Drop by and check out our latest podcast. This month we have a roundtable discussion regarding the Adobe changes with Chris Jones, Mary Reaves Uhles, Donald Wu, Norm Grock and Wilson Williams Jr. Find out how we view it's impact on us and our professions as children's illustrators.

Link to podcast here. Be sure to find and subscribe to us on Itunes and Youtube.

Add a Comment

The Next Big Thing is a global blog tour, started in Australia, to showcase authors and illustrators and their current work. I was tagged by the super cool and talented Chris Jones! Someone I'm looking forward to interviewing later this year over on my OnceUponASketch.com blog!

So now I'll answer some questions about my newest books, then pass the Q & A along to two others who'll pick up the tour next week.


1) What is the working title of your next book?


2) Where did the idea come from for the book? 

The idea for Kiss Kisses came from observing my niece. I observed fact that every time she enters a room she is quickly prompted by my sister to go around the room delivering kisses to all her relatives. It made me wonder what a kiss would mean to her and how many different kinds she would imagine there were.

3) In what genre does your book fall? 

This book is an early reader. Primarily set up as a bed time story of sorts.

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Oh Wow! I imagine that I'd love for my niece to play the part but she is too young. So I think I'll go with a young Keshia Knight Pulliam. She played Rudy on the Cosby Show.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

From the time she wakes up till she falls asleep, Erica spends her day getting and giving different kind of kisses. Join us to see all the different kinds! What kind of kisses do you get?  (Ok, that's longer than a sentence. I need to shave that a bit!)

6) Who is publishing your book?

I'll probably let this be my first foray into self publishing, but I do have a couple of prospective publishers interested in e-publication.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

The first draft came rather quickly. The revisions on the other hand!! Heh!

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Hmm...I can't think of any in particular. My book is intended to be a bed time book but it doesn't focus on bedtime specifically. So it can be read anytime.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

My niece was my inspiration!

10) What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?

I think spending the day with Erica will help to fuel kids imaginations about the different kinds of kisses they get in their lives. Don't be surprised if your kids start naming the different types of kisses they get!

Thank you for stopping in here to help me celebrate my "Next Big Thing." Now onto the next three candidates who will post on the 23rd of this month. I'll update with direct links then!

Norman Grock
Kevin William Cross 
Mary Reaves Uhles

Add a Comment

Day 3 of the Dani Jones challenge.

Day 3 is Disney! So I went with Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. "Every Last Inch of me's covered with HAIR!!!!"

The list and info in regards to participating can be found here.

Add a Comment

Day 2 of the Dani Jones challenge.

Day 2 is Captain!

The list and info in regards to participating can be found here.

Add a Comment

Dani Jones just issued a daily sketch challenge and I, like a fool, am going to participate. I'll be juggling things for REAL this month! Ha! 

The first day is cat!

The list and info in regards to participating can be found here.

Add a Comment

A new cover I did recently for a Warner Press activity book publication.  Also the final cover for the coloring book I did that is available for purchase now, Peter's Promise . I love working on these! Tons of fun and Warner is a great group of folks to work with! Shout out to Christian Elden and Kevin Spear!

Display Comments Add a Comment

Add a Comment

Being a freelance illustrator can be a lonely and insular experience. One of the things I miss the most about working in an art department is the ability to stick my head over the top of a cubicle and say, "Hey, come look at this and tell me what you think?" Getting input from your peers is an invaluable tool that can help you catch errors that you've become blind to, give advice and help problem solve on issues that have you blocked, as well as give you ideas for new directions you can take your illustration that you may not have thought of on your own. Your peers can help your art grow and speed your development as an artist.

A great way to get this input is through a critique group. A critique group is a gathering of individuals who have agreed to share work with each other and get honest input on it based on their experiences, taste and talent.

I have been members of many and have enjoyed some and loathed others. The problem can emerge when you are dealing with other artists that you may not truly consider your peers. Most crit groups I have joined were with strangers. I wasn't familiar with them, there artwork or there temperament and they weren't familiar with mine. This can make it difficult to want to share your artwork and open yourself up to critical input. Many of us have very personal ties to our artwork and having someone tear it apart is like having someone criticize our children or a dear friend. (This is something we have to get over as professionals, but I acknowledge that many of us are still developing that thicker skin.)

The result ends up being that after a person posts an image, many are afraid to say anything negative. Some after posting an image and getting critical input will never post anything again. So how do you solve this problem and create a strong group of individuals to share your work with? A friend on Facebook inadvertently gave me the answer.

I've cultivated a number of relationships with fellow artists through social networks. Many I have to come to admire and respect as my peers and fellow professionals. One of them recently sent me a message that included five other artists. They were asking for advice on how to solve an issue they were having with their image. Within minutes a few had responded with advice and direction on the image. As they made the changes suggested they posted the newer images and we'd all continue to give input until the artist was satisfied with the image. Ladies and gentleman, we have a critique group.


I then tried the method myself. I went through my friends list and selected five or so members that I admired and respected and presented my image and asked for input on it. The response was immediate and hugely beneficial to the final product. As one person chimed in, others would react to their input, as well as offer their opinions and advice as well. It was like having a conversation amongst friends. (In a controlled manner!) I'll definitely be doing this again and I can only hope that the artists will return the favor and do the same with me.

The good thing is that your group is able to float. You can custom create your group for each individual problem or circumstance. If anyone you have messaged doesn't want to participate they can leave the conversation of their own accord. Details below!
There's no telling where you could grow this if you wanted. You could easily convince these folks to start a group where you share even more than just your images with each other. But I think this is a great way to get immediate input on your work and start to build a circle of people that you share your journey with.

I hope this proves a great asset for you. It's great to develop these relationships and get input from your peers. It can only help your work grow and get better and let your skin get a bit thicker!

Add a Comment

Display Comments Add a Comment

Add a Comment

Add a Comment

A little vector process. I'm working on expanding the vector end of my portfolio. This really is more of a character study than anything that could really be used as a portfolio piece. But it was fun nonetheless!! Enjoy!

Display Comments Add a Comment

I am a huge Will Terry fan and have bought a number of his videos. So I am very happy to say that the site through which he sells his videos, Folio Academy has been redesigned and relaunched! I highly recommend dropping by and seeing which videos you think may fit your fancy.

The Folio Academy has videos from Will Terry, A.B.(Russ), RussellAmber, MediaBill, WhitakerBlufire Studios, Bob Barrett, Burning Oak Studios, Danni Jones, Greg Newbold, Jerry's Artarama, Justin Cook, Kirk Richards, Paul Mann, Perry Milou, Peter Wood, Provo Creative, and Simon Winegar.

I learned a great deal from Will's video's so I stand by those for new-intermediate artists. But even you masters of your craft can always learn something from somebody else's technique or methods.

I will probably be posting a review of one of his videos soon. Check his art below!


So drop in check the previews and see what you like!!

Use a link in the above article or the one in the right sidebar!

Add a Comment

Display Comments Add a Comment

Recent little illustration I did for my sister blog OnceUponASketch.com. But after looking at it further I decided to alter it a bit. The results are below. Is that better?
The changes are subtle, but they are there!! Can you see them? Let me know!

Display Comments Add a Comment

Another beastie from an ongoing project!

His feet could be bigger and his toes more pronounced and forward rather to the sides like that! He looks bow legged. Did this while watching Rise of the Planet of the Apes. What do you think?

Add a Comment

Just finished another coloring book! I love doing coloring books! So much fun! In the process I learned how much I absolutely love Photoshop!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for Curves, Layers, Levels and Hue/Saturation! It's so easy to get tunnel vision and for your palette of colors to get way too narrow. This happened to me on the cover. Here's the image chosen by the art director to be the cover. This is just the linework that appears within the book.

I then proceeded to color it. And guess what I thought I was done. Here is that image. After looking at it I realized that my contrast was crappy. My background was muddy. The foreground characters were getting lost. So I pulled out the Curves, Hue/Saturation and Levels to push and pull my colors. When I finally got something I liked it looked like this. Now truth be told if I had more time I would have posted this to a few groups I frequent online and let my art peers tear into it. Pick the advice that I thought was the most on point and went back in and reworked those areas. But I am glad that I am getting better at seeing what's wrong with my own images. (Not the best, but better.) Every image we do is a lesson to be learned about what we are bad at and need to get better and what we are good at...and still need to get better. I'll let you know when the book becomes available for purchase!! :)

Display Comments Add a Comment

Some Critters from a recent image!

Enjoy!! More on the project later!

Display Comments Add a Comment

This started out as a warm up sketch and I decide d to try and emulate the style of Miss Vanessa Newton. Of course I come up woefully short!!! She is amazing! But enjoy the image none the less! Congrats to Gabby Douglas!!!

Add a Comment

I haven't shown a process piece in a while so let's do one now! This one will be something that was done for a client. The first step: I was given a poem about a kitten and some visual direction and reference for what they wanted the image to look like. I created a sketch and sent it to them leaving the predetermined amount of space for the left side of the image.

The first step: I created a sketch and sent it to them leaving the predetermined amount of space for the left side of the image.

The second step: The feedback received was that they wanted me to zoom in on the action. Move the mouse to the left. The kitten didn't need to be under the table and use the string to allow your eye to move from left to right.I made the changes and resubmitted.


The third step: The sketch was approved for color. I proceeded to color in the image and resumbit it.


The fourth step: The feedback received was that they wanted me to show the full room and remove the white fade. They also weren't happy with the boys face and wanted more roundness and depth to it. I also adjusted the shadows, added stripes to the boys shirt, added stripes to the wall, changed the color of the string and changed the shapes and colors of the shadows.I also did some touching up to the kitten.

The fifth step: Before submitting I showed the image to a few fellow artists who noted how odd and wrong the floor patterns were. I went in and changed that as well as add additional shadows to the back wall. Then I submitted it to the client. Let's keep our fingers crossed that it's approved!!!

Add a Comment

A new project that I did a while ago with the creator Garry DeArmond at Bugaroos. I just seem to have forgotten to post about it. It doesn't seem to be available at traditional markets, but it looks like you can snag a copy here!

This job was different for me in the fact that I had to deviate from my normal style to come up with something more vector and licensed looking. For the most part the characters were already established and I needed to match what an artist had done previously. Definitely a learning experience!

Add a Comment

What I'm working on today

I have been neglecting my poor, poor website! I've been pouring a lot of energy into my other project Once Upon A Sketch! But it's time to give my own blog some love and attention. So for the moment I'll quickly post the freelance I'm currently working on. This is an image in progress for a new book. Enjoy! I'll update it with progress later this week!

Add a Comment

Contests-Lee and Low Books-New Voices Award

Add a Comment

It saddens me so to say that legendary Queen of Disco, Donna Summer has passed away at the age of 63. She will be sorely missed but her legacy and contributions to an era of music will never be forgotten.

Add a Comment

Over at Once Upon A Sketch, one of our ongoing initiatives will be to provide meaning for terms and phrases that are local to the Children's Market. So from this point forward we will go into some of those terms and what they mean. If you have specific requests feel free to e-mail them to us! One of the first set of terms that confused me was the varied Book Market classifications. Many publishers listed the markets of books they published and I wasn't sure what the words meant exactly. Trade and Mass Market most notably. So they will be first.

   
Above is cover to Hardback Trade Edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling.    

Trade Books- Books released to the Traditional (trade) Markets are generally directed almost exclusively to Bookstores and Online markets for sale. In most instances this is a books initial public release and would be a precursor to being released to the larger Mass Market depending on sales numbers of the book within the Trade Market. Trade Books are often printed in smaller runs, on higher quality paper and binding in a larger format. While it is frequent that you will have a hard cover with a slip cover for a Trade Book, this is not always the case. First run Prints of Trade books can also be softcover but the quality of these books is still generally at a higher grade than what is used in Mass Market Books. Because of the better quality the book is also generally more expensive, which also contribute to its smaller customer base. They are usually sold on shelves with either their covers out or their spines showing. Trade Books are also the version of a book that you will most often find being used by Libraries for their patrons. This is due in large part to the sturdier format that makes the books more able to stand up to many uses and reads by multiple Library patrons.  
Above is cover to Softback Mass Edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling.  

Mass Market Books- As the name implies these books are directed at a larger (Mass) audience and consumer base. This is accomplished by making it available in more outlets to consumers, as well as making the books smaller and cheaper for purchase and personal convenience. While trade books are available in bookstores and online. Mass Market books are more commonly found at the checkout counter of your grocery store, drug stores, gift shops, airports and newspaper stands. They are priced cheaper to attract more impulse buys and purchases. Think small child begging at Mommy or Daddy’s feet for that Zora the Explorer Activity Book! Mass Market books are generally paperback books printed on less quality paper and sized to be easy to carry in your pocket or purse. The production of Mass Market books also generally follows the release of the Trade version of the same book title. The Trade versions are usually of a higher quality paper, larger, more expensive, and hardback in nature. Mass Market Children’s Books are very often t

Add a Comment