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Children's book illustrator, writer, and enthusiast.
Number of Readers that added this blog to their MyJacketFlap: 17
By: Matt Phelan,
on 10/31/2016
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 9/8/2016
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 7/11/2016
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 4/29/2016
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 4/19/2016
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 4/10/2016
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 3/25/2016
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 3/22/2016
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 2/24/2016
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 2/5/2016
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 11/5/2015
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 10/11/2015
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 6/16/2015
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Those weren't dramatic enough so I turned to the sequence in the book when Edward is fished out of the ocean.
This seemed like the direction to take it. I pulled back to give more of a sense of the net and the lonely sea.
To avoid being too bleak, a bit of sunlight filters in from the top left.
The final was drawn in pencil and then digitally colored which was both faster (I was in the middle of painting Snow White and didn't have a ton of time) and also well-suited for the murky depths of the ocean.
The show goes up next season in lovely Portland, Oregon. Check it out if you can!
By: Matt Phelan,
on 3/10/2015
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: sketchy, preliminaries, Marilyn's Monster, Add a tag
By: Matt Phelan,
on 3/8/2015
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 3/8/2015
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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(note: I thought I had posted this in December, but something is apparently went wrong.)
By: Matt Phelan,
on 3/6/2015
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 10/31/2014
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 10/30/2014
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 10/29/2014
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 10/28/2014
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 10/27/2014
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 9/5/2014
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Various character sketches. Fortunately, I have very good source material running around the house. This book is dedicated to her.
By: Matt Phelan,
on 9/5/2014
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 9/2/2014
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Children's book illustrator, writer, and enthusiast.
Statistics for Planet Ham
Number of Readers that added this blog to their MyJacketFlap: 17
By: Matt Phelan,
on 10/31/2016
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: halloween, Add a tag
By: Matt Phelan,
on 9/8/2016
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Gombrich, Art, Drawing, Philosophy, sketchy, Add a tag
"The Chinese consider it childish to look for details in pictures and then to compare them with the real world. They want, rather, to find in them the visible traces of the artist's enthusiasm."
– E. H. Gombrich, The Story of Art
0 Comments on Visible Traces as of 9/8/2016 10:36:00 AM
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 7/11/2016
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Experimenting with Chinese brushes and Marie's watercolor on Sumi-e paper...
0 Comments on Brush with a Gorilla as of 7/13/2016 4:59:00 AM
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 4/29/2016
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Polychromos pencil and digital.
0 Comments on Ratfink Raccoon as of 4/29/2016 11:00:00 AM
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 4/19/2016
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Brush sketches, Add a tag
By: Matt Phelan,
on 4/10/2016
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Just playing around with a Winsor & Newton Ivory Black Water Colour Marker and my trusty water brush. Fun, but seems to fade quite a bit after a few minutes. Scan or take a photo quick, kids.
And just for fun...
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 3/25/2016
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: snow white, Add a tag
Still have to wait until September for the pub date, but here's the cover...
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 3/22/2016
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 2/24/2016
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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During the first week of March, I'll be doing a series of events about The Storm in the Barn for the Silicon Valley READS program.
Here are the events that are free and open to the public!
And here's more about the Silicon Valley READS program!
Please come out and say howdy!
0 Comments on Silicon Valley READS The Storm in the Barn! as of 2/24/2016 10:22:00 AM
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 2/5/2016
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: snow white, Add a tag
"To illustrate a fairy tale is not an intellectual, scientific interpretation but a transposition of internal pictures and feelings."
– Lisbeth Zwerger
0 Comments on Snow Will Fall... as of 2/5/2016 2:22:00 PM
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 11/5/2015
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: process, pigs in tutus, Process Monday, Add a tag
Drawn with an Intense pencil, Niji water brush, and plain ol' water.
0 Comments on Pig in a Tutu! as of 11/5/2015 5:26:00 PM
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 10/11/2015
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: process, Breakfast Sketches, giant elephant shrew, Process Monday, Add a tag
Giant Elephant Shrew, that is.
0 Comments on Drawing a Shrew as of 10/11/2015 8:10:00 PM
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 6/16/2015
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Last year, the Oregon Children's Theatre (creators of the excellent stage version of The Storm in the Barn) contacted me about doing an illustration to promote their production of Ramona Quimby. This year, I was asked to take a crack at an image for The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Kate DiCamillo.
I really enjoy these theater poster commissions. It gives me a chance to delve into a great book and try to boil the essence down to a single image. It is similar to designing a cover, but without the various input and compromises that sometimes go with that territory.
I was asked to try a few sketches with the hobo and Edward:
This seemed like the direction to take it. I pulled back to give more of a sense of the net and the lonely sea.
To avoid being too bleak, a bit of sunlight filters in from the top left.
The final was drawn in pencil and then digitally colored which was both faster (I was in the middle of painting Snow White and didn't have a ton of time) and also well-suited for the murky depths of the ocean.
The show goes up next season in lovely Portland, Oregon. Check it out if you can!
0 Comments on Edward & Me as of 1/1/1900
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 3/10/2015
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: sketchy, preliminaries, Marilyn's Monster, Add a tag
Today's the publication date for MARILYN'S MONSTER, my new picture book written by the amazing MICHELLE KNUDSEN!
I met Michelle many years ago at an independent booksellers' conference. I was a big fan of LIBRARY LION so I let her know that I'd (obviously) very much like to work with her someday. Okay, I may have pestered her a little. Well, the pestering eventually paid off because here is the book! And here's what people are saying:
"Rich with feeling, it’s a warm, gently funny reminder to chase down one’s dreams, rather than waiting for them to appear on the doorstep." Publishers Weekly (STAR)
"Tender and witty..." Wall Street Journal
"A surprising spin on monsters with nicely effective artwork—and heart." Kirkus Reviews
The official Book Release Party is SATURDAY, MARCH 14th at CHILDREN'S BOOK WORLD in Haverford, PA! Michelle and I will both be there so here's your chance to get the rare and oh-so-nifty double signed copy!
To celebrate today's release, here are some sketches...
The official Book Release Party is SATURDAY, MARCH 14th at CHILDREN'S BOOK WORLD in Haverford, PA! Michelle and I will both be there so here's your chance to get the rare and oh-so-nifty double signed copy!
To celebrate today's release, here are some sketches...
 |
| cover sketch |
 |
| Unused title page |
 |
| Early development sketch |
 |
| dummy sketch |
 |
| Monster character design sketch |
And here's a final painting from the book:
 |
Look for more process posts soon. To keep up on all of my book stuff (including upcoming events), check out my Facebook Author Page!
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 3/8/2015
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 3/8/2015
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: snow white, preliminaries, Add a tag
I'm off and running on the final art for my next graphic novel, SNOW WHITE. I'll try to share sketches and art whenever I come up for air.
Here's a test drawing to show you the mood and style:
0 Comments on Snow White Begins as of 1/1/1900
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 3/6/2015
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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You know what makes one a very happy author? Reading an analysis of your book as thoughtful as the one Desmond White just wrote for Sequart. Go read it!
0 Comments on "...like a memory recalled or a dream put to page. as of 3/6/2015 9:34:00 PM
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 10/31/2014
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: preliminaries, Marilyn's Monster, halloween, monsters, Add a tag
And to conclude Monster Week '14, here's some preliminary art from my upcoming picture book, MARILYN'S MONSTER by the great Michelle Knudsen and published by the extraordinary Candlewick Press. Coming to a bookstore near you in MARCH 2015!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
0 Comments on Monster Week: MARILYN'S MONSTER SNEAK PEEK! as of 10/31/2014 10:27:00 AM
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 10/30/2014
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: halloween, monsters, preliminaries, Marilyn's Monster, Add a tag
By: Matt Phelan,
on 10/29/2014
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: monsters, preliminaries, Marilyn's Monster, halloween, Add a tag
By: Matt Phelan,
on 10/28/2014
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: halloween, monsters, preliminaries, Marilyn's Monster, Add a tag
By: Matt Phelan,
on 10/27/2014
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: halloween, sketchy, preliminaries, Marilyn's Monster, Add a tag
Two years ago, I kept a sketchbook devoted entirely to monsters. It was a fun preliminary step to illustrating the picture book Marilyn's Monster by my good friend Michelle Knudsen (Candlewick Press, March 2015).
It seems to fitting to post a beastie a day this week. Check back!
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 9/5/2014
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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If you had your druthers, what would you do?
My first picture book as both author and illustrator is now available! The idea for Druthers came to me ten years ago but it took many years (and, arguably, fatherhood) to get the book right.
Here are some images from the long journey:
Original cover concept from the pitch dummy.
Another cover idea.
Pages from the sketch dummy. The basic structure of the story is the same from the dummy,
but we expanded the build-up to the ending.
Various character sketches. Fortunately, I have very good source material running around the house. This book is dedicated to her.
0 Comments on DRUTHERS! as of 9/9/2014 9:18:00 AM
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 9/5/2014
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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By: Matt Phelan,
on 9/2/2014
Blog: Planet Ham (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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More classic characters, this time from one of my favorite books, The Wind in the Willows. These guys were sketched just for fun while on vacation.
0 Comments on Wind in the Willows as of 9/2/2014 2:28:00 PM
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