Mike DeSantis

Highlights for Children – June 2012

MikeD — Mon, 14 May 2012 01:55:49 +0000

I received my copy of the June 2012 issue of Highlights for Children magazine. I did the illustration for the article on page 28, “My Week without Soap” — check it out!

Octopus

MikeD — Sat, 12 May 2012 03:10:44 +0000

The octopus was a natural for working with touch screen technology. Except for that whole underwater thing…

Fiberglass Dinosaur

MikeD — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:47:43 +0000

Color Study
(watercolor, gouache and ink on bristol)

This is a study for a project that I will be submitting (hopefully soon!). Finished size is 16″ x 10″.

Highlights for Children — April 2012

MikeD — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:27:55 +0000

I painted some spot illustrations for the April 2012 issue of Highlights for Children magazine, and I also drew the Hidden Picture puzzle. Here are one of the spots and a detail from the puzzle.

Roadtrip

MikeD — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:46:52 +0000

Roadtrip
(watercolor, gouache, and acrylic ink on bristol)

Highlights for Children – Feb 2012

MikeD — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:54:50 +0000

Hidden Picture Puzzle

I drew the Hidden Picture puzzle in the February issue of Highlights for Children magazine. If you don’t have a copy of the magazine (shame on you!), here’s a link to the Highlights web site (spoiler alert: it’s the answer key):

http://www.highlightskids.com/hidden-pictures/answers/february-2012-check-out-our-art

And here’s a little detail from the puzzle:

Grounded

MikeD — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:43:47 +0000

Illustration Friday — “grounded”
(watercolor, gouache, and ink on bristol)

I am working on a story where the main character spends a little time in the “timeout” chair. I painted this character study for this week’s IF topic.

Chicken Little

MikeD — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 22:29:59 +0000

Chicken Little
(watercolor, gouache, & acrylic ink on colored paper)

This is my entry for the 2012 Tomie dePaola Illustrator award for the National Society of Childrens’ Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). This year’s challenge is to illustrate a passage provided from the story of Chicken Little (you can check out the details at scbwi.org).

The illustration is ~15″ high and 7″ wide. It’s a bit more structured than most stuff that I do, but I had this idea with how some of the elements would relate — especially the sky, the birds’ wings, and the turkey’s tail — and it was fun to make it all come together.

Placemat sketches

MikeD — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:47:14 +0000

It’s the day before Thanksgiving. Mom is working, but the kids are out of school, so we went to our favorite place for breakfast, the Inn on Coventry. We always come prepared to draw on the placemats, and I did these sketches of Nooch, Roni, and Boo-boo. The food and the company was excellent — Happy Thanksgiving!

Scattered

MikeD — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 01:46:39 +0000

Illustration Friday — “scattered”
(watercolor, gouache, and ink on colored paper)

Some rake. Others scatter.

Just having some fun with an autumn-colored piece of paper (and corresponding subject matter).