Christine Almeda ✏️

I keep seeing authors getting duped by AI users pretending to be artists (and then sadly realising it when everyone calls their book AI slop).

These grifters are everywhere and I don't have a solution, but I have a few pointers:

Publishing for Minnesota Silent auction 'Publishing for Minnesota' hosted online at 32auctions.

Feel helpless? Want to do something to help the brave folks in Minnesota? If you're a writer, teacher, book club, there are great items to bid on here: www.32auctions.com/organization...

I've already reposted Nala's portfolio guide in every single art discord I'm part of at this point, but since they also shared it here: it's great! Read it! A lot of professional artists (and all aspiring artists who want to do this as a job) can benefit from it!

Mad stands talking on her phone “I live in the Minneapolis area, my parents live in Iowa and I give my mom a call once a week when I can.” “Hi mom” “what’s wrong” “there’s a rip in my bedsheet”

A picture of a huge rip in a bed sheet text reads “I’m so tired. A man who works at my school was kidnapped on his way home from work. Whenever I go out I see more cars abandoned in the road I’ve been seeing so many suvs without license plates”

Madi looks out her window at an suv with dark windows across the street the text reads “they’re shooting people, using gasses that cause cancer on civilians, they’re raping detainees. They’re causing car accidents and kidnapping their victims. And we have whistles.”

Madi rips the sheet further “I havnt even scratched the surface on how bad it is, on how bad I worry it will be. And this stupid sheet is ripped. And it’s the only problem I have that I can solve today.”

Had a phone call with my mom today. #iceoutmpls #iceoutminneapolis #iceoutcomics

Girl and animals marching down forest path

Book titled “Lolo’s Sari Sari Store”

Girl sitting in room in front of Zoom meeting on the computer

Family gathering in the Philippines, from book “Box of Dreams”

Hello #PortfolioDay 👋 I’m Christine, a Filipino-American freelance illustrator with a passion for children’s books! I’d love to collab and add warmth, color, and story to your project. #illustration

🎨 www.christinealmeda.com
💌 christine.almeda (at) hotmail.com

gouache painting of a winter forest scene, bare trees, long blue shadows, and stones make up the composition.

gouache painting of a stone and small pine tree. Snow and tree trunks in the background. Blue shadows, white snow, and purple rocks.

Plein air gouache paintings I did while at a cabin yesterday.

Man and cat stare intensely into sink

Just discovered the subreddit r/accidentalrockwell and it is delightful

Love the neighbors setting off fireworks and riding loud motor bikes when my babies and I are trying to sleep 🫠 Aiming for even an ounce of that lack of shame

🥹 Thank you so much, thats so kind of you! Happy New Year!!

In 2026, be prepared to fight me! I’m pro-vaccine, pro-gun control and anti-gen AI. I’ve always been living like that, but I am enraged now!!! 😤

I know it’s because people are generally uninformed or ignorant and see it as a harmless photo filter, but ughhhhhhhh make it stop

Not loving this AI “Christmas-ify my photo” trend I’m seeing on Facebook 🤮

Calling it “Norman Rockwell”?! Gross. He would hate it. Not even composed well.

Letting it change your kid’s face?! Absurd.

2025 Year in Review — Christine Almeda Illustration One moment, it was January. Now, here we are at the end of December. And there’s so much to look back on! I will be honest, this was a tough freelancing year. There were many weeks where I just kept...

www.christinealmeda.com/blog/a-diffi...

My #artvsartist2025 🌟 Honestly this was a tough freelance year, but I did take on a lot of new things! Online speaking opportunities, a book festival, website revamp, and more! I go into more detail about this year on my blog ✏️

Thank you for being here and Happy New Year 🫶

Cancelled my Adobe subscription! Going into 2026 with Affinity studio (it’s free and has the features I need)! Goodbye predatory subscription model!! ✌️✌️

Illustration of morning dove, yellow rumped warbler, and cedar waxwing wearing orange and red ribbons

Illustration of morning dove wearing a orange ribbon

illustration of a yellow rumped warbler

Yellow Winter Birds🌻❄️

Sending solidarity, this art business thing is TOUGH 🫠

I think freelancing this year broke my brain. I’ve wanted to give up multiple times, art just hasn’t been fun lately 😞

Our feature tutorial/artist today is this CLASSIC piece by Jack Hamm on how SLEEVE FOLDS SHOW as the arm is RAISED or PULLED BACK. An excellent reference sheet to have at hand forever! #illustration #comicart #anime #manga #gamedev #illustrationart #fashiondesign #fashiondesigner

Nanay Claus

Filipino Santa

Carabao

Pasko Sa Baryo event entrance with character cutouts

Filipino Santa, Nanay Claus, and their Carabao for the Pasko Sa Baryo event in LA last month! So cool to know attendees could see these in-person! #illustration

Loved drawing these and love Christmas art. Hope to have more fun collab commissions in 2026 🥹🙏

Nanay Claus

Filipino Santa

Carabao

Pasko Sa Baryo event entrance with character cutouts

Filipino Santa, Nanay Claus, and their Carabao for the Pasko Sa Baryo event in LA last month! So cool to know attendees could see these in-person! #illustration

Our feature artist/tutorial today is this wonderful and concise piece on BEING CREATIVE with your COLOUR SELECTIONS by the talented @alaiganuza! That note on SATURATION is a very useful one to keep in mind. I love this!
#illustration #painting #oilpainting #paint #colour #ART

Some favorite Santa PBs. 📚👍

drawing of a chaotic winter scene of various woodland animals, mostly amphibians, frolicking in the snow outside a rustic hobbit-type dwelling

more frog, again. seasonal frog

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2025 Wordless Children’s Books A look at books that take a chance and tell their tales with quiet aplomb.

Day 8 of 31 Days, 31 Lists: Wordless Children's Books. A look at books that take a chance and tell their tales with quiet aplomb. #31days31lists #kidlit 📚👍 afuse8production.slj.com/2025/12/08/3...

I love love love that they hired a painter to do these portraits and then acknowledged her by name. Artists of all kinds supporting each other is so beautiful.

It flew by!! 😭

a slice of fruitcake filled with dried and candied fruit chunks, with a thin layer of white icing on top, and a puppy-like face made out of marzipan and icing on its surface

day 1 of my 2025 holiday sweets advent calendar: fruitcake!

this year i'm attempting to draw a different holiday-themed treat for each day of december leading up to christmas! check back tomorrow for a new sweet surprise 🎁🎅

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Original artwork of the children's book, The Brave Little Tailor. The tailer is looking down at the 7 flies he swatted in one blow. There's dresses and other items of clothing nearby.

Original artwork of the children's book, The Brave Little Tailor. The tailor is outside of his town, looking at a little bird in his palm.

John Parr (J.P.) Miller (1913-2004) - original art from The Brave Little Tailor, a Little Golden Book from Simon & Schuster, 1953. Pages 04-05 and 06-07.