Birds in Hats

September 13, 2016September 12, 2016 | Erika Schnatz

It’s been some time since I’ve had my work displayed anywhere. There was that one time I had a piece up in a robot-themed show at a taco shop, and then someone STOLE MY PIECE OFF OF THE WALL, so maybe that’s the reason it has been a while? Or perhaps having a full-time job was the culprit.

In any case, I drew some birds in hats for the Tiny Wonderland show at Leanna Lin’s Wonderland in Eagle Rock, CA. The rule was nothing larger than 5″x 5″, so I found some 4″x 4″ panels and was plagued with indecision until several days before I need to mail out my work (nothing like artistic procrastination). I quite like these silly little birds, and if you like them too (and would like one to hang on a wall), a few of them are still available on to purchase: https://leannalinswonderland.com/collections/tiny-wonderland-art-show

Cat Detective in Color!

May 31, 2016May 25, 2016 | Erika Schnatz

Like my previous post, this was another let’s-color-this-in-Photoshop-at-the-last-minute-because-I-need-a-new-portfolio-piece situation. I’ll likely go in and play with the color a bit in the future, since I like this character. Maybe he could get his own picture book.

Animal Doodles in Glorious Color

May 26, 2016May 25, 2016 | Erika Schnatz

So I drew these animal characters ages ago for some Daily Doodle prompts on Twitter, but didn’t color them in until last week when I was desperate to find new pieces to put in my portfolio for a children’s book conference. It wound up being one of the strongest pieces in my portfolio since I haven’t completed many kid-appropriate illustrations in the past few years. I’m going to see how this style works with my new picture book dummy, because I need to figure out a color solution that is not terribly labor intensive. I have over 30 characters on one particular spread, so for the sake of my sanity I’d like to keep it simple.

December Catch-up

January 12, 2016January 10, 2016 | Erika Schnatz

I did a number of (people) portraits in December! Please enjoy, and keep an eye out for a new drawing project I will start posting next week.

First up, a collage-type poster for my friend Melanie, who commissioned the piece as a Christmas gift for her (new!) husband. They went to London on their honeymoon, so I got to cobble together a bunch of different landmarks.

Schantz Honeymoon Portrait

I was also commissioned to draw some portraits of my cousins (thanks, Mom!). They went over quite well on Christmas day.

The Green Children

The Rice Children

Cat Dad

Image | May 5, 2015April 27, 2015 | Erika Schnatz

If you’ve seen my single page comics, you know I’m really into the idea of a cat who is also a dad (or a dad who is also a cat). Maybe he’ll make it into more comics or a children’s book at some point.

I threw some color on him, just because. Lookin’ good, Cat Dad.

Cute animals with ereaders

February 24, 2015April 5, 2015 | Erika Schnatz

The digital department manager at Ooligan Press is the reason I’ve drawn many cute animals over the past year. She’s the reason my silly animal drawings are all over the Ooligan Press website, so when she requested some kitchy animals for her instructional ebook guide, I was happy to oblige. Without further ado, may I present cute animals with ereaders!

Happy Groundhog’s Day!

February 2, 2015April 5, 2015 | Erika Schnatz

These groundhogs are proper gents. I remember Groundhog’s Day being a much bigger deal when I was little, but I also grew up in and around Pennsylvania, so it might be more popular around there?

Cat Wedding

October 16, 2014April 5, 2015 | Erika Schnatz

I went to my first non-family weddings this summer. Here’s a card I made for my friends Liz and Travis. (Liz is a superb illustrator – you can check out her wonderful cut paper illustrations here: http://lizabethgoss.com/)

I’m clearly have a cat-drawing addiction.

Animal Doodles

October 14, 2014April 5, 2015 | Erika Schnatz

I made a halfhearted attempt to get onboard the #inktober train this month. Managed to produce 3 drawings so far, based on twitter @Daily_Doodle prompts.