Amanda Kastner⬥StorySeamstress

Lantern Woods Appearing quite ordinary by day, the soft luminescence of these woods is breathtaking by moonlight. It is best to find the Lady of the Lamp as a guide,or you will be led astray by pesky thicket fairies. I'm doing a bit of year-end housekeeping with my art and rediscovered this coloring page from last spring. It is (possibly, eventually) part of a larger project, but for now I'm sharing it with you.   Download the free printable PDF file here!

This is the third or fourth year I've attempted the Inktober challenge--posting an ink drawing every day during the month of October--and the first year I've actually accomplished it! I decided my theme would be Regency-inspired miniatures, to go along with the Jane Austen coloring book Kickstarter which was running during October. Here are all 31 little ladies; pen and ink with just a touch of watercolor. (A few of these original miniatures are still available to purchase in the shop !)  If you want to see previous Inktober attempts, here is a week's worth of 2014 Inktober sketches , and of course last year's Inktober project eventually turned into George and the Dragonvine !

Here are the three miniprints available through the Jane Austen coloring book Kickstarter --the second and third ones will be included free with every physical copy of the book ! These illustrations are also included in the coloring book as line art. You can see the ink illustrations here ! For the miniprints, I decided to color the illustrations and remove the linework for a minimalist look. I tried to choose color schemes that, while not being too "matchy-matchy", blend well when displayed together. share , tweet , or pin this image! Of course the first quote is from Pride & Prejudice ! It's in autumnal colors, as this scene takes place in September or October. And, of course, astute Janeites will notice the color of Mr. Darcy's coat as a subtle homage to another--albeit movie adaptation--quote. :) Share , tweet or pin this image! The second quote is from Mansfield Park . It comes near the end of the book when Edmund and Fanny are about to

It's been a while since I've submitted to Illustration Friday, but this week's topic, "Harvest", fits well with this illustration from George and the Dragonvine of George and his mother finishing the harvest and preparing the garden for winter. My sister and I just did this--hauling squash and cucumber vines out of the garden, that is, not dragonvines!--and it's a pretty prickly job. I think I should have drawn my characters wearing gloves! In other news, my Jane Austen coloring book Kickstarter is over 340% funded--WOW! We've reached a couple of stretch goals, so now all coloring books will come with two mini art prints! I'll post those up on the blog soon, or hop over to the Kickstarter campaign's update page for a preview! Mr. Collins thinks Lady Catherine would want you to pledge and get your own copy to color: Share ,  Tweet  or  Pin  this image! 

Back This Project If you've been following along on Instagram, you've seen lots of Jane Austen art over the last month or so--well, today is the day the Kickstarter for She Coloured: 24 Illustrated Jane Austen Quotes goes live! I really enjoyed putting together the book and the rewards. You can see all of the illustrations and quotes included in the coloring book on this page .  Here are some of the other rewards you can get in addition to the coloring book! I had some fun writing Austen-inspired testimonials from characters in the books. Mrs. Elton is first in line to tell us what she thinks of coloring: Tweet Mrs. Elton's Opinion   |   Pin Mrs. Elton's Opinion Back This Project

 Here's a preview of all 24 images in the soon-to-be-released Jane Austen coloring book--you can see more process shots on my instagram . Update: coloring books, greeting cards, & more are now available in my shop! Don't forget to sign up for your free sample pages!

It's fun to see how many expressions can be achieved with mix-and-match facial features!

This is the last of four behind-the-scenes posts about the Dragonvine story I've been sharing on  Instagram ! Here I show how I took my Instagram sketches and turned them into digital illustrations: You can see all the original sketches on  my Instagram account  under  #dragonvinestory  or on my  Dragonvine Pinterest board ! Here's the texture I used for this project. I've intended to experiment with making some painted textures for some time, and I finally did! I wanted the brush strokes to be fairly visible, so I just dabbed the paint around until I thought it would give an interesting texture.

The pages of my personal project, George and the Dragonvine , are all colored and semi-organized. Hurrah!

This is the third of four behind-the-scenes posts about the Dragonvine story I've been sharing on  Instagram . I truly meant to finish my Inktober commitment, and I ALMOST made it! Days 1 to 25 went just fine, but then . . . I ran into a problem. A project-halting problem. So, between having No Time (real life was kinda crazy for a few months there!) and No Theme, the Dragonvine story took a half-year hiatus. Here's how I got back on track: You can see all the original sketches on  my Instagram account  under  #dragonvinestory  or on my  Dragonvine Pinterest board ! Next!  From Sketch to Illustration

I'm coloring illustrations for the Dragonvine story  when I have a chance. I like the dragon's ingratiating grin. Do you think the boy's mother will be persuaded? And just for fun, here's the minimalist version!

This is the second of four behind-the-scenes posts about the Dragonvine story I've been sharing on  Instagram . I'm a great starter  of projects, but finishing  is sometimes a challenge. I gave myself some rules to keep a daily sketch project manageable, and they did--as long as I knew what I needed to draw next!--but more on that in the next post. You can see all the original sketches on  my Instagram account  under  #dragonvinestory  or on my  Dragonvine Pinterest board ! Next!  I Ponder the Meaning of Life

This is the first of four behind-the-scenes posts about the Dragonvine story I've been sharing on Instagram . The story started last October as my Inktober project and I just posted sketch #60--it's finished! Here's how the idea was--pardon the pun-- hatched : You can see all the original sketches on my Instagram account under #dragonvinestory or on my Dragonvine Pinterest board ! Next!  Dragonvine Rules

Another piece from last month! It had been sitting in my sketchbook for a while, so  I decided to give it some digital color. Have you been following my sketch-a-day story on Instagram ? Here's the first picture reworked with digital color and a fun texture. Look for more of this personal project in the next month or so! Speaking of projects, I've also given my site a mobile-friendly overhaul--stop by and take a look!

Last month I did this series of illustrations with my Storybird audience in mind. I'm not exactly sure what's happening, but I hope it looks like an adventure! What do you  think the story is?

I was able to spend a day exploring ancient temples in Asia a few months ago. This is basically a self-portrait! It was so interesting to see all the elaborate carvings.

In the same spirit as my Happy Thought Indeed Austen/Milne mashup, here Lady Catherine meets Jemima Puddle-duck and her ducklings. Only four of them hatched, which Jemima says is because of her nerves, but Lady Catherine knows that she has always been a bad sitter. If you explore my Instagram archives you can see the sketch for this piece--it's been lurking in my mind for months!