ElizaWheeler-2025-SqWeb-bright

Eliza Wheeler is an illustrator and author of books for kids, teens, and the young at heart. Her book Miss Maple’s Seeds was a NYT bestseller, and her book Home in the Woods was dubbed “Gorgeous” by the New York Times book review. Eliza is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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'HOME IN THE WOODS' Book Video

A behind-the-scenes video detailing the process of writing and illustrating Home in the Woods.

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Inspiration: KiahKiean

June 30, 2011

There are some artists that I come across that make me want to drop everything, grab my sketchbook and go. This is one of them. KiahKiean » Blog Archive » 植物園路印度廟 Sri Meenakshi Sundaraeswarar Temple, Waterfall Road. KiahKiean » Blog Archive » 檳城市議廳 Penang Town Hall.  

Lighting Studies

June 2, 2011

When creating a new illustration where lighting is key, try building a simple 3D model to photograph as a helpful reference. As you’ll see in my examples below, it can be a very crude model made with whatever materials you have handy. I started trying to sketch the figure as a series of basic shapes. Realizing it would be more helpful to see the figure in 3D, I used modeling clay (available in arts and crafts stores), some toothpicks and a pizza box top to recreate the scene in my thumbnail sketch. Building the scene also gives you the ability…

Gallery Inspiration

April 16, 2011

During recent travels abroad, my husband and I visited the Vatican museum. When looking at the collection of Byzantine altar pieces, I was struck by the painting style and the beautiful gold leafing with intricate patterns behind the figures. I found myself excited to experiment with these art works in mind.