Jay Asher's Blog and also Stitches by David Small

Jay Asher (if you don't already know) is the extremely talented author of Thirteen Reasons Why. He has a blog - read it! Great posts, videos and information about his award winning teen novel.

I'm headed to amazon.com to buy it myself.



In other news, I saw one of David Small's recent picture books in Barnes and Noble. This led me to his site to see what he was up to, which led me to information about his new release, Stiches. I don't want to give away too much, but it's a graphic novel, autobiographical, and NOT for kids. This is one for the adults. Let's just say I was so engrossed that I stopped hearing the bubbling of my fish tanks, the blaring fan of my space heater and I can't even remember turning pages. It is a work of art and something to behold. It felt less like reading and more like watching a film. Do yourself a favor and pick it up.

One more thing--the whole book is dark and tragic. Be ready for a heavy heart after you've closed the back cover.

Illustration Friday: Pattern 3

This fall season, be cautious of sudden changes in wind patterns. Especially if you're a squirrel.

Raj Sneak Peak II

Here's another image from Raj The Bookstore Tiger! Mean ol' Snowball is informing Raj that he's not an ACTUAL tiger, but a mere kitty cat. Poor Raj.

Illustration Friday: Pattern 2

Pig and Cow talked late into the night while patterns of moon-cast shadows overlapped and blanketed the empty barn.

Another Raj Sketch

You can tell I adjusted the size of the kitties via Photoshop. Have I sung the praises of Photoshop enough on my blog? I think not.

Puddle

Character Sketch

Illustration Friday: Pattern

Bernice was very jealous of Margaret's patterned hat.

Courage Color Study Via Photoshop

Courage

This is my possible illustration Friday idea - for the theme pattern (or patterns--too lazy to double check). I'll see how it develops. I want to keep working on it tonight but am just way too tired! :-P

Raj in Progress

This yet another Raj spread, but unfinished. I LOVE painting closeups like this and spending hours on the details of the fur and face. Here I just established the basic colors. Over the next day or so I'll keep layering thin washes of paint until it has a nice, rich textured look.

Also I really love orangish yellows and greens together. Most of my work seems to have that color combo in one way or another.

Raj the Bookstore Tiger: Sneak Peak

I've been given permission by the kind folks at Charlesbridge to post a sample spread from the upcoming book "Raj the Bookstore Tiger" written by Kathleen T Pelley. Publishing date is set for Fall of 2010.

Click to enlarge! Lots of details to see.

*edit - added the bat to the cover of the Great Batsby!

Illustration Friday: Infinite

Strong

This was actually for illustration Friday, but I was so busy this week I didn't get it posted in time.

Vitamin D Deficiency

This past summer I began to grow more and more tired and under the weather. I thought perhaps it was my late hours, but the worse it got I realized it had to be something beyond that. I made an appointment for a checkup and got a load of blood tests. Surprisingly, they included a Vitamin D level test. I didn't think a thing of this until the nurse called several days later to inform me I had a severe Vitamin D deficiency. She added that a lot of people have this and don't know it - it's a new wide-spread issue, especially in people who stay inside and out of the sun a lot for their jobs (myself and fellow artists), work on the computer a great deal or play video games. I started a vitamin D supplement and am slowly getting my energy back. What a lucky find - I could have spent years searching for the cause of my fatigue. But thankfully my doctor keeps up with recent medical articles and findings.

Anyways, I thought I would post this for other artists who might be having the same issues and bring some more awareness to Vitamin D deficiency. Maybe even help someone else avoid wasting a season or even years being tired with no explanation. It's a quick and easy test and an even easier problem to treat.

Stay healthy :0)

Illustration Friday: Impatience

James was too impatient to wait for his 13th birthday--the day his parents promised to get him a brand new Yamaha drum set.

Since there has been some concern for kitty I thought I would include a sequel. Kitty later joins the band, becomes the lead singer/songwriter (a.k.a. Bono II) and creates a mega hit gold record.

There's a New Blog in Town: Planet Markix!

I have been a fan of Mark Hicks' art work for many years, and now he has started a blog for everyone's enjoyment! Check out his whimsical and charming ink and watercolor illustrations--welcome him to the blogging universe too if you have an extra moment :-D

Unwelcome Guest

Sketched this idea while waiting for an appointment.

Down at the Pond

Pig in the Garden

Illustration Friday 2: Idle

Detective Rhino Continued

I love you Photoshop...

Detective Rhino and his Partner Featherbrain

Illustration Friday: Idle

He won't be idle for long! This is one of those pictures where I just started drawing on a piece of watercolor paper and adding things as I went along. I don't know the story behind this, why the cat is there, or where this mouse lives, it's just an image I had in my mind. It was fun to draw that way, very unrestrictive.

In Color

Illustration Friday: Tango

If you can't make it out in the scan, there's a couple dancing the tango in the house window.

Antonio Revamped

This is Antonio in my watercolor/colored pencil style - a bit more rotund, more depth and shading.

Raj's Softer Side

I'm considering going back to my softer style for Raj as opposed to the pen and ink pieces earlier. I'll see what the Charlebridge folks think. One of the curses of having multiple styles I'm afraid..that constant worry of: did I choose the right one for the story?

Come to think of it, I might resketch some of my Antonio images in this style as well, just to make sure I'm going in the right direction for my dummy book.

And We're Off

First spread of the book...actually totally redone after spending three hours on another version and completely scrapping it after looking at it in the mirror. Those mirrors are the worst critics aren't they? They show you every mistake within seconds.

The lines are basically marks of where the text will be. I'll be adding the text later via Photoshop.

Dav Pilkey Book Dummies!

If you need some inspiration while you're working hard on your own book dummies, check out Dav Pilkey's site. He has posted the full mock-ups of some of his books along with stories about how he got them published! Great stuff from a great author/illustrator. Enjoy!

Dav Pilkey

My favorite posting is "Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving" because he struggled so hard to get that one published and finally found a publisher (the 26th one I think?) who had some sense! Look out how detailed it is - he almost didn't need to paint it in the end, it would have been great in black and white as well.

Who knows how long these treasures will stay online, but I intend to download each book onto my hard drive :-D

***Edit: another link added by the very talented Woody Miller. Thanks Woody!

Click Here

Antonio

This is my little side project: a character study for another story I've written. I've decided never to submit a manuscript without a full dummy/mock-up ever again. I dare say I think I lost out on getting one published because of not doing so. I should always present my work under the best light possible, don't you agree? Ah well, lesson learned.

It's 1am.... time to get some book dummy work done :-)

I'm not giving up!

Raj the Bookstore Tiger

I'm sorry I've been away for so long, I've had some "life" things come up that have been time consuming--some difficult and some (such as my recent book projects) very wonderful and enjoyable. Raj (star of the book: Raj the Bookstore Tiger, written by Kathleen T Pelley) has been keeping me company. Always purring and jumping in my lap, wanting attention. He's such a charming kitty I can't wait for everyone else to meet him. I'm now getting to my favorite part of the book-making process...the painting!!! It's where the magic really starts to happen. I created my wall of art, where I hang wires across the walls and hang the book art in order to see how it's all coming together. I then put up the two color pieces shown in the photo below, and while I was talking on the phone the wire came undone. Argh! Down came the two spot pieces! It was not far off the ground, but still, it startled me lol. I'll be using nails for the wire this time instead of tape! I'll also post photos of the wall as I progress through the book.

The bw ink drawing is unfinished - still need to add more books, and of course the watercolors after that!

The Quest for Inspiration

Edward Degas

Inspiration is a tricky little bugger. It plays hide and seek, arrives when you least expect it, and leaves without a trace.....sometimes for weeks at a time. If you think your job as an artist is just to paint, draw, and create then boy are you in for a surprise.

Many artists feel alone when they're uninspired. They wonder if others go through the same thing (yes we do) and wonder if other artist's slumps have lasted as long as their own (yes they have). But please take comfort in this fact: losing and gaining inspiration is part of being an artist. It is the ebb and flow of creativity; a natural swing of things that you will continually try to weather and work with.

It's careful balance. Don't push too hard when you're just not inspired, but also take responsibility and try to gain that inspiration back. Reading books about your favorite artists, visiting museums, going for a long walk on a beautiful day, whatever works for you. Sometimes the best thing to do is take a break from drawing and do something completely different for a while. That way you'll return to your desk feeling refreshed (of course don't do that sort of thing when you're on a tight deadline!).

The main point is this: don't let it get you down or scare you. It's just the wave pulling back from the sand for a bit. It always comes back. Believe me, I have to remind myself of that many many times.

My First Teddy Bear

My first attempt at 3d needle felting. He will look much happier when my niece Emma adopts him--she's visiting today :)

Illustration Friday Cracked II

Pig sat with his rear stuck tightly in the cannon and listened while the fuse sparkled and cracked. Suddenly there was a big KABOOOOOOOOOOM! He popped out like a buttery ball of dough. The crowd roared their approval.

Illustration Friday: Cracked

This elephant is a little cracked in the head.

Good Dog!

Off to School

I'm doing these recent paintings to practice and figure out which styles I want to do my books in. The book sketches are almost done so I'll have to make up my mind very soon!

I added some 'ink' digitally since my scanner isn't picking up the softer pencil outlines too well.

Illustration Friday 2: Contagious

Margaret came down with a cold, and has been banished to the lonely side of the lake so others won't catch it.

Illustration Friday: Contagious

Grumpiness can be contagious.

Wow It's a Cow Sketch 2

Here's another sketch from Wow it's a Cow. The squared off area is where the flap will be. I'll draw and paint another illustration so that when the flap is lifted, a bird is sitting on the branch instead of a cow. A really cute and funny idea, I've enjoyed working on this one.

Sketch from recent book: "Wow it's a Cow!"

Publishing date 2010
Scholastic

Talent Show 2

Another more detailed version of the "Talent Show" post.

Reading

Painted this for my Mom for Mother's Day :)

Illustration Friday: Parade

He watched the parade of cars circle around the track, their tiny lit windows sparkling like stars. "It's raining," said Bernard. "Shouldn't we head back?"

All That's Left To Paint is the Bear!

This is going to be my illustration Friday submission when it's done. I'll probably complete it by tonight.

Bad Review

A quote for those of us who have received a bad review or few..

"A critic is someone who never actually goes to the battle, yet who afterwards comes out shooting the wounded." -Tyne Daly

Things to Be Thankful for As An Illustrator

"This book was illustrated using..."

Don't you just love when they include this information in the copyright info of books you admire?? I'm only unhappy when they say 'mixed media'. Which media did you mix? More details please!

Train Set

Boy do I love drawing any kind of scene that involves rain!

I'm working on a story right now (not connected to the sketch above) that I'm so excited about, but it needs to be fully dummied out in book form before I can present it to an editor. It's one of those books where the illustrations tell a little over half of the story and the text alone just wouldn't do it justice. Of course the minute this happens all my other projects suddenly pile up (very fun projects so I can't complain about that)! I guess I'll have to weave a little bit here and there while I'm racing deadlines. A page after dinner, a page when I get up in the morning - eventually the dummy book will get done...right? Right?? :) We shall see.

Ho Hum...

Ever get that feeling that if you keep pushing through the jumble of drawings that just aren't exciting and inspiring to you, that you'll finally hit on something that reminds you of why you started in the first place? I'm seeing sparks of things, but I'm not quite where I want to be.

Outside of the projects I'm hired to do, I've been working hard on my own, struggling to find some sort of solid voice that is mine. I guess I'll keep plugging away. My thought is that if I can narrow down my work to one or two styles, then I can get so comfortable with that style I'll only have to worry about the emotion and content in a drawing instead of all my energy going into the execution/draftsmanship of a drawing. If I could get it down to where it turns into pure poetry with even the simplest of spot illustrations, I would be a very happy artist. Now if I could just get my mind to agree instead of flitting all over the place. Ha.

Yet another library fee that sucked the wind out of my lungs, recently--ouch. I'm going to put a giant piece of paper in my studio with current library book due dates written in thick red marker. I'm all for contributing to the Library system but my goodness.

The Talent Show

Hippo Tales

Dad's Boots

A hierarchy of shoes (for illustration Friday : Hierarchy).  I know it's a stretch lol.