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post by Heather Ryerson

Dasha Tolstikova’s lively, frenetic illustrations have a heart-warming naiveté that appeals to children and adults alike. It’s no wonder she seems to have her foxy paws in everything from children’s books to graphic memoirs and editorial pieces for The New Yorker and The New York Times. Tolstikova’s first picture book The Jacket (2014, written by Kirsten Hall) has received a lot of attention recently, including editor’s choice in The Sunday Book Review in The New York Times. Tolstikova earned her MFA (Illustration as Visual Essay) from the School of Visual Arts in 2012. She lives in Brooklyn, NY and is part of the studio collective Brushwick Studio.

Check out Dasha’s portfolio »

post by Heather Ryerson

Grace Helmer uses strong brush strokes to create her rich, ethereal oil illustrations. The expressive color progressions in her paintings give the work a delicate, transient presence; the viewer can’t help but be caught up in the joy and beauty of Helmer’s brief captured moments. Her style is used to especially great effect in her animated pieces. Constantly changing textures and shapes create a depth and dynamism that one might feel could easily be drunk from the canvas. Helmer graduated from the Camberwell College of Art in 2012 and is part of the illustration studio collective Day Job.

See portfolio | Watch an animaton

Post by Heather Ryerson

French illustrator Yann Kebbi is a mixed media artist with a quick, expressive style. His colorful illustrations are busy and full of life. Loose lines and smudges suggest his characters’ dynamic movement as they experience the extremes of human emotion (frustration, panic, joy, mania, apathy) from within his urban landscapes. Kebbi executes extreme care in adding only the necessary to his drawings, adding emphasis in some areas while allowing the viewer’s imagination to fill in others. Yann Kebbi’s editorial illustrations can be found in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and many other credible news publications in North America and Europe. He is represented by Heart Agency in New York and London.

See more of Kebbi’s work in Heart Agency’s portfolio or on Kebbi’s blog.

Post by Heather Ryerson

Keith Negley’s moody, evocative editorial illustrations cannot be dismissed with a glance. They instead capture and entrance viewers, provoking pensive contemplation. Negley’s work combines high concept with strong composition and refined color palettes to create sophisticated yet accessible visuals that strengthen the written works they accompany. His illustrations can be found in respected news publications such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, and NPR as well as among the pages of top publishing houses McSweeney’s and Nobrow. He attended The School of Visual Arts in New York and now lives in Washington.

See more of his work in his portfolio or on his blog.

Post by Heather Ryerson

Holly Exley’s expressive, saturated colour palettes feel realer than life. Her food illustrations beg to be eaten; her watercolour paintings of British wildlife threaten to flit off the page. Since graduating from Middlesex University, Exley has worked with clients Marks & Spencer, Whole Foods, Topshop, Chronicle Books, BBC Wildlife and more. She lives and paints in London.

Visit her website and her blog.

Posted by Heather Ryerson

Brian Stauffer uses a combination of sketching, painting, and digital collage to create editorial illustrations. Much of his work graces the pages of news and political publications like The New York Times, TIME, The New Yorker, The Nation, and Rolling Stone. His thought-provoking illustrations illuminate social issues and set the proper tone for their accompanying articles. Stauffer’s work would not be out of place at a vintage propaganda poster gallery, but can be found instead at notable art museums and institutes.

Discover his large body of work on his website.

Posted by Heather Ryerson

After studying graphic design and illustration, Catherine Lepage worked at an ad agency where she brainstormed quick and clever ideas and developed an efficient process of creating simple design solutions. She went on to co-found Montreal design studio Ping Pong Ping where she weaves illustration throughout her client work. Catherine Lepage continues to work as an editorial illustrator. See more of her work on her website.

Post by Heather Ryerson

Sam Falconer’s fantastic illustrations reflect science and the human experience through digital, collage, and hand-painted textures. His clever scenes provoke philosophical thought while quickly getting to the heart of a story. His editorial illustrations regularly feature in top publications such as The Guardian, The Washington Post, and New Scientist magazine.

Check out more illustrations on his portfolio website.

Post by Heather Ryerson

Montreal illustrator Janice Nadeau has won three Governor General’s Awards for her poetic, evocative illustration. She uses watercolor and pencil (and sometimes charcoal and ink) to create her sophisticated color palettes and detailed characters and scenes. Nadeau has illustrated three books including Harvey, a long-form graphic picturebook that appeals to both children and adults for its honest portrayal of loss. Nadeau is now working on an animated short.

To see more of her work visit her website and read her blog.

Paul Thurby is a British designer and illustrator who takes inspiration from mid-century design and charity shop finds. He has worked with an impressive list of clients including The New Yorker, The Guardian, and Tate Enterprises. His clever, fun, and whimsical Alphabet and Number series can be found in many art and design shops around the UK. Paul Thurby’s Alphabet book has been published in the UK, US, and Australia. See more of his work on his website.

If you read this blog regularly, and you have a blog of your own, or a Tumblr or some other platform where you share things with the public (including a public FB page), would you share the link in the comments here? Even if you know I already know the link. (Other readers here may not.) I’d love to make sure none of my blog-friends are slipping through the cracks of my feed reader. Ever since I switched over to Feedly, I feel like something’s missing—even though I imported from Google Reader and all my subscriptions should be intact.

Feel free to tell us a little something about you and your site. But no pressure! I hereby declare Bonny Glen a certified Pressure-Free Zone.

I wrote an article like this back in 2009 – there has been a lot of water under the that bridge and I rarely write articles for this bog – but recently someone twitted about that old post and I thought – what they heck might as well update my readers. Keep in mind that [...]

Kristi Mraz, one of my instructors from this past summer’s Writing Institute at Teachers College, and Marjorie Martinelli just started a blog called Chartchums: Creative Classroom Charts.  I’ve reviewed the first few posts on the blog and I’m certain it is going to be an incredible resource for workshop teachers who want to ensure that [...]

YES!!!!

…doing a happy dance around the studio…

On this morning’s TODAY show, Al Roker revealed that the next choice for his “Al’s Book Club” segment was none other than The Search for WondLa! To say that I am stunned, excited, over-the-moon and thrilled would be an understatement. Wow.

The segment is tentatively schedule to air next month. I’ll post a firm date once it is confirmed. I’d like thank all my fans and the folks at Simon & Schuster for the groundswell of support for this story…okay, time to start losing those holiday lbs for my close-up.

(This was one I totally spaced out and forgot to post from awhile ago. I was reminded of it when I came across the files on my computer). Design Popular Imagination magazine (or DPI, for short) based in Taiwan, China, did a nice interview on yours truly last year. For those interested, the jpegs here should be large enough for reading (They are in English and Mandarin, just click’em). Otherwise, you can enjoy the lovely page design.

For my friends abroad, here is a direct link to the issue. Perhaps back issues can still be purchased…

Every once and awhile I stop blathering about my work and bow down to the many book titles that had a tremendous impact on my developing imagination and ability as a Kid Artist with Big Dreams.

Like most of the literate world, I adored J.R.R. Tolkien’s first foray into Middle-Earth when I read The Hobbit back in middle school. To me, it was an epic tale that I devoured like a hungry troll in between my games of Dungeons & Dragons and Adventure on my Atari 2600. My reality of a pimply lollipop-headed geek disappeared each time I slipped on the ring, opened my dog-eared tome, and plunged into the wilderwood of hobbits, elves, dwarves and dragons.

What I didn’t grasp then, is that the copy I read contained drawings by that Gandalf of great storytelling himself. I adored Tolkien’s decorative, almost Kay Nielsen-esque, images of Hobbiton, the Trolls and the mighty Smaug.

Tolkien’s images were further brought to life in the 1977 made-for-TV animated film adaptation done by none other than the holiday-celebrated-stop-motion messiahs, Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass.

The Rankin & Bass rendition of The Hobbit not only galvanized my neverending storybook love of all of Middle Earth, it took it to new heights with its Arthur Rackhamy watercolor backgrounds, somewhat-grotesque character designs and sinister songs.

Here’s a couple of scans from the book adaptation of the film. (Click for a larger view)

Yes, to some this version may not hold up, but I feel that this adaptation of the story lured in a new generation of young hobbits ready for more adventures. And the nostalgia for the Rankin & Bass film absolutely affected my drawing style as can be seen by this 1997 cover to Dragon

Blogroll: Check out my blogroll list each one shares helpful information for writers and illustrators. Writers Beware shares information on bad publishers, contests, and more that will help protect writers. My friend Donna shares information on new markets for writers -Today she shares Choice Publishing's call for manuscripts.

My poem "Weather Mishap" for the month of December is up on Adult "W.O.M." The word for the month was "weather." To enter your poem go to http://davidlharrison.wordpress.com

See you at the Mountain Home library this afternoon from 1-3:30 p.m., at the Twin Lakes Writers meeting.

I’ve been wanting to do a series of retrospective posts about breaking into the children’s publishing industry since 2010 marks a decade of yours truly having my books published. I had grand plans of comparing and contrasting what the market was like in 2000 vs. 2010 and what I know now that I didn’t know then, etc, etc.

I never got around to it because I have been so darn busy with The Search for WondLa – getting the first book finished, doing pre-pub press, going on tour, and (now) preparing for the start of the second book. A dream-come-true life for me. To say that the last ten years have been an amazing journey would be a gross understatement. But I am usually off onto the next project, only occasionally looking back to see what I’ve created throughout my life. (I suppose this is why an “Art of Tony D” book doesn’t exist. I want to wait and release it later in my life.) All of this reflection was brought perfectly into focus at the Miami Book Fair that I signed at just a few weeks ago.

Right in front of my line was 4 year-old Marina who handed me her rendition of the Grimblegrinder from my debut picture book, Jimmy Zangwow’s Out-of-this-World Moon Pie Adventure. She then handed me a carton of Moon Pies with “Thank You Tony” scrawled on the lid. I realized that I the love and passion I put into creating my stories for kids comes through and I am validated each and every time I go out and do an event. I guess that’s the only anecdotal message I can relay, “If you love what you do, the world will respond in kind.” A bit cheesy, I know. But I believe it to be true.

Thanks for the kind gifts, Marina. Here are some old original sketches of the Grimblegrinder from 1997 that I dug up for you to see. This was when I was still trying to figure out what he looked like. Keep drawing. Keep dreaming.

Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend surrounded by family and loved ones. I enjoyed some much-needed time off from my whirlwind WondLa tour. Thanks again to all of you who came out to see me at the various events. You keep me going.

I feel so fortunate that I’ve wanted to give back and become involved with a charity that benefits children. Thankfully, I’ve found my place with the Starlight Children’s Foundation. The people involved in this amazing organization are kind, generous spirits and I couldn’t be more humbled by their company. As you may recall, the WondLa kickoff event we did in New York City (with Uma Thurman) raised money for Starlight as does a current live auction where I am releasing one of my personal favorites.

Here is the description:

Own this original piece of artwork from Tony DiTerlizzi, creator of The Spiderwick Chronicles & The Spider and the Fly, including a complete set of autographed books!

Tony DiTerlizzi, the #1 New York Times bestselling children’s book author and illustrator, celebrated a milestone in his career in 2006 with the production of this personal painting titled “Imagine”. This 17×14” watercolor and ink illustration was reproduced as a limited edition giclee print that was given to friends and family for the holidays and contains characters from DiTerlizzi’s books including The Spiderwick Chronicles, as well as the Caldecott Honor award winning The Spider and the Fly.

This lot also includes a signed collection of Tony’s books, as well as a signed Artist’s-proof giclee print recreated from the original artwork.

This is a great opportunity to own a piece from my personal collection that I have been holding onto for years. I don’t let much of my original book art go these days, so this is a chance to get a bunch of my characters in one unique image…and its for a great cause.

Check out the auction here. And, hey, it ends right before the holidays – what a great gift idea!

Kaye Cloutman, with the San Francisco Book Review, did a great interview with yours truly recently covering a variety of topics including book tour, San Fran and (of course) the creation of The Search for WondLa. Grab a cup of coffee and give it a listen.

Fourteen-year old Cy, from Washington state sent me these great renditions of Hogsqueal and ground goblins from The Spiderwick books. Check’em out.

I love how he’s slightly animated them with cartoony expressions. I think that really helps bring them to life. And I like his combination of pencil and inking. Way to go Cy!

Woo! My first WondLa fan art! It was given to me last month while on book tour in Kansas City. There, I did a special presentation about my process to a group of kids, parents and a great gaggle of art students and teachers.

I’ve been toying with the idea of touring the major art schools and talking about my process for creating children’s books, but wasn’t sure how interesting it would be to undergrads. If the enthusiasm of the Kansas City Art Institute was any indication, I need to think about this tour a little more seriously. Especially when one of the students gave me a drawing from WondLa!

Thanks for the sweet rendition of Eva, J Victoria. All my best to you and good luck with your career as an artist.

Halloween is one of the favorite holidays at the DiTerlizzi household. I like the costumes, the candy and the traditions – like carving Jack O’ lanterns. I also like anything old, antiquey, or vintage. In fact, if you add the word “vintage” to just about anything, I’ll be into it. I simply love things from the past. Especially vintage Halloween decorations. So, for you my dear ghouls and goblins, some vintage-inspired coloring pages that would make fine decorations (if I say so myself).

Simply click on the image for a hi-res jpeg that you can print out and color. Enjoy!

If you write–at all–you may want to check out The Guide to Literary Agent’s Blog. They have a bunch of great information for writer’s of every genre.