Elena Caravela, illustrator of the Moonbeam award winning The Birds of the Harbor, and Children’s Book Committee Bank Street College of Education The Best Children’s Books of the Year’s inclusion of A Night of Tamales and Roses, received her B.F.A. from The School of Visual Arts. Ms. Caravela has worked as an illustrator and as a fine artist, and has received numerous corporate and private commissions. She has taught after-school art workshops in the public schools, as well as in her private studio, to help both children and adults recognize their talents. Ms. Caravela maintains a portrait studio and also produces a body of work, which appears in various group exhibits. She is a wife, the mother of two sons, and enjoys a busy life coaxing kitties to sleep somewhere other than atop her Wacom tablet.
You can see more of Elena’s artwork by going to www.elenacaravela.net
Hope you enjoyed seeing the process.
Kathy
Writing and Illustrating 
Those are awesome! Hey Kathy can you offer up Short Story Sunday perhaps? Then you get the whole weekend off.
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By: Nanci Turner Steveson on June 12, 2010
at 12:44 am
Nanci,
I know you were kidding, but that would be a good idea, if people would submit. But they won’t.
Kathy
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By: kathytemean on June 14, 2010
at 12:37 pm
Oh, did I love THIS! I adored this painting when I saw it on the cover of Sprouts. I am not at all familiar with photoshop, and seeing this helped me understand more of how it works.
Elena, thank you for the links and for sharing your amazing work!
Donna
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By: :Donna Marie on June 12, 2010
at 1:19 am
Donna,
If I ever find my Photoshop 6, I will give it to you. It still is a good version and it would let you try it out. Believe me you will love it.
Kathy
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By: kathytemean on June 14, 2010
at 12:44 pm
Kathy, you are one of the kindest people on the planet—-no question! 🙂
Donna
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By: :Donna Marie on June 14, 2010
at 5:45 pm
Donna,
Why haven’t you sent me anything so I can feature you on Illustrator’s Saturday?
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By: kathytemean on June 15, 2010
at 1:12 am
Donna,
You’re going to give me a big head, but thank you.
Kathy
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By: kathytemean on June 17, 2010
at 12:32 am
Hey, Kathy 🙂
You know, I had a feeling you’d be wondering why! lol It’s simply because most of my work is not really the kind of work I want to do if I were to do it for picture books (MAYbe covers only), simply because it’s very time-intensive and my passion is more for the writing.
Last year when I had my portfolio review with Tim Gillner, I had samples of about 4 different styles of illustrating. I explained to him that I don’t want to spend an inordinate amount of time on the art because I prefer the writing.
Then he held up a painting and said “You can’t get any better than this!” It was one that, although it is one of my favorites, is not what I want to spend my time with for the whopping 32 pages of a picture book because it would translate into many months on the artwork alone. He told me if I were to show that to people, that’s the kind of work I’d be doing, and he STRESSED—“for the rest of your life!” So the thing I learned from him that I will never forget is that I should only show, as an illustrator, the kind of work I’m most comfortable with and DO want to do—realistically—in my life.
The work that’s more what I want to do has only been rendered for my dummies, and I want to refine that even more at some point. They contain my own characters which is why, before they are contracted with someone, I get wary of putting them “out there”. I realize that may be foolish, but that’s why.
So, if there are any other illustrators reading this, and you haven’t heard the point Tim made to me, it’s a very good one to keep in mind when showing your portfolio to agents and publishers.
I suppose I COULD put some artwork up because it would be an honor to be featured one day on your blog. Maybe I’ll send you some work and see what you think, whether or not I should do that.
But thank you for wanting it! 😀
Donna
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By: :Donna Marie on June 15, 2010
at 8:16 pm
Donna,
You just let me know, when and if you are ready.
Kathy
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By: kathytemean on June 17, 2010
at 12:24 am
I love photoshop, although I haven’t tried painting in it yet. I really enjoy blending photos the best. I agree that layers is fantastic. Wish I had more time to try more! Great picture there!
CB
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By: chris behrens on June 12, 2010
at 1:53 am
Chris,
I teach Photoshop and believe me, if you learn all the ins and outs, you will go wild. It is so much fun to blend your art with Photoshop. You don’t have to use Photos. I have directly drawn and painted whole illustrations by using photoshop. I have taken paintings I have created and scanned them in to the computer and correct places I didn’t like and punch up other places.
The whole thing is additive.
Kathy
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By: kathytemean on June 14, 2010
at 12:42 pm
Kathy,
I took digital photg. last semester, so we learned a lot about photoshop using digital pictures. I was scheduled to take illustrator and something else like that last fall (both 1 credit courses,) but I had to drop them to take an English that ran at the last min., needed it for my major. Writing fills up all my time. I may audit those 1 credit classes one of these days. Just not enough time to do everything…
CB
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By: chris behrens on June 14, 2010
at 12:46 pm