Diandra Mae

Unofficial Badges!

2012-01-06T14:01:00.002-06:00

I finally got around to creating a badge for the Unofficial Gallery. Feel free to use it on your own blog. If you're using Blogger, it's super duper easy. Save this jpeg to your computer. Go to Blogger> Layout> Add Widget> Picture, load this jpeg, then insert http://scbwicontest.blogspot.com in the space provided for Link. Easy Peasy!

If your tech-phobic, smaller web-friendly versions here:

150 px wide

150 px wide & for the web

Chicken Licken

2012-01-01T14:58:00.001-06:00

For the second year, SCBWI announced the Tomie de Paola Award, an illustration contest that evolved from Tomie originally choosing promising artists from those showcasing at NYSCBWI. Last year's prompt was from "Heidi." It honestly didn't inspire me, but this year was a different matter.

The prompt was from Chicken Licken and as soon as I read it aloud, ideas flooded my head, so much so that I had to scribble them down as I read. You can also see that the format was something that happened early on. I was thrilled to do another comic page, so I got to work breaking up text, arranging panels and deciding on the overall design. I finally settled settled on something similar to this...uh chicken scratch. (harhar)

One of the questions that had been circling my head for a while was how I was going to have my flock stand out from the others. Inspiration came in the form of a birthday present:my first pair of cowboy boots!

Can you believe I've lived in Texas most of my life without cowboy boots? Unnatural! :)

Yee-haw! Thus began my research into the Old West: towns, clothing and landscape. I did a ton of research and very little of it physically made its way into the actual final art, but it was necessary. I think art carries a certain weight of back-story that the viewer unconsciously recognizes. Plus, it love research! (Archaeologist and Librarian were the top of my "When I Grow Up" list for a long time.)

As I'm sure almost all of the contestants did, I also researched the heck out of the birds featured in the story. I can't remember who, but another illustrator once pointed out to me that everyone uses Google now, and so the likelihood of whatever you're referencing looking like someone else's was much more likely. So now I try not to rely strictly on Google and throw in a few books and magazines. With research completed, I got to work on my favorite part: character sketches!

Henny Penny

Loosey Goosey

Man, did I have fun creating these characters. I had to decide on their personality, their clothing, their posture. How would they react to the news? Would they freak out? Would they take charge? What position did they hold in this fictional Western town, etc.

I did a few color studies to get a handle on just how I wanted to approach the color of this piece. This one was what I decided I really liked. Unfortunately because of a few curve balls (sick kids,etc) I was unable to take this to fruition, but it's a technique I definitely want to play around with more.

I sketched up the final panels, made a few notes here and there, redrew it and scanned them into the computer. I colored it in Photoshop, and didn't even have time to play around with that. I was trying to beat a deadline, and so I ended up with....(click on each image to see it bigger)

I had so much fun with this piece. I think all illustrators have a drive to "do better" and mine is particularly revved up with this piece. I'm going to go back to the drawing board and paint this up as I originally intended, but boy am I glad I was able to submit it and beat the deadline.

If you'd like to see a few other illustrators' interpretations of the prompt, head over to The Unofficial Tomie de Paola Gallery blog. There's over forty-five versions of Chicken Licken and it's sure to grow!

Moooving along

2011-11-06T13:04:00.001-06:00

I mean, just look at them. All weird angles, shapes and proportions!

Bird Brain

2011-11-04T09:47:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to share a peek at the beginning stages of a new piece. I noticed something while I was sketching him, and I think I've noticed it before but kind of brushed it aside. When I work from reference, and am hashing out a character, they have a different appearance than characters that come from my head. Less cartoony or something. Maybe I'm imagining it, but I think I'll have to take a closer look at past animal reference sketches to be sure.

Regardless, I look forward to figuring out this goose and his compatriots. It won't be easy, but there's nothing like a little art challenge to get the blood pumpin', right?

Boooogie Night!

2011-11-01T11:36:00.000-05:00

On the Sketchables' blog we've been having fun with themes. I thought I'd share a few pieces if you missed them over there. This is my Monster Mash. This is an idea I've had for at least a year, but every time I tried sketching it out, it refused to work. I'm so happy I've finally got it down. I want to revise the sketch some, add a few more details, etc. but I'm really glad these creatures had a chance to shine, finally.

And here's the after-party at the local twenty-four hour diner. Mummy's giving The Creature From The Black Lagoon the stink-eye for being so slurpy and smacky while he eats! I gotta say, he's got some personality, that Creature.

Hope everyone had as much fun last night as these spooks! Now it's time to put all of my attention to #PiBoIdMo!

PiBoIdMo 2011

2011-10-24T09:58:00.001-05:00

Once again, it's time for Tara Lazar's annual Picture Book Idea Month Challenge!

Head here to sign up for participation and be eligible for all sorts of prizes and to take the oath. Also be sure to get the firefly for Twitter and your blog. Isn't he great? #kidlitart host and illustrator extraordinaire, Bonnie Adamson created him. He'll be on all kinds of PiBoIdMo CafePress goodies with all proceeds going to charity. Even if you don't write, it's a great exercise to take part in. You could create a small sketch every day for thirty days. You never know what you'll come up with!

Good luck with your thirty ideas. I'm already rubbing my hands together in anticipation. Every project I've been working on these last two years has evolved from a PiBoIdMo idea and I can't wait to see what else is in store!

Hurray for Fall!

2011-10-14T13:14:00.002-05:00

You have no idea how thrilled I am that our temperatures are in the uppers eighties, now. After four months of non-stop digital temps and almost no rain, Fall is such a relief!

(How do you like the new header? I think everyone should have their own cheering section!)

#LA11SCBWI

2011-08-11T14:31:00.009-05:00

Why yes, that is Judy Blume!

I'm still feeling the "spin and whorl" of SCBWI's 40th Annual Summer Conference, but I thought I'd share a few of the cognizant thoughts I had on my experience.

I knew that I'd be connecting with friends from online and that was one of the things I was looking forward to most. I was lucky enough to room with Angela Matteson and Casey Girard (both who had the guts to ask EB Lewis his opinion on their portfolios!) and hang out with Kelly Light, Kathy Blackmore, and Jim Hill. I was able to watch as Twitter pals Juana Martinez-Neal and Christina Barragan Forshay won SCBWI Showcase Mentorships and met tons of very talented people. It was almost too much!

(In fact, I'm pretty sure it was too much. The combination of LA's smog, the hotel's air-circulation system (rife with mold, I'm sure) and talking more than I had in months all combined to make me a very scratchy speaker. I lost most of my voice by the second day.)

Regardless, I was able to come away with some real jewels:

*Bruce Coville: "Good art, good writing, is dangerous when done well." (and he was one of the few authors I saw at the Portfolio Showcase!)

*Jerry Pinkney: "THIS is my work."

*Pat Cummings: "Have chutzpah."

*Libba Bray: "Embrace The Suck."

*Denise Fleming: "Children are much more observant than adults, that's why you gotta put a little extra in to the pictures. For them."

*Donna Jo Napoli: "Every person needs to learn empathy."

*Gary Paulsen: "Everything I am, I owe to that woman" (the librarian who signed him up for his first library card.) "Read like the wolf eats."

*Richard Peck: "If you do not find yourself on the page early on, you will go looking for yourself in all the wrong places."

*Laurie Halse Anderson: "We are the world-shakers."

And the Illustrator's Intensive. Wow. I mean SCBWI really outdid themselves with the group they gathered here. If they ever bring back the Master Class for the conference, and it's anything like this experience was, I am so there. I was inspired, had several light-bulb moments and basically enjoyed the hell outta the day!

The biggest takeaway I had from the conference was that I need to work, work and work some more. I need to work more than others want to work. I need to work harder than others need to work. I need to work with what I'm passionate about, and what I truly love. There's no other way. And that's what I'm going to do.

It was The Claw!

2011-07-04T14:22:00.002-05:00

A week or so ago I posted this little share over at The Sketchables for our campfire theme.

Well I've finally finished it in full color and thought y'all would like to see what in the world the kids are looking at with such horror:

Nothing better than having your own children wrapped up in a campfire ghost story, but as you can see, more than two kids have been drawn in to the drama.
(Click on the picture to see it a little bigger)

I'm THIS Many!

2011-06-07T14:46:00.001-05:00

This sketch was inspired by my son's birthday a few weeks ago. He's very into dinosaurs (he rivals a T-Rex in many ways) and turning four he's prooudly proclaimed himself a "big kid." ;)

I still need to tweak the colors a little, add shading, etc. but I wanted to share the mostly-done color version of the sketch so many of you helped me out with! (Originally those trees had orange tops, but then I realized they were a little too "Lorax-y" so switched them up.) Hip-hip hooray!

An Argument FOR Social Media

2011-05-29T19:06:00.000-05:00

I've been up to a lot, but haven't been blogging much. First, I flew to California to visit family for two weeks. My Grandpa was in the hospital (he's fine now) and I was able to visit with family I haven't seen in years.It was a great visit, and my baby girl, me and my mom drove back to Texas, our rental minivan full of vintage goodies from my grandparents' place. (They used to be antique dealers, and I got some great vintage kitchen stuff!)

When I got back I was exhausted. Certainly that played a part in me being unable to draw anything. Every idea I had seemed weak. Every doodle was destined for the trashcan. I was deeply and obviously in a rut.

I decided to keep trying, taking a break to share what I thought was a pretty blah sketch on Facebook:

And boy did I get the feedback I was looking for! I got seventeen fantastic comments suggesting how to strengthen the sketch and take it to the next level:

It was just what I needed because I was thinking I should dump the sketch and start on something else. More research, rearranging and sketching got me this:

And I realized that the birthday banner was going to have to change, until I ended up with this:

Now all I need to do it add some color, pattern and shading and voila! I will have a piece of art worthy of sharing.
Thanks, guys!

The Odd Couple

2011-04-08T10:42:00.000-05:00

Back in January, Jannie Ho (aka chickengirl) had her topic "Chicken" picked for Illustration Friday. There were participants all over the blogosphere who participated (me, included) in IF for the first time in months. Those of us on Twitter even changed our avatars to reflect our chicken status, and when we talked about how much fun we were having with the chicken topic, we used the #bawkbawkbawk hashtag.

This was my sketch. When I took it to finish, I decided to put what I had learned about coloring in Photoshop to use and ended up with this:

I was very happy with these two, and was inspired further to create a storyline about their friendship in the form of a mini-comic. Time hasn't allowed me to complete and share the entire story, but I thought I'd share one of the first pages. A glimpse into the evolution of one odd couple.

Creating the hen's home was so much fun. I went a little nuts with the wallpaper, don't you think? I'm very happy with these two, even more so because this is exactly how I had pictured the piece in full color.

My husband and I have agreed that I shouldn't ask him for feedback on pieces because as he puts it, "I'm an engineer, what the heck do I know about your art?" But this time I thought he might be interested in my latest experiment. So I showed him this piece after it had been printed out for my portfolio. And you know what, when he looked at this piece, there wasn't just encouragement and support on his face. There was real admiration and appreciation for what I had made. :)

This Little Piggie

2011-03-10T20:34:00.002-06:00

is going to the market! I'm taking my big brass band to full color!

P52: Babies!

2011-03-01T20:23:00.001-06:00

Whew- I almost didn't get this posted in time! This month I'm focusing on the wee ones. Here's a clever little peanut, stealing peanuts!

You can see what happens to those peanuts here.

Drawing this elephant reminded me of my favorite Disney movie, Dumbo and this scene:

I made the mistake of watching this during both of my pregnancies, and of course I was blubbering by the end of it. *sigh*

Doodle Me This

2011-02-20T13:44:00.003-06:00

I'm trying to find a way to preserve the energy of my initial sketches in finished color pieces, so I did an experiment.

I took a sketch and transferred it in a variety of ways.

Pen and ink: stiff lines, so I didn't paint it.

Paint first, brush and ink: Lines that were better.

Brush and ink first, then paint added: best variety in line and I did a better job with the color.

At the end of it, I wasn't super impressed with ANY of them. They all looked similar enough to me that it didn't really matter how they got there. A little frustrating sure, but it just means if I want significant results, I need to really push myself out of the box and approach my work in a way that I haven't before.

Later on I was playing around with Photoshop:

Digitally colored sketch

Digitally colored sketch.

And the one I like the most? This last picture. I'm getting more comfortable digitally, but that doesn't help me strengthen my traditional approach. Looks like I get to go back to the drawing board.

P52: Love of Dance #2

2011-02-15T09:39:00.001-06:00

Spring is in the air! The sun is shining, bugs are buzzing, and you can practically hear the plants sigh in pleasure.

You can see the slightly edited, color version of this sketch here.

P52: Love of Dance #1

2011-02-01T10:00:00.003-06:00

I know that a dancing hippo has become cliche, ever since a certain someone did a little movie called Fantasia. (Seriously, do a search for dancing hippo!) However, I was inspired by a teething toy that my daughter has taken a lot of delight in recently, and what better way to warm up than getting those cliches out of the system?

It'll be interesting to see which forms of dance will inspire me this month, there are just so many to choose from!

Project 52: The Sweet Stuff #4

2011-01-25T17:15:00.001-06:00

Technically, this is a cheat, since it's not a new sketch, but it's been one of those days. However, I do plan on putting this in my portfolio once it's painted, so it counts towards my goal of 12 full-color pieces.

This is my sketch for The Baker. That's right, "the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker..." Can you find the other two? A few more details to add, and I think this sketch will be ready to become a full color piece!

Illustration Friday: Chicken

2011-01-19T08:38:00.010-06:00

"Chicken (n): a domestic fowl." I can't think of anything more domestic than tea, can you?

And here are a few more chickens from the past:

And if you can't get enough of chickens, then I highly recommend Beatrice Rodriguez's Chicken Thief. It's a charming little book that quickly became one of my favorites last year.

Project 52: The Sweet Stuff #3

2011-01-18T13:23:00.001-06:00

What's sweeter than friendship?

I'm multi-tasking this week with this illustration. It's over at The Sketchables, is the basis for my Illustration Friday post later this week, and I'm also planning on putting a version of this image in my portfolio. I thought this would work, but realized I needed to amp it up a bit and put a little more action in there. So these two will be enjoying each other's company in a more dynamic way. I still like this sweet scene, though.

Project 52: The Sweet Stuff #2

2011-01-14T10:30:00.003-06:00

I wanted to get caught up on the project so here's my second sketch!

I used an experience I had making cookies not too long ago. (Except in my case I remembered the sugar before I stuck the cookies in the oven.) The first panel is what I started out with, and the rest of the story just popped in as I was completing it. I may do more comic pages this year. They're fun to do!

Project 52: The Sweet Stuff #1

2011-01-13T17:03:00.001-06:00

January's theme is "The Sweet Stuff."

"Mud Pies" inspired by my own sweet baby.

Project 52

2011-01-11T10:45:00.001-06:00

This is the year I'm putting it all out there. I've held back until now because I didn't feel prepared enough, or my work wasn't strong enough, or I needed to learn one more technique. Well, I've decided that there is never a "right" time, that nothing is ever perfect, and you just have to go for it!

One of the areas I need to put the most energy into is building my portfolio. As much as I enjoy the pieces that currently make it up, I am sorely lacking in representing certain subjects that pretty much symbolize children's illustration: cars, for example!

To amend this, I will pick a theme each month that represents a subject I feel I need more of in my my portfolio. I will dedicate myself to creating at least one sketch a week in response to that theme, and in order to hold myself accountable, I will publish the sketches every week on this blog on Tuesdays. (There, I've said it, OUT LOUD!) The goal is to have fifty-two sketches by year's end with at least twelve solid, full-color pieces that can be considered portfolio-worthy. Simple, yes?

(And yes, this was inspired by Illustration Friday, but the themes will be suiting my purposes, and there is a lot less pressure because I only have to take ideas to sketch level. If I really love an idea I will then create a full-color piece.)

January's theme is "The Sweet Stuff." Here is my first sketch, "Mud Pies" inspired by my own sweet baby.

(Oh, and if for some reason you want to play along, let me know! Maybe you can put a link to your blog post in the comments or something. The more the merrier and all that.)

2011-Let's Do This Thing!

2011-01-10T11:00:00.003-06:00

It's a New Year and a fresh start! I have so much ambition for this year, it's a little ridiculous. It's okay because I think I've learned exactly how much I can commit myself to and still follow through.

My intentions for the year are:
*Portfolio
*Promotion
*Progress
*Community

These translate into:
*Project 52- a personal art project where I pick a theme each month, and dedicate myself to creating at least one sketch a week in response to that theme. In order to hold myself accountable, I will publish the sketches every week on this blog on Tuesdays. The themes will be subjects I feel my portfolio is lacking in as a children's illustrator. The goal is to have fifty-two sketches by year's end with at least one solid, full-color piece at the end of each month that is portfolio worthy. (I'd like to be all ambitious and say a sketch every day, and a full-color piece each week, but I'm being realistic. I have a 3 year old and a 5 month old. My days are just a little full.)

*Website redesign, Seasonal postcards, Joining online portfolio sites, Submitting to SCBWI Bulletin, and creating and sharing art that can be downloaded. Each of these promotional activities has been broken down into monthly acts so as not to be too overwhelming.

*Picture Book Dummy Challenge- I'm taking my writing seriously this year, and I am seriously motivated. I am dummying up at least one of my PiBoIdMo ideas. I hope to do a spin-off of Project 52 this summer that could go in the direction of a picture book dummy or promo piece, so either way it's a win-win.

*I'm the Illustrator Coordinator for my SCBWI chapter. That means it's up to me to look out for the interests of the local illustrators and help them grow. My main goal is to set up at least two Sketch Crawls this year, and to get more members to become active outside of the meetings. SCBWI-Houston meets on a weeknight, which can be difficult. I'm hoping if we create an illustrator's group to meet once a month on a weekend day, there can be more of a connection made. Besides that, we have our regional conference in April with a fantastic creative director who is not only presenting a break-out session, he is critiquing portfolios, and judging the portfolio contest as well.

These goals seem relatively simple, yes? Specific enough to stay focused, broad enough to allow for flexibility. I have a feeling this is going to be a very good year! What are your intentions for the 2011?

Picture Book Dummy Challenge

2010-12-21T10:00:00.004-06:00

About a month ago, a bunch of us on the #kidlitart chat were discussing how much fun we had doing the PiBoIdMo Challenge. Many agreed that we needed to take it to the next level, as pushing ourselves to take risks is something we all want to work on. Over the course of several chats, moderator Bonnie Adamson asked for input in order to hash out the details of what parameters needed to be set.

The following was decided:
*Title of the challenge is the Picture Book Dummy Challenge.
*Kick-off is January 6th.
*Challenge is open to EVERYONE of all skill levels, and not just illustrators!
*The goal is to complete a book ready for submission by June.
*Participants will identify each other on Twitter and Facebook with a twibbon.
*There will be progress check-ins as well as support and resources through the #kidlitart blog.
*Conversations on Twitter about the PB Challenge should be marked with the hashtag of #PBdummy.

I was nominated to create the twibbon for this event. I came up with this:

Feel free to use any of these to promote the challenge!

The light bulb is a nod to Tara Lazar, because many of us wouldn't even have a dummy to create if it weren't for her PiBoId Mo challenge, and the twibbon she created was a light bulb, the universal sign for an idea. The pencil is to represent the act of writing or drawing the ideas down on paper. It's one thing to have an idea, another to put it down as words and pictures. The pencil-bulb is a nod to the dedication of all the participants.

I uploaded the yellow pencil to twibbon. I don't see an option to add multiple versions of a design, but if you would like to take one of the colored twibbons above, and modify it so it appears on your Twitter and Facebook avatar, feel free! And remember when you go to click the "Show My Support" button that you have used the slider directly below it to resize the twibbon, and place it where you would like on your avatar. You don't HAVE to have it block out your image.

Details are being hashed out for the challenge, and it looks very exciting! I hope you will join us in 2011 in taking your storytelling skills to the next level!

PiBoIdMo 2010 Winner!

2010-12-01T12:45:00.000-06:00

It's December and Picture Book Idea Month has officially ended. It was surprisingly easy for me this year. In fact, I'm going to try to keep up the habit of actively writing down any ideas on a daily basis. You never know what may appear!

I'm so happy with this year's batch that I have already started making plans on how to bring some of them into fully realized stories and eventually dummy books. Others I will be turning into illustrations, perhaps to add to my portfolio.

All of this gleeful proclamation to say that I'm a winner, as are many kindred spirits. Congrats, everyone! Head on over to Tara's blog and be sure to grab your Winner's Badge.

Hug A Bear

2010-11-09T09:00:00.020-06:00

We're celebrating Hug A Bear day on The Sketchables blog this week. I decided to play around with my sketch in Photoshop and this is the result.

Leaps in Experimentation

2010-10-25T08:00:00.002-05:00

I think I'm getting the hang of this digital illustration thing! Here's another Sketchbook Project drawing that I took to color in Photoshop, cropped:

I played with it a while, and this was the initial color study.

I liked it, but it seemed like it needed a little "oomph."

And this is the wonder and fabulousness of Photoshop. I made three or four clicks and voila! The colors adjusted and just like that, I like it even more!

Sketchbook Sidetrip

2010-10-22T21:02:00.002-05:00

I decided to play around with one of my Sketchbook pages in Photoshop. Not only was it a good exercise in the software, but I love the fact that I can change out the color choices willy-nilly! I tried sticking to a limited palette and this is what I came up with:

And as always, click on the picture to see it bigger.

Sketchbook Project: Pages 1-8

2010-10-22T11:39:00.000-05:00

I'm cheating a little here, as I've not painted these pages. But I'm really liking the black and white right now and am moving forward with the rest of my sketches. I think I'll do the color last, and all at once.

Sketchbook Project: Opening Pages

2010-10-15T12:32:00.002-05:00

Will wonders ever cease? I have finally begun working in my Sketchbook: penciling in drawings, inking lines, adding color. I hope to take a page from Jannie Ho and will be sharing my pages with you guys every Thursday. I tend to spend a lot of time online on Thursdays, so I might as well make use of that time.

Here the opening pages of my sketchbook. I'm formatting it like a traditional picture book, so there will be end papers, but I'm not doing those until last.

I'm taking a pretty laid back approach to my color application. I'm experimenting with media and application, so if things don't come out exactly as I had hoped, I'm going to have to be okay with it. This spread isn't perfect, but it'll do. I know I messed up the values, so I'll have to watch it in the rest of the book.
Off to do more pages. Have a great weekend!
*If you click on the image, I think you can see it bigger*

Two Heads are Better

2010-10-12T09:44:00.001-05:00

So I was trying out Photoshop this weekend. I'm starting slow, trying to get the hang of a few basic actions. I decided to practice on some thumbnails I had drawn.

I was researching tattoos when I started doodling Halloween themed ideas. I really like how she turned out! She's my new avatar.

I have to admit it's been a challenge getting the hang of the Bamboo tablet and pen. Just drawing with it isn't that difficult for me. It's tracing over what already exists that's proving to be difficult. It'll come with practice, so I can't complain too much about it. :)

I think I'll try to make a new blog banner with a Halloween theme, and perhaps a new Twitter background is in order as well. It should be fun!

Centipede

2010-10-07T11:10:00.000-05:00

We're sharing pieces inspired by our favorite childhood books this week at The Sketchables. I picked James and the Giant Peach. I ended up doing it as an exercise in color sketching. My favorite character is the Centipede. Here's a close-up:

If you want to see the entire piece, you can see it here.

Sketchbook Project 2011-In a Bind

2010-09-30T16:12:00.001-05:00

Because I took so long deciding just how I was going to deal with the tissue-thin paper provided in the Sketchbook Project, I have fallen drastically behind. I created a schedule of sorts to keep me on track so I can complete it by the January 15th mailing deadline. *gulp*

Here's a peek at my studio wall calendar. All the maroon writing is a day I work on the Sketchbook Project (SBP). The green is for my posting days on The Sketchables. Blue is for SCBWI/#kidlitart business. Black is for personal work, like posting to this blog. Maybe it's the former teacher in me, but I really love a good calendar system. ;)

I'm using this fabulous site as a guide for my rebinding process. I forgot to take pictures of me demolishing my original Sketchbook or creating the signatures. Pretty boring anyway. I cut the binding thread, set the papers aside, (I'm reusing them, just not for painting) and then folded a whole bunch of bristol vellum sheets.

Here are the tools I used for the binding process. A hole punch guide (SO important!), thimble, thread and beeswax to prevent thread from knotting.

Here is the book block. All of the signatures have been threaded together.

And here is the sketchbook in all its glory! I cut apart the cover, and used duct tape to put it back together with a wide spine.

And here is my drawing table, with almost every medium I could think of out and waiting to be used. We'll see how much experimentation I get to do with this crazy deadline!

D is for...

2010-09-14T06:00:00.006-05:00

We're playing with typography this week at The Sketchables. I wanted to share some of the other ideas I played with, that didn't make the final cut to the blog.

First there was the failed Duck-Billed Platypus. More of an "O" than a "D."

Then the expected Dinosaur. Did you know the Brontosaurus isn't even a species anymore?

And finally, the delicious, dark chocolate sprinkled doughnut!

What would you have drawn for the letter d?

Sketchbook Project 2011-Behind the Scenes Sketches

2010-08-31T11:02:00.005-05:00

I plan on sharing quite a few of the pages in my sketchbook, once I get them finished. For now I thought I'd give you a peek at what I have so far. Unlike some brave souls, I'm having a hard time jumping into this project with no planning. Even though the art featured is in a sketchbook, I still consider it finished art because it will be viewed by an audience. Here's what I have for pages 2-14:

There is a narrative going on, one that's not fully understood until the end of the sketchbook. (Click on image to see it a little bigger)

Feeling Sketchy

2010-08-20T09:10:00.000-05:00

If you spend any time at all on Twitter, Facebook or blogs you may have heard about a little something called The Sketchbook Project. Lots of artists are doing it.

Well, I got my book in the mail the other day, and have been spending quite a bit of time planning it out. It's a tiny book really. Soft cover, super thin pages. I may end up resheeting the book, or gluing in pages though. There's no way the paper in there now will take paint or ink without bleed-through.

I'm tempted to just go nuts and scribble in whatever I feel that day. But I know that without a little planning, my inspiration is likely to dry up due to a lack of focus, and those blank sheets will become more daunting as the days go on. (I'm also hoping that this project will help to springboard some of the ideas I've had percolating for some time into dummy books or finished pieces.)

My theme is "A Day in the Life" and I hope to share with you some of the sketches I create for it here on the blog. I'm going to go with an ongoing narrative, as I already have the beginnings of a story forming in my head.

How I Became a Bug

2010-08-07T16:29:00.001-05:00

My first project after baby, creating a portrait for myself to go on the Story Book Bugs website. I've actually tried hashing this out for a while with mixed results.

I was trying too hard. I decided to start over and keep it simple. And I got this:

I LOVE her! After playing around with color choices for a bit...

(these are completely blown out by my scanner, btw)

I decided to go with the orange version, considering how many orange creatures I have on my blog and website. Might as well be consistent! I then took the plunge and got out the waterproof ink and watercolors. I'm pretty happy with the final result.

Soon the Story Book Bugs will have a gallery of bug portraits. It should be fun!

Bzzz!

2010-07-22T10:04:00.001-05:00

To say I like to be active in the illustrator community would be an understatement, I think. I adore Twitter and its weekly round-up of tweetchats. I happily blog over at The Sketchables as well as here. I've done a few Ripples, and intend to do more. I've done the Zero 2 Illo twelve week challenge, and have really enjoyed the community clubhouse. I'm the IC (illustrator coordinator) for the local SCBWI chapter, and have even set up a virtual critique group for our members so they can continue to grow when they can't meet face to face. I think They Draw & Cook is a fabulous playful site and I can't wait to try my hand at illustrating a recipe.

And yet I think just one more thing couldn't hurt. So I'd like to share with you the newest project I'm a part of. We're called the Story Book Bugs, and we're eight illustrators crawling with creativity whose focus is creating for children and the story books they love to read. Why don't you fly by and check us out? I'm sharing space with some uber-talented ladies who blow me away on a regular basis.

(Eventually we will have right buggy portraits on our homepage. I'm a leeetle behind on that project!)
Update:
Glutton for punishment that I am, I just signed up for a fantastic looking live watercolor course taught by Molly Murrah. Check it out here if you're interested.

Hiatus

2010-07-10T09:35:00.000-05:00

My baby girl finally showed up Thursday morning at 2:49. We're home now taking it day by day, and are well. I'll be gone for a bit, but be sure to swing by The Sketchables. I'll have some posts going up there for the rest of the month, and the other illustrators will continue to post wonderful entries.

Heartbreak

2010-06-30T19:28:00.001-05:00

The Bully Project Promo from Lee Hirsch on Vimeo.

Sketch Interview

2010-06-30T11:14:00.003-05:00

Today it's my turn to be interviewed on The Sketchables blog! Come by and say hi!

The Ripple Effect-Part II

2010-06-28T11:40:00.001-05:00

As much as we wish it would go away, we hear every day how much of BP's oil is continuing to pour into the Gulf, ruining ecosystems and destroying wildlife.

My friend (and illustrator) Kelly Light began the Ripple blog to help raise awareness about the spill as well as raise funds for two organizations doing their part to preserve the wildlife affected by the spill.

There's been some great publicity out about the blog, and already over $6,000 has been raised! (That's a lot of Dawn!) Well it's about to get even better. Using the awesome power of the kidlit community, Kelly has contacted some published, well-known illustrators about participating in Ripple.

She's received a fantastic response. July will be "Great American Illustrator" Month on Ripple. It's sure to be an exciting time, as anticipation is running high on whose work will appear.

I encourage you to pop by Ripple early and often to see what kinds of goodies appear. You never know what one of a kind, original work you might have a chance to own, and how many birds, dolphins and whales you could help save.
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We're not the only ones putting our art to good use. One of my very favorite Etsy artists, Katie Daisy is selling this whale print in here Etsy shop, and 1/2 the proceeds will be going to National Wildlife Federation's efforts.

Artist Suzanne McDermott is also putting out the call for artists to do their part. Consider being a part of the Spirit of the Gulf Challenge.

Introducing...

2010-06-25T12:38:00.000-05:00

If you've followed along on any of my process posts, you know that one of my favorite parts of creating art is the initial stage; the planning of ideas-the sketching. In fact, if I could make a career out of just sketching I probably would.

Well I've been lucky enough to find four other illustrators who feel the same way I do. We've begun a blog, called The Sketchables where we'll share our favorite part of the process, along with some interviews, work in progress and other bits of fun!

Go ahead and bookmark us. We'll start the introductions next week. ;)

(IF)Ripples

2010-06-16T14:42:00.000-05:00

I've already written about what this project means to me and how grateful I am to Kelly for starting it up and keeping it going. I'm so glad to finally have a chance to do my share and contribute.

Here are the first two pieces I am donating to the Ripple project. They are coastal birds who make their homes in the Gulf. They raise their live there, feed there, and raise their babies there. Right on the water.

American Oystercatcher.

(Endangered) Plover

Please check out http://ripplesketches.blogspot.com/.There is an amazing assortment of work being offered up for a good cause. Ten dollars will get you an original piece signed by the artist. A hundred percent of the donations are going to the IBRRC and the IMMS.

Ripple in Progress-Plover

2010-06-15T14:37:00.002-05:00

Now that I've finally completed my new website (see the nifty icon in the sidebar?!), I can focus on other projects. One of the things I'm most looking forward to is participating in Ripple. I've owed Kelly artwork for a few weeks now, and I can finally get to it. Those animals need all the help they can get!

Here's a peek at one of my cards in progress. It's a plover, one of the dozens of coastal birds that depend on the marshlands and shallows for its survival. As if the oil spill wasn't bad enough, plovers are endangered in many areas of the country because they nest, hunt and live on the beach itself. Increased human activity and development have all but obliterated their habitat.

I'll be doing this in gouache, with brush and ink on cold press paper. I'll post as soon as it's finished and off to the Ripple blog.

The Ripple Effect

2010-06-04T11:48:00.000-05:00

I'm sure I'm not the only one who can't stand to watch the ongoing coverage of the Gulf Spill. As someone who was within a hairsbreadth of becoming a wildlife biologist, my heart breaks at the destruction and death that is so thoughtlessly being dished out. As someone who lives on the Gulf, I rage against how corporate greed and carelessness is costing thousands their lives and livelihood.

I've been frozen, unable to think how anything could be done to help. Fortunately, my pal Kelly Light started selling sketchcards to raise money for the IBRRC's and IMMS' efforts to save wildlife from the Gulf Spill. She has taken action, and I am so happy she has done so, as it has freed me from my own helplessness. Word is being spread, and other illustrators are wanting in on the action. We're growing in numbers, and donating our own sketchcards to the cause. As a result, Kelly has created a blog to host the artwork. Please check out Ripple, and the growing number of artists who are helping the cause. Feel free to participate, donate and spread the word!

And if you need proof on how badly the oil spill is affecting the wildlife, look here.

W.I.P It Good!

2010-05-24T14:46:00.000-05:00

I've already achieved more today than I did all of last week. Hurray! I'm making progress, but wanted to share some updated sketches of some WIP.

They're all separate pieces, but are part of a compilation. I'll share the final color pieces and project with you as soon as I can!

'Nuff Said

2010-05-07T07:40:00.002-05:00

May WIPS

2010-05-05T19:33:00.000-05:00

So here's a peek at the other ocean-themed works-in-progress. Color studies are next!

She Sells Seashells?

2010-04-28T20:45:00.000-05:00

I have an entire ocean theme going on in my life right now. Wait until you see the other art I have planned for this month!

This was the initial sketch I had. The sea snail was floating, and a turtle was looking over the diver's shoulder. I cleaned it up some, and put more focus on my name.

Here's the cleaned up version of the header. Sea snail is looking at name, and there is more focus on name.

Second color study. I played around for a while, and the narrower my palette became, the happier I was.

You can see the final version up above, but now that I'm looking at it online, I think I may have to tweak a few things and put a better version up. I lost something when the pov shifted further away...and my line work got sloppy in a few places. I think my color could be more solid as well. (That's something I'm working on: flat, solid color.) For now, it works.

All I Need is a Red Rubber Nose

2010-04-26T13:33:00.001-05:00

(scratch palette of WIPs)

Okay, if things work out like they're supposed to, I'll have some new art to share by week's end. Here are some of the balls I have up in the air:

*Updating art for blog, Twitter, website.
*Creating brand signatures: color, design, etc. It's all about cohesion, people.
*Participating in Zero2Illo's Twelve Week Challenge
           Week 1- What Do You Want to Do?
           Week 2- Strategic Business Plan
           Week 3-Market Strategies and Research
           Week 4- Portfolio Pieces

*Creating art for a secret project to be revealed next month.
*Listening to podcasts about marketing/building an illustration career.
*Reading Holly DeWolf's "Breaking Into Freelance Illustration."
*Setting up a nursery and planning out the four wall mural I will be painting.
*Tweeting, and participating in #kidlitart and other tweet chats.
*Creating art so I can play here: http://www.theydrawandcook.com/

Oh, and cooking, cleaning and doing all of the other mom stuff I do on a daily basis. Hoo-ah! I hope you're having productive days as well!

Smelling the roses? Not quite

2010-04-15T12:17:00.000-05:00

I assure you, I'm not just picking daisies over here. I've been trying to adjust to the "seven-hours-to-do-whatever-I-want" schedule I currently have, and am amazed at how much I still get interrupted! I am working to amend that, however. I may even have a completed piece to show you this weekend. Don't want to jinx anything though-back to work!

Work in Progress & IF Sketch

2010-03-18T15:08:00.000-05:00

It's been a few weeks since I started with my new work schedule, and for the most part I'm liking it a lot. The only one I'm having problems with is blog posting on Thursdays. So much of what I do right now is stuck in sketch stage because my work window is so small, and often naps override paints. Regardless, I have decided to share these scribbles so I can at least say I did it.

This is my sketch for Illustration Friday's prompt of subterranean. It's a ground squirrel dreaming of all he will see come Spring. I'm hoping to really play with my materials on this one and don't have a set plan of attack just yet. Hopefully I can get the final done and posted by next week.

And here are some spooky looking characters-LOL! They're really not zombies. I promise you it's a spring related illustration. It's a piece I'm fiddling with, one I hope to use as a promotional mailer. I'll post the final once they've been mailed. I'm aiming for late April or early May.

Keeping Time

2010-03-01T09:16:00.006-06:00

I'm trying out a new schedule. Being at home with the kiddo is a serious juggling act, and the older he gets the more challenging it can be. I've got to become more efficient with my time, instead of just coasting from thing to thing and not really accomplishing a whole lot. Here's a peek (inspired by Holli Conger):

Daily:
Check Email, Facebook and Twitter first thing in the morning and after dinner-that's it.
Sketch 15-20 minutes

Weekly: (This is done during the two hours of nap-time my kid gives me in the afternoons.)
M-Marketing: the goal is to build my mailing list and figure out the houses my work would best fit.
T- Work in Progress: work on WW group blog, IF prompt, dummy book, promotional ideas.
W-OFF: This is an errand day for me, so no work is scheduled.
T- Blog Day: read industry, illustrator, author blogs, comment, post for IF or process pics.
F- Website: I'm redoing my website (esp since Blogger is now moving to a tabbed template, similar to Wordpress) so this is the day I'll work on the site art and finalize the new template. Once this is completed, this will become another WIP day.
*Attend #kidlitart chat every Thursday night on Twitter.

Monthly:
Attend SCBWI meeting, and meet with Illustrator's Group
Have at least one piece for portfolio
Update blog banner

This Year:
Submit Dummy Book
Send Two Seasonal Mailers
Join Online Portfolio Sites
Focus on Branding
Experiment with Copic markers, FW inks, digital color, and black and white work.
*************************************************************************
Anything to do with home (cleaning, dinner prep) and any creative/play activities (playground, crafts, etc.) for my son have to take place in the first half of the day. Unfortunately, I think that's my creative time, but I have to work around him for now. Also, in order to maintain this work schedule I have to be organized about everything else- dinner especially.

March is going to be my trial period, and we'll see how this works out. If certain plans are maintained my daily schedule will change dramatically in April. Fingers crossed. ;)

How do you work? Are you a scheduled person or do you fly by the seat of your pants?

Houston SCBWI Conference- An Illustrator's Perspective

2010-02-22T08:55:00.007-06:00

We had our annual conference this past Saturday, and while I have been looking forward to it, I had no idea that it would turn out as wonderfully as it did. (Here's a post from the author's point of view at Book Addict and another at VonnaCarter.)

Business Card

Usually before a conference I go into a kind of frenzy trying to update my portfolio with a bunch of new pieces, ordering new postcards, the works. This time I took it easy and reordered some cards and that was it. I think it worked in my favor.

I was able to spend most of my time focusing on making sure illustrator events ran smoothly, and catch a few of the wonderful speakers. I was thrilled when I heard that we had the most illustrators attending our conference in our conference history! Woohoo! The highlight of the conference for me (and probably most of the illustrators) was the fact that we had an Art Director present.

Henry Holt- Books for Young Readers, Art Director Patrick Collins

Patrick spent most of his time at the conference giving portfolio critiques. I think the critiques were the biggest draw. I know I appreciated every minute of mine. Patrick commented on the strengths and weaknesses of my work, and even gave a few suggestions on how to play to my strengths. I can't say I was really shocked by anything he told me and I think that was the best part. I've learned how to be critical of my work in the most honest way.

During lunch I announced to everyone that the portfolios were still up and open for viewing if anyone was interested. I was pleasantly surprised that a few minutes later there was a line wrapping around the portfolio room of people who wanted to look at all of our work! People really were interested in supporting illustrators!

After lunch the next event for illustrators was the break-out session, "The Picture Book Dummy." It was almost two hours long, and it still almost wasn't enough time! But Patrick really wanted us to get everything we could out of it, so we worked at a breakneck pace.

Ryan Shaw and Anthony Quandt trying to not freak out over how quick we're working.

First Patrick showed us the simplest way to make a dummy book using a large rubber band, 11x17 printer paper, scissors and masking tape. I am SO glad I learned this method, because it was way easier than anything else I've tried.

Then we received a manuscript and had to read through it, numbering the page numbers and figuring out where the page breaks would go. After that we cut out and taped down the text in our dummy, and then had to sketch out the book. I noticed as we were working that my mind kind of shut off and moved into an auto mode.

We finally finished up, then Mr. Collins had us all share our books. He then went through and critiqued each one. There was a lack of early character introduction in many of the dummies. Patrick said he wanted to meet the characters right away. It was interesting to see how similarly many of us interpreted the text. It seems we have a common visual vocabulary that we pull from to explain what certain words mean. Impetus to think outside the box, I think.

It was funny how so many people DIDN'T want to claim their books!

After our break-out session ended, we gathered our things and headed back to the main room where there was a Q&A Session as well as the final door prizes, raffle winners and awards to be given. I was pretty drained at this point, and glad we were on the home stretch. I finally started to allow myself to zone out, so when they started awarding prizes I was startled to hear my name! You guys, I WON THE PORTFOLIO DISPLAY CONTEST!

I was in shock all the way up to the podium, and for the rest of the conference. I received many congratulations and smiles and that finally made it sink in that it was real. Boy was I surprised! Even better, after the conference when we were chatting in the atrium, Patrick pointed out what he thought were my best pieces and gave me some strong encouragement to continue on the path I'm on and to keep on working. It felt wonderful to hear someone tell me that what I was doing was the right thing!

Today it's back to normal. And now I'm continuing to work on my marketing plans for the year, as well as working towards all of my art goals. Thanks to the conference, I'm recharged and focused on success. This weekend was definitely one for the books!
********************************************************************************
Thanks to Austin illustrator Mark Mitchell for the pictures!

Giddyup-Final

2010-02-14T16:05:00.004-06:00

The final was completed for the piece I started for-ever ago. I'm really happy with it, but unhappy with what happened to the background when I scanned it in. The floor and wall colors are really light, and have been completely washed out. I'll need to play with the scan settings and try to balance it out for the color copy I'll need to print out. For now it works.

Here is one of the first sketches I did when I decided I wanted to explore this character a little more:
I liked this sketch because it set the scene. The girl is obviously into being a cowgirl and riding a horse, shown by the show that she's mimicking. Then I thought maybe I should show all of the parents. So I reversed the viewpoint, losing the television.

Now the focus is on the girl and her stick pony. Since I lost the television and its suggestive powers, I put some toys and other horse items on the floor to indicate that this just isn't a one time dress up play.

And here's the color final. I'm not sure I really like the washes I've been doing for the backgrounds. I'm still playing around with how I want to fill in those big spaces, and I think I want to head back to what I was doing before: lots of brush stroked that hint at texture and energy.

Off to draw some sequential scenes of some of my favorite characters and their adventures. We'll see if I finish them in time for the conference this weekend. I think I really want to take my time with them, though and give them all the time they deserve. Treat them like a fine wine instead of rushing them, just to have them for the conference, you know? I think it'll be much more fun that way. I'll post wip sketches as I complete them. Happy Valentine's Day y'all.

Black and Yellow, a Sneaky Fellow

2010-02-06T17:03:00.010-06:00

Last weekend I attended the awesome Austin SCBWI Destination Publication Conference. (I'm not going to attempt to recap it, as Cynthia Leitich Smith did a great job.) Besides the fantastic opportunities of hearing Marla Frazee speak to the conference (and to the illustrators in a breakout session) I was also able to display my portfolio and participate in a silent auction fundraiser for the Austin SCBWI's illustrators.

This year, the object was to decorate a simple three dollar frame from IKEA. I volunteered because the possibilities were endless! I mean, how many cool things could you do to a simple 10" by 10" wood frame? In the end, that was exactly my problem. I had that frame in my possession for almost a month, and with the conference a week away I still hadn't decorated it!

I finally settled on doing something inspired from Alice's Adventures Through the Looking Glass. After all, the frame was basically a mirror. But as I went through the story I realized the things I really enjoyed about Alice's adventures were mostly things that happened to her in Wonderland. To Wonderland I went.

One of my favorite parts is when Alice is trying to recite Isaac Watts' nursery rhyme, "Against Idleness And Mischief" and it comes out as a poem about a crocodile. That scaly fellow became my muse and the process began.
I wanted to make sure the crocodile had that slithery, sneaky feel to him, so I tried different versions to figure out the best positioning for him. This is the one I ended up with. Because the frame has a gloss on it, and I didn't feel like sanding it, I opted to try something fun and use Sculpey-a polymer clay.
Here is the head and claws after I've carved them out. At this point, the plan is paint the crocodile with gold and green accents, and add a sheen to his tan body.
I've carved scales into his body and I start figuring out the logistics of where his back scales will be on the frame.
Here is my workspace and tools. I'm about to open the white scupley for his teeth and claws.
A smile any dentist would be happy to work on, I'm sure. I was channeling Doctor DeSoto big time at this point! And then I realized something. The poem talks about golden scales. A bumblebee (the subject of "Against Idleness And Mischief")is black and yellow. The frame I have is black. This crocodile needs to be yellow! Out came the craft paints, and the process began anew.
Fresh outta the oven, here is the croc after I've added his new color and the metallic accents for his scales. Look at those pearly whites!
Here I've adhered him to the frame, added the poem lines as his body with paint, and am now working on the little fish that will he's convincing to swim into his smiling maw.

And the final product. (Sorry about the glare!) All fishes accounted for-momentarily anyway-haha! I was very happy with him when I finished, and hoped that others would appreciate him as well. Needless to say, when I saw a little competitive bidding going on over him during the conference I was more than a little thrilled. Today he is hanging in the home of an illustrator pal, showing off all of his golden glory.

Color At Last!

2010-02-06T16:55:00.004-06:00

I redid the WIP -Giddyup, and was about to take it the painting phase when I realized it might be even better from an alternate viewpoint. So I'm resketching it. Until then, here is a snippet of a completed piece I did today-IN COLOR!

Yes folks, I finally managed to pick up the paint brush. I felt super rusty at first, so I was cautious starting out. And I have to say that when this piece was going through it's ugly phase I was pretty dang tempted to throw it out and start over. Luckily I walked away instead, gave it time to breathe, and when I came back to it I was willing to take it to completion even though I didn't love it 100%. Good thing I did because I am now quite happy with it.
The color is a little off because I took the picture with a camera instead of scanning it. That back wall is actually a light blue. Up next: What do bumblebees and crocodiles have in common?

W.I.P-Giddyup!

2010-01-24T16:32:00.003-06:00

Still no color, but I hope to change that by week's end! In the meantime, here is a peek at a character in one of my drawings.

She's supposed to be a little girl emulating one of her heroes on tv. Now the age range for pretend play is young. She's too tall, lean and just more mature than what I was aiming for. She looks like a tween here, and I know that doesn't work!

Second attempt is much better. She's shorter, rounder and her facial features are a little larger. Much better! I'm hoping to get this cowgirl painted up this week. Stay tuned!

Doodled Duo

2010-01-15T15:01:00.002-06:00

Howdy! I have to say that the holiday season was a little more nuts than usual. Add to that my enthusiastic toddler and the fact that my energy levels are shall we say "fluctuating" and it makes for a lost schedule these last months. But I wanted to give you a peek at something I'm working on-finally.

Can you tell what they are? I hope to get all my order in business this weekend (or at least the beginnings of it!) and I'll soon share my way overdue goals for 2010. Want to share yours?

Dry and Cozy

2009-12-15T09:15:00.003-06:00

Not a whole lot of color work going on lately. I am happy that I was able to get this sketch done, though. I'm finding myself dangerously close to falling into a rut. Forcing myself to sketch when I don't feel like it is the only way to avoid that.

I do have some color I'd like to post soon. They're photos, but they might be interesting due to their holiday nature. Stay tuned. :)

Little Red

2009-12-03T07:41:00.002-06:00

Another chicken! So not much painting going on in these parts, just lots of sketching.

Hopefully I'll get a few paintings put up here before the year is out. I hope you're enjoying the holiday season!

Cock-a-Doodle

2009-11-22T10:16:00.001-06:00

A Sunday scribble to warm up. I've had chickens on the brain lately. Wonder what he's looking at...

PiBoId-Mo pictures!

2009-11-21T11:30:00.004-06:00

PiBoIdMo has been one of the best things I could have done for my art this month. Not only do I have a ton of ideas that can be turned into stories, but those same ideas are sparking all kinds of characters to life in my mind.

Meet Bess. This little cowgirl has all kinds of trouble coming her way. Trouble she wasn't even looking for! Isn't that the way of it, though?
How about you? Has PiBoIdMo inspired you in ways beyond the written word?

Little Hen

2009-11-15T12:37:00.005-06:00

I've had this chicken running around in my head for the last week. Something tells me she's trouble. :)

Ed Emberley's Make A World

2009-11-12T17:01:00.004-06:00

"Make a World : the Film" Teaser from makeaworldfilm on Vimeo.

I can't even tell you how much Emberley influenced me as a child. I've already started stockpiling his books for my son. :)

PiBoIdMo- Day2

2009-11-02T08:21:00.003-06:00

I certainly don't expect to post every single day of this month, but I'm trying to maintain the momentum I have going for as long as possible. I have my second idea listed and a vague outline started-woot!

And here's the crude thumbnail that goes along with my idea. :) Go check out the NaPiBoIdMo official blog and read what guest blogger Aaron Reynolds has to say about book titles.

PiBoIdMo!

2009-11-01T12:20:00.004-06:00

I'm alive! Really. To say that the last two months have been nuts...well, let's start fresh shall we? In the spirit of beginnings I want you to join me!

(image courtesy of Tara Lazar, created by Ryan Hipp)

Today is the kick off for NaNoWriMo. It's a great idea, but if you don't write novels, it's kind of a missed creative opportunity.

I consider myself an illustrator first, but more and more, story ideas have been creeping in to my head. I figure the universe put them in there for a reason, and I shouldn't let them go to waste! Even better, the uber-talented Tara Lazar agrees. She's organized PiBoIdMo for those of us who want to exercise our creative muscles, without the pressure of having to complete an entire project. I mean, could there be a bigger creative buzz kill?

I am in love with this idea, as it follows along the lines of what I used to have my seventh grade students practice with their own writing. No rules, no guidelines, just ideas. I'd say to them, "Just let them flow, let them all pour out of your head and onto to your paper. It's story vomit and we're getting it out of our system!" The boys loved any mention of bodily functions of course, and it was just the thing to get them kick started. Later, when we would begin a new assignment and the students would say "I don't know what to write about." I'd tell them to head to their binders, pull out their story vomit/idea banks and go from there. It worked every time.

I can't wait to see what comes from a month long brainstorming session!

(I lucked out today, getting my first ideas as I was waking up!)

The Blahs

2009-09-26T12:41:00.003-05:00

Besides our lovely trip to WY, I have to say that September has not been a great month, mostly because our son has been sick most of the time. *sigh* Well, daddy's getting a chance to play nurse, and I've been trying to avoid my mommy guilt and get some work done in the studio.

This morning I've completed a large painting, threw together a mini painting with the left over paint, and am now sketching in order to get my brain to switch gears towards illustration.

This little guy is just one of the many we have in our backyard at the moment. Fall for us is full of dragonflies and hummingbirds! I'll post more work later today when I have a chance to take the photos. Hope you're making the most of your weekend!

Middle of Nowhere

2009-09-15T08:59:00.008-05:00

I've always loved the Great Outdoors. As we currently live in one of the biggest, dirtiest metros in the country, my husband and I like to revisit nature when we can. It's a balm to our souls.

Last week I was looking at this:

Grand Teton National Park

and this:

Yellowstone National Park

and a hundred other awe-inspiring places. My mind boggled on how much of our country looked like this before, well... "progress."

One of my favorite parts of the trip, besides seeing this fellow
up close and personal (really, he was twenty yards away at one point!) was the chance to visit the National Museum of Wildlife Art.

The museum is a few minutes outside of Jackson Hole, Wyoming and admission is only ten dollars. I planned a visit because they had original art from Seuss' The Lorax, only to find out the exhibit was ending the day before we were to visit! *sigh* I decided it was still worth visiting, despite this painful fact.

And I was right. The place has gorgeous larger-than-life-bronzes of native wildlife everywhere. They have several galleries and an interactive area for children. Besides being able to see the wonderful work of luminaries in the field of wildlife art, I was able to discover some new favorites. There was Tucker Smith, Robert Kuhn and even the Audobons, but if I could have anyone's work hanging in my home, it would be that of Carl Rungius.

Black Bear-This piece was at least ten feet by twelve feet, and the colors glowed!

Not only was his personal story interesting, but his work was just arresting. Something about it just spoke to me. I envied his ability to live in the wild and work with what was in front of him, bringing it to life on canvas. More than anything, he adored the wilderness and the creatures that existed within it. That fact resonated with me the more I looked at his body of work. With all of the artists in that museum, really.

My personal style couldn't be more different than those of the wildlife artists I saw in Wyoming, but I've got an itch to try my hand at a few large-scale paintings and create my own love letter to the Great Outdoors. If you ever find yourself near Jackson Hole, Wyoming be sure to take a detour to this museum. You won't be sorry.

Painting is my Samadhi

2009-08-29T11:45:00.004-05:00

I'm finally back on track. I've felt so out of whack this week, being unable to paint, draw or create anything besides meals. bleah. I've proclaimed today to be a studio day, and while my husband and little one run around doing whatever it is boys do, I'm doing this:
I'm waiting for the gesso to dry right now, but am already "feelin' it" if you know what I mean. :) And no, you don't have to adjust your monitors. My studio really is THAT bright green.

Oh, and the title is a reference to the meditative state "where the aspirant is one with the object of meditation, the Supreme Spirit, where there is unutterable joy and peace." Omm..

B is for

2009-08-23T12:59:00.003-05:00

I'm on a weird kick this morning. I've started a series of sketches, and I'm not sure if there's an underlying theme or not. Here's what I doodled when I first started. Straight out of my imagination.
Gentle giant, right? I did a few more of these, but then I got curious if the bison I was doodling was accurate. I did a search and found a plethora of gorgeous bison pics thanks to the internet.
And now I am in love with bison. I've got the itch to paint them, to stretch these art muscles of mine...to really reach and move. That means a BIG canvas. I just don't think a smaller format will work; these guys demand space. Let's see what happens.

Uni-scorn

2009-08-22T16:29:00.004-05:00

Kathy Weller started a pretty funny conversation on Twitter this morning about the newest trend. My pal Kelly posted a response, and we're now waiting on another pal to complete his response to the conversation. (He's got his hands full, so he has a little reprieve.) Anyhoo, since I'm warming up my drawing muscles today, and boy are they rusty!, I figured I'd throw my hand in.
Here's mine:
Nothing too fancy...I didn't even plan enough space for his legs, darnit. He looks a little perturbed, though. What do you think he's looking at with such disdain?
p.s.- Anyone remember that movie The Last Unicorn? It was one of my favorites when I was little, but that bull scared the life outta me. Lisa Frank it was not!

SCBWI LA-What I Learned

2009-08-13T15:49:00.003-05:00

I'm still processing all that I've experienced from LA , but here's a little of what I've learned.

*No matter how hard I wish it, Texas will never have the weather of Southern California. *SIGH*
*The transfer of internet friendships to real-life friendships can be both painless and joyful.
*Once you have your portfolio in another state, there is nothing more that you can do for it.
*Facebook is a fabulous tool to have, and vital to reconnecting to conference pals.
*Never underestimate the value of finding and connecting to your tribe.
*Work, work, work and grow, grow, grow!
*An agent may be something to consider in the future (Although David Wiesner has never had one. Then again, do you think he needs one?!)
*I have yet to find the balance between admiring fan and conference peer required to speak to those superstars of our industry...even when they're open to the conversation!
*I can definitely see the growth over the last year, and I have more to go. I have changed from a sprinter to a marathon runner.
*When you're in LA, sometimes you get *this close* to star power.
*A little luck can be helpful, but it's much more useful if you're already working your tush off when it comes.
* I can't wait to go back LA for the next conference!

SCBWI LA-Day 4

2009-08-13T15:32:00.005-05:00

Sunday night was a glorious one. Full of great food, friends and conversation. Heather and I were chatting in our room as we prepared for the next day about how reality would be smacking us in the face soon enough. She said there needed to be some kind of re-entry to regular life program provided to conference attendees. I mean, we get beautiful weather, someone picking up after us, never-ending opportunities to chat with like-minded people the whole time we're in LA...how could reality not be jarring for us?!

When we awoke on Monday morning and opened the balcony curtains, it was actually foggy outside. I told Heather even the weather was mourning the end of the conference! Nevertheless, we took ourselves down to the ballroom for our final morning keynote given by editor Dinah Stevenson. She was followed by the lovely and talented Ingrid Law, author of Savvy, one of my new favorite middle grade books. (The voice in that book is just phenomenal. ) Ingrid said that instead of repeating all of the wonderful advice we had heard throughout the conference, she was going to tell us a story. It was full of magic and metaphor.

My day was going to be spent listening to Charlesbridge's Art Director, Susan Sherman. I got to see her very briefly at the Illustrator's Social, and she was just so down to earth! For her first session she focused on illustrator craft. She gave tips to remember when creating strong characters, developing interesting places (make a map!), and pacing the plot to hold the reader's attention.

The second session led a walk through the publishing process. She explained how the library was still the biggest market for their house and that getting reviewed by their journals is key to a book's success. Susan said that publishing is a service industry- there to help the artist. "Without you, we don't exist." She gave a rundown of the company and explained how/when an illustrator is brought into the equation. She still loves postcards (here she showed a photo of two overflowing boards and hanging bags full of artist's cards!) and is looking for evidence of the artist's brain at work in their art. She also said she looks for strong characters, mood and a good sense of light. Throughout both sessions, Susan gave great examples and I now have a huge list of books to read through.

Finally, we came to the last speaker of the day, Kathleen Duey. This is one frisky woman! She was a great speaker and actually walked around the stage instead of standing at the podium. Guess what her speech was titled? A Post-Conference Re-entry Program! Heather and I said that someone must have bugged our room! It was an entertaining talk sprinkled with anecdotes. Here are some of her tips:
*Get on Facebook and Twitter! "That stuff is designed for eight-year olds, dude!"
*Google anything you didn't understand.
*Experiment with the things you've learned.
*Try hard to retain the validation of your art.
*Be a shining light!

And on that note...

SCBWI LA-Day 3

2009-08-13T13:28:00.003-05:00

These are some of the postcards I collected at the Portfolio Showcase Saturday night.

By Sunday we were all kind dragging our sorry behinds into the ballroom. It was obvious from the amount of empty seats that a lot of people had had a really good time at the ball. Well, they missed out because the uber-talented Dan Yaccarino was our morning speaker. His talk was called "Say Yes!" Basically Dan works his butt off, and every opportunity he gets, he says yes to. Many times it's been saying yes to something he has no idea how to do, but he figures it out. (including telling a book editor upon their first meeting that he had a completed book at home, and didn't! He banged it out in one afternoon, and turned it in the next day!) It was a really excellent talk with lots of video clips from his shows, Oswald and Willa... A few quotes include: "Getting to write and draw pictures for kids books is like eating ice-cream and getting paid for it!" "What you love is what you write about" and "You should need to pick up a pencil, not just when the publisher calls. It should physically affect you when you are unable to create." So true!

Next up was superstar Holly Black who talked about writing fantasy. It was a really excellent talk that was cut a little short as we all had to move on to our first morning sessions. Mine was Jim Averbeck's Writing for Illustration. Oh man, was this an excellent workshop! He said that as picture book authors, the goal is to "create stories with illustratable text while leaving the story open enough for illustrator freedom." He talked about having a strong variable setting, using action and movement, unique characteristics, mood, character interaction and visual complications. He explained each factor, provided an example and then explained why that example worked. Then he gave a few things that will kill illustrations: overspecific, descriptive, beautiful language that does nothing for the story and shoves "lessons" down the readers throat. He even made up an awful example to make his point-haha! Jim Averbeck is definitely a natural teacher, not to mention a nice guy.

Following that was our Golden Kite luncheon where we heard the Golden Kite winners speak, as well as have our hearts pierced by the inimitable Richard Peck. Boy was the room (including me!) doing some eye dabbing when he was done. I can still recall the immense emotion he inspired. *whew!*

On to the afternoon, which included Elizabeth Parisi once again, this time discussing Book Dummy Smarts. I was surprised to learn that after an illustrator works with a house for the first time, they can usually get away with a storyboard dummy instead of a fully mocked up book. She left a lot of room for Q&A as well, but one gem I got from the session was that if we want to illustrate, then we need to focus on illustrating for now. Later, when we've established ourselves, we can bring up the fact that we may have a story we'd like to publish. She says not to give a house another excuse to reject you, which can happen if you're submittig a dummy.

Following that session we listened to my pals and I once again skipped out on how to deal with the challenging changes of publishing and headed out to dinner at Rock Sugar. It was a divine meal with lots of talking and laughing and eating! Oh, what a wonderful time. *sigh* I want to do it some more! hahaha!

Next Up: Day 4-The Last Day!

SCBWI LA-Day 2

2009-08-13T12:44:00.006-05:00

Saturday we kicked off the day with a panel on Creating an Extraordinary Picture Book, moderated by Arthur Levine. Here are a few quotes in response to the question, "What makes a picture book extraordinary?"
AL: "It achieves its goal with integrity and distinction."
KN: "The art and the text should speak to a universal and personal truth. The author and artist are being honest in an extraordinary way."
EB- "One that lasts. Something that gets to the heart in an extraordinary way."
ML-"It has a strong appeal to both children and adults and makes them want to read it over and over again. There is a personal connection between the reader and the story."

Next I attended Kadir Nelson's talk on Words and Pictures. This was a talk on Kadir's influences and his process on book-making. In case you couldn't tell by his art, the classical masters had a great influence on him. He loves to refer back to them for inspiration. He explained that he has a check list while he creates pictures that include principles such as mood, lighting, composition and scale. Looking at his art was definitely awe-inspiring. Something that Kadir stressed was that "truth resonates." I think this is important. If you try to do something that is not truthful to you as an artist, it will show in your work.

After lunch we listened to the survivor's tale of how Ellen Hopkins climbed to the top with her novel-in-verse, followed by the Agent's Panel. The afternoon continued with David Wiesner's talk on Picture Book Basics. He is such a nice guy! He kept his talk really short so we could mostly do Q&A the whole time-amazing, huh? Anyway, he did mention that with all of these portfolios he is asked to view at art schools around the country, he's noticed that there is a serious lack of drawing ability that often hinders brilliant and wonderful ideas. "Take a figure drawing class for goodness' sakes!" He reminds us that this "is not about making precious drawings, it's about learning the craft" because "observational drawings are at the heart of everything we do." Good stuff, right?!

Following that discussion, a few friends and I decided to skip out on the whole "7 Reasons why Your Manuscript Gets Declined" talk. We were lagging in energy and sitting in on an obviously author-centered talk was not our idea of a good time. Instead we headed to the mall nearby and treated ourselves to Pinkberry. Yu-hum! Soooo worth it. Recharged on sugar, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the Blue Moon Ball and the Portfolio Showcase.

There was some great talent at the showcase and for the first time, I felt like I was running more in the middle of the pack, rather than at the bottom; Go, me! haha! Unfortunately, I didn't get to flip through everyone's portfolios, as people were clustering all over the place and I still needed to get ready for the ball. I grabbed a bunch of cards though, and will be checking those out later. Here are the winners! (Some gorgeous art. Did you notice that two of the winners had a retro/nostalgic feel to their work? )

The Ball...Umm, let's just say what happens in LA, stays in LA? Here are some pics for your amusement, though.

SCBWI LA-Day 1

2009-08-13T11:18:00.005-05:00

(NOTE: One thing I failed to do was take pictures while I was in LA! I am still kicking myself for it, but fortunately the internet is a wonderful resource! Here's a set of what the hotel looks like.)

I was lucky enough to room with Heather for the duration of the conference. We met up Thursday and while she was seeing to RA duties, I was meeting the talented Kelly for the first time. We were actually supposed to be meeting up with SCBWI-ers from the message boards who had set up a meet and greet, but we were so busy chatting, we must have missed them. I was delighted to find such a kindred spirit and we happily made plans to meet up in the morning.

Our conference began with a keynote by Sherman Alexie. (I read his book, The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian last year and fell in love with his writing and wit. I wish I was still teaching so I could have pushed this book into the hands of every one of my students.) I looked forward to hearing him speak, and boy did he set the standard for the rest of the conference. He is a natural-born storyteller, and when we weren't laughing out loud, we were wiping our cheeks. Amazing doesn't even begin to describe it.

The next speaker was David Wiesner, an icon in the illustration world. He's a quieter sort of speaker, but the images he showed blew us away. He shared his inspirations and influences, many from his childhood (sidenote: Know that movie, The Shining? Yeah, that influenced him in Tuesday!). It was wonderful to see his process and understand how he created his magic.

On Friday I decided to stay on the illustrator track, so I attended Writers House agent Steven Malk's talk on How to Build Your Illustration Career. It was a wonderful talk and he had some wonderful tips and advice-many of which I was silently patting myself of the back for already doing-haha! Basically it boils down to this: If you want to do this as a career, you need to focus, commit and work five times as hard as everyone else out there. (a reoccuring theme at this conference) He also reminded everyone that they needed to take the time to develop for the children's book market.

After lunch and an Editor's Panel was Art Director: Elizabeth Parisi's talk on how to fit into the current market of book covers. It's not really a market I think my art would fit in to, but it sounded interesting nonetheless. I did learn a few things:
*Trends appear as a result of pressure from booksellers, marketers, etc.
*Covers are no longer appearing as literal summaries from the story, but are becoming more iconic.

We then heard from Betty Birney and the evolution of her fiction series featuring a clever classroom hamster. It was a fun talk, but I was starting to wane from a long day and a grumbling stomach.

After dinner I was soon recharged and headed to the first-ever Illustrator's Social. What a wonderful concept! Cecilia Yung, David Diaz, Priscilla Burris were there to facilitate the chaos of portfolio sharing, card swapping and chatting. They talked a little about how we illustrators were only 15% of the attendees, and we needed to band together for support. Then we did a little exercise where those of us who've attended conference before matched up with newbies-mentors/mentees. I met a lovely illustrator, Ji Young Lee. We ran into each other repeatedly over the course of the conference, and I am so glad to have met her!

Up Next: Day 2!

I'm Leav-ing on a Jet Plane...

2009-08-05T20:00:00.004-05:00

Just a quick note (I'm supposed to be packing my suitcase right now!) In case you've been under a rock and didn't know, I'll be in LA for the next little bit, rubbing shoulders and getting jiggy with other child-lit peeps. This is a peek at my studio at this very moment. I'm trying to figure out how I want to place my prints in my portfolio. (and how to attach my dummy book!)
If I won't be able to meet ya in person, why don't you go here and follow along? It really is a great thing, and now they have an entire team blogging for the conference, so I'm sure there'll be tons of goodies shared.
I have to wake up at dark thirty. I should skedaddle. Have a lovely evening!

Over the moon? Not so much.

2009-08-02T18:34:00.003-05:00

After a very long day, filled with "oh, no!" "dangit!"and multiple technical issues, one of my favorite blogs manages to cheer me up once again:

And the cake version:Check out the rest of the Threadcakes competitors here.

Promotionals

2009-07-31T22:32:00.005-05:00

I wanted to show you the final images for the cards I'm using when I go to LA next week. Here they are, ta-da!This is my business card. I thought it offered a subtle hint that I'm from Texas-hee!
And here's my postcard. It's from my dummy book. (Yes, you get a peek! ) They'll both have rounded corners. I can't wait until I can start handing them out left, right and center! Six days to go!
(I still need to do a serious overhaul of my website. *sigh* The most I'm going to be able to do before next week is update the pics. But seriously, before year's end people!)

2009-07-31T13:51:00.004-05:00

I'm listening to Paul Simon sing about Graceland as I finalize a sketch and BOOM! FLASH! the skies have decided to communicate with me. I'm not having it. The booms that startle me, making my hand jerk and causing errant marks to appear on my paper. (Thank goodness it's just pencil!) And I'm not having the bright flashes of lightning that leave me a little dazed as I blink at my paper. *sigh*Maybe I should share some of what I'm working on. Here ya go:

Possible Promo?

2009-07-27T15:34:00.001-05:00

I like to keep my postcards fairly simple. I'm considering this one. The colors and art are much blurrier than in the original version-don't worry.

"Dum and Dummier"-Part III

2009-07-22T21:15:00.005-05:00

I've made changes to my dummy book-again! I haven't changed anything in the story-the words are very much the same. I made a decision regarding the page count and essentially the flow of the art in the book. I finally decided that I didn't have to conform to the 32 page rule. The page count is still within the multiples of 8 (the number of pages in a signature) so it should be fine.

It's hard to explain without giving away the entire book, but with concept books you can go two ways: narrative or non-narrative. Mine is narrative, which means there is a story built-in with the concepts being shared. (Ed Young's Seven Blind Mice is an excellent example of this.) My book is really short, and so I tried to expand on the concepts and page count by inserting an extra element in the art.

The result was that the visual rhythm of the book became unpredictable and there were a few awkward page turns/spreads as a result. I tried every way I could to work around these, but in the end, taking out this element (and the 10 pages of art that went with it) resulted in a visually faster paced book and a much smoother flow of the artwork.
I've lost count of what number storyboard this is, but it's the latest one. I am very relieved to have solved this latest dilemma, and will begin completing the final art tomorrow. Friday I will be painting a few double page spreads and I hope to be printing/binding by Tuesday. I'll try to remember to share the painted spreads when they're done.

Musicians

2009-07-19T22:03:00.003-05:00

Remember this?
Well, I've finally followed through and here is a slap-dash pic of the final versions.

I absolutely love them!

Wolf Trio-Final

2009-07-16T11:48:00.003-05:00

Another piece done. The majority of my portfolio contains pieces that are horizontal. I have a few vertical pieces, but I will have to rotate them for display. This means the images will be reduced somewhat. Rather than have to worry about small images becoming even smaller, I opted to rotate the circles in this piece so they could retain true to what they are in person.

Palette

2009-07-12T12:09:00.003-05:00

I thought I'd share something I think is kind of a neat by-product of my illustration work. When I'm in the final stages of a piece, applying the colors I create with gouache, I frequently use a scrap piece of watercolor paper as a test page before I apply the color to the paper.

I do this to make sure the color is really what I want. It also wipes off any excess pigment which will help to prevent watercolor "burps" as I call them. (You know, where the color just kind of pops off the brush and goes everywhere but the place you wanted it to go?)

It also helps me to make sure that the palette I'm working with is harmonious and evokes the feeling I want. Although I usually do a quick color study before I begin, sometimes the palette evolves as I work and the test paper helps me keep it in check.

I have been throwing them away after a piece was done, but I think I'll hold on to them for now. I have a feeling I can use them to do something fun. I love how by looking at a slip of test paper I can recall the piece and the mood of it. It could be used as a good reference down the road.

What a stinker!

2009-07-11T15:58:00.005-05:00

I took a break from the dummy book this weekend and worked on a few full-color pieces. Honestly when I began this piece, I had a general idea of where I wanted to go with the color palette, but it really developed organically. I'm very pleased with it! I mean, how fun is jumping in a pile of leaves that someone else raked up?

And this may sound kind of silly, but with each new piece I create lately, I get a little giddy. As cheesy as it sounds, I am so happy doing this!

Wolf Trio

2009-07-06T10:00:00.003-05:00

I took a break this morning for the dummy to warm up first with a few sketches. This is a piece I'm adding to my portfolio. The original version is here.

It's not that I dislike the first version necessarily. It's that I originally completed it in ink and acrylic. I'll be repainting it in gouache so that it's consistent with the rest of my work. Because I trimmed the storyline, I'm able to fit it all on one page of the hot press paper I use, which is what I prefer. I like to work pretty close to the final scale of a piece, instead of reducing the images to fit a certain size requirement.

I really like this little guy and am looking forward to updating his look.

"Dum and Dummier"-Part II

2009-07-05T18:29:00.003-05:00

I ended up drawing two more dummy books after my last post. I just kept playing with different elements and page counts. I finally decided to stick with a traditional 32 page count for my books, although I reasonably completed it in 24 in one of the dummy versions. Then I was figuring out how to stagger the layout so that the four double spreads I had were actually on facing pages. Fun stuff I tell ya!

Here are three of the four dummy books spread out across my work table. Since I was playing with page counts so much, I ended up taping together four page counts and then drawing the images on the paper. It made it easier for me to make sure my double spreads were where they were supposed to be.

The actual drawing really didn't take too long. By now I've drawn so many of the images over and over, I was worried they were becoming stagnant. So I made notes to myself on certain pages about different perspectives, details and positions to try out before I committed to the final art.
Here are the four dummies and one storyboard dummy. They are as small as they look. 2.5 wide and 2 inches tall. I didn't feel so bad about using so much paper then. Each large book only took 2 sheets of paper to make. (or should I call them signatures?)

I now have the full-scale pencil art to draw up. I'll use the dummy to guide me, but don't want to restrict myself too much...if a really neat idea comes up for a picture I don't want to block it! I hope to complete this tomorrow and pick out the two or three pages that will become full-color samples on Tuesday.

I'll post at least one image of the full-color spreads later this week. (fingers crossed!)

"Dum and Dummier"-Part I

2009-06-28T17:17:00.003-05:00

For the most part, I've focused on developing my art for the children's book industry. I know one of the best ways to display my skills as an illustrator is to create a dummy book showing that I'm skilled in consistency, pacing, narrative, etc. The furthest I've ever gone with a dummy book is the storyboard stage. You know, where you draw a bunch of thumbnails (tiny squares) on a page and pace out the story?

Until now. One day this story just popped into my head, but it took four more days to wrestle the entire thing into something I liked. After five drafts I had written a simple concept book. Really simple-it has only seventy-seven words. (that's right 7-7.)

It took me six tries before I was happy with the direction and spread layout of the story. That's right. I created six storyboards for a story with seventy seven words. Not only that, but I have plans to create as many as three separate books for this story. I have a concept that may not mesh well with the rest of the art, so I do one book with it and one without and compare. No ever said this was easy!

Here's a peek at some of what I've been working on. The first of three dummies accordions across my desk. Each page is two and half inches wide by two inches tall.

Here's a close up of one of the double page spreads. Once I complete each version of the story, and pick the one I think is strongest (no doubt with some tweaks here and there) I'll then move on to the full-sized paper and begin the task of illustrating the art in actual size.

After that, I'll pick one or two double spreads and take them to complete art-rendering them in paint, ink, pencil, etc. Once that is done, I'll scan all of the pages in, load them as a pdf on my computer, dink around with the sizes again, and print out at least three copies of the pages. Then comes the binding!

I don't think I want to think about that just yet. I was so happy I'd completed a dummy today. *Sigh* I still have a long way to go, but I'm really looking forward to it. I find this process completely satisfying.

2009-06-25T20:30:00.005-05:00

I'm still here. The hubs has been out of town for two weeks, so I've been single-parenting it. A whole lotta stuff has been going on, and none of it art. Hopefully I can make up for that soon.

Hope everyone is doing well and avoiding this heart-stopping heat. (Our heat index was 108 yesterday and 106 today-oy!) Wait, I do have something I can share. I did these while flying home last weekend. My sketchbook was in the overhead compartment, so I had to settle for the bottom half of my boarding pass.

Going With The Flow

2009-06-07T12:02:00.001-05:00

I was all set to go shopping today when a character for a dummy book I've written suddenly decided to present herself to me. I didn't want to risk never seeing her again, so I sketched her out then got to work story- boarding. I had plans to dummy up an older manuscript, but for some reason it's stalling. This story seems to be flowing much more easily. I'm not questioning why, I've decided to just go with it. As long as I end up with a completed dummy this summer, I'm happy.

2009-05-25T14:08:00.003-05:00

I had a chance to begin character sketches for a new project today.
Can you guess what story they're from?

Motherhood

2009-05-10T17:04:00.005-05:00

Leeza wrote a post on the Soup Blog recently recognizing how much growth she's undergone in the last year. I've experienced some growth, but never has that been so obvious as today when I chose to redo a favorite piece from my portfolio.

Here's the piece I completed last spring using acrylics and a fine tipped felt pen for the line work. Here's today's piece, using guoache and the loose brush techniques I've been playing around with.

(If you click on the image, you can see the details much better.)

I'm definitely a fan of the second piece. The colors are much brighter and there is an energy that seems more repressed in the orginal piece. (Although I noticed I left out shadows, so I'll go back and add those.) I have plans to do one or two more pieces with this little family, so keep an eye out.
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Oh, and Happy Mother's Day to all of you out there. I have to say this piece was inspired by my thrill-seeking toddler. I'm sure some of you can relate!

Faeries-Final

2009-05-02T14:00:00.002-05:00

I can't believe how long it's taken me to finish this picture. I started it last month in response to the prompt of Frolicking Faeries over at Watercolor Wednesdays. I'm going to have to adjust the colors some, but those three are different shades. The scanner lightened them all up.

After all of that work, and several moments of walking away from my desk so I wouldn't do something rash out of sheer frustration, I'm pretty happy with the final product. I'm really working to restrict my color palette, and i think it's paying off. K.I.S.S. really works for me!

Picture Book Challenge

2009-04-30T18:54:00.006-05:00

Kristi Valiant put out a challenge to readers to read as many books as possible (at least 50) and categorize them. We could also take it a step further and compare any ms we currently have to our "blue-ribbon best" pile and see how it compares.

I read 47 books. Almost all of them were from the library; the rest I own. I mostly pulled the titles from Fuse #8's Top 100 Picture Book Poll, and from a few recommended lists here and there. I decided to go with four piles because I needed a category for books that were "in-between."

Now, I probably had a list that was favored towards more positive reviews, because I did pull from some popular titles. The majority of these I met for the very first time today (even some of the "classics"), so it was just like a blind date. (Hence, my categories)

"Love At First Sight" books: (11)
Betsy Cronin: Diary of a Worm
David Horvath: Just Like Bossy Bear
Mini Grey: Traction Man
David Ezra Stein: Leaves
David Weisner: The Three Pigs
Lane Smith: The Happy Hocky Family
Melanie Watt: Scaredy Squirrel Goes to the Beach
Jules Feiffer: Bark, George

"Let's Be Friends" books (23)
Susan Marie Swanson: The House in the Night
Ian Falconer: Olivia
Barbara Cooney: Miss Rumphius
Antoinette Portis: Not A Box
Laura Wolfe Numeroff: If You Give A Mouse a Cookie
Don Freeman: Corduroy
Peggy Rathmann: Office Buckle and Gloria
H.A. Rey: Curious George
Robert Munsch: The Paperbag Princess*
Mem Fox: Where is the Green Sheep?
Maurice Sendak: Nutshell Library: Chicken Soup with Rice (and) Pierre*
Rosemary Wells: Yoko
Russell and Lillian Hoban: Bread and Jam for Frances
Kevin Henkes: Kitten's First Full Moon

"Nice Having Met You" books (8)

"What Were My Friends Thinking?!" books (4)

The books I really loved made me chuckle (or laugh out loud!), and often had moments of tongue in cheek. They busted down barriers (Three Pigs, Scaredy Squirrel), gave nostalgia a tweak on its nose (Happy Hocky Family, Traction Man) and were just plain fun (Diary of a Worm). I think the quality these books had in common is that they are all so smart. They don't pander to the reader as if they wouldn't know any better, they don't drip syrupy emotion, or shove morals down reader's throats. They expect the reader to have a good head on their shoulders, to get the gags put out there and move on to the next one. Every word written has a purpose and the reader gets why a certain line is repeated or placed with a certain picture. The pacing is quick and you're carried forward, never given time to think too much about the story, just to enjoy it as you're being taken along for the ride. (The one exception is Leaves: it doesn't really fit in with the rest of these, but I LOVE the beautiful simplicity of this book!)

The second category is where some lyrical books (Rumphius and House in the Night) fell, as well as some longer stories that were true to life (Olivia) or had stories that were a little unexpected. The few I marked with (*) were ones I had a really hard time deciding on, and ultimately decided they didn't have a huge grab-me factor. I enjoyed these books very much and although I plan to buy a few for our home library, I wouldn't necessarily be grabbing friends of mine and saying "Oh, you HAVE to read this one!"

The last two categories featured books that were very, very wordy or had plot points that just bugged me too much to let go. (Okay, I'll admit that The Story of Babar was one of these books. I'm sorry, I just couldn't let all of that go!) A few were older stories, and I suppose this is a generational thing...not enjoying a drawn-out story, but then again I had a few on my list that were pretty wordy. I think for me the execution just fell flat on this last group.

As far as my own ms goes...I can see that I like humor and a quick-pace, which is what I've tried infusing in my stories. Something I really enjoy is the great interplay between pictures and text. We'll see how successful I am when I start submitting my dummies later this year.

Now I'm off to brace myself for a marathon session of writing over the next week. Will you be joining me?
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Other bloggers weigh in on their favorite books:
Fabulous Illustrator
Kristi Valiant

Morning Scribbles

2009-04-30T09:18:00.002-05:00

Here are a few sketches I did to warm up this morning. Here's an idea I had for my long overdue blog banner update: a fox enjoying the breezy spring day.
And here a bird about to go out for his first flight: I did both of these drawings on loose notebook paper. I noticed as I was working that I seemed much looser and carefree. This isn't always the case when I'm working on something in my sketchbook. I used to be able to do whatever I wanted in my sketchbook. But somewhere along the way, even that paper has become "precious" somehow and I hesitate to put certain ideas in there- as if they aren't worthy enough. What silly head games we artists play, but there it is. I'm going to see if I can't bring that sketchbook down a peg or two.

NATIONAL PICTURE BOOK WRITING WEEK ("NaPiBoWriWee")

2009-04-29T13:51:00.004-05:00

(via PaulaYoo.com)
In the spirit of National Novel Writing Month ("NaNoWriMo") where people across the country try to write a complete novel in one month, the fine folks at www.paulayoo.com have decided to start the first ever National Picture Book Writing Week, affectionately nicknamed "NaPiBoWriWee."

The goal? To write 7 picture books in 7 days.

All NaPiBoWriWee participants should register on my website (http://paulayoo.com/) and comment on my blogs every day with your own progress.

For those of you who participate in the first annual NaPiBoWriWee, I will select a winner at random on the 7th day - that winner will receive an autographed copy of my latest picture book, "SHINING STAR: THE ANNA MAY WONG STORY" (Lee & Low Books, 2009).

(For more info on the book, go here: http://www.leeandlow.com/books/368/hc/shining_star_the_anna_may_wong_story)

The basic rules? Just write 7 complete and separate picture books in one week. Each picture book must have a clear beginning, middle, and end. There is no required minimum word count because picture book lengths can vary from 50 words to 2000 words, depending on the genre.

Caveat: This is NOT to say writing a picture book is easy. On the contrary, it's EXTREMELY difficult and challenging to write a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end, an original plot line, and a unique character with a compelling voice for the picture book genre. Every word has to count. Every image and every action has to speak volumes in terms of theme and deeper meaning... while still being kid friendly, fun, and appropriate for the tone of the book (be it a quiet literary picture book or a hilarious, laugh out of loud funny picture book).

Having said that... I want everyone to have fun with this! I'm not expecting Shakespeare or "Goodnight Moon." This is an attempt to encourage people to finally write that picture book they've been dreaming of... please think of this as a fun opportunity to brainstorm and finally write that first rough draft that you can go back to later and revise and improve upon. So often we procrastinate or convince ourselves that our idea for a picture book is not "good enough." So NaPiBoWriWee is a fun way to have everyone GO FOR BROKE and write 7 picture books in 7 days and see what happens!I will be posting a blog every day for seven days with picture book writing tips and encouragement and updates on my own progress, plus links to The Three Silly Chicks (http://threesillychicks.blogspot.com/) who will also be providing similar helpful blog tips.

For everyone who has a website or blog - you are encouraged to promote NaPiBoWriWee on your blog/website/myspace/Facebook/Twitter. I only request that you provide a link to my website - http://paulayoo.com/.

And for those of you attending the national Society for Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (http://scbwi.org/) conference in August, let me know and I'll arrange for an informal gathering during the conference so we can meet in person and celebrate our first NaPiBoWriWee!

For more info, contact me at paula@paulayoo.com.

To summarize, the basic rules:

1. Midnight May 1st to 11:59 p.m. May 7th: Write 7 separate and complete picture books.

2. You are NOT allowed to write the same picture book in 7 variations. Each book must be complete and separate.

3. No minimum word count. Instead, each book must have a clear beginning, middle and end.

4. You are allowed to brainstorm and research book topics before May 1st.

5. You are NOT allowed to write a single word of your draft until midnight May 1st.

6. There is NO minimum word count required. The fine folks of NaPiBoWriWee require nothing but your word of honor. We will embrace the Honor Code. If you say you have written 7 complete picture book drafts in 7 days, we will believe you. Besides, why would you lie to us? You're writing picture books for little children! Picture Book Authors are nice, honest people who would never lie!

7. Please register on http://paulayoo.com/ in order to write comments on Paula's blog every day with your progress and questions.

8. If you plan to blog about your NaPiBoWriWee journey, please include a link to: http://paulayoo.com/

9. A winner will be chosen from random of all the people who comment from May 1-7 on http://paulayoo.com/. That winner will receive an autographed copy of Paula Yoo's latest picture book biography, "SHINING STAR: THE ANNA MAY WONG STORY" (Lee & Low Books 2009) by June 2009 when the book is released.

10. For those of you attending the national Society of Children Book Writers & Illustrators (http://scbwi.org/) conference in August, let me know and I'll arrange for an informal gathering during the conference so we can meet in person and celebrate our first NaPiBoWriWee!

Good luck and I look forward to writing 7 picture books in 7 days with everyone!
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This sounds like a crazy challenge, and I am all out of sorts this week, but something is telling me I should do this! How about you? Want to give it a try?