by Creatively, I’m very slow.
I like to be delicate with my ideas and usually spend three years developing a picture book.
Because of this, I have to look for ideas that hit my proverbial sweet spot and keep me enthused for the long haul.
For the picture book that I’m working on now, titled THE TRICYCLE MOUSE, my initial idea was to combine two of my favorite things: vehicles and animals.
Thus the characters in the book are hybridized animal-vehicles.
I started working on this over a year and a half ago, it still has a long way to go, but my excitement for the project has only grown.
Julian Hector is generously giving away an original signed painting he made exlcusively for PiBoIdMo, with characters from his picture book THE GENTLEMAN BUG! It’s unbelievably adorable! Lucky you!
Leave a comment to enter and a winner will be randomly chosen one week from today.
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What a lovely illustration! I am imagining the titles of the little bugs’ books, and wondering what delicacies are in their picnic basket! Thank you for the inspiration!
Hi Julian,
Your artwork is amazing and it made me smile! It always makes me feel good to hear from another artist that it takes them a long time to create. I don’t even want to think of the hours it takes me to write…Anyway, thanks so much for the opportunity to win one of your original signed paintings!
Best,
Jennifer
I love this — right now, in mass-idea-generation mode, it’s important to remember that I’ll be living with the ideas for a long time if I end up working them into a book.
The time you take shows in the results, Julian.
And thanks for the generous giveaway– beautiful! Wish me luck.
@danaFR
Sounds fun! Joyce Sidman recently talked about that, how her best ideas come about from combining at least two concepts. She wanted to write poems about forest creatures, and as she realized most of the most interesting ones were nocturnal, she made her collection, Dark Emperor, all about animals in the woods at night. Thanks for sharing!
Mouse thing is pretty cute. I have a problem with staying focused on a project because other ideas come up and since they’re new, interest me more. It’d be nice if such methodical development rubbed off on me.
I love your bright, cheery and clever illustrations, Julian…they made me smile. Thanks for bringing a giggle to our day!
I want to drive a cat convertible! Too fun. Thanks for the reminder that sometimes art cannot be rushed.
I love the garden scene. I wish I knew what they were reading.
Thanks for sharing your litmus test with us.
Good to know these things take time. Thanks for sharing!