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Wow. So many connotations with this week's topic since I spent SO much time on it and found it challenging in a wonderful way: Double the effort. Double trouble.

My newest piece is truly a labor of love - mixing elements of fantasy and dealing with somewhat macabre themes. The idea comes from my neighbor and friend who is an aspiring children's book author. She wrote a story about a spoiled princess, called "The Princess Who Ate Dragons." The princess treated everyone badly, so, as punishment, her parents exile her to spend time with dangerous dragons. But, fearing nothing, the princess merely jests "I'll eat 'em, You'll see."

I included images of my photo references and the sketches. I spent a lot of time with the dragons as I wanted them to look a specific way.



As I was working on the sketches, I must have reworked the main dragon a dozen times. He kept taking on the look of the dragon from Shrek! After my initial sketches were done, I shot them with my digital camera and started composing them together in Photoshop. The last image is that composition.


This is the final sketch that I transferred to use for the painting. I printed the Photoshop-ed comp out and drew more on it: the stone wall and the ground. Notice that I changed the butcher knife to a spoon in the painting. My 10 year old son casually glanced at my sketch and remarked, "Don't you think that knife is a bit violent?" This is a story of a spoiled princess who eats dragons! But he was right, she had almost a murderous tone with that knife!

Introducing 3d drawing a quantum leap in drawing technology The sleek pen switches between red and blue ink in perfect synchronization with the stylish shutter glasses. Controlled by the compact easy to carry controller unit. Refuse to stay in 2d land, stun art critics with state of the art 3d drawing.

It’s that time of year again. This month the gang at Cartoon Dump invites you to help celebrate their 3rd anniversary. Join Jerry Beck and Frank Conniff (“TV’s Frank” from Mystery Science Theatre 3000) with Erica Doering as “Compost Brite” and J. Elvis Weinstein as “Dumpster Diver Dan”

Is there any better way to wind down from Comic Con? Special anniversary guests include Duncan Trussell, Ron Lynch, Michael Rayner and Jimmy Pardo. It’s tonight, Monday July 26th, at 8pm at the Steve Allen Theater in Hollywood. Advanced tickets can be ordered here. Also join the Facebook Page.

These past few weeks, I have been so overwhelm and stress out from moving ... I didn't get to paint much at all, and when I try to paint, I have so much in my mind, it's really hard to enjoy the process!! It feels great to be able to sit down and paint again!!

These sketchbook project paintings are very much inspired by my new home!!

Big news out of San Diego: Fantagraphics announced that they will be publishing a complete run of Floyd Gottfredson’s “Mickey Mouse” newspaper strip, which he drew daily between 1930 and 1975. As Fantagraphics publisher Gary Groth says, “I think it’s the last truly great, masterful strip that has not been reprinted.” Here’s an interview with Groth with more details about the project, which begins in spring 2011.

A pew drawing from this week and two weeks ago... the text coming from one of the hymns we sang, anyone know the title?

Once I'm really done with my current project I'm going pour the gas on the effort to find a publisher for my church sketchbook drawings. We'll see if I can find someone willing to flush some cash down the drain.

Josh Adams, together with his wife Tracey, runs Adams Literary, a boutique agency exclusively dedicated to representing Children’s book authors and artists, including many bestselling and award-winning clients. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Columbia Business School, Josh spent years in publishing and media before bringing his editorial and business backgrounds together as a literary agent.

Lee Wind interviewed Tracey’s husband.  I thought everyone would interested in hearing about Josh, since we all love Tracey.  Below is a little from the interview Lee conducted.  Josh will also be at the SCBWI Conference in LA.

Lee: For an as-yet-unpublished writer, is an on-line presence (a blog, facebook friend count, twitter following, etc…) important to you?

Josh: Not at the expense of the quality of the writing. It’s not something we particularly seek out, but if an aspiring author has a site or online presence, we’ll definitely check it out and take it into consideration as part of the big picture.

Lee: For illustrators, is there something different that you’re looking for in a physical portfolio versus an online website/portfolio?

Josh: I prefer visiting an online portfolio, where it’s easier for me to see a full range of work. What I’d look for in a physical portfolio is the texture and media of the works.

Lee: Small versus large literary agency. You and your wife Tracey are closer to the small end of the spectrum. What do you see as the pros and cons of small versus large?

Josh: Tracey and I—and Quinlan Lee, too, who works closely with us—love being a part of what we call a boutique agency. Tracey came from larger agencies before we started Adams Literary, but it has never been our desire to be a large agency. We much prefer working collaboratively with our authors and artists than managing a large staff. I think a boutique agency can offer every advantage of a large agency, with a more personal approach—and, in our case, one that is focused exclusively on the children’s and YA market. The only disadvantage—and it’s ours, really, not our clients’—is that there is no “off” switch. We are always working, which is why it’s good that we’re so passionate about what we do.

Lee: There’s a puzzle for writers when trying to find that “match” with an agent. On the one hand, we’re told to look at the books of an agent’s current clients to see if we’re ‘apples to apples.’ On the other hand, if you already represent apples, might you not prefer kiwi, so you have something different?

How would you suggest writers tackle finding the best “match?”

Josh: While I’d highly encourage writers to look at our website and our client list to get a sense of who we are and what literary works we gravitate toward, we certainly don’t look for clones. I always hesitate to mention a specific or favorite genre out of fear that I’ll be deluged with one type of book at the expense of something spectacularly different that otherwise might not be sent our way. I like to be surprised. What we look for is a fresh perspective, a great voice and memorable characters—writing that draws us in, keeps us turning the pages, and provokes us in a compelling and unforgettable way, whatever the genre. We gravitate toward the timeless, not the trendy. Our first criteria is not “Can we sell this?” but rather, “Do we love this?”

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