For Illustration Friday - variations on the theme of FLIGHT

Okay - I just love this week's theme because I've been told I'm kinda flighty... nyuk nyuk. Obviously this was a chance to play with different ideas and techniques. I didn't scan in EVERYTHING I did - all those sketches from my doodle book. But who knows, maybe I'll get the urge to do it later - after all, who hasn't wished they could fly?

(click on the images for a larger view...)

Kiwi Bird takes flight...
This was the second image I did... again with just a simple graphics program - learning to use skew and distortion tools (to make the steps) and layering the feathers onto the kiwi. He looked a lot cuter when I drew him with a pen, but I wanted to try the computer effects. Poor little flightless kiwi bird - has to take a flight of stairs... keep scrolling down for more on FLIGHT.

This next variation on the theme started off as a quick sketch - inspired by the dreams of all those flightless birds.
Showoffs - initial quick sketch and then using computer program, layers, shapes and effects

And finally (for now anyway)... Click on this for larger image and for even larger, wait for a second and click on the lower right corner when the little symbol appears.
Transformed Flight

Haven't we all wished we could fly?
This was initially done on black construction paper with colored pencils. I added the glow and the gradient "land" using Photoshop. I created layers to accentuate the little girl and the final bird, getting the transformation steps to be more transparent.

Thanks for visiting! Please let me know what you think! I'm constantly learning and any constructive criticism or techniques you wish to impart on my beginner brain will be greatly appreciated. There are some awesome artists and illustrators at Illustration Friday.