Oh, this is cool. I just sent out my latest newsletter today, announcing the release of GLITTER GIRL AND THE CRAZY CHEESE and listing book signings. I'm using a new newsletter company which I love: Your Mailing List Provider. It's inexpensive and gives me all the bells and whistles I want. You can sign up for my newsletter here.
Also, I recently downloaded Firefox. It functions much better than IE (which I use for some side-searching purposes). I mostly use Safari, but the Google Toolbar is not available for Safari, only Firefox. I've just downloaded it, and there's a cool button I was able to add which allows me to add posts to my blog through my browser. So, this is a test. Very cool.
Illustration Friday: MONSTER!!!
Gaads, I LOVE monsters!!! But only the friendly kind - y'know, they'd only eat you on a Tuesday if they were in a really bad mood.
This is Simon Bigfoot. I posted the cover last week (scroll down). He's a bigfoot, but he's a pacifist. He doesn't want to run around scaring unsuspecting hikers like his brother does. His family is dissappointed in him. So how does he get them to accept who he is and leave him to be the peace-loving bigfoot he really is? Well, let's just hope this book gets picked up by a publisher so you can find out . . . ha!
Illustration Friday: Feet
What a perfect theme this week! I've just finished the dummy for my latest story, "Simon Bigfoot." This is the cover.
Glitter Girl is HERE!!!
A book is born!! GLITTER GIRL AND THE CRAZY CHEESE is here!! I just got my box full of free copies today. Just gotta love it. I love the paper the designer at MacAdam/Cage chose, it just feels so GOOD! Wippee!!!
Illustration Friday, Theme: Tea
I couldn't resist. This weeks theme is great, and this image popped into my head and wouldn't let me do anything else until I got it out. :)
Findley Oaks Elementary
I had the honor of speaking at the Special Events Day at Findley Oaks Elementary in Duluth Thursday. There were about 30 professionals in a myriad of fields giving talks that day.
It was interesting how completely different the ages were from year to year. I had to adjust accordingly – I had all grades, 1st through 5th, in 30 minute stints throughout the day. What a whirlwind! After two classes I said, "Oh this is a breeze." By the end of the day, I had a whole new appreciation for elementary school teachers. Those kids are ON, 100%, all day! I was exhausted. Smiling, but exhausted.
I read GLITTER GIRL AND THE CRAZY CHEESE about a hundred times. (My shoulder was sore the next day from holding it up all day - how out of shape am I? Ha!) I tell ya, I can read that book now. I know where to have the kids help with sound effects, where to ask silly questions, etc. It is such a fun book to read, I'm so excited about it.
So to top off the day, I returned home to an email from the author of Glitter Girl, Frank Hollon. The books have been shipped and are on their way! Woohoo! I received several F&Gs (folded and gathered) last Saturday, which I started giving out to my local indie bookstores, but there's nothing like the real thing - I can't wait!!
It was interesting how completely different the ages were from year to year. I had to adjust accordingly – I had all grades, 1st through 5th, in 30 minute stints throughout the day. What a whirlwind! After two classes I said, "Oh this is a breeze." By the end of the day, I had a whole new appreciation for elementary school teachers. Those kids are ON, 100%, all day! I was exhausted. Smiling, but exhausted.
I read GLITTER GIRL AND THE CRAZY CHEESE about a hundred times. (My shoulder was sore the next day from holding it up all day - how out of shape am I? Ha!) I tell ya, I can read that book now. I know where to have the kids help with sound effects, where to ask silly questions, etc. It is such a fun book to read, I'm so excited about it.
So to top off the day, I returned home to an email from the author of Glitter Girl, Frank Hollon. The books have been shipped and are on their way! Woohoo! I received several F&Gs (folded and gathered) last Saturday, which I started giving out to my local indie bookstores, but there's nothing like the real thing - I can't wait!!
Hear Me Out! Teen Writer's Cafe
Sunday was a huge success, what a great event. "Hear Me Out!" was the first of what I hope will be many panel discussions about writing and illustrating held especially for teens interested in these businesses. The event was so crowded, people were sitting on the floor. The teens (and their parents) in attendance were inspired and bright. Many of them weeped creativity out their pores. Many of them reminded me of me at their age. Some mentioned projects that sounded so far beyond their years, we made sure to find out their names, as I'm sure we'll hear of them again.
My fellow panelists were awesome and we seemed to click wonderfully. One attendee commented, "Y'all need to take this act on the road!"
I especially enjoyed meeting Elizabeth Lenhard, author of many series such as "Spy Kids, Charmed, and Witches." Check out her newest book, Chicks With Sticks. It's a really cute book, especially if you are into knitting.
Other panel members were: comic book artist Brian Stelfreeze; AJC journalist Bo Emerson; and Cartoonist Leslie Harris. The moderator was author Greg Chagnon. The whole amazing thing was pulled together by Barbara Schneider.
I have to admit, I love speaking on panels. There's not so much pressure on one person and it's a wonderful opportunity to meet peers and make new friends. I also loved hearing everybody's responses to the interesting questions. What a great time!
Illustration Friday, Theme: Simple
I don't get to do things like this enough. I love creating simple line-art images. I either do them with pen and ink, or the variable pen tool in Adobe Illustrator.
I learned the importance of line quality while working at Buster Brown Apparel. I worked on the Peanuts line and got to draw Charlie Brown and Snoopy for several years. Charles Schulz had a degenerative disorder that made his hand shake. Bad for him, but great for his art. Duplicating his line quality was amazing. We'd draw two wiggly lines close together and fill them in. Thicks and thins varying throughout were very important.
It's now one of the first things I teach in my beginning drawing classes - how much information you can share just with a simple line.
So here is my simple drawing of a cow. Bonus this week - if you click below, you can download a pdf to color. Bessie needs spots!
Click: COW.
Illustration Friday, Theme: Chair
This is a spec illustration I did for a client recently - got the job, but for a different story. So I guess this one just exists now, without a purpose. *sniff* Until Illustration Friday came along that is . . . CHAIR!!
:)
e
Thanks for all the nine comments guys! I created it with my typical method of pencil sketches, scanned and arranged then flat color applied in Photoshop, then rendered in Painter - so mostly digital.
:)
Talking at Agnes Scott
I had the pleasure of talking to a class of teachers, Teach for America students, this evening at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia. I spoke about "Living Story," finding the story thread that runs through our lives, bringing story into the curriculum to make information easier for students to absorb as well as putting information into a context that relates to them directly.
It was a great class and they asked some great questions. A few were really fired up and looking out at their smiling faces just made my day. I tell ya, if this is the future of teachers, our kids are in good shape!
It was a great class and they asked some great questions. A few were really fired up and looking out at their smiling faces just made my day. I tell ya, if this is the future of teachers, our kids are in good shape!
2006 Caldecott Winner: "The Hello Goodbye Window"
Illustrated by Chris Raschka, written by Norton Juster
Honor Books:
ROSA, illustrated by Bryan Collier
ZEN SHORTS, written and illustrated by Jon Muth
HOT AIR, by Marjorie Priceman
SONG OF THE WATER BOATMAN DNA OTHER POND POEMS, illustrated by Beckie Prang
NEWBERY AWARD WINNER: CRISS CROSS by Lynne Rae Perkins
I watched the webcast announcements live from the ALA at www.ala.org. It was very cool. I predict this is going to be a hot thing to watch every year in the children's book world. They did a great job with it combining live video with a power point presentation showing each book and award. Very good!
THE PRINCE'S DIARY No. 1 on BookSense!!
Wow, wow, wow. THE PRINCE'S DIARY, my first picture book, has been named No. 1 on the 2006 Valentine's Day Top Ten picks by Book Sense in conjunction with the Association of American Publishers' (AAP). Needless to say, I am thrilled!
Illustration Friday, Theme: E is for . . .
ME!! Elizabeth, otherwise known as "e!" Haha!!!
(if you click on my bud monster, you can see what I really look like.)
:)
Geography Quiz
Click Here.
This is cool - it gives you the states and asks you to place them on a blank map of the US. See how you do!
This is cool - it gives you the states and asks you to place them on a blank map of the US. See how you do!
illustration Friday, Theme: Sea
This was a spec sketch I did for a publisher a while back.
I haven't created anything new for Illo Friday in a while, gotta fess up. I'm busy illustrating a chapter book which is due the end of this month. It's going well, but it's keeping me busy! On top of that, I applied to the Master of Fine Arts program at Georgia State. Please cross your fingers for me on that one. I'm pretty excited about the prospect. Anyhow, after this deadline, I'll create some original pieces for Illo Friday. Promise.
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