Almost there

More on the bookshelf and cabinet project in my studio. This is the cabinet built by Rocky’s Woodworking.

PAWcasso

I’m looking forward to PAWcasso on Saturday!  It’s an art auction to benefit the Venango County Humane Society.  If you live within driving distance, come on by & snap up a piece of art—it’s a worthy cause.

I’ve donated an illustration from Señor Don Gato—this spread:

Illustrating in different languages

Steve from Mrs. Gallagher’s class asks:

How do you illustrate books in different languages?

The simple answer to that question is: I don’t. The manuscript that I receive from the publisher is always in English (remember, the manuscript is the story before it’s made into a book; the publisher is the company that makes the books).

Sometimes a book is popular enough that the publisher decides to try selling it in a different country.  When that happens, a translator is called in—someone who speaks both English and the language of the other country.  She sits down and reads the book in English then writes it down in the other language.  Next, the new manuscript needs to be set in type.  Finally, the English type is replaced with the new type and a new edition of the book is printed.

Here are two of my titles that were translated into different languages.  Dirt Boy got published in Korea, so you see a Korean translation.  Henry & the Crazed Chicken Pirates got translated into Greek and Danish.  I’m especially pleased with the treatment the Greek designer gave to the title type on Henry.

Busy, busy, busy

Sorry I’ve been lax with the blog posts lately.  It’s been a hopping season for school visits as well as my usual book projects.  On top of all that I’ve been trying to organize my spectacularly disorganized studio by installing some bookshelves and a cabinet.

I ordered 4 bookshelf units from Woodland Mills.  They send you the pieces and you put them together.  These are made of pine with a beaded-board back.  I’d like all my new built-in furniture to look like the beautiful old oak paneling here in the National Transit Building, so I’m painting the pine to match.  After primer I paint 2 coats of gold-orange-brown, wait til it dries, then paint a glaze of dark brown and drag a graining tool through it (this is latex glazing medium with burnt umber acrylic paint mixed in).  The last photo shows 2 book shelves I painted next to real oak on the left.

In the middle between the bookshelves will be a deep cabinet to hold all my art and project envelopes.   A friend of mine is custom-building that and will deliver it tomorrow if it’s not raining!