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by Sarah Dillard

It’s not always about the cute bunnies.

I’ve been drawing a lot of bunnies lately. Well, actually one bunny in particular.

He is very persistent and keeps showing up when I’m doodling, waiting for his chance to star in a story. He is not what I am supposed to be drawing right now. I am supposed to be drawing chickens and mice and Christmas trees as well as coming up with a brilliant picture book idea everyday, none of which have had anything to do with bunnies so far. But he keeps showing up, begging for attention like a puppy who wants to go for a walk.

I have nothing against him, I think he is kind of cute. It’s just that I have no time right now for cute little bunnies. I really need to be working on these other things, before I can pay any attention to him.

So I am just trying to ignore him. And the more that I try to ignore him, the more I find myself thinking about him. Where did he COME from? Why does he keep BOTHERING me? What does he WANT? What does he NEED? WHO is this BUNNY?

Ideas are funny things. Sometimes it seems that you will never have another good idea again no matter how hard you try. Sometimes you need to wheedle an idea out of a germ of a thought. And sometimes they just burst through the door and kick you in the head. Who knows which ideas will grow into a full fledged story and which ones will just fizzle away. The best that you can do is listen to them, push them if they need it and give them a chance to shine.

I don’t know yet who this bunny is or if he will ever grow into his own story. All I know is that he’s been bugging me and pretty soon I am going to have to do something about it. The other characters are starting to complain.

Sarah Dillard is an award-winning author/illustrator. Her latest book is Perfectly Arugula.

You can win Sarah’s signed illustration of Bunny and Mouse above! Leave a comment to enter. A winner will be randomly selected one week from today. Good luck!

10 Comments on PiBoIdMo Day 13: It’s Not Always About the Cute Bunnies, Says Sarah Dillard (plus a prize), last added: 11/13/2010

Hi all,
I'm just starting a new book project and getting to know the main characters. I'd love to know what you think. I've written a few characteristics of each that I've tried to capture. I just noticed that Hamish's right arm is shorter than the left! But these are still just initial sketches and trying to get their characters more than anything. Any critiques welcome! Cheers.





ps. if you're interested I'm going to be doing a weekly update on my progress with the book, on Mondays on my blog.

This is my latest illustration in my weekly children's book project I've been working on, titled Robot Alphabet. This is letter E, for Robots Eat. This is actually based on a classic poster from the mid-20th century (the original of which can be seen here). As always, if you're interested in keeping tabs on my progress, you can find my regulary updated blog here. Also, here is a link to my other portfolio site.

NOTE TO SELF: A FAMILY IS A FAMILY IS A FAMILY...SOME PEOPLE SEE SUBVERSIVE PLOTS EVERYWHERE, ESPECIALLY IN LOUDON

Given the fact that this is a place where there is reading matter covering a wide variety of subjects, one parent whose sensitivities were obviously jarred by the prospect of gay penguin parenting, has managed to get a book pulled from the library shelves. Some people see subversive plots at every turn, even within the pages of a children's book.

A children's book about two male penguins that hatch and parent a chick was pulled from library shelves in Loudoun County elementary schools this month after a parent complained that it promoted a gay agenda.

The decision by Superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick III led many parents and gay rights advocates to rush to the penguins' defence. Many say that the school system should not have allowed one complaint to limit children's literary choices. Some are calling for an overhaul of the book review policy. Besides, many say, what could be wrong with a book about penguins?

"The book is based on a true story . . . of what happens in the animal kingdom," said David Weintraub, director of Equality Loudoun, a gay rights organization. "It's about the joy of being part of a family. These penguins love each other. They take care of each other. The book, "And Tango Makes Three," by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, draws on the real-life story of Roy and Silo, two chinstrap penguins at the Central Park Zoo in New York. It also appears to make a point about tolerance of alternative families.

As the book says, Roy and Silo were "a little bit different" than the boy and girl penguins who noticed each other and became couples. "Wherever Roy went, Silo went too." After they tried to hatch an egg-shaped rock together, a zookeeper gave them a fertilized egg to nurture. Experts say male chinstraps typically share incubation duties with females.The 2005 book, written with simple words and colorful pictures and dedicated "to penguin lovers everywhere," topped the American Library Association's list of banned or challenged books in 2006. Parents challenged the book in Shiloh, Ill., and Charlotte. Administrators in Charlotte initially yanked the book but later restored it, according to news reports.

Read the whole story here:

http://loudounextra.washingtonpost.com/news/2008/feb/16/tango/

Extra Information regarding penguins found on the Sea World site: http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Penguins/hatching.html:

"Care of the chicks
1 . Chicks require attentive parents for survival. Both parents feed the chick regurgitated food. Adults recognize and feed only their own chicks. Parents are able to identify their young by their chick's distinctive call (Marchant, 1990; Simpson, 1976).
2. Male emperor penguins exhibit a feature unique among penguins. If the chick hatches before the female returns, the male, despite his fasting, is able to produce and secrete a curdlike substance from his esophagus to feed the chick (Marchant, 1990; del Hoyo, et al., 1992) allowing for survival and growth for up to two weeks (Pr6vost and Vilter, 1963-1 Stonehouse, 1975).

Mother Goose...a nice compilation of stories with lessons, great illustrations and little rhymes. I still look at it every time I start a new project. This is what Mother Goose would look like in my world!
www.candaceillustration.blogspot.com

If anybody's been following along with my weekly robot ABC book project, you might have noticed that I missed posting what should have been the letter D last week. That's because my entire family (myself included) was hit by one nasty case of the flu. Well, I'm back from death's door, and this is what would have been week four: Robots Dive. You can check out the rest of my progress at my blog, Robot Alphabet. You can also always check out other work I've done and other news-worthy events at my portfolio site/blog: Mark Hammer Designs.

©Kathleen Rietz
Here is a spot illustration I painted to accompany the mermaid illustration (BELOW) which I painted yesterday. I have been working on trying to create portfolio pieces that tell a story. These illustrations were based on the Illustration Friday theme "Tales & Legends" from 2 weeks ago. You can see the preliminary sketch for the main illustration if you scroll down the page a bit.

©Kathleen Rietz
A new illustration inspired by the Illustration Friday prompt "Tales & Legends" (scroll down to see the preliminary sketch).

©Kathleen Rietz
Just a boy, his dog, the moonlight and a blanket...
Hey, click the link to my website in the right hand column of this page to see the latest additions to my site, including "sketchbook" art and my latest catagory "surface design".

Here's the final of the "Turtle Ride". I added the background separately, tiling a patch of blue I had colored by hand. I still think it's too flat looking. In a few weeks, I plan to test out Painter to see how it may help. I wish I could do it now, but there's too much going on right now.

© Kathleen Rietz
I am working on this preliminary sketch this week for a new piece that I hope will make it into my portfolio. I am open to suggestions about what you think it "needs". It is in the very preliminary stages. I really want my illustrations to tell a story. Not just be pretty pictures.
Last Friday I had the distinct pleasure of sitting down at a local Starbuck's with children's book illustrator Kristi Valiant, who stopped through town on her way to see family. I had such a nice time with her, and I also learned so much from talking "shop" with her and leafing through our portfolios together. I am hoping that we will catch up with each other again in the not-too-distant future. It was so great to see such an established illustrator with over 20 books to her name! Bonus: she is a very nice person! Thanks Kristi!
Then on Sunday Kathy Weller and I talked on the phone until our ears pretty much turned into soft cauliflower. : ) I have always been such a BIG fan of Kathy's. Funny to find out she is also a big fan of my work. We seem to have similar personalities and I get the feeling we would be a dangerous pair if we lived anywhere within 50 miles of each other! You know you are a dangerous combo when you have talked so long that your phone's battery dies and you have to switch to your cell phone. heehee... Thanks Kathy! You crack me up.
I also want to thank Alicia Padron for our valuable email exchanges about illustration, promotion, and just plain "life".
I am realizing how blessed I am to have "met" so many terrific artists while blogging (some virtually and some in real life!). Rubbing elbows with you all is what makes my day, every day. I have learned so much from your comments about my work. I do not take for granted anyone who stops by to have a look. I always hope you like what you see and will that you return again and again.
O-O-O-Oh!!! By the way, I am going to try to put together a new blog showcasing my art students' work. I hope to work on it this weekend. Stay tuned. I will announce the blog once I have it up and running.

Well, here we are again. This week’s addition to my weekly ABC book project is C is for Cook. I had some debate with my wife on what sort of cook I should be doing. I even briefly flirted with the idea of changing the letter C to Chop and doing a robot sushi chef, but then I started thinking about depicting “hey, kids, it’s fun to play with knives," and decided it was best to return to my original idea. As always, I invite you to check out my regularly updated blog Robot Alphabet to track my progress on my book. You can also check out my portfolio site and other blog here.

Mark

I'm working hard on building up my children's book portfolio. This is my latest attempt. I'm not quite happy with it yet. I'm going to set it aside for a few days and then see what I can do to improve it. It's a challenge to create spot illos on toned paper. I think this one needs a background. She was a real struggle for me. I may have to start over. Her mouth is just not working.

I just completed several batches of textbook illustrations that I have been working on since the end of October. What began as 108 illustrations turned into 143. I had to let 2 picture book assignments pass through my hands during this project - one because the situation was not right, and the other because the deadline was impossible for me. But those are decisions that you have to make sometimes, you know? I hope there is a new offer right around the corner.
My second semester of teaching children's art classes at Wheaton began today. We had lots of fun. I had the younger kids stretch their creativity by blindly reaching into paper bags to choose 5 words or phrases that would complete a sentence that they then had to illustrate. For example: The blue horse juggled omelets while wearing boots on a train in a rainstorm. They loved this assignment! For my older class of kids, we created grey scale models and then I set up 3 eggs on black paper under a spotlight and we rendered studies of the eggs, taking note of shadows and values and reflective light. I was so impressed with these kids. They are only 11 and their drawings were beautiful! I also started my 3rd teaching job today, teaching art to a group of home schooled kids in my community. Next week we will be working on self-portraits in graphite.
It feels good to have completed this huge 3 1/2 month long illustration assignment, and now to invest my time into teaching budding artists! This is what makes me happy about being an artist. Every day is a gift.

©Kathleen Rietz
Billy's mom always told him he was plain, but today at recess little freckle-faced Becky Beauregard told him he was handsome.

Welcome to stop #2 on Kaza Kingsley’s Blog tour.  Check out some questions Kaza answered for us, her faithful readers, and then take a peek at Kaza from a few years ago.  If you have not yet read them, you also need to check out her Erec Rex books, The Dragon’s Eye and The Monsters of Otherness.

What is the hardest part of writing for you?
The hardest and most overwhelming part of writing for me is what  happens after I finish the rough draft of a book. When I’m writing a rough draft, I free myself to go anywhere the story takes me. (Although I do follow some guideposts!) I don’t worry about the details, if I’ve used the same word too many times, or if a whole section isn’t quite right. I’m just living the story, watching it unfold. And I love that.

It’s what happens next that is so hard! I’ve been using a whole
different part of my brain for so long, it’s strange making the switch.  When I finish the rough draft I do a thorough edit on my work, and  it nearly drives me crazy.

That’s where I step back and look at the story as a whole. It’s not  as easy as it might seem. For me, at least, I have to picture all of  the scenes flowing together smoothly, watch for boring spots (those get yanked!) make sure the mystery is hinted at just right, and try and imagine the story threads like an interconnecting puzzle, with just the right chunks in the right spots. I move bits from one part of the book to another, cut scenes, add others.

It’s a huge pain in the neck! And it makes my head spin, until I get used to it after a week or two. It’s grueling, but definitely worth it. I’m kind of like a sculptor, chiseling the ”right” story out of the rough draft. Once I have it where I want it, I still make a few more changes (being a perfectionist.) But at least then I can relax.

Doing the fine edit, wordplay, is low pressure and relaxing for me.

Plus, I really feel done then!
 

What is the best part?
Being finished!! Aahhh, so satisfying. I suppose a close tie is
writing the rough draft through some of the more exciting scenes. I really like that!

Do you ever get lost into your writing?
Yes. When I sink more and more into my story, which happens as I get  further into the rough draft, I do begin to feel as if it’s real. It’s almost like I’m living in two worlds at once! A cool feeling, really. Things that happen to me in real life don’t seem as significant then, which is good, I guess. It’s kind of like taking a vacation in your own mind!

That’s really only when I’m writing the rough draft, though. The editing part is so compulsive it gives me those kind of filing/ sorting /looking for things dreams at night.
 

If you had the chance, would you live in Alypium?
When I’m writing I kind of feel like I do live in Alypium!! But as far as really living there? Umm…No. I think I prefer magic to remain  inside my head. Not that I’m not adventurous, but Erec’s adventures  are a little wild for me! I like to know that I’ll be here tomorrow, safe and snug!

What authors would you most like to have dinner with?
Given anything, being a fantasy writer, I’d have to pick someone from the past. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a meal with William Shakespeare? When I was a kid I used to imagine how fun it would be to have someone from the distant past, like George Washington, appear in my kitchen
so I could show them all the new, cool stuff we have!

“Thanks for hosting me on my blog tour, Kate! It’s fun visiting so many sites. I hope you like the baby pictures of me along the way - each site is getting their own. You’ll see me grow up along the tour!”

a story about 'waiting'.... read it here

Sorry for the slight «hors contexte» of my post; I have taken the liberty to show you my interpretation (quite literal) of Children's book. This is the first painting of a series I have started not long ago (the second is almost finished, the third is visualized in my head well enough ) about books and kids. I don't know how to name it yet, and the title «Books and kids» seem somewhat too... blah? Got some suggestions for me? :)

Here is some blogging about it.

I know I should have been working on all of the assignments I have due in January....but....Illustration Friday is such a nice distraction. I can't remember the last time I did something totally mindless. So I can't really say this Illustration Friday piece is my best effort, but I just needed a little distraction before the chaos of meeting deadlines begins again. Have a good weekend everyone!