A Pleasant Surprise!

While checking my email this morning I received a pleasant surprise!  As my eyes scanned through the list of inbox subjects, on in particular caught my eye.  One of my YouTube subscribers had sent me a message of congratulations for winning the Shoo Rayner Drawing Competition!  Then I found a message from Shoo telling me I had won his competition, and asking where to send the prize.  WOW!  I never win anything...hehe.  I hardly ever enter competitions.  However, I enjoy Shoo's entertaining drawing videos so much I felt keen to submit something this time...and I'm so glad I did!  I won, among other things, a signed copy of one of Shoo's children's story books that he wrote and illustrated himself.  I will enjoy reading it to my children, who also love to watch his drawing videos.

You can view Shoo's contest announcement video above, which shows all the great entries that he mentions (make sure you visit them all and give them a 'thumbs up/like' and a comment).  Below is my own video, and the winning drawing.

Thanks soooooo much to all who watched and 'liked' my video, I'm sure it all helped me to win the competition.  Welcome, also to all the new YT and Blogger subscribers who have recently discovered my little corner of the internet, I hope I can continue to make more videos that you can enjoy.  I have so many ideas in my head...if only there were more hours in the day!  Right now it's 1am in my part of the world (the only time I get any peace and quiet in a house with 3 children aged 5 and under hehe)...staying up far too late...AGAIN!!!  But it's worth it when I receive all your wonderful comments.  Thanks again!

Regards,

My winning entry - Ink on paper, coloured digitally with the help of my trusty drawing tablet.

Shoo Rayner Competition Entry - Sneak Preview.

Update:  You can view the finished competition entry drawing here.
Shoo Rayner is a UK illustrator whose work I have been following for some time.  In addition to illustrating over 200 books, he also has three YouTube channels!  He must be a very busy man.  On his channels, he teaches how to draw everyday objects, gives career advice for artists, and shows us some of the interesting bits of his life.  He does all this with lots of laughter, and I always enjoy watching his videos when they pop up on my YouTube subscription page.  

At the moment he is running a competition, where you can choose any one of his drawing tutorials, and draw your version of it as a video response.  I thought I would give it a go.  I have finished drawing and recording the black and white pen sketch, and now I am working on the colouring and editing.  I just splashed out and bought myself some new black drawing pens in a range of different sizes.  What a difference it has made...I can't stop drawing!  It's amazing what a new pen can do to inspire you.

The video below is just a sneak preview.  I will post the finished product as soon as I can.  When I do, if you are feeling generous you might like to watch it on YouTube and click the 'LIKE' button...it might help me win a prize!

Check out the Shoo Rayner Drawing Channel Competition video here.  Don't forget to subscribe to his channel, it is well worth the click.  

Regards,

A sneak preview of my entry for the Shoo Rayner Drawing Competition.