Halloween in Rock Hill
Since I can't party, or host trick-or-treaters this year, I'll celebrate by sharing some funny Halloween decorations that I've spotted around Rock Hill. I loved this mummy.
e's art tips: #27 1 & 2 Point Perspective
This week my Design Drawing I students are working on 2-point perspective, drawing a graveyard for Halloween. Last year, we actually went to a graveyard, and I hope the students will so that they can draw from real life. In the mean time, I created a new demo video, which I am sharing with you too. It's my 27th demo video. Click the image to watch on YouTube, and if you do watch it, I hope you'll subscribe to my channel. (I have to hit 1,000 subscribers before I can monetize my channel.) Thanks!
Friday Links List and Illustrators' Treehouse News - 30 October 2020
From Dimitra Fimi: Samhain or Halloween? The “ancient Celtic year” in Contemporary Children’s Fantasy
From PsyPost: Reading literary versus popular fiction promotes different socio-cognitive processes, study suggests
From Book Bub:
16 Magical Reading Nooks Straight Out of a Fairy Tale
Writing Your Author Bio? Here Are 20 Great Examples. (Plus a Checklist!)
From SLJs 100 Scope Notes: Your Fall Newbery/Caldecott 2021 ‘Hey, Keep an Eye Out’ Lists
From HuffPost: So Your Favorite Children's Books Didn't Age Well. Here's What You Can Do About It.
From The Bookseller: Norwich indie opens 3D virtual store
From Nathan Bransford: How to fix a boring story (This week in books)
From The Idea Logical Company: The end of the general trade publishing concept
From The Picture Book Den: WHY WRITING (AND NOT JUST BOOK DEALS) CAN MAKE YOU HAPPY! by Clare Helen Welsh
From PW:
Little Free Library Launches Read in Color Diversity Initiative
Rabbit hOle Weathers Pandemic by Building Staff, Exhibits
From Brightly:
Helping Your Kids Find Healthy Coping Skills
Don’t Forget to Vote! 10 Picture Books About Elections and Voting
Voting and Election Printables & Activities
ILLUSTRATORS' TREEHOUSE NEWS
PARTICIPATE - SUBMIT TO the: Bologna Children's Book Fair (12 -15 April 2021) Illustrators Exhibition
COMPETITION: York County Storm Drain Art (open until Jan. 8, 2021 - $200 award)
CONTEST: Check out the Astra International Picture Book Writing Contest (Astra is the new house headed up by children's lit scholar Leonard Marcus)
EVENT: 2020 AIGA Design Conference (online) And a FREE TICKET GIVEAWAY!
PARTICIPATE: AIGA VOTE Campaign
From Twitter: Mini Wall Art (in an electrical socket) "I adore tiny art. It’s ridiculous and pointless, but so perfectly lovely."
Printmaker (and friend) Karin Eremia has opened a shop online!
From Muddy Colors:
GNATS VS. CHIMPS, A GUIDE TO COMMUNITY, PART 1
Ghosts with Greg Ruth
From Library Journal: Black Lives Matter and Protest Art Exhibits to View Online
From Publishers Weekly: 2019 North American Comics Sales Rose 11%
From NPR (and Eva - thanks!): Drawing On Greek Myths As Inspiration For Illustrating Life During The Pandemic FABULOUS! MUST SEE!
From Kinder Comics: Almost American Girl
From CommArts: The Exclusive on Inclusive
From The House of Illustration (UK): Families "We offer a range of completely free resources to educate, entertain and inspire kids at home."
From Children'sIllustrators.com: October Newsletter
From Bobby Chiu: The (Not) Rules of Color Temperature with Nathan Fowkes
From Diamond Books (graphic novels): Diamond Returns to Librarycon Live
From Print and Palette: Halloween Prints!
HALLOWEEN 2020 -meri meri
HALLOWEEN 2020 - maggie holmes / crate paper
HALLOWEEN SCRAPBOOK - pebbles inc.
From The Horn Book: Sponsored by Heartdrum, an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books Cynthia Leitich Smith and Rosemary Brosnan Talk with Roger
From RH Graphic: October Spotlight (Random House Graphic Novel Newsletter)
From The Art Room Plant:
Flying towards Halloween - make a home-made bat!
Katia Shumkova More Bats!
Witches Spells!
Violeta Dabija
OFF TOPIC BUT INTERESTING
From the Chronicle of Higher Education: Our HyFlex Experiment: What’s Worked and What Hasn’t
From Winthrop University: 2020 ArtsWinthrop Virtual Scholarship Gala
From The Atlantic: America Will Sacrifice Anything for the College Experience
From The NYTimes: Colleges Slash Budgets in the Pandemic, With ‘Nothing Off-Limits’
Akiko Miyakoshi's I DREAM OF A JOURNEY
I am such a fan of Akiko Miyakoshi's work, that when she visited to talk about her picture book THE PIANO RECITAL, I asked her if she would mind coming back to tell us about her newest picture book, I DREAM OF A JOURNEY. Happily, she said "Yes!"
Akiko: The technique was changed this time. This book was done by Lithograph. I’m using so many colors.
e: You mentioned to me that I Dream of a Journey is a special book for you. Why?
Akiko:
“Journey” is always the important theme for me. I've been making many pictures with the theme. Each scene has small story. So there are so many memories and experiences in this book. As I make this book, I asked myself why l like journey so much and I believe I could show the answer very well. That's the longing. And one more important thing for me is the expression of the picture book. I love picture book itself. Image and text and turning the pages. The combination of these 3 elements makes picture book unique. I like simple but rich story. I pursued it every time I write and I’m satisfied with that ever this time.
Akiko: I used to draw by wood charcoal and pencil and Gouashe. Lithograph has beautiful layering of colors and I like that so much. These pictures in this book wouldn't have been created without doing lithograph. It’s been 5 years since I started to lithograph and I’m getting many inspirations from the beautiful layering of colors.
Akiko: I always start from one picture of mine. This time it was the picture of the innkeeper at the hotel front. I collect the small pieces of the ideas. Some of them will grow to a story. Then I try to assemble them in many ways again and again. At the same time, l make the characters and the detail of the world, or I try to see another perspective. That might be connect the ideas. My picture book is an accumulation of the ideas. There is no magic formula. I’m seeking as well!
Akiko: As I stayed at Wien at Christmas season, I met a innkeeper at my hotel. He was nice and modest. It was interesting to imagine that how he feels always working for the people from all over the world at the same place. He looks curious about other culture and he is satisfied with his life there. He is the model of this main character.
Akiko: Yes that’s right. It’s me and who I was. And it’s also my friends or family.
I am participating in the BookShop Affiliate Program. This program pays bloggers a small percentage of each purchased book from a post. But the best part is, purchases are fulfilled by bookstores near you, thereby, helping to keep your local bookstores afloat too! It's good for everyone! Click the book cover to purchase this title through Bookshop.
Akiko: The technique was changed this time. This book was done by Lithograph. I’m using so many colors.
e: You mentioned to me that I Dream of a Journey is a special book for you. Why?
Akiko:
“Journey” is always the important theme for me. I've been making many pictures with the theme. Each scene has small story. So there are so many memories and experiences in this book. As I make this book, I asked myself why l like journey so much and I believe I could show the answer very well. That's the longing. And one more important thing for me is the expression of the picture book. I love picture book itself. Image and text and turning the pages. The combination of these 3 elements makes picture book unique. I like simple but rich story. I pursued it every time I write and I’m satisfied with that ever this time.
Akiko: I used to draw by wood charcoal and pencil and Gouashe. Lithograph has beautiful layering of colors and I like that so much. These pictures in this book wouldn't have been created without doing lithograph. It’s been 5 years since I started to lithograph and I’m getting many inspirations from the beautiful layering of colors.
Akiko: I always start from one picture of mine. This time it was the picture of the innkeeper at the hotel front. I collect the small pieces of the ideas. Some of them will grow to a story. Then I try to assemble them in many ways again and again. At the same time, l make the characters and the detail of the world, or I try to see another perspective. That might be connect the ideas. My picture book is an accumulation of the ideas. There is no magic formula. I’m seeking as well!
Akiko: As I stayed at Wien at Christmas season, I met a innkeeper at my hotel. He was nice and modest. It was interesting to imagine that how he feels always working for the people from all over the world at the same place. He looks curious about other culture and he is satisfied with his life there. He is the model of this main character.
Akiko: Yes that’s right. It’s me and who I was. And it’s also my friends or family.
I am participating in the BookShop Affiliate Program. This program pays bloggers a small percentage of each purchased book from a post. But the best part is, purchases are fulfilled by bookstores near you, thereby, helping to keep your local bookstores afloat too! It's good for everyone! Click the book cover to purchase this title through Bookshop.
Coloring Page Tuesday - El Día De Los Muertos Pumpkin
CLICK HERE for more Halloween-themed coloring pages.
Remember, I create my coloring pages to draw your attention to my books!
Click the cover to learn about my Halloween picture book - Lula's Brew. She's a witch who would rather be a famous chef!If my news and images add value to your life, won't you please
Just love this one image? Consider a one-time donation...
I create my coloring pages for teachers, librarians, booksellers, and parents to enjoy for free with their children, but you can also purchase rights to an image for commercial use, please contact me. If you have questions about usage, please visit my Angel Policy page.
Winthrop "Get Out the Vote" Mural featured on the news!
Remember the mural project I told you about that my students created for "Get Out the Vote" last spring? Well, it just got featured on the CN2 news! CLICK HERE and forward to minute 6:05 to see. So proud!
SCBWI Carolinas Webinar: How To Focus Your Reader's Attention
I had the great pleasure of giving a webinar to my new SCBWI region this past Saturday for our online fall conference. I talked about focusing a reader's attention, but using illustration tricks to do so. I feel very lucky to have a foot in both the illustration and writing side of creation, and they each inform each other. But there aren't many author/illustrators in academia too, so I feel I am able to offer a unique perspective that can get creative balls rolling.
Do keep in mind, even though I'm teaching, I am available for speaking engagements (especially online). So, I'm happy to share my inspirations with your regions or writing groups too - wherever you are! Just email me: elizabeth at dulemba dot com.
Meanwhile, many thanks to Ashley, Leigh Anne, and Elizabeth for hosting Saturday's webinar and welcoming me so warmly into the SCBWI Carolinas family!
Do keep in mind, even though I'm teaching, I am available for speaking engagements (especially online). So, I'm happy to share my inspirations with your regions or writing groups too - wherever you are! Just email me: elizabeth at dulemba dot com.
Meanwhile, many thanks to Ashley, Leigh Anne, and Elizabeth for hosting Saturday's webinar and welcoming me so warmly into the SCBWI Carolinas family!
Society of Illustrators - I am a member!
I went back again in 2017, walking nearly half-way across the city to get there, and actually had lunch with the Collections Manager, Eric Fowler. Read about that trip HERE.
But in all that time, I never actually joined the Society of Illustrators. It's not cheap, and I couldn't warrant the cost when most of the organization's activities happened in New York City. It always felt like a hole in my wholeness as an illustrator, if that makes sense.
So, I was thrilled beyond belief when Winthrop University sponsored my membership recently. I can now proudly say that I am a member of the Society of Illustrators - finally! YES!
Online Gatherings
I so miss my friends all over the world. Heck, I miss my friends in my own back yard right now! But sometimes, I get the wonderful opportunity to catch up. I met with former office-mates from the University of Glasgow recently. Yaxi and Hyab are still in Scotland (originally from China and Eritrea), while Rebecca is back in Canada, and I'm in the US, of course. I am grateful for technology making this gathering possible. I love these guys.
BIG NEWS! ON EAGLE COVE is now out!
My Website Landing Page for OEC, including a peek at the pencil dummy
On Eagle Cove: First Peek! (images of it in my studio, while it was a work-in-progress)
As I walked out towards Eagle Cove, Skipping through a greening grove, I followed where the pathway led― And spied a great big lake ahead. - Jane YolenHere's a picture of me working on On Eagle Cove when we were still living in Scotland.
From the prolific Jane Yolen comes On Eagle Cove, a sparkling new addition to the On Bird Hill & Beyond series. A young birder and her mother hike beside a lake and experience the majesty of an eagle aerial show. They spy a massive nest, high in a tree, and understand that the two eagles dancing across the sky are a mating pair. Soon, there will be chicks, and the girl and her mother return to the nest months later for a peek at the new little lives. On Eagle Cove reunites Jane Yolen with award-winning illustrator Elizabeth Dulemba for this quiet walk through nature that leads to an unexpected encounter with the magnificent Bald Eagle.
Friday Links List and Illustrators' Treehouse News - 23 October 2020
Scottish Authors Get More Financial Relief (from The Society of Authors)
Post-Pandemic Comics: IDW’s New Publisher Looks Ahead
From People Magazine: Jimmie Allen Writes Debut Kids' Book My Voice Is a Trumpet, A 'Gentle Call to Action'
From SCBWI: Remembering Bette Greene
From BookBub:
15 Last-Minute Halloween Costume Ideas for Book Lovers
20 Reading Chairs You'll Never Want to Leave
From YouTube: Getting a Job in Publishing: What Does a Social Media Manager Do? | Epic Reads Office Hours
From SLJ:
Can You Win A Newbery in 32 Pages or Less?: How picture books might fare in the race for the Medal
Can Pre-COVID Books Still Speak To Kids?
Cynthia Leitich Smith Awarded 2021 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature Congratulations Cynthia!
From SLJ's 100 Scope Notes: Lone Wolves Update: How Many Caldecott Winners Have One Creator?
From The Guardian: Picture Books for Children Reviews
From Brightly:
12 Funny Children’s Books Starring Silly, Lovable Monsters
Going Fright-Free: 13 Halloween Books for Little Pumpkins
From We Need Diverse Books: The Rise of Gender-Inclusive Pronouns and Language in Literature
From Inside Higher Ed: Children's Books: Grown-Up Lessons Candy Lee shares some of the lessons she's learned teaching a college course on tackling tough subjects using picture books.
ILLUSTRATORS' TREEHOUSE NEWS
EVENT: From The Directory of Illustration - Mastermind Marketing For Illustrators Webinar
COMPETITION: York County Storm Drain Art (open until Jan. 8, 2021 - $200 award)
CONTEST: Check out the Astra International Picture Book Writing Contest (Astra is the new house headed up by children's lit scholar Leonard Marcus)
EVENT: 2020 AIGA Design Conference (online) And a FREE TICKET GIVEAWAY!
PARTICIPATE: AIGA VOTE Campaign
From Kidlit TV: Watch the Live Halloween Special on Oct 26 at 1 pm ET with the creators of BONAPARTE FALLS APART, Margery Cuyler and Will Terry
From PW: The Fanatic - PW's Graphic Novel trade magazine
From The Guardian: Picturebook legend Oliver Jeffers: 'I've got my wife's bite marks tattooed on my finger'
From InkyGirl (Debbie Ridpath Ohi): Three Tips For Those Interested In Illustrating Children's Picture Books
From Valiant: Newsletter and reading samples of graphic novels
From Muddy Colors:
Clash Upon the Cliffs with Cory Godbey
3-D to 2-D and Back Again (interesting!)
Hot and Cold YES!
From the NYTimes: Ed Benguiat, a Master of Typography, Is Dead at 92
From The Guardian: From Warhol to Steve McQueen: a history of video art in 30 works
From DPictus: The Unpublished Picturebook Showcase (Watch the video!)
From CharacterDesignReferences: Character Design Challenge
From Print & Pattern:
Designer for Hire: Helena Nilsson
Designer for Hire: Louise Ansell
From CGSociety: Newsletter
From The Art Room Plant:
Rob Sayegh Jr.
J.L. Lloyd I
OFF TOPIC BUT INTERESTING
From GoodNewsNetwork: Funny Pandemic Restaurant Signs - this will give you a laugh!
From EAB:
Effectively engage prospective college students through compelling website content
Understanding and Recruiting Generation Z: Insights for Enrollment Leaders on the Gen Z Mindset
From Her Campus.com: "This Is A Movement": Thoughts on Black Lives Matter from Dr. Wanda Ebright (Winthrop U colleague and friend)
From The NYTimes: The First Semester of College Has Never Been Stranger
From xkcd.com:
Flavia Z. Drago's GUSTAVO, THE SHY GHOST
We have a new ghosty friend to love this Halloween. Meet Gustavo, The Shy Ghost! I love the more friendly side of Halloween, and Flavia Z. Drago nails it in this charming new book. She stopped by to tell us about it.
Flavia: The story came from a Tweet I wrote in 2016 when I was thinking about the reason behind ghosts wearing sheets. It must be because they are shy, I thought, and so the idea for a picture book was planted in my head.
Once I figured out the story, I experimented with different color palettes and materials, like watercolors, gouache, ink, and pencil. In the end, I created black-and-white layers of pencil and ink and then colored the images using Photoshop.
Flavia: I grew up in Mexico, where I studied graphic design—basically because I copied my sister who studied it. I spent a lot of time looking at the things that she did for homework, like taking pictures, making stop-motion films, designing logotypes and posters, and I thought it looked fun.
Flavia: My favorite spread is the one where Gustavo is looking from the balcony at the other monsters who are all on the playground. When I was in kindergarten, I was as shy as Gustavo is, so during lunch breaks I would sit next to the wall and I wonder how the other children were able to play and talk to one another so easily. It was a mystery to me.
e: What do you think makes an illustration magical, what I call “heart art”—the sort that makes a reader want to come back to look again and again?
Flavia: There are many people who are capable of rendering reality in a drawing with precision. I often find this perfection a bit dull and empty. My favorite artists are the ones who create without (apparently) overthinking, like most children do!
Perhaps this is why I admire a lot of artists who never had any kind of formal training, like Clementine Hunter, the Black self-taught artist who depicted life on the plantations; Alfred Wallis, a fisherman who painted seascapes because he didn’t want his memories to disappear; or Henry Darger, a janitor who worked endless hours on his collages that portrayed his fears, anxieties, and hopes, and whose work was discovered only after he died. I think that each one of them reflected through their art on the things that were meaningful in their lives in a very honest way, and this matters more to me than the ability to draw or paint perfectly.
I think that what makes an illustration magical is not the perfection of the drawing, but the ability to tell a personal story that connects with others.
Flavia: I guess that if I had to advertise myself as an illustrator, I would say that I get a lot of inspiration and references from fairy tales (the original gruesome ones), monsters, weird creatures, horror movies, old engravings, and paintings from the Middle Ages.
You can find my portfolio on my website (https://www.flaviazdrago.com/), and on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/flavia_zdrago/). I like to share my illustration process, and newest projects, and on my Twitter (https://twitter.com/Diafla). I mostly share silly thoughts in Spanish. For project enquiries you can contact me through my agent Claire Cartey (claire@holroydecartey.com) from Holroyde Cartey (https://www.holroydecartey.com/flavia-zorilla-drago.html).
Flavia: Being a creator is incredibly rewarding, but I must admit that sometimes it can be difficult not to compare your own work with that of your peers. As an artist, I need to keep reminding myself constantly that each one of us is different and that we all have our strengths, and that it’s better to reframe the weaknesses as challenges.
Flavia: I would like for my readers to pay attention to the detail, as I have left a lot of references about music, art, cinema, and literature.
Flavia: To be honest, I am currently working on my dream project: creating stories about monsters. I am working on a book about a family of witches who are experts in the Dark Arts of Patisserie, which features one of the characters from Gustavo, the Shy Ghost.
e: Ooooo - sounds GREAT! Can't wait to see it. In the mean time, Readers, check out this cute read-aloud of GUSTAVO, THE SHY GHOST on Youtube (click the image below).
Flavia: The story came from a Tweet I wrote in 2016 when I was thinking about the reason behind ghosts wearing sheets. It must be because they are shy, I thought, and so the idea for a picture book was planted in my head.
Once I figured out the story, I experimented with different color palettes and materials, like watercolors, gouache, ink, and pencil. In the end, I created black-and-white layers of pencil and ink and then colored the images using Photoshop.
Flavia: I grew up in Mexico, where I studied graphic design—basically because I copied my sister who studied it. I spent a lot of time looking at the things that she did for homework, like taking pictures, making stop-motion films, designing logotypes and posters, and I thought it looked fun.
Flavia: My favorite spread is the one where Gustavo is looking from the balcony at the other monsters who are all on the playground. When I was in kindergarten, I was as shy as Gustavo is, so during lunch breaks I would sit next to the wall and I wonder how the other children were able to play and talk to one another so easily. It was a mystery to me.
e: What do you think makes an illustration magical, what I call “heart art”—the sort that makes a reader want to come back to look again and again?Flavia: There are many people who are capable of rendering reality in a drawing with precision. I often find this perfection a bit dull and empty. My favorite artists are the ones who create without (apparently) overthinking, like most children do!
Perhaps this is why I admire a lot of artists who never had any kind of formal training, like Clementine Hunter, the Black self-taught artist who depicted life on the plantations; Alfred Wallis, a fisherman who painted seascapes because he didn’t want his memories to disappear; or Henry Darger, a janitor who worked endless hours on his collages that portrayed his fears, anxieties, and hopes, and whose work was discovered only after he died. I think that each one of them reflected through their art on the things that were meaningful in their lives in a very honest way, and this matters more to me than the ability to draw or paint perfectly.
I think that what makes an illustration magical is not the perfection of the drawing, but the ability to tell a personal story that connects with others.
Flavia: I guess that if I had to advertise myself as an illustrator, I would say that I get a lot of inspiration and references from fairy tales (the original gruesome ones), monsters, weird creatures, horror movies, old engravings, and paintings from the Middle Ages.
You can find my portfolio on my website (https://www.flaviazdrago.com/), and on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/flavia_zdrago/). I like to share my illustration process, and newest projects, and on my Twitter (https://twitter.com/Diafla). I mostly share silly thoughts in Spanish. For project enquiries you can contact me through my agent Claire Cartey (claire@holroydecartey.com) from Holroyde Cartey (https://www.holroydecartey.com/flavia-zorilla-drago.html).
Flavia: Being a creator is incredibly rewarding, but I must admit that sometimes it can be difficult not to compare your own work with that of your peers. As an artist, I need to keep reminding myself constantly that each one of us is different and that we all have our strengths, and that it’s better to reframe the weaknesses as challenges.
Flavia: I would like for my readers to pay attention to the detail, as I have left a lot of references about music, art, cinema, and literature.
Flavia: To be honest, I am currently working on my dream project: creating stories about monsters. I am working on a book about a family of witches who are experts in the Dark Arts of Patisserie, which features one of the characters from Gustavo, the Shy Ghost.
e: Ooooo - sounds GREAT! Can't wait to see it. In the mean time, Readers, check out this cute read-aloud of GUSTAVO, THE SHY GHOST on Youtube (click the image below).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)