Really Awful color script
book promotion, illustration processI've written about color scripts before—where I create one big color study that includes every page in a book. I grabbed the idea from the animated movie world. Color is a powerful tool for telling your story: setting the mood and indicating…
Jacket art painting in progress
book promotion, illustration processThe jacket painting for The Really Awful Musicians.
This is one of the pieces to be exhibited at the Graffiti Gallery in only 2 weeks!
[slideshow]
Jacket art color study
book promotion, illustration processMore of that jacket art for The Really Awful Musicians. Before I begin my painting, I work up a small color study.
Scholastic Book Fair video
book promotion, self promotionThanks to my buddy Louise for finding this online!
Jacket art sketches for The Really Awful Musicians
book promotion, illustration processHere are the thumbnail sketches for The Really Awful Musicians jacket art, and the tight sketch.
Stella’s chair comes to life!
book promotionMy pal Jackie Mims Hopkins sends this photo of a wonderful story-reading chair straight out of Joe Bright and the Seven Genre Dudes! It's the handiwork of fabulous librarian Leanne Drake to celebrate Jackie's school visit and an upcoming storytelling…
Famous Nini at the Morris Graves Art Museum
book promotionMy pal Mary Nethery sent this photo of my illustrations for The Famous Nini. They were exhibited at the Morris Graves Art Museum during the Humboldt County Author's Festival. That's in California, isn't it?
Mary read Nini to kids at two…
Escaping the king’s men-at-arms
book promotion, illustration processI like this pre-dawn scene from The Really Awful Musicians for its drama. Illustration is just a form of graphic design. Here I've used the elements of space, value & texture to get the most juice out of the image. Color, too: the…
Really awful character sketches
book promotion, illustration processHere are sketches of most of the characters in Really Awful Musicians. Piffaro is the little guy with the pipe & drum, Espresso the skinny dude playing a lute, Serena on harp, Fortissimo on sackbut and Lugubrio on bass recorder. Piffaro…
Really Awful press sheets
book promotion, illustration processHoly cow—I just got these in the mail from Hong Kong! These are the press sheets from The Really Awful Musicians. There are 2 sheets, each with 16 pages (8 on each side). Eight plus eight equals sixteen—two times sixteen is thirty-two. …
