shapes from…the Detroit Public Library!

Can you spot the shapes below?

Top left: sculpture titled “Exploration”, Top right: ornate ceiling tile, Bottom left: Mosaic for Literary and Learning artwork titled “Music” created by Burton International Academy Students, 1919 Pewabic fireplace designed by Mary Chase Perry Stratton and Horace Caulkins.

Have you been to the Detroit Public Library before? There is so much to see, especially in the children’s section. The Mosaics for Literacy and Learning Project is on display. These bold and colorful murals were created by Detroit Public School students and reflect different themes (i.e. Music, Read, STEM). Maybe you’ll find the mosaic that inspired Shape #3?

Let’s move on to character designs! Introducing Shape 1…

Shape 2…

Shape 3…

and our final Shape 4…

Thanks for stopping by! Download a new CREATE A CHARACTER Activity sheet on Monday, February 6th. Until then…keep creating!

SHAPES #140

Happy New Year!

We are kicking off 2023 with a brand new Create a Character Activity sheet!

Last weekend, on a rainy Friday night, we explored a special building in Detroit. It opened for service in 1825…almost 200 years ago! This popular gathering space has a cozy section just for kids! Any ideas on where we collected shapes? I’ll reveal my inspiration on Friday, January 27th, along with my characters. Will you be sharing results too?

Download Activity Sheet #140 here! If you would like your characters included in my post, send your completed sheet to me via email, amy(at)amynielander.com, by Monday, January 23rd. I hope you have fun creating characters this month with family or on your own!

Results #139

Thank you for stopping by! If you live in the U.S., I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving!

Let’s talk about inspiration for November’s CREATE A CHARACTER Activity #139.

I pulled shapes from a local favorite, Franklin Cider Mill. Did you visit a cider mill this season? We finally squeezed a trip in the other weekend and their delicious doughnuts melted in our mouths. By the end of the day, it looked like we bought a bunch of crumbs instead of doughnuts.

I was on the lookout for interesting shapes as we walk around! I spotted…

Crank, tree stump, mallard (with friend), autumn shrub leaf

I was so excited to receive Activity sheets from Evan and his mom, Barb this month. Thank you for sharing your characters with me! I love them all! I think I see a familiar character too (Charlie Brown?) in Evan’s batch of designs. Great work friends!

Here is a Before and After look at my CREATE A CHARACTER Activity sheet during the pencil sketch phase...

Do you see a theme? My designs fell into place after a weekend visit with a family we haven’t seen since early 2020 (before the pandemic). We met their new baby! It’s been a while since I spent time with a sweet newborn! She was precious. When Monday rolled along and it was time for me to start pencil sketches, babies were still on my mind. That visit stirred up memories from when my kids were born (they are teenagers now)! A theme naturally took shape. My character would be a…baby. But not just ANY baby. This baby would be especially fearless. Meet BRAVE (and exceptionally bright!) BABY below.

My first design changed during pen sketches. I wasn’t thrilled about the direction I picked so I kept tossing possibilities around one day when I was driving home. The shape was simple enough to flip around in my head! That’s when I came up with the design below. Can you see the difference between the above pencil sketch and the pen sketch? Here is my pen time-lapse drawing.

Keep scrolling for all character transformations…

Shapes 2 & 4 became a play structure for this dare-devil baby…

and shape 3 is…

I hope you enjoyed this month’s CREATE A CHARACTER post! Download a new Activity sheet on Monday, December 6th. Thank you for visiting!

Happy Creating!

SHAPES #139

Happy November 1st! Thanks for stopping by! A new CREATE A CHARACTER Activity sheet is ready to download here. Feel like sharing? Post your results on social media before Saturday, November 27th. If you’d like to be included in my blog post that day, email your completed sheet along with your name & age to amy(at)amynielander.com.

I hope you enjoy this month’s CREATE A CHARACTER Activity #139!

#138 RESULTS

Happy Friday! Thank you for stopping by today! Did you create characters this month? If so, I’d love to hear how you did! Please share in the comments below.

Let’s start with where my shapes came from for October’s CREATE A CHARACTER Activity sheet #138. Drumroll please….

A local antique shop! I visited Sinclair’s Antiques for inspiration.

It’s been quite a while since I stepped in an antique store. I was pretty excited to look for new and interesting shapes! I was mostly drawn to Art Deco items, statues and odd furniture/products you would never see today. Kind of like this collar cabinet!

Did you know detachable collars used to exist?

Another charming antique that caught my eye was this Art Deco fish bowl stand…

Can you picture the type of fish that used to live in this bowl? Perhaps a fancy goldfish.

I used the flower detail in the fish bowl stand as one of my Activity sheet shapes! Can you spot it below? Keep scrolling to see all of my inspiration.

Tea pot, chalkware dancer wall plaque, detail from Art Deco fish bowl stand, Lladró Madonna and child (matte finish)

This month I received characters from son + mom team, Evan (age 7) and Barb! Take a look at our completed Activity sheets!

My theme this month was FANCIFUL INSECTS! Each bug is completely made-up!

I had fun coming up with THE THUNDERFLIES! They are a dynamic squad of four flies that enjoy showcasing their flying formations (kind of like the Thunderbirds).

Thank you Barb and Evan for sharing your characters this month! They are fabulous as usual! Evan is always coming up with a bunch of designs on his Activity sheet. I am grateful for their help and participation!

Join me next month for another round of CREATE A CHARACTER sketching! A new Activity sheet will be posted on Monday, November 1st. Thanks for stopping by!

SHAPES #138

Thanks for stopping by!

Are you ready to create new characters this month? I hope you’ll join me!

Download a CREATE A CHARACTER Activity sheet here. Share your results using #createacharacteractivity! Check in on Friday, October 29th to see my results. If you would like your designs to be included in my post, send your completed sheet along with name, age and character titles to me by October 25th. Happy Creating!

#137 RESULTS

Thank you for stopping by!

Did you create characters this month? I’d love to hear what you came up with! Please share what worked and what didn’t in the comments below.

Let’s kick things off with inspiration! Where did this month’s CREATE A CHARACTER Activity shapes come from?

The local Farmer’s Market! Do you have one in your town?

Check out what caught my eye…

Mad Hatter peppers, Osage orange, succulent, Teddy Bear Sunflower

What object from above, catches your eye? My favorite was the Teddy Bear Sunflower! The texture looks just like fur!

This month I received character designs from the amazing mom + son duo, Barb and Evan (who turned 7 this week!). Find their completed Activity sheets below…

I merged our designs together so you can see our different solutions (because there is no right answer with this activity)!

The first shape…

I love Evan’s penguin and his proud strut!

Second shape…

Third shape…

And fourth shape…

If you’re wondering where Barb’s designs are, she created an imaginative scene with every shape! I couldn’t break these characters up!

Thank you Evan and Barb for participating in this month’s CREATE A CHARACTER Activity! Your characters are charming!

If you would like your designs included in October’s post, send them to amy(at)amynielander.com by October 25th. Share your name, age and a character title. Download a new CREATE A CHARACTER Activity sheet on Monday, October 4th.

View all of my time lapse videos (including this month’s) on my Vimeo channel.

Thanks for stopping by!

SHAPES #137

Welcome! Thank you for stopping by! A new CREATE A CHARACTER Activity sheet is ready to download here. I hope you’ll join me this month! Check back on Friday, September 24th for my results. If you’d like your characters included in my blog post, send a jpg along with your name and age to amy (at) amynielander.com by September 20th . Enjoy!

RESULTS SHAPE #136

Welcome! Thank you for stopping by! Did you create characters this month? I’d love to hear if you did! Please share in the comments.

This month I received characters from my favorite mom + son duo, Barb and Evan!

Before I share their results, let’s talk about inspiration…

August has been a busy month for us! With a renovation project picking up speed, I didn’t have time to explore a new and exciting place. Instead, I stepped outside one early Sunday morning and noticed a particular presence around me. Calming raindrops. They were resting on our front porch. They were like little souvenirs left from the shower we had earlier that morning. Drops (and their spots!) found a home on our ivy, flowers and little loveseat. I knew I could build an Activity sheet with these! Can you find the raindrops I collected below?

As I was looking at the raindrops, one splattered onto our loveseat! Can you find it?

Have you ever noticed the shape of raindrops before? If you spot an interesting one the next time it rains, take a picture! You may be able to create your own Activity sheet.

Next up - characters! Take a look at Evan’s (age 6) and his mom’s completed Activity sheets below…

Didn’t they do a great job?! Let’s zoom in closer. I’ve included my characters too.

I combined Shape 1 and Shape 3 to create….GIANT CHICKEN! Can you spot the thunder cloud behind him (rain must have still been on my mind!)?

What do you think of our characters this month? I hope they inspired YOU to join us in September!

Thanks for stopping by! A new CREATE A CHARACTER Activity sheet will be ready to download on Monday, September 6th.

If you are returning to school soon, I hope you have a fantastic first day with friends and teachers!

SHAPES #136

Thanks for stopping by! Download a new CREATE A CHARACTER Activity sheet for August here. Check back in on Friday, August 27th for my results! Share your characters on social media using #createacharacteractivity! Enjoy.