Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
My Make Time, Not War Rant
Make time, not war is an anti-procrastination slogan that I just made up from nothing and commonly associate with my feeble claims of not having enough free time for illustrating. The war reference? I suppose that symbolizes my anger over my perceived lack of time. Or it could be something from the 60's, but that's complete crap of course because over the length of a 24-hour Earth day I have plenty of opportunities to get some drawing done. I just don't have those opportunities in large and consecutive blocks of time that many full-time illustrators (and the full-time unemployed occupiers) are blessed with. Oh, I doodle the hell out of the legal pads here at my day job desk. I also sketch on Starbucks napkins when I'm waiting in line for an expensive and complicated drink to be made. I draw on the backs on envelopes containing promises of lower rate credit cards and magazine subscription promotions I have no interest in because they offer a clean white canvas for the idea for a new character I had just an hour or so earlier. I even illustrate on my iPod Touch now, using the freshly downloaded SketchBook Mobile X App and my index finger. I figured out how to save the image to my iPod photos folder and then email it to myself in case I want to place it in to Illustrator or to use/post it as is. I've also been sketching on those extra receipts or sometimes napkins at restaurants lately, adding a "Thanks for the awesome lunch!" voice bubble from a caricature of myself or my son or a random penguin or a pirate with a full tummy. And I always add my web url because hey, you never know...
So the time is there, and actually the results are there. I suppose I need to shut up now and gather these napkins, legal pad pages, receipts and iPod finger paintings together so I can combine them with my creative powers for the good of the picture book industry. But where the hey will I find the time to organize of of these papers and files?
Just kidding.
So where do you guys and gals find the time?
Stay drawing, my friends.
So the time is there, and actually the results are there. I suppose I need to shut up now and gather these napkins, legal pad pages, receipts and iPod finger paintings together so I can combine them with my creative powers for the good of the picture book industry. But where the hey will I find the time to organize of of these papers and files?
Just kidding.
So where do you guys and gals find the time?
 |
| Way sexy beach sketch of me and my lovely wife. |
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Hey, Kids! It's the 2012 KidLitArt Picture Book Dummy Challenge!
Get your pencils, drawing pads, laptops and coffee mugs ready, because the 2012 KidLitArt Picture Book Dummy Challenge is about to begin. You can attend an intro "meeting" on twitter this Thursday (January 5th) at 9pm EST. Just search #KidLitArt and watch the tweets fly in.
In the meantime, head on over to the KidLitArt web site to read a summary of my experience from last year's KidLitArt Picture Book Dummy Challenge.
And just for being so swell, here's a camel flying a plane:
In the meantime, head on over to the KidLitArt web site to read a summary of my experience from last year's KidLitArt Picture Book Dummy Challenge.
And just for being so swell, here's a camel flying a plane:
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Happy New Year!
Has any comic captured the excitement and potential that each new year brings better than Bill Watterson's final Calvin and Hobbes strip from December 31, 1995?
Looking forward to a big and busy 2012. Here's my Kiddo Lit to-do list for the year:
- Finish revisions on "Pirates Go Shopping" and start submitting.
- Work on PBDummy submissions for "I Can Read" series.
- Attend the NESCBWI Conference (woo-hoo!)
- Attend the EasternNYSCBWI Mid-Hudson Valley Conference (TBA).
- Participate in the #KidLitArt Picture Book Dummy Challenge.
- Participate in Julie Hedlund's 12x12 Picture Book Writing Challenge.
- Participate in Tara Lazar's PiBoIdMo Challenge.
- Attend monthly EasternNYSCWBI ShopTalk meetings.
- Blog more often. :)
I'll keep you all posted on my progress and recap all of the events.
Hope everyone has a fun and productive 2012.
Now let's go exploring...
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
EEK = MC Scared
Jake has always referred to Frankenstein* as "FrankenEinstein" and who are we to correct such cuteness? So I had an idea to pop FrankenEinstein on a Pingg! Halloween card. Could have spent more time on the illustration (I've been REALLY busy lately) but I think the "EEK = MC Scared" caption makes the card. Should have added "Have a BRILLIANT Halloween" somewhere....
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Picture Book Dummy Update: Critique and Falling Leaves
Last week I heard back from Lit Agent Jennifer Mattson at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency concerning my "Pirates Go Shopping" picture book dummy. Her critique was very positive, her comments were spot on and her suggestions will easily make this a much better book. Here's a summary of her critique...
OVERALL: Jennifer thought the idea of pirates at a shopping mall was original and very appealing in that it doesn't conform to traditional pirate activities. I knew it was overly wordy and she agreed with me. She also mentioned I needed to vary the posturing and gestures of my characters which is something I know I need to work on. A lot of my sketches looked like the pirates were posing for a photograph. I already started to fix this issue before receiving her critique in order to prep my dummy for submission to an SCBWI Falling Leaves Master Class Retreat.
DUMMY/ARTWORK: She found my illustration sample nicely bold, with an animation style that was popular in the marketplace. Yay! I'm marketable! This was a worry of mine since my style isn't the traditional picture book hand-drawn style. This fear actually caused me to change it up a bit, using the pencil tool in Adobe Illustrator and my Wacom tablet in an attempt to create a hand-drawn look as opposed to my usual pen tool/mouse technique. I liked the result, but in an effort to stay true to myself and what I do best I revised that page for my Falling Leaves submission. I made a few character and color changes as well. I feel much more comfortable with the revised pen tool version. Here are the two pieces:
Can I copyright that scarecrow pose? Are the pirates on the ends doing the "YMCA"?
She also mentioned utilizing vignettes on some of the spreads. We've discussed this numerous times in #kidlitart chats and I had actually planned on adding some, but I was so wrapped up in writing the story I let those important visual details slip by. Lesson learned.
STORY: Jennifer really liked the plot as well as the pirate lingo I used, which she mentioned makes for a fine read-aloud book. Again, she pointed out that the text was a bit too long with too much unnecessary filler. I really like her idea of using dialog text in word bubbles as I think that would work really well with my illustration style. She directed me to at a few places where it took her a few beats to figure out the connection between a few of the story points. What seemed obvious to me (and my wonderful wife who read through this almost as many times as I did) wasn't to her - an objective reader. Once again, another set of eyes...
There's certainly plenty of constructive criticism in Jennifer's critique to keep me fueled and inspired while I make improvements on the dummy. I couldn't have asked for a more positive experience.
Additional thanks go to Wendy Martin, Bonnie Adamson, and my peers at #kidlitart. I couldn't have gotten this far without your knowledge and support. I hope I can eventually be as helpful to beginning picture book authors/illustrators as you guys and gals have been to me.
FALLING LEAVES: The day after receiving my critique from Jennifer I found out I was accepted to the Falling Leaves Retreat. I'm craaaaaazy excited for this opportunity to show off my illustrations and picture book dummy to folks in the PB industry. I'll schmooze with editors from Candlewick, Scholastic, Holiday House, Marshall Cavendish and Sterling and well as an AD from Sterling. Workshops, writing exercises, manuscript and portfolio critiques at a beautiful Adirondack retreat and conference center the first weekend in November. I'll be sure to share lots of info, stories and photos.
OVERALL: Jennifer thought the idea of pirates at a shopping mall was original and very appealing in that it doesn't conform to traditional pirate activities. I knew it was overly wordy and she agreed with me. She also mentioned I needed to vary the posturing and gestures of my characters which is something I know I need to work on. A lot of my sketches looked like the pirates were posing for a photograph. I already started to fix this issue before receiving her critique in order to prep my dummy for submission to an SCBWI Falling Leaves Master Class Retreat.
 |
| The Captain is still a bit posed, but I kind of like him looking at the reader, shrugging and thinking, "What do we do now?". Working on the shading and adding some more details - texture to the ship, another pirate in the crow's nest... |
DUMMY/ARTWORK: She found my illustration sample nicely bold, with an animation style that was popular in the marketplace. Yay! I'm marketable! This was a worry of mine since my style isn't the traditional picture book hand-drawn style. This fear actually caused me to change it up a bit, using the pencil tool in Adobe Illustrator and my Wacom tablet in an attempt to create a hand-drawn look as opposed to my usual pen tool/mouse technique. I liked the result, but in an effort to stay true to myself and what I do best I revised that page for my Falling Leaves submission. I made a few character and color changes as well. I feel much more comfortable with the revised pen tool version. Here are the two pieces:
 |
| Pencil Tool |
 |
| Pen Tool |
Can I copyright that scarecrow pose? Are the pirates on the ends doing the "YMCA"?
She also mentioned utilizing vignettes on some of the spreads. We've discussed this numerous times in #kidlitart chats and I had actually planned on adding some, but I was so wrapped up in writing the story I let those important visual details slip by. Lesson learned.
STORY: Jennifer really liked the plot as well as the pirate lingo I used, which she mentioned makes for a fine read-aloud book. Again, she pointed out that the text was a bit too long with too much unnecessary filler. I really like her idea of using dialog text in word bubbles as I think that would work really well with my illustration style. She directed me to at a few places where it took her a few beats to figure out the connection between a few of the story points. What seemed obvious to me (and my wonderful wife who read through this almost as many times as I did) wasn't to her - an objective reader. Once again, another set of eyes...
There's certainly plenty of constructive criticism in Jennifer's critique to keep me fueled and inspired while I make improvements on the dummy. I couldn't have asked for a more positive experience.
Additional thanks go to Wendy Martin, Bonnie Adamson, and my peers at #kidlitart. I couldn't have gotten this far without your knowledge and support. I hope I can eventually be as helpful to beginning picture book authors/illustrators as you guys and gals have been to me.
FALLING LEAVES: The day after receiving my critique from Jennifer I found out I was accepted to the Falling Leaves Retreat. I'm craaaaaazy excited for this opportunity to show off my illustrations and picture book dummy to folks in the PB industry. I'll schmooze with editors from Candlewick, Scholastic, Holiday House, Marshall Cavendish and Sterling and well as an AD from Sterling. Workshops, writing exercises, manuscript and portfolio critiques at a beautiful Adirondack retreat and conference center the first weekend in November. I'll be sure to share lots of info, stories and photos.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Pirates, Pirates Everywhere, Let's All Have a Drink!
It was a month and a few days since I sent my picture book dummy to an agent at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency for a critique. Couldn't wait for a response before making some edits/improvements to "Pirates Go Shopping" though because I had to quickly prep it to send to the event organizers of the SCBWI Eastern NY's Falling Leaves 2011: Master Class Retreat focusing on picture books (whew!) - taking place at the Silver Bay Retreat and Conference Center on Lake George (NY) in early November.
In other words, I've been up to my eyepatch in pirates.
I should hear back from the Lit Agent shortly and the Falling Leaves peeps before September 1st. I'll let the story sit until then before doing any more construction on it. In the meantime I have a few freelance illustrations to work on as well as some Halloween designs I'd like to post on Pingg! within the next couple of weeks.
Can't post without a pic, so here's a peek at a clip of a part of a page from "Pirates Go Shopping".
*It was just suggested that I tell you fine readers that "Pirates Go Shopping" is in the hands of an Andrea Brown Lit Agent because I was one of the three winners of the #kidlitart Picture Book Dummy Challenge Pitch Fest. Click the link for details on all that.
In other words, I've been up to my eyepatch in pirates.
I should hear back from the Lit Agent shortly and the Falling Leaves peeps before September 1st. I'll let the story sit until then before doing any more construction on it. In the meantime I have a few freelance illustrations to work on as well as some Halloween designs I'd like to post on Pingg! within the next couple of weeks.
Can't post without a pic, so here's a peek at a clip of a part of a page from "Pirates Go Shopping".
*It was just suggested that I tell you fine readers that "Pirates Go Shopping" is in the hands of an Andrea Brown Lit Agent because I was one of the three winners of the #kidlitart Picture Book Dummy Challenge Pitch Fest. Click the link for details on all that.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Illustration Friday: Stay
Man, I love Illustration Friday, but it usually slips my mind until Friday rolls around. But this week I remembered to sketch, scan and illustrate (Adobe Illustrator CS5 on an iMac) an entry for this wee's topic: "Stay". Let's hear it for small victories!
My first "Stay" thought was to draw a doggie. You know: "Stay!" "Sit!" "Heal!" "Get a job!" I decided instead to take the road less traveled and chose the title of a song that is definitely less listened to these days compared to my wild rumpus days known as the mid 1990s.
Stay was written and performed by Lisa Loeb. It was on the soundtrack to the highly over-rated 1994 movie, Reality Bites, which tried to appeal to the Generation X population that had come of age with the John Hughes' movies. Some bought into it, but I knew right away that Ben Stiller wasn't going define the person I was going to become. Still couldn't resist picking up the soundtrack though. The illustration is a scene (pretty much the only scene) from Loeb's video for the song. She sings to the camera. The cat jumps off the chair and runs off. Loeb continues singing, looking right at the viewer as if we're the one(s) leaving. It's like three minutes and three second of eye contact and guilt.
Sure Stay is a "chick" tune, but I've always been a fan of women singing to me (Tanya Donelly from Belly, Kim Deal from the Pixies/the Breeders, Amy Winehouse, Kristin Hersh from Throwing Muses, Suzanne Vega, yadda yadda yadda). And Loeb's nerdy kitty cat glasses certainly don't hurt. Meow!
Here's the video for those who don't remember, never knew or choose to forget:
My first "Stay" thought was to draw a doggie. You know: "Stay!" "Sit!" "Heal!" "Get a job!" I decided instead to take the road less traveled and chose the title of a song that is definitely less listened to these days compared to my wild rumpus days known as the mid 1990s.
Stay was written and performed by Lisa Loeb. It was on the soundtrack to the highly over-rated 1994 movie, Reality Bites, which tried to appeal to the Generation X population that had come of age with the John Hughes' movies. Some bought into it, but I knew right away that Ben Stiller wasn't going define the person I was going to become. Still couldn't resist picking up the soundtrack though. The illustration is a scene (pretty much the only scene) from Loeb's video for the song. She sings to the camera. The cat jumps off the chair and runs off. Loeb continues singing, looking right at the viewer as if we're the one(s) leaving. It's like three minutes and three second of eye contact and guilt.
Sure Stay is a "chick" tune, but I've always been a fan of women singing to me (Tanya Donelly from Belly, Kim Deal from the Pixies/the Breeders, Amy Winehouse, Kristin Hersh from Throwing Muses, Suzanne Vega, yadda yadda yadda). And Loeb's nerdy kitty cat glasses certainly don't hurt. Meow!
Illustration Friday: Stay
Here's the video for those who don't remember, never knew or choose to forget:
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