Wrap-up 2023: Editing Books for Paperdoll Review

I am so incredibly lucky to do what I do. It is a labor of love every single day. Not just the drawing and painting part. I mean, that's excellent. But my favorite part, really, is bringing other artist's work out into the world. Sometimes that's some light editing with cover designs. Sometimes it's a bit more involved, like completing work for an artist who has passed. It's always something I do with reverence and respect. Today I want to highlight a few of the books I worked on with Jenny at Paperdoll Review. 

The Nutcracker Ballet by Deanna Williams

This is a lovely book, beautifully illustrated by Deanna Williams. The thing I loved most about this book was the cover design. Sometimes a cover just comes together. With this one, I wanted it to feel like a stage production. There's a lake image that acts like a stage with trees acting as scenery. I really wanted to lean into the winter theme but I didn't want a blue color scheme. Instead, I picked up on the pinks and purples that show up throughout the book while also thinking about the pretty pinks and purples of winter sunrises and sunsets. A snowflake border adds a bit of whimsy to the whole thing.

Girl of Mine by Sandra Vanderpool

For this book, I had the art to work with and not much else. I knew that it was based on a song so I started researching that. I thought it might be fun to add the lyrics to the pages along with floral clip art that was reminiscent of turn-of-the-century scrapbooks. Maybe this was someone's scrapbook of a time they saw this song performed. I also thought the song was rather charming so I included the sheet music on the back page. There's a short period of time after the first World War and the Roaring 20s/Great Depression that has a really lovely aesthetic and I tried to express that here through the colors, fonts, and florals.

Fun Frocks for Flo, Fanny & Fionna by Larry Bassin

I try not to have favorites. Truly. And I love all of the books I work on. But this one was just so special and so unique. When Larry Bassin creates a paper doll, the doll, clothing, and background are often all part of the composition. It's gorgeous but it can make formatting for a book a bit challenging. So what I did is I carefully extracted the dolls and art in Photoshop and rearranged them on pages. Using the comic book aesthetic as inspiration, I added blocks of color to the backgrounds and used a font with an early comic book vibe. Larry was thrilled with how it turned out. Jenny was very pleased. And I'm super happy to get this fantastic art out into the world. It's so colorful and fun and fabulous. There aren't enough words for how much I love this book. 

Deco Dollies by Alina Kolluri

This was another extra special project. I absolutely adore Alina's art and there's something about it that always just clicks with me. Her Monster Party book has one of my favorite cover designs ever and that came out in 2023, too. Deco Dollies was a book design that David Wolfe had worked on. He came up with the composition and concept of the covers and interiors but it was never completed. I took his ideas and worked on them in Adobe Illustrator in order the get the clean, bold lines and colors just right. I often bounce between Photoshop and Illustrator. There are some things that are just easier in a vector format. It was really nice to bring David and Alina's vision for the book all the way to publication. 

There are so many terrific books that came out in 2023 that it would be hard to mention all of them here. Norma Lu Meehan's Victorian Christmas is lovely. Tom Tierney's Women in History Volumes 1 & 2 were a typography challenge and I'm rather pleased with those covers, too. You can keep up with the most current news about Paperdoll Review on Facebook (including a 2024 convention!! YAY!!) and shop for all of these beautiful books at Paperdoll Review.    

Wrap-Up 2023: My Books and a Bonus Book

Sometimes I struggle with art block. It's easy to make other people's art look amazing. I get really excited about that! But sometimes I find myself blocked. Maybe I can't come up with an idea. Or I have an idea that I don't think I can pull off. Or I have part of an idea. Or, what happened a lot this year - I have an idea and can't find the time to pull it off! I lost part of January 2023 in the construction of my studio and I lost a good chunk of October through December. Realistically, I was most active between February and September. I had a hand in three books this year: Everything Eighties, Sisters at Heart, and Styles of the 1920s. 

Styles of the 1920s by Rachel Cohen, colors by Julie Allen Matthews

I want to start with Rachel's book, what I think of as my "bonus" book! I am so unbelievably happy to see this in print! Rachel is a dear friend and I've been an admirer of her blog & paper dolls for years. I love her detailed research and strong linework and she has an endless stream of creative topics. Rachel, Jenny, and I all agreed that I could take a crack at coloring Rachel's delightful drawings. It's not the first time I've colored Rachel's art. It's also not the first (or last) time that I've colored another artist's drawings. 

We were all really pleased with how it came together. I had an absolute blast coloring it. The covers were inspired by magazines of the 1920s and executed in Illustrator with simple shapes and lines. Rachel did a wonderful job of researching and drawing and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next! 

Before I move on to the two books I illustrated, I want to take a minute and talk about coloring line art. I've collaborated with several artists and artist estates where I have been asked to color or complete a project. It's humbling and I approach these projects with respect and reverence. I came across a social media post this year totally bashing one of these special projects. It was really hurtful and crushed my confidence. My style isn't for everyone. I get that. And no one has to like it. I believe strongly in constructive criticism and helping each other grow as artists. I could not imagine being that cruel to an artist myself. I continue to remind myself that social media is not real life and I will put more emphasis on those IRL interactions and less on the likes, clicks, and comments. We all should.

Anyway, on to happier projects! 

Everything Eighties, a totally rad paper doll book! 

This book started life as my 2022 holiday paper doll. I loved working on that and just could not stop thinking about it. I picked eight fashion fads from the 1980s and reinterpreted them in my own way. 

Some themes came together really easily. Some were a bit tougher. The cover design came together easily, and the interior borders did, too. Overall, I'm pretty happy with it.

Sisters at Heart, a paper doll book celebrating friendship

This book is so incredibly special! I started attending conventions and paper doll parties a few years ago. If you haven't been to any, I HIGHLY recommend it. It is SO much fun!! I have met so many delightful folks at these events. One of those is Sharry O'Hare. She is a walking ray of sunshine. She had seen a previous commission of mine and asked if I could put together a book of her and her dear friend Laura (who, incidentally, roped me into the real-life paper doll world and I will be forever grateful for it!!!). I don't take a lot of commissions for a variety of reasons. But this one felt like a really natural fit.

Sharry loved it. Laura loved it. Jenny loved it, too, and with everyone in agreement, we went to press with it at Paperdoll Review. It's the story of a real-life friendship, but it could also be the story of any dear friendship. Working on this was one of the highlights of my year. Sharry is one of the co-hosts of the next paper doll convention and, again, I totally recommend going! You can find out more here. 

I have a couple of book ideas in the works for 2024 already. And in my next post, I'll share some of my design highlights from Paperdoll Review.

Wrap-up 2023: Personal Projects

It's hard to believe it's 2024! Holidays with teens & tweens are a bit different than when the boys were little. Fun, but different. I had a very busy 2023 both personally and artistically. My new studio was completed in January and that was HUGE! I have a dedicated space just for me. I also fully transitioned from my Surface Pro 7 to an iPad Pro/Procreate and a shiny new desktop computer. It's exactly what I needed to improve my art.

One of my goals for 2023 was to draw more, especially on paper and from life. There's a local art group that gets together twice a month for clothed model & still-life open sessions. I started going in June and by August, my youngest son started going with me, too. It's been great practice! You can see some of my drawings on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/julieamatthews/). Social media still confounds me, so I don't post all that often.

I'm not great at goal setting. I'm much more task-oriented: what needs to get done and can I do it RIGHT NOW? This post and the next are the things I managed to get done, starting with personal projects. 

First up, I did a study of Fanny Gray (here and here).

While not my favorite project, it was a good way to practice "painting" in Procreate. It was also clear to me after this project that I needed to make observation & drawing more of a priority.

Sparkling Sixties was one of two full-page paper dolls of mine in Paperdoll Review. You can find it on the inside cover of issue 87. 

My other full-page paper doll for Paperdoll Review is my Morticia Addams in issue 88. This was an absolute passion project for me and you can read more about it here. SO much fun! 

At about the same time, I decided to draw a Halloween paper doll just for fun. I thought it would be one page. It isn't. It will likely become a book in 2024. 

I got a bit carried away with Octavia! I'm not sure if I'll keep the title/name, etc, when I turn this into a book. We shall see!!

I had one more submission to Paperdoll Review this year in issue 89, Timeless Sailor Suits. 

It's a total dud and I am not happy with it at all! It was bad timing - my mother had her second total knee replacement surgery in October and most of the last quarter of the year consisted of me helping her out with appointments, etc. I also got the WORST cold and drew this while sick. Definitely do not recommend drawing while sick.

As much as I disliked this little sailor, I had two more projects that were pretty great: my annual holiday card paper doll and a very special project.

My skater has some flaws. I found the face really challenging. There are some perspective issues, too, especially with the back foot. And one of the skirts looks a little too much like tentacles and too little like fabric... Not bad and I'm mostly happy with it. Room to grow! 

And finally, one of the most exciting things I did this year was enter the Edward Gorey House Annual Envelope Art Contest. Every year, the museum has a contest. This year, I found out about it just days before the deadline and put together an Edward Gorey paper doll for the Dressed to Kill theme. It's pen and white gel pen on a kraft paper 6x9 envelope and it was TOUGH! 

I was a finalist in the contest! It's really rare for me to enter contests but I was really into this one! I was sent an official certificate & tickets to visit the museum with my family in the spring. It was a really nice way to cap off my year. 

The next post will focus on the books I illustrated this year and after that, I'll share a little bit about the books I've worked on for Paperdoll Review.