New Year, New Goals!

Oh it’s been far too long!!!

I don’t know how I manage to do this at the end of each semester, but I always end up fizzled out and don’t catch up on my blog posts. And then Christmas comes…well, we all know how that is. So I thought it would be nice to do some catching up today, since I’m stuck at home with a head cold and I’m pretty much useless to doing anything else.

Anyway, a friend of mine posted on her blog today about her yearly ritual of writing herself a New Year’s list of goals. It helps to keep you accountable, and have reference to all the stuff you’ve completed. This also reminds me of the one that I did two years ago, in the Business of Art class, where we set up goals based upon our long term goals. I think it’s time for me to do another one! But first, I need some chocolate to “gather my thoughts.”

(Moment of silent munching.)

So, for 2012 here is my list of goals:

Daily/Weekly Stuff:

1)     Get into a daily routine of exercising and working. You know, that balancing act I’m so bad at!

2)     Post on my blog every Monday.

3)     Continue with the work I’ve been doing in my PiBoIdMo Journal, and come up with a new picture book idea every Friday.

4)     And if/when I’m not already busy with a project, come up with new sketches using the Illustration Friday/Artlibs method.

Backed Up Blogging Stuff:

1)      Post about the last project in CBook3

2)      Post about my latest batch of marketing materials.

3)      Post about the Little Raindrop fan mail (wait til you see it!!!). And reply to the fan mail...

Bigger Stuff:

1)       Prepare my portfolio for the Winter SCBWI conference in NY, which I am attending in January.

2)      Send out my Winter mailers. (Which also doubled as my Holiday postcards this year.)

3)      Learn InDesign. I will be this awesome program to layout Little Raindrop’s book, and all other subsequent book dummies, so with every chance I get I’ll be watching videos and reading tutorials and tooling around with it. I’ve already started this process, and I’m liking what I’m learning!

4)      Layout, draw and finish Little Raindrop, book one. The author and I have discussed the possibility of a trilogy, and we will eventually talk about pursuing that later on.

5)      Put together my next book dummy for submission to my targeted agency. Submit it!

6)      If the agent I’m hoping for doesn’t bite, then I’ll submit my story to a few more agents prior to sending it off to a publisher.

I’m sure there’s a TON of stuff I am missing, but even this post has taken me wayyy too long with this Medicine Head, so I’ll leave it at that for now. Instead, I’ll go watch some InDesign videos on Adobe TV and catch up on some reading…maybe fit in a few cat naps!

Stay Happy and Healthy for Two Thousand Twelvy! :D

Red Panda :)

This little guy is from my next project! Will be posting more soon! :D

Brian Lies Visits!

So last week, our Children's Book Illustration III class got quite a treat: a visit from Brian Lies! He is the author and illustrator of the NY Times' best selling books Bats at the Beach, and Bats at the Ballgame and my favorite, Bats at the Library! (To see more of his books, click here!)

Brian Lies! And there's Dede to the left! :)

Stunning work not put to justice by my dirty cell phone camera lens!

Brain was kind enough to share with us his working process, including the corresponding original art, starting with his sketchbook, his mini dummies and book dummies, how he re-works his pieces, and all the way through the steps he takes in painting with acrylics. He shared with us the book dummy for his newest book, More to be available next year. He does his finished acrylics on heavy weight vellum paper, using teeny tiny brushes and ink for his foundation line work. And his finished pieces... Absolutely gorgeous!

Brian shared some useful tips, such as writing paint color recipes for future reference, and to be sure to really layer the darks because they brighten in the scanning process. He said some things that rang true in my own creative process. It was heartening to see that like I do, he also draws in blue pencil to break in a piece of fresh white paper "because it doesn't feel like permanent final art." And he hates to erase (just like I do), so naturally he ends up with piles of paper (like I do), though he actually has storage for his piles, unlike myself! He also shared that he prefers painting animals with smaller eyes to avoid the "mass market" look in his work.

I've been so inspired, I think I might try my hand at working on paper instead of canvas with my acrylics. Just to see what happens. :)

It was a spectacular visit! So much so that my friends have blogged about it too!
Cheryl Kirk Noll (She had a real camera and got nicer photos than my cell phone did!)
Marcela Staudenmaier

Here are some links to interviews with Brian Lies, as well as Bat Conservation:
http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings
http://www.scbwi.org/Pages.aspx/Brian-Lies
http://www.batcon.org/

Thank You, Brian, for visiting us! :D
And Thank You, Emilie Boon, for inviting him!

Holiday Card Finished!

Hey there!

I finished and delivered this piece, and the family loves it! Woo hoo! Another successful commission! It's for their custom Christmas cards, and it has a touch of Hanukkah with the "menorah" of candles on the mantle. :)