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Have you ever stripped a piece of furniture to give it a new life and a fresh purpose? Recently, I finished a project that I’ve been dragging my feet on, and found the process actually refreshing and satisfying. I inherited my late brother’s trunk, which he in turn inherited from our late father. It was sooo dated that it would have made a great prop for a pirate movie. Yet, there was so much history and character to this trunk, I wanted it for a personal challenge, as well as to have a keepsake from my brother and father. So, after being ‘stuck’ as my hubby called it, in the garage since February, I began to seriously work on my trunk at the end of the August.
Honestly, I really, really hate the stripping process. It’s kind of like editing the first draft of your book. You know you have to grin and bear it to remove the gunk, and get to the bones of the story. So you do it. My elbows and hands are still screaming at me! Slowly, but surely, the old red and gold paint peeled off to reveal the trunk’s original color. The poor thing appeared so naked, so exposed, like a newborn baby with bits of after-birth stuck to it. Sorry for the visual, but it’s true.
Next came choosing the new paint color. I wanted to go with a dark brown—mostly to hide all the flaws in the trunk’s body caused by my scraper. Perhaps I used little too much elbow grease. Hubby helped me with this part, carefully spraying the sides, allowing the trunk time to dry, then giving it another coat. Covering the flaws reminded me of the care a writer takes in creating characters. Like the gouges and grooves in my trunk, your characters NEED flaws because readers must feel some sort of connection with them. Readers WANT to cheer on those flawed underdogs, see them scream, watch them change and grow. And when that connection happens, they wholeheartedly invest in your characters and the hell authors drag them through.
Once the paint was completely dry, it was on to varnishing the trunk. Boo-yah! This was a painstakingly long process, done by hand. But there was no turning back now! I did two coats and allowed the varnish time to dry and hardened. Like revising and polishing your book before submitting for publication (self or traditional), the varnishing step protects and gives a glossy finish to the trunk to give it life. This process reflects something every writer needs to do in order to get the best quality book in the hands of their readers.
Finally came the finishing, the piece de resistance. I wanted the trunk to be cedar-lined. Call me anal (hubby did), I don’t care. I wanted to be able to use the trunk to store bedding for guests, as well as double as a coffee table. I’d already invested quite a lot of time and money into this project—think how much time writers invest in their books, and you’ll understand me completely. So I went all in and did it the way I visualized the trunk that I wanted. This was hubby’s job, as he’s a skilled woodworker and finisher. And he didn’t disappoint. The trunk smelled of cedar (love the smell) and had a fresher, cleaner look to it. Truly an improvement my brother and father would have been proud of!
Speaking of improvements, Book #2 of the Last Timekeepers time travel series, The Last Timekeepers and the Dark Secret was originally written in 2001. There’s been so many revisions and rewrites to this novel that fifteen years later, I’m so proud of the final product. I do hope you get a chance to check it out when this Timekeeper mission is released on October 17th! So grab your spy gear and suit up, the Timekeepers are going undercover in their next time travel adventure! Cheers and thank you for reading my blog!
0 Comments on Reaping what you Sow in Life and in Writing… as of 1/1/1900
It's the holidays! I hope you're all having a fantastic time with friends and family. I've taken a couple of days off after finishing up projects for this first term, but now I'm back to work. College has been wonderful ... so far it has been a huge, rewarding, re-learning curve, and I'm still digesting the feast of new creative ideas that I've been fed.
One of them was learning how to rubber stamp. I'm pretty hooked, and am contemplating getting my own carving bits and pieces so that I can experiment further at home. Here, though, is what I managed to get done in class using mini erasers:
And here's a look at one of my college projects. Definitely out of my comfort zone, and I'm a bit uncomfortable with the end result, but love the fact that I'm doing something so new to me. Eventually things will come together, I'm sure. Meanwhile ...
I was given 3 words: shoes, woven and dissect, and after much research, hair-pulling, distracting red herrings, and tons of experimentation -- all loads of fun -- this is what I came up with. Very childish and simplistic I know, but there are a lot of layers and depths hidden behind this sweet creation, so I'm more than happy with it. It's a good start ...
Over the next few weeks, Paul Gluck, co-author of Physics Project Lab, will be describing how to conduct various Physics experiments. In this first post, Paul explains how to investigate motion on a cycloid, the path described by a point on the circumference of a vertical circle rolling on a horizontal plane.
If you are a student or an instructor, whether in a high school or at university, you may want to depart from the routine of lectures, tutorials, and short lab sessions. An extended experimental investigation of some physical phenomenon will provide an exciting channel for that wish. The payoff for the student is a taste of how physics research is done. This holds also for the instructor guiding a project if the guide’s time is completely taken up with teaching. For researchers it seems natural to initiate interested students into research early on in their studies.
You could find something interesting to study about any mundane effect. If students come up with a problem connected with their interests, be it a hobby, some sport, a musical instrument, or a toy, so much the better. The guide can then discuss the project’s feasibility, or suggest an alternative. Unlike in a regular physics lab where all the apparatus is already there, there is an added bonus if the student constructs all or parts of the apparatus needed to explore the physics: a self-planned and built apparatus is one that is well understood.
Here is an example of what can be done with simple instrumentation, requiring no more than some photogates, found in all labs, but needing plenty of building initiative and elbow grease. It has the ingredients of a good project: learning some advanced theory, devising methods of measurements, and planning and building the experimental apparatus. It also provides an opportunity to learn some history of physics.
Cutting out the cycloid, image provided by Paul Gluck and used with permission.
The challenge is to investigate motion on a cycloid, the path described by a point on the circumference of a vertical circle rolling on a horizontal plane.
This path is relevant to two famous problems. The first is the one posed by Johann Bernoulli: along what path between two points at different heights is the travel time of a particle a minimum? The answer is the brachistochrone, part of a cycloid. Secondly, you can learn about the pendulum clock of Christian Huygens, in which the bob and its suspension were constrained to move along cycloid, so that the period of its swing was constant.
Here is what you have to construct: build a cycloidal track and for comparison purposes also a straight, variable-angle inclined track. To do this, proceed as follows. Mark a point on the circumference of a hoop, lid, or other circular object, whose radius you have measured. Roll it in a vertical plane and trace the locus of the point on a piece of cardboard placed behind the rolling object. Transfer the trace to a 2 cm-thick board and cut out very carefully with a jigsaw along the green-yellow border in the picture. Lay along the profile line a flexible plastic track with a groove, of the same width as the thickness of the board, obtainable from household or electrical supplies stores. Lay the plastic strip also along the inclined plane.
Your cycloid track is ready.
The pendulum constrained to the cycloid, image provided by Paul Gluck and used with permission.
Measure the time taken for a small steel ball to roll along the groove from various release points on the brachistochrone to the bottom of the track. Compare with theory, which predicts that the time is independent of the release height, the tautochrone property. Compare also the times taken to descend the same height on the brachistochrone and on the straight track.
Design a pendulum whose bob is constrained to move along a cycloid, and whose suspension is confined by cycloids on either side of its swing from the equilibrium position. To do this, cut the green part in the above picture exactly into two halves, place them side by side to form a cusp, and suspend the pendulum from the apex of the cusp, as in the second picture. The pendulum string will then be confined along cycloids, and the swing period will be independent of the initial release position of the bob – the isochronous property. Measure its period for various amplitudes and show that it is a constant.
Have you tried this experiment at home? Tell us how it went to get the chance to win a free copy of the Physics Project Lab book. We’ll pick our favourite descriptions on 9th January. Good luck to all entries!
Featured image credit: Advanced Theoretical Physics blackboard, by Marvin PA. CC-BY-NC-2.0 via Flickr.
This is one of the projects I've been working on recently, for an art college class. Yes, birds and mail art. Wonderful. Loads of cutting, slicing, collaging, and then drawing and painting, was done. I ended up with a couple of options to work on, and liked them both but ended up picking this one below for the final review.
I went through a bit of exploration and research and managed to develop quite a fascination with ravens, sifting through poems such as Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Raven', folklore, fairy-tales, fables--almost picked Aesop's The Crow and the Pitcher--so it isn't too surprising that I went with this pair in the end ... In Norse mythology, Huginn (from Old Norse "thought") and Muninn (Old Norse "memory" or "mind") are a pair of ravens that fly all over the world of Midgard, and bring information and news back to the god Odin. Flying messengers. Perfect.
I've depicted them as a white and black raven, and addressed the envelope to them. Their names are written in ancient Nordic runes just above their respective beaks. Yes, there's a message inside as well, written on rice paper 'parchment'. Private, of course. Let's hope that the envelope will eventually be returned to sender (me!) with a postal mark to show that it's been in the system. Here's a glimpse of the bit of mess I made while researching and working on the project ...
Here's the back of the envelope with a depiction of the Nordic mythical Tree of Life, Yggdrasil ...
The ravens and the tree were paper cuttings (my sketch book suffered somewhat) that I painted (watercolour for the birds and some marker pen on the tree) and collaged onto the envelope. On the front I'd also glued crosswords (to symbolize thought, naturally) onto the original white envelope, and then placed a thin sheet of rice paper over the whole thing so that it looked like parchment, slightly aged. I quite like the result, what do you think?
The other attempt at mail art was slightly a different one: I made an envelope from black paper and then cut straight into it, collaging and shading only the white bird on the front. Then I placed white paper inside the envelope so that it showed through the snipped out leaves, flowers and insects.
Simple, but I think it's quite cute. The back is a more abstract representation of a (meaner) raven and its wings, can you see it?
I did like this black and white bit of mail art, but once I'd begun on the research for the winged messengers of Odin, I fell in love with them and that was pretty much that. I think I made the right choice picking them as my final piece, what do you think? There are infinite possibilities for both options though, and I may end up using them somehow on cards and other goodies, so keep an eye out for them up at the Floating Lemons shops in the near future ...
One of the best things about living in New England is the beautiful autumns here. The leaves are just starting to fall to the ground and the colors are so vibrant. It is just beautiful. Here is my third entry for Inktober. I am all caught up now. Hooray!
Note: Sorry if I spammed anyone on twitter while I was tweaking my feed burner. Hopefully it is all straightened out.
Writers come in many different types, but they all form components of two categories; spinners and weavers. That’s my theory after being on this road to publication for the past three and a quarter years. Here’s how my theory goes.
Spinners
These writers are the ones who begin a project from thin air, no prep, no origin point beyond a basic premise, and a desire to create a story. These writers can be poets, children’s writers, essayists, memoirists, etc. The way they build the final product is the key to the definition.
They spin their final copy from tiny filaments of imagination, layer on layer, until the end. During rewrite, the spinner works to fill in those empty or shallow spots with more imaginative spinning to round out the overall picture created for the reader. A word change here for more concrete imagery, a comma placed there for more emphasis and dramatic effect, all of these tweaks come with deliberation and forethought to solidify the story, regardless of the format being used.
Some critics point out that this is an inefficient method of writing. I stand as both critic and user of the method. I defend this process of writing as being more organic and freer of cumbersome formulae.
It is also an inefficient and time consuming method of writing. It’s how my mind works when in creation mode, nevertheless. Flying by the seat of my pants might be cliché, but it’s an accurate description of the method.
If a spinner like me has a gut feeling about an impulse story, the best way to tackle it is the NaNoWriMo method. I dive in and write until I come to a wall. Sometimes a wall doesn’t appear until I’ve finished the entire first draft. Those are good times. Filling in the shallow spots, and tweaking during the rewrite, adds satisfaction and anticipation into the project.
There are also times that the wall arrives just after the title and byline, before the first line of the first paragraph. This latter example comes from my not having yet decided on a project’s slant, angle, or purpose before beginning a preplanned project. The spontaneity has been removed from it, leaving me adrift.
When I’m adrift on a preplanned project, I move into Weaver mode.
Weavers
A weaver uses components from various sources to weave a story tapestry, poem, etc. In some instances the type of source isn’t as critical as the information derived from it. Interviews delving into personal experiences glean much useful information without having to be documented from still other sources, for instance.
Personal memoir pieces and personal experience essays don’t always require documentation of any kind.
When the writer works with elements that require accuracy of information, real weaving takes place within the body of a written piece. Tiny details such as a plant’s medicinal properties must be accurate. Why? There are always people who will latch onto that tidbit of info and try it out in the real world, or research it, just to verify the writer’s use of the reference.
Travel articles hold much of the weaver’s abilities. The travel writer
Hi! Interesting post, and I like the analogy for the two methods. I used to be more of a spinner, but I’m gradually leaning towards the weaving method for writing these days. I think I always ended up in a tangle with the first approach!
claudsy said, on 3/1/2012 12:01:00 PM
Hey, Rosalind. So good to “see” you. I vacillate between the two forms according to whether I wake with a screaming idea demanding legitimacy or if it’s something that brewed for a while and then asked politely to come into the light. Since I do use both, I can swing on that pendulum and waste time only occasionally.
Glad you liked my post.
Claudsy
Hannah Gosselin said, on 3/1/2012 12:01:00 PM
Wow, Claudsy, this is a very revealing read into the “how,” of writer’s brains. I was drawn right into this piece immediately thinking, “Wow, that’s me!” I didn’t know there was a name for it. Interesting and slows me down to think if this is always the best way, too. Thanks, Clauds!
claudsy said, on 3/1/2012 12:04:00 PM
I think of you as a spinner most of the time, Hannah. Your emotional switch drives your talent and seems always ready to take you on a creative trip. I made up these names because they seemed to fit. Some SPIN tales, while others weave stories, regardless of formal or genre. I like that.
Glad you liked it.
Claudsy
Me said, on 3/1/2012 2:08:00 PM
Spinning and weaving. This explains alot about my writing and me in general, haha. Great blog post. -Michele
claudsy said, on 3/1/2012 2:43:00 PM
Thanks, Me. Glad you liked it. Feel free to drop by anytime.
Claudsy
Kathy said, on 3/2/2012 7:39:00 AM
Very interesting analogy. I think I am more of a weaver. I rarely spin a fanciful tale of pure fiction. I write what I know. Eventually I may branch out a little and start spinning, who knows?
Thank you, Kathy. If you don’t begin, how can you arrive? That’s my motto of the day. Thank you for dropping in and taking a seat for a little while.
horny said, on 3/3/2012 12:57:00 AM
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Writers come in many different types, but they all form components of two categories; spinners and weavers. That’s my theory after being on this road to publication for the past three and a quarter years. Here’s how my theory goes.
Spinners
These writers are the ones who begin a project from thin air, no prep, no origin point beyond a basic premise, and a desire to create a story. These writers can be poets, children’s writers, essayists, memoirists, etc. The way they build the final product is the key to the definition.
They spin their final copy from tiny filaments of imagination, layer on layer, until the end. During rewrite, the spinner works to fill in those empty or shallow spots with more imaginative spinning to round out the overall picture created for the reader. A word change here for more concrete imagery, a comma placed there for more emphasis and dramatic effect, all of these tweaks come with deliberation and forethought to solidify the story, regardless of the format being used.
Some critics point out that this is an inefficient method of writing. I stand as both critic and user of the method. I defend this process of writing as being more organic and freer of cumbersome formulae.
It is also an inefficient and time consuming method of writing. It’s how my mind works when in creation mode, nevertheless. Flying by the seat of my pants might be cliché, but it’s an accurate description of the method.
If a spinner like me has a gut feeling about an impulse story, the best way to tackle it is the NaNoWriMo method. I dive in and write until I come to a wall. Sometimes a wall doesn’t appear until I’ve finished the entire first draft. Those are good times. Filling in the shallow spots, and tweaking during the rewrite, adds satisfaction and anticipation into the project.
There are also times that the wall arrives just after the title and byline, before the first line of the first paragraph. This latter example comes from my not having yet decided on a project’s slant, angle, or purpose before beginning a preplanned project. The spontaneity has been removed from it, leaving me adrift.
When I’m adrift on a preplanned project, I move into Weaver mode.
Weavers
A weaver uses components from various sources to weave a story tapestry, poem, etc. In some instances the type of source isn’t as critical as the information derived from it. Interviews delving into personal experiences glean much useful information without having to be documented from still other sources, for instance.
Personal memoir pieces and personal experience essays don’t always require documentation of any kind.
When the writer works with elements that require accuracy of information, real weaving takes place within the body of a written piece. Tiny details such as a plant’s medicinal properties must be accurate. Why? There are always people who will latch onto that tidbit of info and try it out in the real world, or research it, just to verify the writer’s use of the reference.
Travel articles hold much of the weaver’s abilities. The travel writer
One of the things that many writers have complained about is finding balance in their writing lives. For me it’s an every-day struggle.
For the past two weeks my time has been spent reading: journals, writer’s magazines, novels, newspapers, marketing lists, and grant listings.
Oh, yes. I’ve run through a gauntlet of publishing advice, writer’s key points to remember, plus a myriad of funding choices and recommended sources for those who are proposal challenged.
Considering all of that, you might wonder what I came away with.
Let me say this. I’m someone who’s always been expected to finish all projects as quickly as possible and to perfection. Does this give you a clue as to my stress level concerning any given project?
I’ve almost come to a point of accepting a typo, grammatical error, or other minor flaw as not requiring blood-letting. ALMOST. Biting one’s tongue to keep from screaming out loud doesn’t count.
This expectation of mine stalls submissions but doesn’t stall idea generation. That’s where the problem comes in. I have too many ideas.
It takes little to send me haring off on the scent of a possible new rabbit before it goes down the nearest hole and disappears. Why?
When I have so many pending projects already in various stages of completion, I become overwhelmed by the volume.
Discouragement rears up and hisses at me when I start to go back to tackle one of the Needs-To-Be-Finished projects. I lived in rattlesnake country too long, I guess. I tend to back off when something—anything—hisses at me. As a result, I’ll begin yet another story, article, etc., instead.
Soon I have an avalanche waiting to descend and smother me.
My fairy godmother arrived during this last reading frenzy. I caught up on my perusal of back issues of The Writer Magazine. In the December, 2011 issue, editor and author, Linda K. Wertheimer, wrote a timely essay; one that I desperately needed now.
She wrote “Perfecting the Art of Slowness,” which detailed how she had to return to the discipline of small daily practice sessions used for becoming a first chair flutist in order to find real success later in writing.
It sounds so simple to hear someone else say it, doesn’t it; slow down, two small words that could make or break a story, submission, or query.
Her advice got me to thinking hard about how I used my time and organized my work. If I teach myself to envision a large stop sign at the end of each phase of a project, pause to look both ways—back to the beginning as well as toward the finish line—and ease out into the flow of time traffic, I would have fewer frustrations, missteps, and avalanches.
When I couple that strategy with practicing the art of merely writing down new ideas rather than beginning the whole new project, current projects can be finished more regularly and well.
I’ve begun my daily practice. Each day I take out one project, children’s lit or adult, read through it, and begin the revision. I work for one hour on editing and then go looking for markets for the piece. By the time I return to it, I’ve removed myself far enough that a final edit can commence.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to clear out my backlog of material, and continue to work on current projects, an hour at a time. I’ve discovered that it isn’t so much that I’m mismanaging my time as it is a matter of clearing inventory. An hour isn’t much to devote to something that can leave home and live on its own, after all.
Tell me about your own struggles, downfalls, and strategies. Until later,
Christine Sanfilippo said, on 1/28/2012 2:32:00 PM
Clauds, you know me. I do the same as you when it comes to making sure you have everything just right.
I need to discipline myself and only spend so much time doing reading,etc.
good for you sounds like you’ve done it.
Good luck with everything you do.
denise616 said, on 1/31/2012 7:31:00 PM
Well, it sounds like we have something in common. I have so much paper, I’m afraid it will choke me some day. I have a box, filled with ideas written on slips of paper, paper napkins, post-it notes, etc. I have a stack of markets I’d love to submit to. Plus, I have a 4″ thick binder, full of rejected stories that need to be reworked. Not to mention, I have 4 clipboards full of papers on blog ideas, authors I’d like to interview, books to read, etc. Oh yeah, and I’m working on three novels at the same time. AND the ideas keep coming.
Ok, I just stressed myself out with this realization.
Is anything getting done? Hardly. There aren’t enough hours in the day for me–even if I didn’t work 10 hour days. The only thing I can do is keep going, one hour at a time. Eventually, the things that matter seem to get done.
I like the idea of the stop sign, but I usually do what we call a ‘country stop.’ I kind of slow down and roll through the intersection, praying nothing comes barrelling into the side of me.
claudsy said, on 1/31/2012 7:40:00 PM
No joke, Denise. I’m working on eliminating some of that, though. I may need a forklift to remove what I no longer need, but the recycler will love it.
When I think of Propagate I have only to look around my studio and see the endless sketches, drawings, printouts and paintings that share my workspace. I say "share" because when I create a character it becomes a part of my studio family. I have to printout all the pages to see if they are working. More than that , however, I need to keep that family near me while I work. The components of the current book adorn the many bulletin boards in my studio. They are also a form of propagation as I have to keep adding more to extend the surfaces for display.
Having finished a book with many characters I sent it off to the publisher like a mom sending a child off to the first day of school. With the files sent off I cleared the bulletin boards. Seeing them empty will not do, so now they are once again in propagation mode for the current project.
Since I cannot, for copyright reasons share that photo, I will post one small image from the book, that shows the propagation of a crowd drawn into a park by the sweet sounds of a little boy playing his harmonica. And I realize it is very small, but consider this, it is one of 30 printouts that hung in my studio as I worked to create this family of friends.
10 Comments on ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY ~ Propagate, last added: 2/23/2010
Wow Ginger you are so prolific! This is such an involved piece, there's so much to see! Our drawings are indeed like our children - after all, we had a hand in creating both! Best of luck with the book, I'm looking forward to seeing it!
Me too. Love the colours and energy and look forward to seeing the book too. The image is a bit blurry here probably the scan not the work. I love your work.
Well looks like a lot of propagation of words coming from the characters in this work. Nice flow in the composition.
Did you use a digital camera for this reproduction? If not please ignore the following :) :)
If so in a low light situation try to take pics on motor drive. You'll find that it's the squeezing of the camera button that will give camera movement, and the third or fourth pic will be pretty clean.
It's great for taking pics in galleries that let you. cheers
Did you know there are hidden rewards in a freelance art career? Rewards that take you farther than the ability to buy tonight’s keg, that is. If you’re new to freelancing as an artist, you need to hear this. I wish they taught this stuff in art schools. It’s about sustaining your career in the long term. It’s about building something more than a permanent “side” business. It’s about truly going out on your own and feeling awesome about it. Read on!
The Perspective
As a freelancer, I do my share of one-off projects. There’s that package design illustration for a kid’s snack container. There were the custom avatars, a few icons, a web site header. They’re nice, these one-offs. I enjoy them (because why else would I fire up my computer every day), but the projects I do my best work on are the ones that require lots of chatting, e-mails, and idea-tossing. Those are the ones that blossom into an ongoing, mutually beneficial relationship.
The Womb to Bloom web site is an online community and resource for new moms and moms-to-be, “Maternity and Beyond.” Awesome concept, amazing potential for growth.
The Client
The Womb to Bloom founders (Greg and Heather Zellers) and I reached each other through a gig-type site about some animation work they needed done. It’s no secret that I love to talk with people about their projects. First, it’s just fun (I geek out on web and TV development). Second, it helps me frame my portion of their project with a reference that controls the budget. It’s also easier to offer new ideas without going off on crazy tangents.
So when they called, we talked a lot about what the animation could be. It also happened that they needed some simple illustrations and icons that would tie everything together. This is where I started drooling on my phone because I loved the site concept, they had a great logo already, and the web development was already flowing.
The Concepts
The initial concept was to have a central “mom” character to base everything on. Once we nailed down that character design, the icons and other illustrations would flow. I was already loving this project because it made sense before I even got out my pencils. It was also very easy for me to create a project plan that worked with their budget.
Although we had some great early chats about concepts, I have to admit that the initial brainstorm sketches I created were a little… off. The style of my first sketch was just somewhere between Family Guy and Rugrats. But this is the part that makes my job awesome, because we were able to use those sketches as a jumping-off point and keep the conversation going.
So we chatted in greater detail about Greg and Heather’s ideas. What they wanted was an attractive, hip, and fairly trendy woman who could transition easily from pre-pregnancy to new mom. The next sketches were right on target and ready for vector illustration and color. Below is a final concept image:
Incidentally, I created all the final art for this project in Adobe Illustrator CS3. In the very near future I’ll be providing step-by-step instruction on how to create this kind of work, so graphic designers, web designers, and traditional artists can reap the benefits of my experience. Yay!
A few things made it easier to create the final art for this project. They already had a logo, so I had specific colors to choose from. Greg and Heather really knew what they wanted to see. They couldn’t always sketch out an example or articulate a style, but once I gave them a sketch to go on we had a basis for conversation. They knew their demographic, which translated very well to visual goals.
The Work
I know, I know. You want to see sketches. I hear ya. Here’s a great, simple example of how an illustration concept developed. One of the sections on the web site is for contributors. We started out with the idea of a smart-looking woman (new character) in a cafe with a laptop. I sketched it out and hit the mark, woo-hoo! However, we did decide to go with the main character after all, and you can peek at the results:
As an even better demonstration of how a project can progress and a great relationship can generate even more fun ideas, take a look at what we finally used for that section of the site. I think it worked out nicely.
Another favorite illustration of mine from the project is the community section. The whole idea was to get moms together from all over the country and have them chat online, as if they were in someone’s living room. Pretty cool, right? I knew I had to thinkify something unique and fun, but also instantly communicate that idea. My first sketch:
The question became, how do I divide this cozy little scene into sections that show that cozy closeness and distance at the same time? It turned out not to be so difficult with a little sleep and some coffee. After seeing the final art, they added a new wrinkle; let’s see an image of the U.S. behind them to really hit home the idea. Not one to shy away from a challenge, I came up with a funtastic solution. You can see the progression. I still like both. Good thing I didn’t have to decide.
State of the Iconomy
The web site also needed some icons. About a hundred of them, in fact. I loved that I was able to work on this part of the project because I could take everything we had developed in the illustrations and use it to create the icon concepts. It worked out beautifully because we already had a flow going and could reference previous conversations. It turned out to be a lot of work, but also a ton of fun. You can see the icons all over the site, but here’s a sample page of a few I really like:
Wrap it Up
This is the best part. We haven’t wrapped it up. The working together part, that is. After getting to know the Zellers through working with them, we’ve shared information, links, and even referred business to each other. It’s the ideal b2b relationship, where we mutually benefit beyond the exchange of service and money.
The truth is, I did find this client through a bid-type freelance gig site. I don’t love these sites because typically you’re bidding on projects in a vacuum. My whole method of working revolves around many conversations and lots of information exchange, which the bid sites make very difficult.
The thing that I took away from this is that bid sites can yield some good projects, but you have to be prepared to build a relationship beyond the one-off. If I see a project posted and I don’t feel that’s possible, then I move on. It’s just not my cup of chai.
If you’re new to freelancing, I can’t stress enough that long term relationship-centered business is one of the major keys to your success. You can work on a hundred one-off projects through a crowdsourcing site and make a little cash. That’s great. You can throw your artwork up on a stock site and make a few dollars for every download. Awesome.
Those activities will not sustain you for very long because you only come away with cash. I say “Big deal, Dude.” Anyone can make some quick cash these days. Create a free blog and stick a PayPal Donate button on it.
Remember that rewards thing, kids. If you want to keep the art thing going and get Mom and Dad off your back, listen to your Uncle Sparky.
0 Comments on Client Profile: Womb to Bloom as of 1/1/1900
Maybe you’re a little like me. You have a gazillion ideas floating around in your noggin 24 hours a day. You wake up at 2:00 AM with a new project. Add it to the pile.
There are plenty of systems out there for managing your time and I have tried quite a few. I’ve written articles on time management myself, but here’s a juicy little secret: Sometimes I suck at time management. Sometimes I get it wrong.
I use iCal (Yes, I’m a Mac Dude) and I’ve worked up several different systems for managing projects and my life; color-coding entries, creating calendar groups, using Mail notes, and syncing with my iPhone. Yet somehow none of my handy little gadgets or apps has been the Better Mousetrap for me.
I read something by Sark that magically simplified the way I’ve been thinking about the whole project/goal/time… thing. To sum up, she suggests that you break every thing you want to get done into “micro movements.”
For example, say you want to write a blog post but you just keep putting it off because what the hell are you going to talk about this time anyway (never happens to me, but we’ll pretend - ahem). You break writing your post into tiny little movements that get you closer to your goal, which is a posted entry. Then you schedule each step. The first step could be as simple as Tuesday, 4:00 PM: put notepad and pen next to laptop. The next step could be something like Wednesday, 9:00 AM: read one thing (could be anything; cereal box, paperback cover, blog post, ingredients on graham cracker package, whatever).
Get the idea?
This seems so slow, right? You can schedule it however you want, but the point is to break a big project down into doable chunks. Saying to yourself “tomorrow I will write a scintillating new blog entry and post it” is just a humongous task. Can you do it? Maybe, maybe not.
It’s highly probable that you can place a notepad and pen on your desk at 4:00. That’s pretty easy because you don’t have the pressure of thinking about what’s good, what’s interesting, who will care, do I need a photo, blah blah blah. It’s just one tiny step that you can manage.
I’ve been working on this for a week or so. I’m not perfect at it, but it seems like the smaller chunks I break things into, the easier it is and more I actually get done every day. It’s actually kind of fun scheduling times to “think” about things or just read something. Look at my calendar from this week:
An iCal entry to read something. I managed it.
In the past I would have made a goal to learn everything there is to know about licensing my art. Wow. No wonder I feel like I have so much to do.
In this case, I saw a section of Tara Reed’s web site and thought that I should take time to read it. That’s all. I don’t have to create 12 pieces of art, contact manufacturers, or imagine a new line of pajama wear. Just read an article. One micro step towards my humongous goal of licensing my art.
See the entry that says “Think about an agent?” Check. It’s kind of goofy and funny to see an entry like that in my iCal, but I feel better. Now I don’t have to think about an agent anymore today. Except now, because I just wrote that sentence. Wait, is that okay? Did I just f*** up?
The other thing I learned is, take it easy on yourself. Go ahead and be driven and goal-oriented, but jeez! Give yourself a break now and then.
To start off this "big update", here is a collection of Christmas cards I did last year for the Royal Alberta Museum(their mascot is a mammoth and the museum is stationed on a long hill, pictured in the painting). They are up for sale in the museum gift shop as a set if any there are any local readers interested in purchasing the set.
- SCROLL DOWN FOR ALL OF THE NEW CRAZY IMAGES! -
It's been quite the summer! My big project with Alberta Learning is being wrapped up this week, giant files transferred and details checked over to make sure everything is just so. I've never been such a large part of the creative on a project of this scale - people helped turn my drawings into vector characters that are to be animated and turned into an interactive game for grade eight social studies students across Alberta.
I'm so happy to announce that I'll be back posting regularly on my blog - it's been over a month since my last post - something I have not skipped out on since creating my blog two years ago. I will not be able to post any images from it until the Alberta Learning team has published it to the web, which will not be for many months. I'll keep you posted! Until then here's a few reject drawings:
Things that happened over the summer - 1) I was commissioned to do a children's book for a publisher in the UK. A wonderfully complex pop-up about a garage and it's mechanic, cars and trucks. Unfortunately the project was put on hold 3/4 of the way to the end of the project which was a blessing as well as a disappointment (I had taken on too many projects and was quite exhausted). I have attached one of the character designs I created for the main character (Bumper), which later changed to a different model of car. After I get word from my agent about posting more images I'll let you know!
2) I did a marvelously complex vector illustration for a forestry company called Millar Western (a local Alberta company) and adored doing all of the little animals in the picture - here's a sample - I highly suggest you click on it to see the details:
3) Here's some images from a grade 3 math text book I worked on as well -
Thanks to those who are by blog "followers" now too!
Wowza! I don't know where to start, but to say congratulations on all the wonderful work. Certainly I can see why you'd need a little blog break! How fantastic that your characters will be animated! The holiday cards are quite lovely too. And I love all the details (and giant people) in your big vector map. I hope you get a chance to catch your breath and pat yourself on the back for all that work!
Whew!! Ya know what...its kind of a good thing when you are too busy to blog :-) Glad to hear of all the recent projects. Come back to blog land soon, we miss you!
A reminder: If you’re interested in joining the ad rotation over there on the right, we’ll need a “skyscraper” image 160 pixels wide by 600 pixels high. Then we can feature your work (at our entire discretion) occasionally/sporadically in the ad space. (See Brianna’s original idea in this post for more information.)
Not a whole heck of a lot to report today. The above concept sketch is from a recent project I picked up recently. Guy watches bird, giant dinosaur watches guy - fairly simple concept, no?
I hit a brick wall in the writing of my novel last night. Suddenly everything that I write is little more than a pile of poop, stacked on top of another pile of poop. Hopefully taking a few days away from it will clear my head and help me finish this thing. I've started so many novels in the past and have ALWAYS had problems when coming down the home stretch. Some of them I ended up finishing, but absolutely hating, while others I never touched again. I really would like to finish this one - so I need to get my act together.
In other wonderful news I have this weird thing growing on my eyelid. It sort of looks like a zit, but not really - it's a bit more like Quato from "Total Recall." I keep waiting for it to grow arms and tell me that I need to "start the reactor," but it hasn't happened yet.
Steve~
0 Comments on New Project, New Sketch, Same Old Me as of 1/1/1900
Ms. Alicia said, on 8/27/2008 8:58:00 PM
Yowza. I hope the eyelid thing gets better soon.
Maybe you could incorporate that into your novel... you know, a giant physical hurdle for your character to overcome.. possibly by plastic surgery.
Hey, it would sell like hot-cakes in L.A. (wait... do people in L.A even eat hot-cakes?)
Ms. Alicia said, on 8/27/2008 9:04:00 PM
Oooh, also... I've been reading your blogs and reading your books for 2 years now!
I think there are big things in store for your career. Big things I tell you. :)
Happy friendiversary Mister Novak!! (wasn't that uber cheesy?)
Not much to report today. The wife is down and out with back problems again. Things have slowed down a tiny bit as far as work goes, which has allowed me time to get some of my personal projects started...that, and lay around lazily. Nothing really changes around here.
I'm starting work on something new (that I can't really go into detail about just yet) and I decided to post one of my really early, really rough character sketches above.
Steve~
0 Comments on Rough Character Sketch as of 1/1/1990
The most rewarding clients have full and complete faith in an illustrators abilities, are able to give constructive feedback and provide enough work to give you something resembling a full time employee's paycheck. These come by once in a blue moon. I'm very fortunate to be working with one right now. The project, which is still confidential at this point, is by far the biggest project I've ever worked on and as I have a great deal of creative control I'm elated as well as nervous. The project is currently in early stages: character and culture design (and the style I'm working on is nothing like you've seen me do before).
Designing a culture is a fascinating process. How do the people dress? What do they eat? What is their climate like, why do they wear their hair the way they do? Do they wear jewelry (if so what does it look like, how does it react to light, what is it shaped like?). I'm imagining the excitement I'm feeling is akin to the likes of George Lucas when he started planning out Star Wars. And not to leave you hanging, but the deadline on the project has now been extended to October so I may not be able to show you a single pencil stroke until next year when it's "unveiled"...
Read the rest of this post
3 Comments on Illustrators Designing a World, last added: 6/19/2008
that sounds so interesting, Crystal. Congratulations! Nothing beats a great client who has complete faith in you....I always give 110% and more when that happens.
In “The Grammarian’s Five Daughters,” a fable by science fiction writer Eleanor Arnason, a mother bestows grammatical gifts to five daughters seeking their fortune in the world. The eldest daughter gets a bag full of nouns, the next gets verbs, the next adjectives, and the next adverbs. The youngest daughter is stuck with the leftovers, those “dull little words” overlooked by everyone else: the prepositions. But the prepositions ultimately bring order to a chaotic land, serving as the foundation for a strong and thriving nation organized under the motto “WITH.” (more…)
Next came choosing the new paint color. I wanted to go with a dark brown—mostly to hide all the flaws in the trunk’s body caused by my scraper. Perhaps I used little too much elbow grease. Hubby helped me with this part, carefully spraying the sides, allowing the trunk time to dry, then giving it another coat. Covering the flaws reminded me of the care a writer takes in creating characters. Like the gouges and grooves in my trunk, your characters NEED flaws because readers must feel some sort of connection with them. Readers WANT to cheer on those flawed underdogs, see them scream, watch them change and grow. And when that connection happens, they wholeheartedly invest in your characters and the hell authors drag them through.
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Hi! Interesting post, and I like the analogy for the two methods. I used to be more of a spinner, but I’m gradually leaning towards the weaving method for writing these days. I think I always ended up in a tangle with the first approach!
Hey, Rosalind. So good to “see” you. I vacillate between the two forms according to whether I wake with a screaming idea demanding legitimacy or if it’s something that brewed for a while and then asked politely to come into the light. Since I do use both, I can swing on that pendulum and waste time only occasionally.
Glad you liked my post.
Claudsy
Wow, Claudsy, this is a very revealing read into the “how,” of writer’s brains. I was drawn right into this piece immediately thinking, “Wow, that’s me!” I didn’t know there was a name for it. Interesting and slows me down to think if this is always the best way, too. Thanks, Clauds!
I think of you as a spinner most of the time, Hannah. Your emotional switch drives your talent and seems always ready to take you on a creative trip. I made up these names because they seemed to fit. Some SPIN tales, while others weave stories, regardless of formal or genre. I like that.
Glad you liked it.
Claudsy
Spinning and weaving. This explains alot about my writing and me in general, haha. Great blog post.
-Michele
Thanks, Me. Glad you liked it. Feel free to drop by anytime.
Claudsy
Very interesting analogy. I think I am more of a weaver. I rarely spin a fanciful tale of pure fiction. I write what I know. Eventually I may branch out a little and start spinning, who knows?
Kathy
http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com/
Thank you, Kathy. If you don’t begin, how can you arrive? That’s my motto of the day. Thank you for dropping in and taking a seat for a little while.
This constantly amazes me just how Web owners for example yourself can find some time and also the commitment to carry on Creating wonderful blog posts your site http://claudsy.wordpress.com/2012/03/01/whether-a-spinner-or-a-weaver/ is great and one of my personal have to read weblogs, I had been more than impressed with the blog post Whether a Spinner or a Weaver Claudsy's Blog I simply had to say thanks and also congratulations Best wishes horny
Thanks. Glad you liked it.