The Road to Pantone - Deborah Cuneo

During my creative journey, color has always been a little bit of a "Frien-emy". Up until about two years ago, I worked exclusively traditionally. All traditional artists will agree, the color struggles span from finding the right grouping of primaries to mix from, to avoiding muddy colors, contrast, color palettes and so on.

Mixing it up Old School - Acrylic

When I started using digital as part of my art process, I discovered there were "a couple" (sarc) of extra hurdles to getting the color right. One big one was my scanner not picking everything up as it was in real life.  Another was my screen not showing me color correctly. I invested in a color calibration tool, but ultimately, there were still just too many shifts in the color from my screen to what it was in the real world. It was becoming  incredibly frustrating, creating without color consistency. Plus, I had to jump through technology hoops to get the colors to come out the way I wanted. It was a huge time-suck! 

At the peak of my frustration with color in my new medium, I remembered that years ago, I had been gifted with a Pantone matching system fan deck from a friend's father. He was retiring from the printing business and thought it might come in handy for me one day.

An old Friend

I dug it out and started using that to select my colors. I thought it would take some of the guess work out of the color process and create sort of a "control" from computer to print. What a Godsend! The fan deck was from 1987 and the colors had faded a bit, but it still was usable. It definitely helped me keep tabs on the color when working on Little Dragon and the New Baby (Sky Pony Press March 2018).

First Digital Color Palette/ Promo Sheet

Around the same time, an artist friend got me a brand new Pantone palette book, for inspiration. I loved a couple of the palettes and went to play with those colors in Photoshop, only to find out that my older version of PS didn't have the colors that were in the newer book.There was also no way for me to reproduce the color I saw, because there were no formulas for rgb or cmyk . And there was still the fact that my screen was semi unreliable.

Pantone Color Inspiration - Chronicle Books

With a new project on the horizon, I decided to go right to the source...Pantone itself! I found out that Pantone made a fan deck that not only had all the newer colors that I loved, but also the cmyk formulas for an exact or pretty close to exact, match.  It's called the Plus Series Color Bridge set. This set not only  gives you a huge color selection in both coated and uncoated, it also gives you a side by side comparison the cmyk version that comes closest to the Pantone color. For those that are designers too...it gives you Hex and RGB info as well. Yay!! Problem solved... or so I thought. It was an expensive tool and timing was not right for me getting one, because my scanner was also dying.  I would need to choose, but they were equally critical to what I was doing. That circle of thought became a constant source of angst... UGH!  

One day, last week, I was jolted out of my daily, technological pity party, by the sound of the doorbell. By the time I got from my studio to the door and opened it, no one was there, but I was greeted by a box with a big Amazon-smiley and my name on the label. I immediately opened it and to my delight, inside was a bright, shiny new Pantone Plus Series-Color bridge set and a note that said "Happy Birthday"!  I had been discussing my new project color struggles with my Father (a more technical creative) and he went ahead and purchased the set for me.

Best Early Birthday Gift!!

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, Pop!!  I am so excited, and grateful for the gift and can't wait to use it! It's going to be a HUGE time saver on this new project and beyond!! (sorry for all the exclamation marks, but there seriously are not enough in my book to convey how great this gift was...!) It will be a little sad to have to retire that old fan deck. After all, it was my constant companion during the creation of my debut book, resolved my color issues and saved me a ton in production time. However, I've been informed that my Father will be happy to give it a new home. 

To find out more information about the Color bridge set and other Pantone offerings, just click on the link below:

https://www.pantone.com/color-bridge-coated-uncoated 

Website: www.deborahcuneoillustration.com

Blog: Creating Out Loud  deborahcuneo.blogspot.com

Facebook: Deborah Cuneo Illustration

Twitter: @debcuneoart 

 Instagram: @ataleof2studios

Sometimes...You Fall. - By Deborah Cuneo

Did you ever see those memes being passed around on social media? It shows a group of pictures showing what "THEY" ( fill in who they are) think I do vs. what I actually do? Of course I laugh at a lot of them, but unfortunately, there is an element of truth in that humor. (all meme images are from Google, they are not my images)

 (That last one hit a little too close to home, as of late!)

Being a visual creative, you realize that everyone has a different perception of how we make art happen, what skill set might have been needed to accomplish the final product and how long they think it should have taken. The reality is, that it's extremely hard work, long hours in isolation, and is not always a smooth journey....especially when you decide to try something new!  

Not to say that every single project is a total disaster. Sometimes I start a job and everything seems to just fall into place, with the exception of a couple of minor speed bumps on the road to the finish. But occasionally, both the creative and technical hurdles to get a job done, can become overwhelming. And just as you jump over one hurdle , you're met with another and another after that. Sometimes those hurdles come fast and furious, one right after the next, so you just keep jumping over them and continue moving forward, right? But, sometimes...you fall.

 

Illustration by ©Deborah Cuneo - "How The Coyote..." - Pioneer Valley Books

And it's okay. It's during that rather abrupt halt in artistic momentum, when you're laying on the cold, hard ground of reality, feeling totally exhausted, emotionally drained (and somewhat defeated), that you realize it's not just your artistic skills that are going to pull you through. It's your ability to troubleshoot and find creative solutions for problems you never even knew existed, that now become your most valuable skill! It's also in that moment of despair and frustration, that we seem to be the most creative!

Being a bit of a podcast junkie, I recently came across a great Ted Talk about frustration as a catalyst for creativity. ( link below) 

https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_harford_how_messy_problems_can_inspire_creativity

By the time I listened to this, I had already begun to figure out how to resolve my technical hurdles for my current project,  but I found the similarities between what lead to my solutions and what was intentionally done to those creatives to inspire innovation, really intriguing. I also found it interesting that the scenario that most people usually do everything to avoid, can actually produce a very positive, creative spark!  

Little Dragon - Sky Pony Press

Thinking back, it truly was in those toughest times, when everything in my creative process was overwhelmingly frustrating, that I seemed to tap into my most creative thinking. Now ...I hope it all pays off !

Website: www.deborahcuneoillustration.com
Blog: Creating Out Loud  deborahcuneo.blogspot.com
Facebook: Deborah Cuneo Illustration

Twitter: @debcuneoart 

 Instagram: @ataleof2studios

Happy Holidays! - Deborah Cuneo

Holiday Card / Mixed Media

WOW...December 2016 already? I just love this time of year! The colors, the sounds, the Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators...

What an awesome show! Every single one of those illustrations hanging in that show, is a winner. Congratulations to all the artists and everyone involved in the production of those beautiful picture books!!  If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend  taking a couple of hours and popping down there to check it out. It's only on till Dec 23rd and you don't want to miss it! Here's the link:

 https://www.societyillustrators.org/exhibits/original-art-2016-exhibit

 Every time I see that show, it not only inspires me to raise my own illustrative bar, but it reminds me of how grateful I feel to be able to participate, even the smallest amount, in such an amazing industry!

 Wishing you and yours a very Merry, Happy and Healthy. May you all find inspiration, comfort and joy, in the hope that this season brings!

Creatively yours,
 ~Deborah

Website: www.deborahcuneoillustration.com
Blog: Creating Out Loud  deborahcuneo.blogspot.com
Facebook: Deborah Cuneo Illustration

Twitter: @debcuneoart 

 Instagram: @ataleof2studios

Risk and Style...Keeping It Real - by Deborah Cuneo

"Talking" / Ransom Gallery Show / Brooklyn NY  - Acrylic and colored Pencil

Risk

noun

1. exposure to the chance of injury or loss; a hazard or dangerous chance

  

   At any gathering of  visual creatives, the topic of style usually comes up, with the main question being whether or not an artist should change their style  during the course of their career. I've heard so many opinions on the subject  from both sides of the desk (so to speak) and everyone seems to have a valid reason for or against.

"Discouraged" - Pencil Sketch

   Deciding to change it up was not a decision I took lightly. It would mean abandoning what I knew,  what was warm and cozy and familiar for so many years, but it came down to one major factor...I wasn't getting the employment results I was looking for using my older style.

   I was also starting to let  my internal feelings of discouragement get to me, to where even it was starting to come out in my art. It became a business decision.  It would be a huge, scary risk to change my style, but I didn't anticipate any injury  or imminent danger resulting from the intended change. Other than it possibly not being well received and having to figure what direction to go then, there was really no reason not to try...so I did.

First Step - B/W Promo - Digital and Pencil

First Step - Color Promo - Digital and Pencil

  

I suppose I could have continued in baby steps,  but to go down that path meant the evolution would be dragged out...and why?  So I could delay the inevitable for another day, a month? How many more years would I be willing to sacrifice to being in artistic limbo, just so I could remain creatively cozy and comfortable in my little box that I literally painted myself into all these years? 

   The answer...none. And, It was already clear ( to me, anyway) that anything I produced that was remotely similar to my old style, would  most likely get the same results. I had to make this change count, it was the only way I was really going to be able to move toward the result I wanted. So, I put my fear aside and just jumped right in. 

Jump! - Digital and Pencil

  I tried something completely out of my comfort zone. I felt that in order to make this work, I had to stretch myself to the point of being creatively uncomfortable and bring myself to a place where I couldn't predict or control the outcome, because in that dark, scary unknown, is where all the wonderful, creative possibilities are!! 

"Little Dragon" Sky Pony Press/Color Sample - Mixed Media

A lot of this new style is tied up in the book I'm still working on, but I will be showing some of the new work at the NJ SCBWI  June conference and then updating my website shortly after that. Will my professional risk have been worth it?... I don't know.  Will  I crash and burn?...maybe. Could I end up totally flopping on my face...I suppose... but,  it could also work out really well too!  I can't predict or control the result, only put myself out there and commit to do my very best, while continuing on my newest artventure! 

Website: www.deborahcuneoillustration.com
Blog: Creating Out Loud  deborahcuneo.blogspot.com
Facebook: Deborah Cuneo Illustration
Twitter: @debcuneoart