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Childrens Book Art from the Herbie Bear Series

Addie and Ollie Children's Book Illustration

Feb 29, 2020
1 min

Addie and Ollie Children's Book Illustration

This is a little project I worked on a while back for an independent project. The images you see here were created using Adobe Illustrator. If you have a project in mind and need some help figuring things out, feel free to get in touch. I would be happy to walk you through the process. For more information on what it's like to hire or work with an artist feel free to check out my how it works page where I walk you through, from start to finish, what it's like to hire an artis

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Welcome to the new site

Campfire Stories

Jun 15, 2018
1 min

Campfire Stories

The woods were totally dark except for the dim glow of the crackling campfire. The only sound for miles were the crickets and the occasional lonely howl of a distant coyote. The boys had jumped the first time they heard the howling but had managed to convince each other they were totally safe as long as nobody wandered off. Just as they were beginning to calm their unsteady nerves Missy clicked on the little light light illuminating a ghastly haunted version her former self.

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The Little Turtle

Apr 18, 2018
1 min

The Little Turtle

Ker-floop, and just like that the little turtle disappeared beneath the surface hiding amongst rocks and stones at the bottom of the cold mountain lake. The three friends shuffled back to their cabin empty-handed. They would have to look elsewhere for a friendly swimming pet they could call their own. #illustrator #Illustration #BobOstrom #procreateapp #digitalart #childrensbookillustration

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Mrs. Mermaid and the new phone.

Feb 7, 2018
1 min

Mrs. Mermaid and the new phone.

Mrs. Mermaid was so happy with her new phone. She loved the pretty color because it complimented her new look. All the other phones had failed miserably. Having a cell phone underwater was a big challenge but this time it was going to be different. She had a brand new protective case and she was sure it would work. Fish wasn’t so sure. She had seen what happens to phones underwater and didn’t trust this case anymore than she did the others. What made this case so special? She

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Stories from Donutville

Jan 29, 2018
1 min

Stories from Donutville

Donut Boy smiled and looked up at the bright blue summer sky. The world was filled with possibility. Neither spoke for fear of breaking the magical spell, they simply took in the moment as the ancient city transport shuttle lurched and sputtered its way up the steep gravel road. The young driver searched in vain for a gear that would ease the strain but the hissing rattling engine refused to yield. The transmission complained loudly as the shuttle belched thick black diesel e

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Art takes time.

Jan 15, 2018
2 min

Art takes time.

I was flipping through my Instagram feed the other day and was just blown away by some of the amazing artwork in there. Then I got that feeling. You know the one. You see a piece of art, and you can’t believe how good it is. You stare at it for a while, then a little voice in the back of your head says, “You’ll never be that good.”… You move on to the next piece, and it’s more of the same. There are two ways to handle that little voice. First, you can listen to it, pack up y

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Something Cool for Artists Who are iPad Users

Dec 10, 2017
2 min

Something Cool for Artists Who are iPad Users

I posted a link to this on Facebook last week, but for those of you who don't follow me there or might have missed it here, it is again. You can now pick up the Procreate Artist's Handbook on iBooks for free. I downloaded my copy last night and have not officially cracked the spine on it yet, but you can be sure I'll be going through it as soon as I have some time. If you're an iPad user and you haven't tried the Procreate app yet, I highly recommend you give it a try. It's o

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Whoot!!! It Worked!!! The New Books are here!

Dec 3, 2017
1 min

Whoot!!! It Worked!!! The New Books are here!

Hey Kids, I wanted to share some really cool news with you! Remember that post I wrote a while back about trying to find a new digital watercolor style using Photoshop? You don’t? Well basically I was looking for a way to replicate the look and feel of a watercolor illustration done using a combination of just my iPad Pro and my iMac… 100% digital, no paper, no paint. The New Books are in! Since the time I wrote that post I’ve completed two new books using that very same digi

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What happens to all that rejected art?

Nov 20, 2017
1 min

What happens to all that rejected art?

I’ve been in business a long time. For every project I create there are at least three or more sketches that are rejected along the way. It goes without saying that in that vast pile there are a few I feel shouldn’t be in there. I mean, I get it, it’s all part of the process but that doesn’t mean I have to like it . The Bob Folder for Misfit Sketches That’s where the Bob Folder for Misfit Sketches comes in. Not every rejected sketch makes it to the Bob Folder for Misfit Sk

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From the sketchbook

Nov 15, 2017
1 min

From the sketchbook

Back in the day I drew in a paper sketchbook but now I do all my sketching on the iPad. It is better in almost every way. I’m sure there are some artists out there who might argue with me but honestly I’d have a hard time agreeing with them. I won’t bore you with all the details but for those of you who are interested this piece was done using the Procreate app. So far this has been my favorite iPad drawing app although last week Clip Studio for iPad was just released so we’l

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Apr 16, 2017
2 min

Super Hero Logo

Wow, Superhero Week has come and gone in a flash. Thanks to everyone who followed along with me and thanks to those of you who came and found me on Instagram. You guys are total rocks stars. Today I wanted to take a look at what the process looks like when developing characters for an actual client. Sure it’s fun to draw whatever comes to mind but what happens when you’re doing it for a real live client? Let's take a look at the process. Step one - Concept sketches. Step one

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Catching up on Instagram

Apr 11, 2017
1 min

Catching up on Instagram

If you’re not on Instagram at this point I highly recommend you check it out. I find the visual emphasis so much less dramatic and frankly boring than a lot of other social sites. If you are careful about your selections you can really customize a nice feed and leave the drama of places like Facebook behind. Check it out and once your there don’t forget to look me up. You can find me at BobOstromStudio. It seems this post got a little wordier than I intended so I’ll end it he

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Penguins Procreate (It’s not what it sounds like).

Mar 6, 2017
1 min

Penguins Procreate (It’s not what it sounds like).

What’s Procreate? I’ll bet you were thinking you were going to see something different in this post. Sorry nature lovers this one is for all my artist friends out there using the iPad. This penguin art was created using the Procreate app for iPad. If you own an iPad and haven’t worked with Procreate yet, what are you waiting for? Procreate is an excellent drawing app available to iPad users especially those who are using Apple’s pencil. I’ve really been enjoying this one. It’

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Testing for Unicorns

Feb 28, 2017
1 min

Testing for Unicorns

This is just a little test to see how easy it is to upload a movie from the iPad. If you’re curious this art was produced on the iPad Pro using the Procreate app. So far I’ve found it to be an excellent program and I highly recommend it for sketching. In this video you’ll see it’s not to bad for color either. I have yet to try it for a professional job with anything other than sketching but this should give you a little look at what it’s like to work with the program for both

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Working with Textures in Adobe Illustrator

Jul 3, 2015
2 min

Working with Textures in Adobe Illustrator

There are lots of different ways to add visual interest to a digital file. I’ve been inspired by some of the unique art I’ve seen on Instagram lately. Lots of textures and lots of originality. It seems as though the pendulum has begun to swing in the direction of a more organic look these days. Adding texture is a great way to great way to add visual interest and create a unique signature. The trick is figuring out how some of it is done, and that’s the focus right now. I’ve

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Summer Vacation – by Bob Ostrom Studio

Jul 25, 2014
1 min

Summer Vacation – by Bob Ostrom Studio

It's Summer Vacation! I hope everyone is having a great summer! Last week I headed down to the beach here in North Carolina for a short little summer vacation. Unfortunately, it rained harder than I’ve ever seen it rain. It was one of those rains where you think it can’t possibly rain any harder but then it does….all day. Just as we checked into the hotel it started to let up. The sun popped out for about an hour and half so the kids and I grabbed our boogie boards and headed

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Drawing Super Heroes – Wonder Woman

Johnny Appleseed Childrens Book Illustration

Jun 18, 2014
1 min

Johnny Appleseed Childrens Book Illustration

Childrens Book Illustration by Bob Ostrom. This one was from a recent series of books I worked on last year. I’ve tried this look before once or twice using traditional art and a scanner but it was always a tedious process to get the lines bold enough. The Cintiq has helped make creating bold pencil lines very easy. My next goal is to start working on a more natural watercolor look. #illustrator #johnnyAppleseed #Illustration #cintiq #photoshop #childrensbookillustration #car

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