Knowing as we do that drawing children, people and animals is the stock in trade of the children’s book illustrator, let’s draw a difficult animal subject today.
We’ve brought in guest instructor Jon Gnagy to help walk us through it.
Gnagy was the best drawing teacher (maybe the only drawing teacher?) on television. He taught Andy Warhol and millions of other American kids to draw during the 1950’s.
I can’t say that he taught me exactly, though maybe he did, but he was a little advanced. I was all of three years old when my mother (a painter) and I would watch his show together.
But I think he planted lots of seeds and questions in my unconscious. I remember even at that tender age being flabbergasted by his demos. “How does he know this stuff?” I remember asking myself. I still wonder about that.
‘Old School’ drawing doesn’t seem to go out of style. It doesn’t matter if it’s in a courthouse mural by Thomas Hart Benton or a children’s book illustration by Marla Frazee or Tasha Tudor or Robert McCloskey. It just always stays cool. Ask any kid.
The graphic images Marla Frazee renders with such assurance resemble the classic book illustrations of — well, the Jon Gnagy days, the 1950s. They don’t feel ‘dated’ because they bring us kids, people, animals and landscapes that kids (and the kid in us) can relate to. These subjects when rendered capably seem only to accrue in value.
For a better look at Marla’s work, here’s an animated trailer for All the World, a picture book illustrated by Frazee and penned by poet Liz Garton Scanlon.
Liz Garton Scanlon addresses the Austin chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) on a packed second floor of Austin's famous independently owned bookstore, BookPeople.
Yes, I know that both of them and the book and Jon Gnagy, too have been on this blog before. (Good subjects deserve repeated mentions. )
Scanlon and Frazee are scheduled to talk about their work together at the Austin SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) annual conferenceDestination Publication on Saturday Saturday, January 30, 2010. Caldecott Honor artist Frazee will deliver the keynote for illustrators and also reviewportfolios, as will talented illustrator Patrice Barton.
Henry Holt Books for Young Readers Creative Director Patrick Collins will review portfolios a month later at the Houston SCBWI conference.
Mark your calendars for Saturday, February 20, 2010 and download information and a registration form for the Houston conference here.
Liz Garton Scanlon speaks on intuition at the November 7 meeting of Austin SCBWI.
An editor told Liz that she had “an eye for observation and an ear for rhyme.”
So she focused on these strengths to produce her picture book poem All the World that is now garnering great reviews and making all the right 2009 book lists, including most recently a Parents’ Choice Gold Medal.
So many colleagues from the Austin children’s and YA writing community spoke on panels and signed their new books at the 2009 Texas Book Festival this past weekend. I always enjoy this 2.5 day party on the state capitol grounds. But I could not go this time because I was on an illustration deadline.
So Saturday afternoon while looking for music on You Tube to ink my drawings by, I stumbled upon “Foreign Letters” by Israeli singer, composer-arranger Chava Alberstein. Here’s her performance at a Berlin concert with the Klezmatics. (You have to click on the “Watch on You Tube” link. It’s worth it. She’s a spellbinder.)
“Oh, how beautiful. I love foreign letters,” she sings. “They are like drawings. They are like secret signs from magic places, from different worlds.”
Alberstein’s music is typically ravishing. For her though, it’s about words and language. She says so herself in songs and interviews.
Chava’s song and the book festival happening downtown got me thinking about the graphic statement of the written word – of how text = images and the alphabets of the world derive from pictures.
I thought of children’s author Charles Ghigna, aka Father Goose who posts a new poem on his blog each week full ofword pictures for “teachers, librarians, parents friends …and kids.”
"All the World" by Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee
Yes — it was as I remembered!
Her poem text was rendered in
pencil.
Or else set in one very
cleverly executed font.
I contacted Liz to find out which.
She’s one of the leading lights in our Austin SCBWI chapter.
Did Marla Frazee hand letter the text?
I asked her.
“Yep,” she replied.
One more celebration of letters on the page!
“…Letters that are the beginning of everything good and bad in this world. With letters you can create anything you want. You can create disasters. And you can create hopes and dreams — good dreams.” — Chava Alberstein
Two other authors from the Austin SCBWI gang have books on PW’s list of best children’s books of the year. The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer’s Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors by Chris Barton, illus. by Tony Persiani (Charlesbridge) and The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly (Holt.)
This just in: The New York Times releases its “Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2009″ list tomorrow (Saturday, November 7. ) Yes, you’ve already guessed it: All the World, by Liz Garton Scanlon with illustrations by Marla Frazee made the list (and it’s a pretty short list.)
Have your portfolio reviewed by Caldecott Honor illustrator Marla Frazee or the wonderfully talented Patrice Barton at the Austin SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) annual conferenceDestination Publication on Saturday Saturday, January 30, 2010. Find the full lowdown and registration form here
And have it reviewed a month later by Patrick Collins, Creative Director of Henry Holt Books for Young Readers at the Houston SCBWI conference Saturday, February 20, 2010. Download information and a registration form here.
On October 3, illustrators and comic book creators in cities around the world hunkered down to produce original content.
It was Twenty Four Hour Comics Day– an annual happening launched last century by cartoonist and teacher Scott McCloud, author of Understanding Comics. (You can read the rules at that link.) Bawls, a company that produces caffeinated energy drinks sponsored this year’s event.
Erik's laptop with a panel from his new comic --work in progress.
In Austin the comic artists conclaved at a store, Dragon’s Lair Comics and Fantasy, where lots of tables had been set up for them. There were all kinds of things going on in the store that rainy night — people were putting models together, browsing the shelves, visiting their friends.
I wasn’t a participant. Only a curious bystander with a camera. Plus a pal– cartoonist and writer Erik Kuntz, part of our enchanted SCBWI tribe —was doing the marathon again this year. Erik is the author-artist of Hex Libris, a witty, kid-friendly webcomic with wonderful characters.
(L. to R.) Bonn Adame, Erik Kuntz, Justin Rogers and Jeremy Guyton create at their table during 24 Hour Comics Day in Austin, Texas recently.
I don’t do comics much anymore but they were important to me growing up. I read them and drew them.
I acquired my own formidable classical education by reading Classics Illustrated Comic Books. Better than CliffsNotes.
A panel of sketches for "Action Packed Gorillas", a new web comic being developed by Erik Kuntz. The dialogue balloons always come first. (Note: The character featured here is a chimp, not a gorilla.)
Comics are not exactly children’s book illustration. An d yet…
Another SCBWI and Inklings Group pal, illustrator Martin Thomas is a professional colorist of comics.
Mary Sullivan, supremely talented illustrator for Highlights and other magazines and books and part of our Austin clan — has illustrated a beautiful and funny children’s comic book and she draws in comic panels for her own amusement.
Austin SCBWI illustration chair Christy Stallop does great black and white comic strip panel style illustrations
Kads and Matt. Matt has the webcomic http://ayellowworld.com
Kads and Matt (above) working on separate comics. By the way, Matt’s blog has a good recap of his experience of the 24 Hour Comics Day here.
My stepson Glenn remains a connoisseur- collector of graphic novels. School librarians are making more space for graphic novels on their shelves. Scholastic Books is whipping up its own graphic novel brand.
For years the “comic book look” has been finding its way into wildly popular “chapter books ” for upper elementary and middle grades. Dav Pilkey is one example. The Zack Proton series by Austin author Brian Anderson (of our SCBWI Mafia family) with illustrator Doug Holgate is another.
The Toon Books are comics for toddlers and children just begining to learn to read.
Disney bought Marvel.
Artist-writer Meghan Regis and technical consultant Jeremy Zunker (an engineering student.) Meghan is the creator of the comic series "Yours Truly" published in "The Paisano", the weekly newspaper of the University of Texas at San Antonio. The main main character in the strip is a young woman who lives on the moon. So seriously, that's why Meghan needs a technical consultant around her when she's working. "Because there are a lot of technical terms that are used in the dialogue," Zunker explained.So
And Yes. Women do participate in 24 Hour Comics Day. In addition to Meghan (above and below) there was Kad (who will let us know when she has her website up) and Melanie Moore working on her strip “Sacred Junk” with Amy Middleton (not shown.)
Meghan Regis with her panels.
The teamwork of Jason Poland and Austin Havican ( below) can be seen here and here.
Colored comic panels (watercolor washes) on the comic strip "The Ortolan" created by a collaborative team, Jason Poland, and Austin Havican, whose hands you see here. They described their work as deceptively simple child-like and simply but "definitely not child-friendly." See more of their work at www.robbieandbobby.com. S
Erik Kuntz laughs at one of his own digital cartoons as he draws on a Wacom tablet while Justin Rogers works with traditional comic artist materials -- paper, pencil, eraser, pen, triangle, T-square, etc. (In the background with beard is comics writer Tony Franklin. )
As you see, there were fun moments and lots of hard work– or should I say heart work? They go together — accomplished by a lot of people in that comic book store.
Erik is suggesting that we get together next year for something a little less intense than a They Shoot Horses Don’t They? draw-a-thon.
He’s calling it the “geriatric version of 24 Hour Comics Day.” I can’t say that I’m in favor of the name. It sounds, you know, a little ageist — and hits a little close. But the idea intrigues. Instead of laboring over pages of comic panels, we could be blitzing through picture book thumbnails and storyboards, or maybe even a dummy.
A children’s book illustrators lockdown. Check back with us in September next year to read our rules.
Seraphine
I should mention that I saw the movie Seraphine recently, about an early 20th century painter most of us have never heard of – Seraphine Louis or Seraphine de Senlis.
Click on the image here to see the larger more detailed view on YouTube.
Seraphine offers an unblinking look at the art vs. reality dilemma that confronts every artist sooner or later.
“Seraphine” tells us of a cleaning woman who painted “primitive” florals at night, with paints she ground herself from materials gathered on her woodland treks. It’s also about the kindly German art collector who discovered her. Billed as a fictionalized portrait, it’s still an honest movie – as unsensational as it is beautiful. I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve seen it. Leave a comment.
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Mark Mitchell hosts the “How To Be A Children’s Book Illustrator” blog.
Connecting Points
A big welcome to talented illustratorsSusan Sorrell Hill , Tina Yao , Diandra Mae andVanessa Van Cleve Roeder who have joined our blog roll! * * * * * We are also delighted to welcome fine artist, illustrator, plein-air painter, teacher, writer and innovating creator of art instruction materialsCathy Johnson to the our links. You might recognize her work or “voice” from “The Artists Magazine”, where she’s been a contributing editor for years.
Here is her website where you can sign up for her free newsletter and e-mail art tips! I’ve been enjoying them for a long time. Here is her blog.
You don’t have to be West Texan or manic to be a member — just a double-threat creator of children’s books, published or not. Click here to join. I’ll see you there.
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Read about the just announced National Book Award finalists here.
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Sign up for Mark’s free tutorial Power Color: Secrets of Color Mastery” here.
He’s giving away the “secrets” to promote his course on illustrating children’s books.
Get them while they’re hot and available for nuthin’. Here.
What does this short animated clip have to do with John Singer Sargent or children’s book illustration?
A quoi ca sert l’amour, a short animation by Louis Clichy, with thanks to illustrator and animation/game artist Amanda Williams for finding this. She called it “brutal and adorable.”
If a child-friendly story had illustrations with these lines — and visual characters as memorable as these and color the way John Singer Sargent used it in his painted scenes, it would be some picture book, right?
I’m assembling a fantasy football — I mean illustration project — team here.
So, starting with the cartoon: What makes these stick figures tug at your emotions as they do?
The honesty of the emotions depicted?
The “simple” (oh-so-sophisticated) graphics with their varied perspectives and 360 degree “camera revolutions”?
All the fast cutting and the surprise transitions?
The song? Edith Piaf’s and Theo Sarapo’s singing?
The subject?
Could some of this aplomb be translated into picture book illustrations?
OK, so let’s add some color and texture. John Singer Sargent had a knack for such things. Thanks to Chicago based painter Raymond Thornton for finding this.
I know. Sargent is the painter who gives all other painters inferiority complexes. We don’t know a lot about how he made his palette choices. (We know that he looked carefully.)
So enough with dream teaming. We’ve got some news today.
Two power chapters of theSociety of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) have announced their 2010 pow-wows — both set for early next year.
It’s Time to Mingle in Texas
State Capitol in Austin, Texas
Awesome Austin
Austin SCBWI comes first withDestination Publicationfeaturing a Caldeecott Honor Illustrator and Newberry Honor Author, along with agents, editors, more authors, another fab illustrator, critiques, portfolio reviews and parties.
Mark the date – Saturday, January 30, 2010, 8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Get the full lowdown and the registration form here. Send in your form pronto if you’re interested — more than 100 people have already signed up. Manuscript crtiques are already sold out. But a few portfolio reviews are still open at this writing!
Destination Publication features Kirby Larson, author of the 2007 Newbery Honor Book, Hattie Big Sky and Marla Frazee, author-illustrator of A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever, which received a Caldecott Honor Award, and more recently All the World penned (all 200 words of it) by Austin’s own children’s author/poet Liz Garton Scanlon.
Frazee teaches children’s book illustration at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. She and Scanlon will talk about their collaboration on All the Worldt. You can read each of their stories Behind The Book at a Simon & Schuster webpage here.
"All the World" by Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee
The one-day faculty also includes:
Cheryl Klein, senior editor at Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic.
Lisa Graff, Associate Editor at Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers.
Stacy Cantor, Editor, Bloomsbury USA/Walker Books For Young Readers.
Andrea Cascardi agent with Transatlantic Literary Agency (and a former editor.)
Mark McVeigh another former editor who represents writers, illustrators, photographers and graphic novelists for both the adult and children’s markets.
Houston SCBWI has announced a still developing lineup for its conference just three weeks after Austin’s: Saturday, February 20, 2010. Registration has just opened.
Patrick Collins, creative director at Henry Holt Books for Young Readers. Collins art directs and designs picture books, young adult novels and middle grade fiction (Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?, Old Penn Station and Rosa, a Caldecott Honor book.)
Also featured: Alexandra Cooper, senior editor at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, Lisa Ann Sandell, senior editor at Scholastic Inc., and Sara Crowe, a New York agent withHarvey Klinger, Inc.
Download their bios, more Houston conference info and a registration form from this page. No, you don’t have to be Texan to register for either of these “big as Texas” events.
So what does this lullaby have to do with the art of children’s book illustration?
I knew you’d ask, so I’ve come up with a list.
The artist is prominent musician Olga Kishkina of Finland. Her instrument is the gusli, a sort of Russian cousin to the zither.
“Her expression at the end is like a gangsta rapper, daring you to step up and challenge her skillz,” notes a fan on the YouTube page.
The list: artistry. dedication, pride in craft, building upon on a simple theme, throwing yourself into the expression of a passage, letting the music ( form) speak for itself.
Plenty of parallels to the illustration process here.
Working your art is developing your character.
You know that at some point, your attitude about your process will be tested.
You’ll have to patiently push through and not make a big deal about it.
Texas children’s author Janice Shefelman quoted Pablo Picasso on Facebook the other day. The quote was something like: “Inspiration will pay you a visit, but it wants to find you at work.”
So here is another video. Caldecott Medal winning illustrator Ed Young talks about the time he lost the package of his completed illustrations just before he was to send them in to his publisher. (Read my interview with Young about it here.)
They were due in a couple of weeks, his finished collage pictures for the picture book Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein. Once he got over the shock of their disappearance, Ed knew that he would have to start all over again.
First you’ll hear author (and former English teacher) Reibstein talk about his inspiration for the book ( his Kyoto cat. ) Stay with the video to hear Ed discuss the decision he had to make in a time of dismay and stress.
“Creating enough tension in me to make it better than the first version…”
Which brings us to two new books with Ed Young art.
Tsunami by Kimiko Kajikawa and Ed Young
Tsunami by Kimiko Kajikawa is
a taut telling of a Japanese folktale about a wise grandfather who, with his grandson, sets fire to his own rice field. It’s his way to draw the villagers up from the the beach before the Tsnunami, the “monster wave” strikes.
Only the grandfather and grandson can see the wall of water coming, because of their high vantage point over the small town and bay.
You see, the grandfather knows the villagers will rush up the hill to help him put out the fire in his field.
The crowd’s own sense of community and duty saves them — but not before the grandfather’s sacrifice of his harvest.
Philomel Books has brought out an exciting action story. Young’s ingenious collage illustrations immerse the reader in a harrowing experience of fire and water and a Japan of long ago.
You can hear my podcast review of Tsunami on thechildren’s book audio blog Just One More Bookhere.
'Hook" written and illustrated bv Ed Young
Roaring Brook Press has just published Hook Ed Young’s original story of a Native American boy who finds an eagle’s egg. He brings the egg home to his pueblo village, where the hens can look after it. The baby eagle doesn’t fit in very well with town or chickens, despite everyone’s efforts to try to teach him to fly. “You weren’t meant for Earth,” observes a kind hen, before the boy takes the eaglet to the top of the canyon for the last flying lesson he will need.
Instead of resorting to his now famous collage technique, Young illustrates with his evocative drawings. He uses luminous pastel on brown speckled paper that evokes the red rock and sand of the American Southwest.
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Mark Mitchell hosts the How to Be a Children’s Book Illustrator blog.
Hear his review of Tsunami on last Wednesday’s podcast of Just One More Book.
Do you live near the Austin, Texas area? Join Mark’s six week class in children’s book illustration scheduled to begin Monday, September 14 at the Art School of the Austin Museum of Art.
The class will run 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. Monday evenings until October 19. Visit the website or contact the AMOA art school at (512) 323-6380 to learn more.
Don’t live anywhere near Central Texas? Then try out some free online lessons on using colorin your painting. They’re some of the best from Mark’s 19 part online course, “Mark Your Splashes! Make Your Marks!” And they’re available free, for a few weeks longer. Download Power Color here.
Uralish Dance: Olga Kishkina plays the gusli. Arto Tarkkonen plays the accordian.
Massive, and I do mean massive blog coverage of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) National Conference in Los Angeles at The Official SCBWI Conference Blog.
I also recommend Diandra Mae’s blog Taking Flightfor her attentive, fun coverage of her experience as an attendee of the four days of panels, workshops, talks and socials .
Before we get into the blogs, though, here’s a clip of the great picture book artist and creator Tomie dePaolo being interviewed by SCBW National Executive Director Lin Oliver about the “art of the picture book.” No, the video’ was not part of the conference but part of an SCBWI “Master Class.” But these are two personalities who loom large over the org.
If you’ve not yet heard of SCBWI or know much about it, here’s an interview from the SCBWI website where Executive Director (and prolific children’s author and producer of movies based on children’s books) Lin Oliver does a good job of speaking for the now global organization.
D’s a talented illustrator in the Houston area — a former 7th grade teacher now active with the Houston chapter of SCBWI . Her posts put you in the shoes of someone packing her bags and heading out to Los Angeles for the big event.
She catches many good quotes and observations in her blog Taking Flight, like David Weisner’s remark in an illustrators’ Q&A:
“…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.’ “
I enjoyed reading what she says aboutthe first ever Illustrators’ Social at the national conference. Dwrites,“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.”
You can read all tweets from all persons who tweeted in real time on the event at this Twitter site. (Or you can pull them up on your own twitter page by searching for: #scbwi09.) The tweets are nano-quotes from the artist/writer/editors/ agent panels and talks, breadcrumb trails of “kid publishing” thought.
Team blog carries reportage on talks by the wonderful (Caldecott Honor) illustrator Marla Frazee, Dan Yaccarino, Scholastic Executive Art Director Elizabeth Parisi (on book dummies), Golden Kite Award winner for illustration (for Last Night, Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Hyewon Yum — and more from David Weisner, like how, for those lily pad piloting frogs of his Caldecott Medal winning-Tuesday, he found frog skeletons to study.
The video has been circulating around the art blogs in recent days. We learned of it thanks to the sharing of Austin, Texas game artist and illustrator Amanda Williams.
Twenty four year old sand animator Kseniya Simonova won the Ukraine’s Got Talent season competition last month with her story about a time when her country lost about one fourth of its population — World War Two.
On the blog Milk and Cookiessomeone asks in the comments, “What’s with all the crying?” (talking about the shots in the video of audience members and a Paula Abdul-like talent judge tearing up as they watch Kseniya draw.) Someone else replies with a brief history of the Ukraine from its independence movement in the 20s, through brutal repression by Stalin, followed by the Nazi invasion and eventual hard-fought Russian victory and concludes, “You would cry too if it happened to you.”
Well, I did cry and it’s not just because I know the history. Kseniya unfolds an unforgettable sequence of illustrations that is of course helped by her artful soundtrack and the TV camera’s shots of her affected viewers. But at the end it’s still about those lines she quickly carves and erases in the sand.
How did she build emotion with her fleeting images? What insights into picture story craft can we glean from this performance? I have a few thoughts but would love to hear your ideas.
Click on “Leave a comment” at the top of the post to open the op-ed page.
To enjoy some free watercolor lessons from Mark Mitchell’s online course on how to illustrate a children’s bookgo here.
We don’t purport to cover the entire waterfront here. But every once in a while it’s fun to do a roundup of children’s book illustration items, which is another way of saying “string some things together that aren’t really related.”
Or lazy writing, in other words. But hey — it’s summertime in Central Texas.
We converge on our own one Sunday morning each month. There’s almost always a new face and four to 12 familiar ones.
We’ll read each others’ stories aloud or leaf through a portfolio or a storyboard or bring our latest book discoveries.
Mostly we all talk at the same time, like the mice in Diane Stanley’s The Conversation Club.
(Left to right: Louise Shelby, Amy Farrier, Torran Anderson, Salima Alikhn and Marsha Riti. I don’t think they’ve had their second cups of coffee yet.)
One Bright Afternoon
was enjoyed by picture book author Chris Barton and many fans at his debut signing at BookPeople earlier this month.
The Day Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer’s Bright Ideas and Brand New Colors (Charlesbridge Publishers 2009) is narrative science writing for kids at its best.
It’s illustrated in a smart & sassy 1950s cartoon style by Tony Persiani (with day-glo spots evocative of old time color separated-illustrations)
The combination of crisp text that keeps you excitedly turning pages and plentiful, high energy art that suits the narrative perfectly has garnered starred reviews for the book in Kirkus, Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal.
Which is a little like lightning striking three times (in a good way.)
It’s not a well known story and Barton had to research much of it first-hand with interviews of suviving Switzer family members.
Through years of trial and error and a few happy accidents the brothers learned how certain resin and dye mixtures resulted in a color that was “oranger-than-orange.” Their experiments began as an enhancement to one brother’s magic act — and led to massive production of the paint during World War Two. (The colors we take for granted today as “Day-Glo” were used mainly for signaling and signage that aided in rescues and prevented untold accident casualties.)
The book unfolds as a joyous experience of discovery for the reader.
These days, some of the best informationon children’s book illustration is
Found on the Blogs
English illustrator and author Lynn Chapman shows us “before and after” versions of a double page spread for an assignment — with her ‘notes to self’ scrawled on drawings or copies of them. You’ll find these on her blog, An Illustrator’s Life For Me
She’s just mailed in final art for Bears on the Stairs by Julia Jarman. Now she’s waiting to hear about the changes she’ll have to make.
Vancouver illustrator Kirsti Anne Wakelin in her blog My Secret Elephant talks about her tools and how she uses reference in her work — and shows us her line art for a dummy she’s been working on this year. Click on the tab that says “Illustration Process” for progress reports on her book assignment.
James Gurney Amazes…
Yes, the James Gurney — creator of the Dinotopia books. He also maintains one of the premier artist’s processblogs (maybe I’ve just coined a new genre) with his daily blog Gurney Journey.
He shares a lot of art instruction here and even allows you to look over his shoulder as he works over his drawing board, via close-up photos and videos. It’s a treat.
In the post series below you’ll see him complete a commissioned poster for an upcoming festival in France. Then you’ll know why his work is so good. (He goes the extra mile!)
In this post on Just One More Book Mark Blevis interviews illustrator Raul Colón at the Jewish Libraries 2009 Convention. Click here for the podcast. with /b
In a second interview with Blevis, Colón goes into more detail about how he and his illustration students find inspiration bumping unrelated subjects and themes into each other, the way Stanley Kubrick paired The Blue Danube Waltz with his shots of the massive spacecraft in 2001, A Space Odyssey.
"Stanley's Beauty Contest" gives us the dog's point of view of one of those dog shows.
Stanley’s Beauty Contest by Linda Bailey (Kids Can Press, Toronto) is a very funny romp through a Best of Show competition. (Read: many dogs)
(Stanley’s hungry because he missed breakfast. When the judges pass him by, he leads his foo-fooed, four-footed fellow contestants on a gambit to turn the table (literally) on the show’s organizers.
The infectiously fun, warm ‘n fuzzy textured illustrations are by prolific children’s book artist Bill Slavin.
Famous illustrators are included Publisher’s Weekly’s exerpt from Anita Sibley’s new bookEverything I Need to Know I Learned From a Children’s Book (Roaring Brook.)
My favorite part: Thatcher Hurd commenting on Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows. He refers to Mr. Toad as “surely the id personified.”
Illustration by Ernest Shepard.
Click on “Leave a comment” at the top of the post – to open the op-ed page and share your thoughts on the post items there.
For 12 free tutorials on using color with cunning click here.
Who would have guessed that Caldecott Medal Winner Brian Selznick’s final pencil illustrations for his picture books were so small?
This video emulates the silent film montages that are in the spirit of the book that won the American Library Association’s 2008 Caldecott Medal.
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Michele Ammon interviews Selznick for a nifty Expanded Books video on “The Invention of Hugo Cabret.” He explains his interesting reasons for working in such a small graphic style — with his original images one quarter of the size they appear in the finished book!
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In this video Niko plays Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata on the piano as we see selected illustrations from the book unfolding some of Hugo Cabret’s story.
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For anyone in the Austin area this Saturday(July 11), don’t forget author Chris Barton’s signing for his just released picture book, “The Day Glo Brothers” (Charlesbridge, 2009) at 1 p.m. at BookPeople on the second floor.
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Author Cynthia Leitich Smith interviews Chris Barton on the publication of his picture book bio “The Day Go Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer’s Bright Ideas and Brand New Colors” (Charlesbridge, 2009) illustrated by Tony Persiani. The book has been getting great reviews and you can learn how to enter to win a free copy in the post in Cynthia’s blog Cynsations.
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Mark Mitchell hosts the “How To Be A Children’s Book Illustrator” blog.
To enjoy some free watercolor lessons from his online course on how to illustrate a children’s bookgo here.
And now he can draw them out of his head quite easily.
I know this because I saw him do it with my own eyes a few weeks ago. I was sitting across the table from him at Central Market Cafe at an Inklings critique session. He had his sketchbook out. (A lot of folks bring their sketchbooks to Inklings gatherings.) He was doodling as he listened to the various conversations that were going on around the table.
Suddenly this friendly, rough and ready four pawed canine fellow appeared on the page — and everyone stopped talking.
I was always impressed by Erik’s decision to create regularly (by drawing then posting to his website a dog every day so we could keep tabs on him. And not the same dog, either.)
It was the sort of character building put-your-time-and-money-where-your- mouth-is goal that I’ve always aspired to. (Alas, I’ve found that other peoples’ deadlines motivate me more than my own.)
Erik never missed a day– and no one ever told him to do it.
He talked with us a few weeks ago.
Why a dog a day, Erik?
I came up with the idea in 2000. I even designed a logo for it way back then. Somebody said if you do something everyday, it’s not possible to get worse at it. Some of the newer studies, like those quoted in Malcom Gladwell’s book Outliers have suggested that genius is over-rated. I read something about that in2002.
I thought I should force something ; I really should be drawing more. But I let my own personal insecurities get in the way.
It did bother me for six years. I kept thinking, where would I be now in my skill if I’d put more effort into it years ago.
On January 1, 2008, I launched my web comic Hex Libris and I thought, as as long as I’m doing this, I should start doing a dog a day at the same time.
Dog a Day wooden model conceived by Erik Kuntz
And why dogs?
People like dogs. It’s not like doing a cat a day, because with cats you don’t get the huge difference — all the variations that you get with dogs. Dogs are funnier than cats and have more personality.
I knew more ideas would come from them.
Plus I was working on a children’s book about a Dalmation, and I knew that the reason I wasn’t drawing the way I wanted to was because it’s easier to just not work.
And so how did you proceed?
As best I could. I tried to do them in one sitting. Some of the pieces would take more than one day. Generally they took a couple of hours. I didn’t intend for them to take me as long as they did. Some days I wished I had more time — and came away a little bit discouraged. But as I started to improve and become more proud of the stuff I was doing, I would ask myself, what do I need to put into this image to make it a piece I’m happy with?
I worked mainly with a Wacom tablet. I discovered that the ‘happy accidents’ that you often get in watercolor –can happen in digital mediums, too.
Working digitally you could just go back and work it to death.
But I learned to just stop and post the piece. I discovered the freeing nature of just stopping when I was reasonably done and telling myself, ‘This is what I did today, and I’ll do another one tomorrow.’
I put themup on the web as I completed them to keep myself honest. I never missed one. But one day something happened to my webserver and the dog that had been up went down. And I heard from eight people.
Dog a Day ala Dr. Seuss
How did you give yourself ideas?
There were some days when I would sit down and just not know what I was going to do. Often I would begin by noodling around with the Wacom. For the one dog I did in complementary colors, I just put on a sphere and started to form a dog out of this. I spent an hour and a half on that, just finding the dog hiding in the raw thing.
Complementary Colors Dog
Some of the dogs I did with Bic pen or Sharpie marker on typing paper. Sometimes I would scan these and repaint them digitally.
People would send me ideas. Some people would send me photos of dogs and I did drawings.
Some days I would search the web for interesting dogs. Some days I would work completely from my imagination. I would do these three minute-dogs, stopwatch running.
I’d start with a really loose gesture, with some fuzzy notion of an action or a composition. I’d work really rough and light with blue pencil on paper, or the blue digital pencil on the computer. I used to be one of those kinds of people that tried to get every line right and I was really slow and cramped in my drawing. I felt like there was some sort of freedom missing in it.
Now I know I can get away with a fast, loose gesture. I learned that I could draw the arm as an arc, and everybody would be fine with it and nobody knows…
Fu Dog a Day
And now, the book: You’ve repackaged your drawings in a new format!
I was thinking initially of a small run of books that would be a Christmas present for family and some friends.
I started with one print on demand publisher but had problems with their color. Later I turned to CreateSpace, owned by Amazon. They were substantially cheaper but they didn’t have the high grade glossy paper. But now the book is available through their store.
I’ve designed books in the past, but never an art book. I used Adobe InDesign, which is a great program.
You know, the Dog a Day project was never meant to be anything commercial. It was meant to improve my skills and yes it did.
The idea was to challenge yourself and accept that if it wasn’t very good, then at least you drew.
I’m still drawing every day. And, yeah, I can draw dogs with my eyes closed — no peeking.
"Hex Libris" Dog a Day (Connie and Watson)
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You can order your personalized softcover copy of “A Dog A Day” at Erik’s webstore here.
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Erik is also the creator of what is probably the most charming comic created for the web, the kid-friendly Hex Libris . Since its launch on January 1, 2008, the series has been unfolding a narrative about Kirby, caretaker of a magical library and his fictional friends. (They range from a Nancy Drew-like character and her big dog Watson — to Frankenstein’s very literate monster.) You can read our early interview with Erik about Hex Librishere .
Bat Girl Dog A Day
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The narrator in the “Dog a Day Project” video, of course, is Erik’s wife, brilliant actress, comedian writer Maggie Gallant. They met in London while both working on start-up team for America Online – UK .
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Author Cynthia Leitich Smith interviews author Chris Barton on the publication of his picture book bio “The Day Go Brothers: The True Story of Bogb and Joe Switzer’s Bright Ideas and Brand New Colors” (Charlesbridge, 2009) illustrated by Tony Persiani. The book has been getting great reviews and you can learn how to enter to win a free copy in the post in Cynthia’s blog Cynsations.
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Mark Mitchell hosts the “How To Be A Children’s Book Illustrator” blog.
To enjoy some free watercolor lessons from his online course on how to illustrate a children’s bookgo here.
Massive, and I do mean massive blog coverage of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) National Conference in Los Angeles at 
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