*Whew!*
Send good wishes that it all goes smoothly! (No tech glitches, no running over time, food and books show up on time, etc.!)
2012 SCBWI Southern Breeze Illustrators' Day
*Whew!*
Send good wishes that it all goes smoothly! (No tech glitches, no running over time, food and books show up on time, etc.!)
Michael Allen Austin's TEN RULES and COWPOKE CLYDE
Our 2012 Illustrators' Day is chocked full of amazing talent. Many of you know this first hand if you've been working with Michael Allen Austin on the mentorship project (open to the first 12 registrants).
He'll also be speaking on a panel and helping critique portfolios during our portfolio review this year.
Michael's latest book is called 10 RULES YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST NOT BREAK IF YOU WANT TO SURVIVE THE SCHOOL BUS written by John Grandits. You may recall seeing some illustrations from it at our 2012 Gallery Show. His forthcoming picture book is called COWPOKE CLYDE AND DIRTY DAWG written by Lori Mortensen (can't wait to see this one). Of course, you're probably already familiar with RAILROAD JOHN RED ROCK RUN written by Tony Crunk and MARTINA THE BEAUTIFUL COCKROACH written by Carmen Agra Deedy.
Michael is an incredibly knowledgeable and generous guy and we're lucky to have him in our Southern Breeze region.
And the Winner is...
The winner of the signed copy of ROCK'N'ROLL DOGS from the drawing under the interview with illustrator Chuck Galey is... (drum roll please)... Bonnie H.! I've emailed them both and Bonnie will be getting her signed copy soon.Meanwhile, go check out the rest of the blog tour of speakers for our upcoming SCBWI WIK conference in Birmingham, Alabama:
Aug. 15 Sharon Pegram at Writers and Wannabes
Aug. 16 Sarah Campbell at Alison Hertz’s blog, On My Mind
Aug. 17 F.T. Bradley at Laura Golden’s blog
Aug. 20 Chuck Galey at Elizabeth Dulemba’s blog
Aug. 21 Jo Kittinger at Bonnie Herold’s blog, Tenacious Teller of Tales
Aug. 22 Irene Latham at Robyn Hood Black’s blog, Read, Write, Howl
Aug. 23 Vicky Alvear Shecter at S.R. Johannes’ blog
Aug. 24 Doraine Bennett at Cathy Hall’s blog
Aug. 27 Virginia Butler at Bonnie Herold’s blog, Tenacious Teller of Tales
Aug. 28 Jodi Wheeler-Toppen at Diane Sherrouse’s blog, The Reading Road
Aug. 29 Ellen Ruffin at Sarah Frances Hardy’s blog, Picture This
Aug. 30 Donna Jo Napoli at Writers and Wannabes
R. Gregory Christie's IT JES' HAPPENED
I had the pleasure of meeting R. Gregory Christie when Don Tate came in town to celebrate his first book as author (he's usually the illustrator): IT JES' HAPPENED: WHEN BILL TRAYLOR STARTED TO DRAW. There was a Bill Traylor exhibit at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and Don and 'Greg' were doing a book signing. We all had dinner the night before and I have to say, I flipped over Greg.
Not only is he a great guy - he's the real deal - an artist to the core. And I hope all those attending our 2012 Illustrators' Day will get a peek at that when he talks on August 31st at our DeKalb Library.We're so lucky that he's moved to Atlanta and is trying to make a difference in our community with his bookstore Gas-Arts in the North DeKalb Mall. Not only does he sell only signed books there, he hopes to turn it into a creative hub for the Atlanta art community.
Check back this week as I give a shout-out to all of our ILlustrators' Day speakers!
Coloring Page Tuesdays - Garden Girl
Sign up to receive alerts when a new coloring page is posted each week and/or click here to view more coloring pages!
I don't know about where you live, but here, the peaches have lost their sweetness and the tomatoes have given their best. But the figs are coming in and at the farmers market, the produce is turning more towards leafy greens, peppers, and eggplant. The season is changing, the diet too. So here's a garden girl reaping the rewards - a tribute to gardens everywhere.
For Back To School images CLICK HERE.
Click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. Post it to a blog, then share it in my GALLERY!
Click here to view the entire Coloring Page Tuesday collection.
Learn about proper parenting language and the power of choice in, Ready for Bed! , Ready for the Day!, and Ready to Play! - click the covers!
I don't know about where you live, but here, the peaches have lost their sweetness and the tomatoes have given their best. But the figs are coming in and at the farmers market, the produce is turning more towards leafy greens, peppers, and eggplant. The season is changing, the diet too. So here's a garden girl reaping the rewards - a tribute to gardens everywhere.For Back To School images CLICK HERE.
Click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. Post it to a blog, then share it in my GALLERY!
Click here to view the entire Coloring Page Tuesday collection.
Learn about proper parenting language and the power of choice in, Ready for Bed! , Ready for the Day!, and Ready to Play! - click the covers!
My studio - Video Studio Tour
Welcome to the very first Southern Breeze Studio Video Tour for SCBWI Southern Breeze. A peek into MY office - Elizabeth O. Dulemba (Southern Breeze Illustrator Coordinator).
We hope to do these regularly to give you a peek into how some of our Illustrator members work. Mine is the guinea pig tour. So have a look and leave some feedback in the comments - here or at its home on the Southern Breeze Illustrators' Corner blog. Please let us know - is it too long, too short, what else would you have liked to see?
Next month's tour will be in children's book author/illustrator Sarah Frances Hardy's studio (Southern Breeze Assistant Illustrator Coordinator West). So subscribe to the Southern Breeze Illustrators' Corner blog to be alerted!
P.S. - The Little Free Library showcased in the video is now on auction to raise money for the Decatur Book Festival!
We hope to do these regularly to give you a peek into how some of our Illustrator members work. Mine is the guinea pig tour. So have a look and leave some feedback in the comments - here or at its home on the Southern Breeze Illustrators' Corner blog. Please let us know - is it too long, too short, what else would you have liked to see?
Next month's tour will be in children's book author/illustrator Sarah Frances Hardy's studio (Southern Breeze Assistant Illustrator Coordinator West). So subscribe to the Southern Breeze Illustrators' Corner blog to be alerted!
P.S. - The Little Free Library showcased in the video is now on auction to raise money for the Decatur Book Festival!
Mind Bend of the Day
From Daily Dawdle... An M.C. Escher mind blast. I dare you to look away, I just dare you...
if the image doesn't show up, click the words Daily Dawdle to go see.
if the image doesn't show up, click the words Daily Dawdle to go see.
Peter Brown's CREEPY CARROTS!
I'm thrilled to share that Peter Brown will be one of our speakers at this year's SCBWI Southern Breeze Illustrators' Day. I've been a fan since CHOWDER, although FLIGHT OF THE DODO was even before that. Then followed the brilliant YOU WILL BE MY FRIEND, THE CURIOUS GARDEN, and CHILDREN MAKE TERRIBLE PETS. His latest release is called CREEPY CARROTS.
If you live in the Southeast United States and would like more information on Illustrators' Day to come see Peter - CLICK HERE.
Wait, there's more! Check out this awesome video on the making of CREEPY CARROTS!
The Creepy Carrots Zone from Peter Brown on Vimeo.
Writing Tips from Famous Authors
Here is some fantastic advice from 26 famous authors, like this famous line from Ernest Hemingway: "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."
CLICK HERE to see the rest of them - worth your time!
Thanks to Daily Dawdle for the heads up.
CLICK HERE to see the rest of them - worth your time!
Thanks to Daily Dawdle for the heads up.
SLJ's & Fuse #8's Top 100 Picture Books
Librarian Betsy Bird of Fuse #8 and School Library Journal have gathered two amazing lists for you. The 100 Top Picture Books of all time and the 100 Top Children's Novels of all time. They're great lists, and have several newer titles along with many classics you'll recognize.
Click the logos to fill out the forms and download your very own gorgeous PDFs.
Thanks to SLJ for the heads up!
Coloring Page Tuesday - Violin Bear
Sign up to receive alerts when a new coloring page is posted each week and/or click here to view more coloring pages!
With school back in session, are any of you taking music lessons? I played piano for ten year (okay) and violin for one (blessing to the music world that I stopped). I also play a little guitar. Art won out in the end, but I'm so glad I had all that music in my life!!
For more back to school images CLICK HERE.
Click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. Post it to a blog, then share it in my GALLERY!
Click here to view the entire Coloring Page Tuesday collection.
Learn about proper parenting language and the power of choice in, Ready for Bed! , Ready for the Day!, and Ready to Play! - click the covers!
For more back to school images CLICK HERE.
Click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. Post it to a blog, then share it in my GALLERY!
Click here to view the entire Coloring Page Tuesday collection.
Learn about proper parenting language and the power of choice in, Ready for Bed! , Ready for the Day!, and Ready to Play! - click the covers!
Chuck Galey interview to celebrate wik - GIVEAWAY!
To get the word out about our 2012 SCBWI Southern Breeze Fall Conference in Birmingham, Alabama (USA), several bloggers are interviewing the faculty members. It's a great way to get to know the speakers and learn more about whose sessions you don't want to miss. But even better, it's a great way for me to share an awesome illustrator with you - Chuck Galey! I asked him some questions about his career:
Q. You've been in the children's book business for 20 years now. What was your path in?
A. I completed my college degree in what we called commercial art back in 1978 and had been an advertising art director for several years when the agency I worked for lost a very large account. I was laid off in 1985 and began my own studio of illustration, continuing working freelance for several ad agencies.
When my wife and I had a son, Sean, we began to read to him the wonderful picture books that came into our lives as gifts from friends. At the time, I was somewhat burned out of illustrating for advertising and was overwhelmed with envy for the beautiful stories and illustrations in those picture books.
I remember making a conscious decision to pursue children's publishing in a journal entry in June of 1991. I learned as much as I could about the business and began to prepare new illustration samples for my portfolio to reflect more of a narrative image than an advertising image.
The University of Southern Mississippi holds an annual Children's Book Festival on the USM campus. National and regional illustrators are invited to come speak to an audience of mainly regional school and public librarians. I attended those conferences every year just to let the imagery and the stories wash over me.
I met well known writers and illustrators who were kind enough to answer my beginner's questions. Many editors and publishers would escort their keynote speakers. Of course, I made it a point to meet them as well... and get their contact information!
I cut my teeth on book conferences at that festival and to this day, I hold the USM Children's Book Festival (now called the Faye B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival) as a standard by which I regard all other book festivals when I'm invited to speak.
The American Library Association has their national conference in New Orleans every few years. The ALA convention primarily targets elementary school librarians and the focus is on children's publishing. I traveled there in 1993 to try to find a way on to the exhibit floor where all the big publishers have their illustrators and authors come and sign books at their booths. Of course, I took my illustration samples and tear sheets to show the editors and art directors there my work.
Pretty soon, I began to receive assignments from some of the publishers that I met there and from other publishers where I had sent sample packages. Many of the publishers were from the children's education market that required interior line drawings. These are great clients to have because it means that you can become a regular illustrator for them as the publishers are always having new projects to work on.
The picture book projects came as a direct result of hearing about a particular project with a publisher from a friend. I quickly drew up some sample character sketches and was chosen as the illustrator for Jazz Cats by David Davis.
Once you do a good job for a publisher, they're likely to come back to you for other projects. This is what happened with me.
Over the years, I've illustrated 10 picture books, nine written by other authors and one that I've written. I'm now developing projects where I am the author/illustrator.
Q. What's been your favorite part about creating picture books?
A. My favorite part of working in picture books as an art form is in endeavoring to capture the suspension of time and kindling the imagination of a child. To a child, the world is a big place where magic and fantasy are around every corner. The innocence of Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and the adventure of Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak inspire me to reach beyond my everyday dull life and fly on the wings of the imagination. To float in that very wonderful elevation of consciousness, that level of awareness that permeates the fantastic, that is where I want to write my stories and illustrate worlds where characters live.
This is the world of the child. Where characters can do and be anything on a whim. The child will grow up soon enough. Better the child builds a foundation of the imagination to carry him through life.
This is my favorite part about creating picture books.
Q. What's been your least favorite part?
A. The most challenging part of working with picture books is the notion that I have to fall back to earth and produce the imagery and narrative that I've dreamed up, and, to some extent, failed.
Q. Can you describe your process?
A. I write the story first. The pictures do not come into play at this point because I have to get the story down pat. The characters and plot can only be laid out in the written word. As an illustrator, of course, I know that I don't have to describe the scene or what a character looks like because I will be able to draw the character. I'll be able to paint the scene, too. So, all that descriptive text need not be written.
When I'm finished with the manuscript, I begin building a dummy with the words in it... no pictures yet. I want to understand the pacing of the book, where does this text go within the book, where does that phrase go, etc. You'll be surprised how a manuscript doesn't make sense sometimes when you paginate the text and you see that the pacing and timing is not well done.
I may make a few written notes to describe what a possible scene may be in this copy of the initial dummy. These notes sometimes work, sometimes not. It's always a work in progress.
When I feel comfortable about the first initial dummy and the pacing of the book, I'll begin to work with the individual spreads and draw ten thumbnail sketches for each spread. I do this many thumbnail sketches because I want to have as many choices to work with for each spread as possible. It's kind of like a movie director filming ten takes of the actors so that he can decide which take will work the best within the movie.
I must add here that these thumbnail sketches are the hardest part of the book. I have to create interesting scenes and design the characters with their expressions and emotions. In my opinion, these sketches are where the magic of creativity takes place. Once I've done all my sketches and I've chosen which one I want to use, the remainder of the production is pretty much a matter of time because I'll then be able to finalize each spread and paint it accordingly within my particular painting style. From here to the finish, the creative part of the book is pretty much finished. The painting is what I consider a production matter.
Just to spice things up (I'm always editing) as I'm drawing out the illustration onto the watercolor paper, I may have an additional idea to the drawing, not changing the over all design, but just plussing the design... making it better and better. I love adding new thing into the illustration that the child will find after the seventh time they've read the book!
I've included several pictures that show the progress of the painting from thumbnail to printed book. Take a look at the sequence (from ROCK N' ROLL DOGS) -
Q. Is your studio your haven? What makes it a place where you can create?
A. This is a great question because my studio is not my haven. I like to spend time, sitting in my living room in an easy chair. The room is open, neatly appointed and airy with a large picture window that faces east. The morning sun streams through this window with its yellow rays and bathes the opposite wall in a glow of golden morning potential.
In this big easy chair, I sit and read and dream. There is a table nearby where I can write longhand on a legal pad or draw in my sketchbook. This open area is a perfect place where my mind is not distracted by the clutter and work of the studio.
However, once I do get in the studio, the production begins and I'm happy to spend a lot of time there as well. For me, production of the illustrations is bit like producing a movie. I have cast (designed and drawn) the characters, created (painted) the scenes and written the script. Now I have to film the movie in fourteen spreads, create the movie poster (cover) and film the opening scenes; end papers, half title page and full title page.
Q. I notice a lot of purple in your artwork. Would you say that's one of your signature style colors? What would be your personal color palette? (What two or three colors tend to help define your style?)
A. I like to work with colors and their complements in order to let them work with each other to brighten or dull a painting depending on what the tone of the story calls for. In those terms, I consider myself a colorist.
As far as the purple goes, a few years ago, when I was illustrating Jazz Cats (Pelican Publishing), by David Davis, I took a trip to New Orleans to take pictures in the French Market. The story takes place in New Orleans, so I wanted to be as authentic as possible.
I traveled to New Orleans In July of that year and it was really hot! I spent a full day taking all kinds of pictures around the French Quarter, Jackson Square, etc.
When I got back home in the studio, I wanted to capture the heat in my paintings, so I used a lot of orange and yellow to make the scenes look warm. The complement to an orangy-yellow is purple. In the triad complementary scheme, the third color would be green. So that would be the pallet for Jazz Cats, purple, orange and green.
Years later, when I was doing a presentation at LSU's College of Library Science, one of the librarians asked how I came up with that color scheme. I described the trip to New Orleans. She said that those were Mardi Gras colors! I hadn't thought of that at all!
It is a great example of when an artist surrounds himself with influential colors and culture, something is bound to seep through the creative process to enrich the painting. I feel that is what happened with my trip to New Orleans and the subsequent illustrations for Jazz Cats.
I used this color pallet for several books after that, but over the past few years, I've been branching out a bit and designing colors around the mood and pace of the story. Again, it's like shooting a scene in a movie and how everything you see on the screen, the scenery's objects, the lighting, the movement, is there only to drive the story along. Everything is there for a reason.
Q. What have you got going on now? Anything you'd like to share?
A.
Jo Kittinger wrote A Breath of Hope (American Bar Association Publishing) and I illustrated it last year. It was published in July and has been well received. We've been asked to work on a similar project for ABA Publishing. As I'm writing this blog in August, 2012, I'm waiting to see the manuscript for the next book.
The book I'm currently working on, a manuscript that I wrote, is called Five Second Rule. All I can say about it now is that it involves food on the floor, a petulant child... and bugs. Here is a sketch-
Thank you for sharing, Chuck!
Chuck Galey will be leading a session on "Special Projects: When to say yes to non-traditional publishing project proposals" at the 2012 Writing and Illustrating for Kids Conference (wik12), Oct. 20 in Birmingham, AL. This annual fall conference of SCBWI Southern Breeze (covering Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi) is a great place to study the craft, meet industry professionals, and network with the most supportive bunch of colleagues you could ever hope to meet. To learn more, visit www.southern-breeze.net.
GIVEAWAY! Chuck will give a signed copy of ROCK'N'ROLL DOGS to one of my commenters. Be sure to add your email addy to your comment so I can find you. Must live in the continental US to win. The random drawing will be held on Wednesday, August 29th.
Meet more of the wik12 faculty by following their blog tour!
Aug. 15 Sharon Pegram at Writers and Wannabes
Aug. 16 Sarah Campbell at Alison Hertz’s blog, On My Mind
Aug. 17 F.T. Bradley at Laura Golden’s blog
Aug. 20 Chuck Galey at Elizabeth Dulemba’s blog
Aug. 21 Jo Kittinger at Bonnie Herold’s blog, Tenacious Teller of Tales
Aug. 22 Irene Latham at Robyn Hood Black’s blog, Read, Write, Howl
Aug. 23 Vicky Alvear Shecter at S.R. Johannes’ blog
Aug. 24 Doraine Bennett at Cathy Hall’s blog
Aug. 27 Virginia Butler at Bonnie Herold’s blog, Tenacious Teller of Tales
Aug. 28 Jodi Wheeler-Toppen at Diane Sherrouse’s blog, The Reading Road
Aug. 29 Ellen Ruffin at Sarah Frances Hardy’s blog, Picture This
Aug. 30 Donna Jo Napoli at Writers and Wannabes
Q. You've been in the children's book business for 20 years now. What was your path in?
A. I completed my college degree in what we called commercial art back in 1978 and had been an advertising art director for several years when the agency I worked for lost a very large account. I was laid off in 1985 and began my own studio of illustration, continuing working freelance for several ad agencies.
When my wife and I had a son, Sean, we began to read to him the wonderful picture books that came into our lives as gifts from friends. At the time, I was somewhat burned out of illustrating for advertising and was overwhelmed with envy for the beautiful stories and illustrations in those picture books.
I remember making a conscious decision to pursue children's publishing in a journal entry in June of 1991. I learned as much as I could about the business and began to prepare new illustration samples for my portfolio to reflect more of a narrative image than an advertising image.
The University of Southern Mississippi holds an annual Children's Book Festival on the USM campus. National and regional illustrators are invited to come speak to an audience of mainly regional school and public librarians. I attended those conferences every year just to let the imagery and the stories wash over me.
I met well known writers and illustrators who were kind enough to answer my beginner's questions. Many editors and publishers would escort their keynote speakers. Of course, I made it a point to meet them as well... and get their contact information!
I cut my teeth on book conferences at that festival and to this day, I hold the USM Children's Book Festival (now called the Faye B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival) as a standard by which I regard all other book festivals when I'm invited to speak.
The American Library Association has their national conference in New Orleans every few years. The ALA convention primarily targets elementary school librarians and the focus is on children's publishing. I traveled there in 1993 to try to find a way on to the exhibit floor where all the big publishers have their illustrators and authors come and sign books at their booths. Of course, I took my illustration samples and tear sheets to show the editors and art directors there my work.
Pretty soon, I began to receive assignments from some of the publishers that I met there and from other publishers where I had sent sample packages. Many of the publishers were from the children's education market that required interior line drawings. These are great clients to have because it means that you can become a regular illustrator for them as the publishers are always having new projects to work on.
The picture book projects came as a direct result of hearing about a particular project with a publisher from a friend. I quickly drew up some sample character sketches and was chosen as the illustrator for Jazz Cats by David Davis.
Once you do a good job for a publisher, they're likely to come back to you for other projects. This is what happened with me.
Over the years, I've illustrated 10 picture books, nine written by other authors and one that I've written. I'm now developing projects where I am the author/illustrator.
Q. What's been your favorite part about creating picture books?
A. My favorite part of working in picture books as an art form is in endeavoring to capture the suspension of time and kindling the imagination of a child. To a child, the world is a big place where magic and fantasy are around every corner. The innocence of Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and the adventure of Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak inspire me to reach beyond my everyday dull life and fly on the wings of the imagination. To float in that very wonderful elevation of consciousness, that level of awareness that permeates the fantastic, that is where I want to write my stories and illustrate worlds where characters live.
This is the world of the child. Where characters can do and be anything on a whim. The child will grow up soon enough. Better the child builds a foundation of the imagination to carry him through life.
This is my favorite part about creating picture books.
Q. What's been your least favorite part?
A. The most challenging part of working with picture books is the notion that I have to fall back to earth and produce the imagery and narrative that I've dreamed up, and, to some extent, failed.
Q. Can you describe your process?
A. I write the story first. The pictures do not come into play at this point because I have to get the story down pat. The characters and plot can only be laid out in the written word. As an illustrator, of course, I know that I don't have to describe the scene or what a character looks like because I will be able to draw the character. I'll be able to paint the scene, too. So, all that descriptive text need not be written.
When I'm finished with the manuscript, I begin building a dummy with the words in it... no pictures yet. I want to understand the pacing of the book, where does this text go within the book, where does that phrase go, etc. You'll be surprised how a manuscript doesn't make sense sometimes when you paginate the text and you see that the pacing and timing is not well done.
I may make a few written notes to describe what a possible scene may be in this copy of the initial dummy. These notes sometimes work, sometimes not. It's always a work in progress.
When I feel comfortable about the first initial dummy and the pacing of the book, I'll begin to work with the individual spreads and draw ten thumbnail sketches for each spread. I do this many thumbnail sketches because I want to have as many choices to work with for each spread as possible. It's kind of like a movie director filming ten takes of the actors so that he can decide which take will work the best within the movie.
I must add here that these thumbnail sketches are the hardest part of the book. I have to create interesting scenes and design the characters with their expressions and emotions. In my opinion, these sketches are where the magic of creativity takes place. Once I've done all my sketches and I've chosen which one I want to use, the remainder of the production is pretty much a matter of time because I'll then be able to finalize each spread and paint it accordingly within my particular painting style. From here to the finish, the creative part of the book is pretty much finished. The painting is what I consider a production matter.
Just to spice things up (I'm always editing) as I'm drawing out the illustration onto the watercolor paper, I may have an additional idea to the drawing, not changing the over all design, but just plussing the design... making it better and better. I love adding new thing into the illustration that the child will find after the seventh time they've read the book!
I've included several pictures that show the progress of the painting from thumbnail to printed book. Take a look at the sequence (from ROCK N' ROLL DOGS) -
Q. Is your studio your haven? What makes it a place where you can create?
A. This is a great question because my studio is not my haven. I like to spend time, sitting in my living room in an easy chair. The room is open, neatly appointed and airy with a large picture window that faces east. The morning sun streams through this window with its yellow rays and bathes the opposite wall in a glow of golden morning potential.
In this big easy chair, I sit and read and dream. There is a table nearby where I can write longhand on a legal pad or draw in my sketchbook. This open area is a perfect place where my mind is not distracted by the clutter and work of the studio.
However, once I do get in the studio, the production begins and I'm happy to spend a lot of time there as well. For me, production of the illustrations is bit like producing a movie. I have cast (designed and drawn) the characters, created (painted) the scenes and written the script. Now I have to film the movie in fourteen spreads, create the movie poster (cover) and film the opening scenes; end papers, half title page and full title page.
Q. I notice a lot of purple in your artwork. Would you say that's one of your signature style colors? What would be your personal color palette? (What two or three colors tend to help define your style?)A. I like to work with colors and their complements in order to let them work with each other to brighten or dull a painting depending on what the tone of the story calls for. In those terms, I consider myself a colorist.
As far as the purple goes, a few years ago, when I was illustrating Jazz Cats (Pelican Publishing), by David Davis, I took a trip to New Orleans to take pictures in the French Market. The story takes place in New Orleans, so I wanted to be as authentic as possible.
I traveled to New Orleans In July of that year and it was really hot! I spent a full day taking all kinds of pictures around the French Quarter, Jackson Square, etc.
When I got back home in the studio, I wanted to capture the heat in my paintings, so I used a lot of orange and yellow to make the scenes look warm. The complement to an orangy-yellow is purple. In the triad complementary scheme, the third color would be green. So that would be the pallet for Jazz Cats, purple, orange and green.
Years later, when I was doing a presentation at LSU's College of Library Science, one of the librarians asked how I came up with that color scheme. I described the trip to New Orleans. She said that those were Mardi Gras colors! I hadn't thought of that at all!
It is a great example of when an artist surrounds himself with influential colors and culture, something is bound to seep through the creative process to enrich the painting. I feel that is what happened with my trip to New Orleans and the subsequent illustrations for Jazz Cats.
I used this color pallet for several books after that, but over the past few years, I've been branching out a bit and designing colors around the mood and pace of the story. Again, it's like shooting a scene in a movie and how everything you see on the screen, the scenery's objects, the lighting, the movement, is there only to drive the story along. Everything is there for a reason.
Q. What have you got going on now? Anything you'd like to share?
A.
Jo Kittinger wrote A Breath of Hope (American Bar Association Publishing) and I illustrated it last year. It was published in July and has been well received. We've been asked to work on a similar project for ABA Publishing. As I'm writing this blog in August, 2012, I'm waiting to see the manuscript for the next book.
The book I'm currently working on, a manuscript that I wrote, is called Five Second Rule. All I can say about it now is that it involves food on the floor, a petulant child... and bugs. Here is a sketch-
Thank you for sharing, Chuck!
Chuck Galey will be leading a session on "Special Projects: When to say yes to non-traditional publishing project proposals" at the 2012 Writing and Illustrating for Kids Conference (wik12), Oct. 20 in Birmingham, AL. This annual fall conference of SCBWI Southern Breeze (covering Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi) is a great place to study the craft, meet industry professionals, and network with the most supportive bunch of colleagues you could ever hope to meet. To learn more, visit www.southern-breeze.net.
GIVEAWAY! Chuck will give a signed copy of ROCK'N'ROLL DOGS to one of my commenters. Be sure to add your email addy to your comment so I can find you. Must live in the continental US to win. The random drawing will be held on Wednesday, August 29th.
Meet more of the wik12 faculty by following their blog tour!
Aug. 15 Sharon Pegram at Writers and Wannabes
Aug. 16 Sarah Campbell at Alison Hertz’s blog, On My Mind
Aug. 17 F.T. Bradley at Laura Golden’s blog
Aug. 20 Chuck Galey at Elizabeth Dulemba’s blog
Aug. 21 Jo Kittinger at Bonnie Herold’s blog, Tenacious Teller of Tales
Aug. 22 Irene Latham at Robyn Hood Black’s blog, Read, Write, Howl
Aug. 23 Vicky Alvear Shecter at S.R. Johannes’ blog
Aug. 24 Doraine Bennett at Cathy Hall’s blog
Aug. 27 Virginia Butler at Bonnie Herold’s blog, Tenacious Teller of Tales
Aug. 28 Jodi Wheeler-Toppen at Diane Sherrouse’s blog, The Reading Road
Aug. 29 Ellen Ruffin at Sarah Frances Hardy’s blog, Picture This
Aug. 30 Donna Jo Napoli at Writers and Wannabes
ParaNorman | This Little Light
This is an amazing video of the creation of one small prop for the upcoming movie PARANORMAN. Truly awesome!
Water Light Graffiti
It's an LED illuminated surface, triggered by water, and the results are VERY cool:
The project is by Antonin Fourneau.
Thanks to Daily Dawdle for the lights up!
The project is by Antonin Fourneau.
Thanks to Daily Dawdle for the lights up!
The LEGO® Story
This animated video is 20 minutes long, but really quite interesting. And it certainly conveys what many of us go through as children's book creators - never give up. Create the best you can create, and always keep the audience number one.
Thanks to Prescott Hill for the heads up!
Thanks to Prescott Hill for the heads up!
Lula's Brew Selfie!
Squeeeeeee!!!!! This is me with my shiny new picture book, LULA'S BREW! Click here to learn more about it!
Little Free Library Auction is LIVE!
Remember I told you about the Little Free Library I painted to help raise money for the Decatur Book Festival? Well, mine and several others are now available for bidding! My library is listed at $1,000 estimated value with opening bids beginning at $500. Woosie!
CLICK HERE to see them all.
CLICK HERE to see them all.
Coloring Page Tuesday - Science Bear!
Sign up to receive alerts when a new coloring page is posted each week and/or click here to view more coloring pages!
It's back-to-school time! The busses are rolling in my part of the world. That means new things to study, like science...
This image was requested by Lindsey, Children's Librarian in the London Borough of Sutton, for their summer reading challenge "Storylab." With the Olympic fever, I'm only just now able to share it with all of you. (She received it a little early.) I hope you enjoy this fuzzy scientist!
Look for more Back-To-School images in the upcoming weeks! Can't wait? CLICK HERE.
Click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. Post it to a blog, then share it in my GALLERY!
Click here to view the entire Coloring Page Tuesday collection.
Learn about proper parenting language and the power of choice in, Ready for Bed! , Ready for the Day!, and Ready to Play! - click the covers!
This image was requested by Lindsey, Children's Librarian in the London Borough of Sutton, for their summer reading challenge "Storylab." With the Olympic fever, I'm only just now able to share it with all of you. (She received it a little early.) I hope you enjoy this fuzzy scientist!
Look for more Back-To-School images in the upcoming weeks! Can't wait? CLICK HERE.
Click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. Post it to a blog, then share it in my GALLERY!
Click here to view the entire Coloring Page Tuesday collection.
Learn about proper parenting language and the power of choice in, Ready for Bed! , Ready for the Day!, and Ready to Play! - click the covers!
The World's Top Earning Authors
Just remember, for all these names you've heard of who are making the big bucks - there are tens of thousands of authors out there who can't even imagine quitting their day job - like these 6 Authors Who Never Quit Their Day Jobs. Still, it's interesting, and I love that several of them are considered children's book authors: THE WORLD'S TOP-EARNING AUTHORS.
Rules for Wandering
I like this RULES FOR WANDERING by Bekka Palmer. My hubbie and I call it bimbling. We drive around looking at houses, or fields, or trees, having lunch at out of the way places that don't rush you. Since my office is in my house, sometimes our bimbles are the only way for me to escape. They are vital to our continued good mental health (ha!). I especially like the first rule:
Thanks to SwissMiss for the heads up.
No. 0: No maps or navigation devices allowed.Go CHECK THEM OUT!
Thanks to SwissMiss for the heads up.
Chip Kidd on Designing Books - TED
A great book cover can make a book. A REALLY great book cover can become the icon of an era. Chip Kidd has designed a few of those...
Thanks to the SCBWI Blog for the heads up!
Thanks to the SCBWI Blog for the heads up!
Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity
I may have shared this TED talk before, but it bears repeating:
Coloring Page Tuesday - Olympic Bear!
Sign up to receive alerts when a new coloring page is posted each week and/or click here to view more coloring pages!
It's been a fantastic Olympics, celebrating the prowess of mankind and our indomitable spirits. The competitions come to an end this Sunday, so here is a Gold Medal winning bear for you to color. Did your favorites win?
And look for Back-To-School images coming soon! Can't wait? CLICK HERE.
Click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. Post it to a blog, then share it in my GALLERY!
Click here to view the entire Coloring Page Tuesday collection.
Learn about proper parenting language and the power of choice in, Ready for Bed! , Ready for the Day!, and Ready to Play! - click the covers!
And look for Back-To-School images coming soon! Can't wait? CLICK HERE.
Click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. Post it to a blog, then share it in my GALLERY!
Click here to view the entire Coloring Page Tuesday collection.
Learn about proper parenting language and the power of choice in, Ready for Bed! , Ready for the Day!, and Ready to Play! - click the covers!
I'm inspired
Remember I told you about my Little Free Library? One of the reasons I wanted to take it on is I wanted to paint again. Since I work digitally and write on my computer, most of my creativity has been restrained to this desk of late. I hoped doing the Little Library would shake me out of that rut, and it worked!
When author/illustrator Katie Davis came in town a day early for a conference to go play, we headed to Wild Oats & Billy Goats. It's this ADORABLE gallery in downtown Decatur, Georgia, chocked full of folk art.
Quick note: This may sound strange, but I usually hate going to galleries. Most people walk in and go WOW. I walk in and go "Why didn't I think of that?.." or "I could make that..." or "That gives me an idea..." Galleries end up being very frustrating places for me. But this one is something special. This one I walk into, and not only do I buy a lot of artwork, I get inspired to contribute to the collection.
Katie struck gold there for all her holiday shopping and while she was purchasing, I talked to the manager. How do they handle framing, what's their commission, etc, etc. I walked out with a newfound resolve to create some art with their gallery in mind.
So this past weekend, I hit Home Depot and Michaels for supplies and I went a little nuts. Here's our dining room table right now:
How long do you think hubbie will let me keep it this way? Hmmm? I hope as long as it takes me to figure out these danged peaches I want to paint. So far, so... well, not great.
But the sculpy!!! OH, I had FUN with the sculpy!!!
My whole life I've made these weird little trolls whenever I get near sculpting media. This time was no different. I haven't painted them yet, but here they are so far...
What do you think, do you like them?
Stan asked, "Why do you keep making them picking their noses?"
"Because trolls are gross and that's what they do," I say.
I don't know why I get tickled over these little dudes. But now I'm thinking pandas and mermaids... I need to go buy more sculpy. Mostly because I'm going to have to make a whole slew of these things before I get close to being able to part with them! And how many should be Christmas gifts first?
Meanwhile - I'm having a blast!
When author/illustrator Katie Davis came in town a day early for a conference to go play, we headed to Wild Oats & Billy Goats. It's this ADORABLE gallery in downtown Decatur, Georgia, chocked full of folk art.
Quick note: This may sound strange, but I usually hate going to galleries. Most people walk in and go WOW. I walk in and go "Why didn't I think of that?.." or "I could make that..." or "That gives me an idea..." Galleries end up being very frustrating places for me. But this one is something special. This one I walk into, and not only do I buy a lot of artwork, I get inspired to contribute to the collection.
Katie struck gold there for all her holiday shopping and while she was purchasing, I talked to the manager. How do they handle framing, what's their commission, etc, etc. I walked out with a newfound resolve to create some art with their gallery in mind.
So this past weekend, I hit Home Depot and Michaels for supplies and I went a little nuts. Here's our dining room table right now:
How long do you think hubbie will let me keep it this way? Hmmm? I hope as long as it takes me to figure out these danged peaches I want to paint. So far, so... well, not great.
But the sculpy!!! OH, I had FUN with the sculpy!!!
My whole life I've made these weird little trolls whenever I get near sculpting media. This time was no different. I haven't painted them yet, but here they are so far...
What do you think, do you like them?
Stan asked, "Why do you keep making them picking their noses?"
"Because trolls are gross and that's what they do," I say.
I don't know why I get tickled over these little dudes. But now I'm thinking pandas and mermaids... I need to go buy more sculpy. Mostly because I'm going to have to make a whole slew of these things before I get close to being able to part with them! And how many should be Christmas gifts first?
Meanwhile - I'm having a blast!
Walt Disney's The Old Mill (1937)
Nowadays, we take for granted that animation can be almost lifelike - but it all had to start somewhere. While making Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Walt had his animators push themselves on this short - The Old Mill. He wanted to see how far they could go with lighting, color and realism to exemplify their special effects capabilities within the limitations of 2D. They mimicked actual animal behavior, water ripples, synchronized movements (of the windmill cogs), etc. Remember, this was all new at the time.
The Old Mill was such a success, Walt won an Oscar for it. Try to enjoy it through the eyes of when nobody had ever done this before and it's pretty darned amazing.
Thanks to The Kid Should See This for the heads up.
The Old Mill was such a success, Walt won an Oscar for it. Try to enjoy it through the eyes of when nobody had ever done this before and it's pretty darned amazing.
Thanks to The Kid Should See This for the heads up.
SCBWI Baby Quilts!
You know I'm the Illustrator Coordinator for the southern region of the SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators), right? Lin Oliver and Steve Mooser started SCBWI back in the 70's - now the largest organization of its kind in the world. Well, her daughter-in-law and his daughter are both having babies. So, on the sly, the SCBWI Regional Advisors came up with a plan to make custom-made baby quilts using art from a group of children's book illustrators. I was thrilled to be asked and contributed a square to each.
They turned out completely ADORABLE and are being presented to the new mommies in LA during the SCBWI National Conference this very weekend. Wish I could be there, but Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld (RA, Florida) promised to send photos. (She was the head organizer of all this.)
Meanwhile, she sent photos of the quilts (sewn by Kimberly Lynn Strickler). You're going to want to click these to see them larger. My images are dead center on the bottom line on each quilt - a moon and a fairy. Can you pick out the other contributors' work?
There's artwork from Dan Santat, Paul O. Zelinsky, Frank Remkiewicz, Laurent Linn, Henry Cole, Katherine Blackmore, Mark Teague, Ethan Long, Linda Shute, Richard Jesse Watson, Jeff Krosoczka, Pat Cummings, Brian Pinkney, Tomie dePaola, Kristi Valiant, Julie Paschkis, Jeni Reeves, Janeen Mason, Priscilla Burris, Mary Ann Fraser, Loreen Leedy, Leeza Hernandez, Dan Yaccarino, Marla Frazee, Jaime Temairik, Yuyi Morales, *whew*! and little 'ol me!
Some treasures, eh? I know I'd sleep well under these if I were a wee wittle one.
They turned out completely ADORABLE and are being presented to the new mommies in LA during the SCBWI National Conference this very weekend. Wish I could be there, but Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld (RA, Florida) promised to send photos. (She was the head organizer of all this.)
Meanwhile, she sent photos of the quilts (sewn by Kimberly Lynn Strickler). You're going to want to click these to see them larger. My images are dead center on the bottom line on each quilt - a moon and a fairy. Can you pick out the other contributors' work?
There's artwork from Dan Santat, Paul O. Zelinsky, Frank Remkiewicz, Laurent Linn, Henry Cole, Katherine Blackmore, Mark Teague, Ethan Long, Linda Shute, Richard Jesse Watson, Jeff Krosoczka, Pat Cummings, Brian Pinkney, Tomie dePaola, Kristi Valiant, Julie Paschkis, Jeni Reeves, Janeen Mason, Priscilla Burris, Mary Ann Fraser, Loreen Leedy, Leeza Hernandez, Dan Yaccarino, Marla Frazee, Jaime Temairik, Yuyi Morales, *whew*! and little 'ol me!
Some treasures, eh? I know I'd sleep well under these if I were a wee wittle one.
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