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Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · 1d

Panel linework for another page of my mini comic, “Listening”.

It’s set in the world of The wizard and the girl comic because I don’t want to stop drawing these characters and telling their stories.

#comics #comicartist

Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · 3d

Hi #portfolioday!

I’m Amy, I illustrate/ write comics and picture books for kids and adults in traditional media!

Originally from Australia, I am now making the magic happen here in southern Chile.

🎨 linktr.ee/amygardner.art
✉️ [email protected] 

#comics #childrensbooks #illustration

A watercolour and coloured pencil illustration by artist Amy Gardner, depicting two women walking dogs outside if an empty cafe. The two dogs have stopped because they are about to play and the women are turning back surprised, the dog leads stopping them from walking forward. The women are looking at each other with slightly shocked expressions. This illustration is part one of two.

A watercolour and coloured pencil illustration by artist Amy Gardner. The two women from the previous illustration are now sitting together at a table at the cafe, both drinking a hot beverage. In front of them, the two dogs which are now off the leads and are playing. On the left is the a British bulldog and on the right is the dachshund. This illustration is part two of two.

A watercolour and ink comic page from the comic ‘The wizard and the girl’ by artist and writer Amy Gardner. Here we see a sequence of 7 panels where a little girl is secretly watching at an old white haired wizard using magic. She thinks he cannot see her but he spots her and then drives away in his horse drawn cart.

A watercolour and ink comic page from the comic ‘The wizard and the girl’ by artist and writer Amy Gardner. Here we have the next page in the comic, where the girl is running along the road following the wizard in his cart. She follows him all the way home and then shows him that she can also do magic, by levitating a daisy chain she had made.

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Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · 18d

This was the sweetest surprise to find. Thank you for the lovely compliment. Anytime, you have beautiful confident linework!

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Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · 23d

In my September Substack we are time travelling back to 90’s rural Australia.

What’s a young artist to do when art supplies are thin on the ground?

Find out on Substack: open.substack.com/pub/amygardn... 

#comics #picturebooks #kidlit #creativepractice

The first comic panel starts with hand written text that reads, “I remember a time when I had no fear of the blank page. Unlike in my early 20s when I was all about that drama”

Below this there is a cartoon character version of the artist standing dramatically with their hand on their forehead. A little arrow points at the character and the text reads, the drama. Next to the character is a simply drawing of a table and the character appears about to draw something. A little around points to a flat rectangle on the table and the text reads, the blank page.

The second comic panel starts with hand written text that reads, “ As a small child, I had a longing for a simple blank piece of paper. We lived in a small rural township and we only had lined notepads and books, which were for my Dad’s plumbing business.”

Below this, there are piles of paper drawn as scribbly lines with an around pointing to one saying, “endless lined paper”. In the middle of these is a little cartoon character of the artist as a Chile sitting cross legged and clutching a lined piece of paper until it crumples in their hand. An arrow points to them and reads, “The dramatic eye twitch of a frustrated young artist."

The third comic panel starts with hand written text that reads, “I was at the peak of my realism obsession and all I wanted was blank paper to realise all of my lofty artistic ambitions.”

Below this, we see the artist again drawn as a child, hand on a blank page and a thought bubble at her side that she is gazing at happily, imagining herself as a fancy artist, dressed all in black with a beret and a framed painting of a human eye that she is gesturing to with great pride.

This image is an invitation to read the full comic on the artist’s Substack, Monthly Letters from Amy. The link is in the post.

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Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · Sep 5

Listening [1 - part 2]

Some new short stories coming your way from the world and characters of “The wizard and the girl”.  #comics #thewizardandthegirl #CreatedWithoutAI

A comic panel, watercolour illustration depicting a fairy being blown across the waving green grass by a strong wind. By artist, illustrator and writer Amy Gardner.

A comic panel, watercolour illustration depicting a fairy grabbing onto the person’s outstretched hands after being blown away by a strong wind. By artist, illustrator and writer Amy Gardner.

A full comic page by artist, illustrator and writer Amy Gardner. The page is made of 5 panels telling the start of a story where a person is laying in long grass on a sunny windy day and a fairy, after being blown out of some trees by the wind, is thrown across the field and grabs onto the person’s hand.

A photo of the original comic page by artist, illustrator and writer Amy Gardner which shows the artwork on paper next to a selection of the art materials used to mask the page. These include coloured pencils, a nib pen and black acrylic ink.

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Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · Sep 5

Listening [1 - part 1]

Some new short stories coming your way from the world and characters of “The wizard and the girl”.  #comics #thewizardandthegirl

A comic panel, watercolour illustration depicting a grassy field and distant trees with a blue sky overhead. By artist, illustrator and writer Amy Gardner.

A comic panel, watercolour illustration depicting someone holding their arms up to feel the wind while laying the long grass. By artist, illustrator and writer Amy Gardner.

A comic panel, watercolour illustration depicting a view of vibrant green trees being blown in the wind. By artist, illustrator and writer Amy Gardner.

A comic panel, watercolour illustration depicting a fairy being blown out of the trees because of a strong wind. By artist, illustrator and writer Amy Gardner.

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Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · Sep 5

Listening [1 - part 2]

Some new short stories coming your way from the world and characters of “The wizard and the girl”.  #comics #thewizardandthegirl

Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · Aug 27

Does anyone else have someone in their life that always wants to steal the first bite of your food?

In our house, it’s me.

This is my sequential illustration for the theme “Nice to meet you” which I created a recent Picture Hooks prompt.

#kidlit #picturebooks #childrensbooks #CreatedWithoutAI

A view of the artists desk with two finished illustrations placed in sequence of a big red bear trying to eat their sandwich and a little blue perched on their shoulder, looking them in the eyes expectantly. There are coloured pencils on the desk, both in a roll case and loose on the desk. Above the finished illustrations are pieces of paper with coloured blogs of watercolour and coloured pencil linework, showing where the artists experimented with colour and line making before starting the illustrations.

The first finished sequential illustration which shows a bear painted on red with blue coloured pencil lines about to eat a nice big sandwich. On their right arm, a blue bird is perched, exchanging eye contact with the bear, clearly asking for a taste of the sandwich.

The second finished sequential illustration. Now the red bear is sitting down, legs in front of them and leaning backwards. A big paw is on their belly and they are relaxed. They are holding out their right hand in which they hold the sandwich. The bird is sitting on top of the sandwich, with big puffy cheeks and a smile as it eats some of the sandwich. They are looking each other in the eyes and smiling.

A view of the desk, bow with the second illustration, currently unfinished, in the front. There is a paint brush to the right of the paper and the artist is clearly in the process of painting before starting the coloured pencil linework.

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Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · Aug 26

Here’s a nice photo of the finished illustration with the accompanying tools of the trade to really drum home that this was #CreatedWithoutAI

#comics #comicartist #comicwriter #watercolourillustration

A photo of a finished, hand paired and inked spot illustration of the protagonist from the recent comic, The wizard and the girl, by illustrator/ writer Amy Gardner. Around the illustration there is a watercolour box set that has each well in the palette with coloured blobs of paint. To the right of the paper there are several paintbrushes, a dip pen and a mechanical pencil, all of which were used to hand draw, paint and ink this illustration.

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Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · Aug 26

A quick finish for one of the spot illustrations that didn’t make it into the first edition of my comic, The wizard and the girl.

Not sure about this angle for process videos. What do you think?

#comics #kidlit #childrensbooks #watercolourillustration #dippen #watercolourcomic #CreatedWithoutAI

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Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · Aug 26

I’m going to invent some sort of fantastical teleporting, which takes you to worlds that live in exclusively other creative folk’s minds, exclusively to go for a holiday in @secondlina.com’s comic worlds.

Yes please, thank you VERY much.

secondlina // Lord of Crows @secondlina.com · Aug 25

Business Bird [4] - part 1/2

Panel 1 of a 7 panel Crow Time update featuring Business Bird, a crow wearing a yellow leaf tie that operates a rock selling business.

In this panel, a werewolf character is weaving a basket for the crow. The caption reads "a friend of a friend weaved my basket".

Panel 2 of a 7 panel Crow Time update featuring Business Bird, a crow wearing a yellow leaf tie that operates a rock selling business.

In this panel, the crow is surrounded by smooth stones and chatting frogs. The caption reads "a council of froggy experts helped me fish out river stones".

Panel 3 of a 7 panel Crow Time update featuring Business Bird, a crow wearing a yellow leaf tie that operates a rock selling business.

In this panel, we see a close up of the crow walking down a yellow stone road. The caption reads "The road I sell my wares by was built by unknown travelers".

Panel 4 of a 7 panel Crow Time update featuring Business Bird, a crow wearing a yellow leaf tie that operates a rock selling business.

In this panel, a skeleton shopkeeper is opening his stall whole talking to the crow sitting nearby next to his rocks and basket. The caption reads "The other shopkeepers nearby share tips and tricks with me".

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Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · Aug 23

I can never not laugh at this little comic I made for my newsletter back in February.

The way I drew my partner in the second panel still tickles me.

#comics

Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · Feb 20

Things you should know before moving to another country 🌎

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Reposted by Amy Gardner

Bryce @brycenote.bsky.social · Aug 21

Some Jeffrey Catherine Jones book covers
(from back when paperbacks looked nice)

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Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · Aug 18

Take a little peak at what’s happening in my August Substack.
 
This month, I’m diving into what happened when burn out and grief hit all at once.

Read the full post here: amygardnerartist.substack.com/p/when-the-b...

#comics #creativecareer #burnout

A digital illustration of the illustrator's character self drawn as Wile E. Coyote running off a cliff, with a massive anvil poised to fall on top of them.

An image containing only text that reads, "When the bottom falls out: What I did when burn out and grief hit all at once. How facing loss of a loved one and the passing of time reaquainted me with the essential purpose of resilience, patience and perspective in my creative process and career. amygardnerartist.substack.com"

Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · Aug 17

After a nice rummage in my photo reel, here are the photos from my residency in May of me literally painting the cover illustration of my comic by hand. Taken in Ancud, Chiloé, Chile.

#CreatedWithoutAI #traditionalart #traditionalillustration #comics #kidlit #watercolourartist #illustrator

Top down view photo of the Amy Gardner illustrating the wrap around cover for ‘The wizard and the girl’ the silent comic she wrote and illustrated. The desk is covered in traditional art supplies including a holder for paint brushes, a well used watercolour palette of 12 colours and much more. The artist is brushing the paper she will paint on with a hand and looking at her iPad screen which had a reference image of a green landscape under a cloudy sky with a some blue poking through.

A photo showing Amy Gardner hand painting the wrap around cover for her comic ‘The wizard and the girl’. Amy is wearing big over ear wireless headphones, an orange beanie and a green jumper. The painting is about 90%painted and the watercolour palette has green and blue paints in the wash dishes as she is painting the sky and grass in this photo. Her face has a look of concentration as she is painting.

A view through a window, looking in at artist/ illustrator/ writer Amy Gardner who is putting the finishing touches of watercolours on her wrap around cover illustration for her comic, ‘The wizard and the girl’. We see Amy standing at a desk, bent over her painting with a brush in hand. She is wearing over ear headphones, an organise beanie, green jumper and long black leggings. We see the reflection of the photographer, Alison Ortiz, in the reflection of the windows. Above Amy we also see the reflection of the trees in front of the window reflected in the glass.

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Reposted by Amy Gardner

alix e. harrow @alixeharrow.bsky.social · Aug 17

just saw someone sincerely arguing that they need AI bc they don't have "natural" artistic talent and idk how to make you understand that nobody comes by this shit naturally. it's just...work. it's being bad at it for a really, really, really long time. it's intention, pursued over time! wtf!!!

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Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · Aug 17

Shout out to @debbieohi.com who’s recent post about seeing more posts with photos featuring art and illustrations made in traditional media alongside the materials has lit a fire under my bum to share more of these things in my feed.

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Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · Aug 17

My comic ‘The wizard and the girl’ was made entirely by hand in traditional media using acrylic ink and watercolours.

Here is the hand painted wrap around cover I made during an art residency in Chiloé, where I also made the first hand bound print edition.

#comics #kidlit #CreatedWithoutAI

A photo of a finished hand made comic titled ‘The wizard and the girl’ by author and illustrator Amy Gardner. The comic is resting on top of the hand painted ink and watercolour illustration of the wrap around cover, which features the protagonist, a young girl with dark hair standing next to an old wizard which while hair and beard on a cloudy day, with blue sky showing through. Around these are the art materials the comic was made with, a set of watercolours and paint brushes, plus a black ink bottle and dip pen.

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Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · Aug 17

I do!

bsky.app/profile/amyg...

Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · Aug 10

Testing out some costume colours with watercolour and prismacolor premiers.

#characterdesign #comics #kidlit #originalcharacter

Hand painted colour studies for the first two sections of an original character turn around.

Reposted by Amy Gardner

Jason Bailey @jasondashbailey.com · Aug 16

AI is for writers who don’t like to write but want to have written, and readers who don’t like to read but want to have read.

Into the sea with the whole miserable joyless fucking lot of them.

Boze the Library Owl @sketchesbyboze.bsky.social · Aug 16

People are reading AI-generated synopses of books and then claiming they read 100 books in a week. This is how the abolition of books began in Fahrenheit 451: classics were condensed into five-minute summaries for those too busy to do the reading. Later came the burnings.

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Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · Aug 10

If you like this, you might want to read my first kids comic, “The wizard and the girl”, a short silent comic I made entirely in traditional media.

Check out the first few pages on my website here: www.amygardner.com.au/comics

Comics — Amy Gardner Artist

www.amygardner.com.au

Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · Aug 10

Testing out some costume colours with watercolour and prismacolor premiers.

#characterdesign #comics #kidlit #originalcharacter

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Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · Aug 9

Character turn arounds….. but do it entirely freehand in traditional media

#characterdesign #comics #kidlit #originalcharacter

Hand drawn sketch of the first two parts of a character turn around.

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Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · Aug 7

Right, I'm off to go try this! Ta-ta

#comics

Kelsey Buzzell @kelseybuzzell.bsky.social · Aug 1

Been studying graphic novel page and frame progressions by copying the variations down for some books I own. I love how different they have been so far, yet they all get us to understand a story. #graphicnovel #illustrator

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Amy Gardner @amygardnerartist.bsky.social · Aug 7

Joining the chorus this #kidlitpostcard day!

I'm Amy Gardner, an Australian illustrator and writer of comics and picture books living in Chile.

Currently seeking representation.

Portfolio: www.amygardner.com.au

#kidlit #comics #graphicnovelart #childrensbooks #picturebooks

Illustration of a young child with dark hair crouching beside a bird on a boulder. The bird and the child are whistling together.

The text in the top right of the image reads, "Amy Gardner. Illustrator & writer. www.amygardner.com.au. amygardner.artist@gmail.com"

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