Qilin

Pheeeew... finally done! Though I won't be able to put this online until in 2 weeks. It's a wedding gift for my aunt, after all, who'll get married on october 6th - even though I'll have to give it to her one week before that.
I won't be able to attend (a very good friend's wedding happens to be the same day, and we promised to go to that one before we knew my aunt would be marrying the same day), so I hope this kind of makes up for it.

Congratulations in advance, anyway! =D

So, yeah. This pic took me over 20 hours of work. Twenty. Hours. I'm so glad I finally finished it - and quite proudly so, I must say. I do hope my aunt and her future husband cherish it!

As for the motif, I wanted to paint a qilin. It's a chinese mythical creature supposed to be a sign of good luck and protection and longevity (and the arrival of a wise leader, but that's irrelevant now XD ), and since my aunt moved to China a few months ago, I though it was fitting. Hydrangea flowers are also a symbol, according to this site, for "expressing love, gratitude, and enlightenment." Plus, they're native to China and seem to grow close to bamboo forests. And they're pretty.

Starting next week, I'll be posting a step-by-step guide of the process to paint this illustration, so check back! :)

Extra thingie: This little Qilin was drawn on their congratulations-postcard. :)


Process part 1
Process part 2

Teddy again... but different this time

Just... because. I felt like drawing him. ♥

Teddy

This is completely un-art-related, but I just wanted to post a photo of the dog we adopted 3 weeks ago. ♥

Turtle

 I felt like drawing a turtle. What can I say.

Commission: Class

Here's a commission I did for a client who wanted me to portray herself (the teacher) and her class as a goodbye gift to the school and the kids she taught, because she'll be leaving for a new job soon.

It was fun to draw so many different characters and to try to get their unique features down on paper - I hope I succeeded, more or less. And I sure hope the kids like it, it's such a sweet gesture after all! <3

Working...

Heya everyone!

So, I though I might let you know that I've started working on a long-term project again, which is why you won't be hearing from me much again. :)

Cheers!
Janina

"I Date Dead People" Review: Booklist (May 15th)

 The following review appeared in the May 15 issue of Booklist:

Booklist – May 15, 2011

I Date Dead People.

Kerns, Ann (Author) , Gorrissen, Janina (Illustrator)

Apr 2012. 128 p. Lerner/Graphic Universe, library edition, $29.27. (9780761360070). Lerner/Graphic Universe, paperback, $9.95. (9780761385493). Lerner/Graphic Universe, e-book, $21.95.

(9780761387398). 741.5.

"Nora loves old-fashioned things, including her family’s Victorian home, but she never expected to fall in love with a ghost! However, Nora and Tom’s love is threatened by angry spirits who will stop at nothing to get rid of the family living in “their” house. Kerns’ addition to the My Boyfriend Is a Monster paranormal-romance series is a little dry and slightly rushed, making it hard to truly know the characters, but fans will welcome the return of Görrissen’s appealingly rounded and cheerful art. This series is not deep, but the fun, romantic, middle-school-appropriate stories are sure to circulate well." — Snow Wildsmith

Rubyn design and expressions

So, after a little break from this project I'm back working on it, and I'm finally done with all the character designs I needed to present to a potential publisher.
You might still know Rubyn, formely called Ryuki, but I wanted to go away from Japanese names.

Anyway, he's the second main character apart from Lani. I won't show you the other characters (yet), because I don't want to give away too much. :)

Now I need to do some sample pages and a few background designs.


Related pieces: