Recent Updates and #PiBoIdMo Strikes Again!

Art by Joyce Wan

Well, hello there!

It's been some time, which is my now usual thing lately. It's bad, I know. But I'm not going to fight it! Plus, if you've been paying attention, I'm keeping up with Little Raindrop's Blog on a regular basis. So that still counts as blogging, doesn't it? (I "help" Little Raindrop write his posts. His spelling is still on the elementary level!)

A couple of updates on what's been going on...

Art copyright 2013
Melanie Linden Chan

-I will soon be sending out Little Raindrop's manuscript to my parent, science, and teacher helpers for revisions, ideas, and overall hawk-eyeing! This step is important, as Richard and I need some fresher eyeballs to look over this now EIGHT CHAPTER graphic novel/journal hybrid. After that, we will do some finishing touches on revision, and then we'll be sending it off to our editor, Marlo!

-I made some nifty buttons for our helpers, too! ->>>>

-I'm currently researching, sketching, and planning the full color double page spread for Chapter 3 of Little Raindrop's book: the pond habitat! (I will be working on all the double page spreads, as well as the Activity Pages, for each chapter as I wait for our text to be edited.)

-Last weekend, I attended SCBWI's Encore presentation. It was FABULOUS! Usually Encore has more talks on writing children's books versus illustrating, which is exactly what I need since I already have a slew of illustration knowledge stuffed in my brain.

-Due to the lovely talk given by Karen Day at Encore, I have been spurred on to finally FINISH that draft of my MG/YA environmental fantasy novel. It's no longer going to be sitting in the back of my brain, but truly in the foreground. I'm really dying to get this story out!

-Also, thanks to the tips from Lynda Mullaly Hunt, I am also now renewing my search for an agent. I've sent out 3 submissions in the past, and obviously no one has bitten just yet. But it just wasn't meant to be, I think!

-I have a new client that I am doing graphic work for their business. Logos and business cards and all that stuff. I sometimes like doing things that pay the bills! ;)

-I am still in the middle of turning my sitting studio into a standing studio. It's been on the bottom of my to-do list, but as I am sitting here typing, I realize I need to hurry up and do it!

-In crafty/homey news, I custom painted a few tees, painted our hallway a lovely teal color, finally hung up all our awesome vacation photos, and I'm in the middle of creating some fun art for the walls as well.

ALSO...





PICTURE BOOK IDEA MONTH IS ALMOST HERE!!!

http://taralazar.com/piboidmo/

It's only a month away and I totally can't wait! It's like my brain goes dormant all year long, and then- bAnG! The juices start flowing and I get all sorts of ideas and inspiration! Woo! Last year, I made up all these awesome idea journals, and it's about time I rip off the shrink wrap and start using one of them!

And I'm totally in LOVE with this year's theme art by Joyce Wan! Check out all the cute stuff on Tara Lazar's blog! Wheeee!





So, that'd be all for now, Folks! Sorry for being away for so long... Life has been sending our family through a lot of hoops these days. But where there are bad things, there is always some sort of good to come, too. And I'm really digging the good stuff!

Keep on being creative!
~Melanie

Fan Mail from The Pro's!

During the class visit with The Pro's, each of the kids handed me a letter! They had all written about how they can't wait to meet me, and little did they know it was going to be that very day! They were all so sweet, I'm just going to put them all here:

Ben asked me to autograph his picture,
and I go and goof up on LR's pointy head! Haha!

I'm in the middle of putting all my letters into a nice binder for safe keeping! That way, I'll always have something to go back to on a rainy day! :)

"Best Day Ever!" My First Class Visit

Hi there!

As I mentioned in my blog post last week, I got to finally meet Mr. H, author of Little Raindrop, and his classroom of third graders! The day before the actual visit, Mr. H gave me a tour of the school, introduced me to the school's turtles, and showed me the hallway walls decorated with turtles for Turtle Week! I even visited the Art Room and breathed in that old familiar smell of tempera paint.

On the day of the visit, Mr. H's wife and my husband both joined in on the fun, and they were kind enough to take pictures and video, too! When I first walked into the classroom, everyone was outside for Recess, and I was greeted with these on the wall:

A mural of Little Raindrops and they let me KEEP it too!

Aww!

 I set up my things and waited for the kids to come in. I was just a little bit nervous because I hadn't spoken in front of a group of kids before, but when they all timidly walked into the classroom I realized I wasn't the only one feeling shy! Once I got warmed up, things ran pretty smoothly.

Miss Melanie, Teacher for the Day!

hi Gabe!

The girl in pink put my bookmark
in her Harry Potter (GOF) book!

Mr. Cool

I must have been saying something important here!

Looks like Mr. H has an agenda...

Do you know the answer?

I showed the kids how I go about doing the design and layout of the book, how I get ideas from sketching from nature, and how I draw in blue pencil to keep things clean. I showed them the original painting I did of the River Habitat. We passed around my sketchbook and I gave out bookmarks and buttons, and we even had a little birthday celebration for Megan, complete with delicious Oreo cupcakes! It was a real blast!

There's Sharon, taking pictures!

We're getting absolutely SILLY!

This dude is using my sketch for reference for HIS sketch!

Checking out my Red Panda sketches!

Great questions were asked!

The final piece of art! Great job, I'm super proud of you, Dillon!

 The coolest thing about the visit was getting to meet the people who had been sending me postcards and letters all year long. They are all sweet and talented kids, and each one special in their own way. They read me some of their letters they had written that morning, and asked a lot of great questions. It was really touching to hear how excited they were to meet me and how happy it made them! One of the boys came up to me to thank me for visiting, and another told me that "today is the BEST DAY EVER!" and I truly have to agree with him.

They even asked me to sign their yearbooks!

At the end of the visit, when school was out and everyone left, there was a certain little girl (with pink in her hair) who lingered a few minutes to give me a hug. She's a super talented artist and it TOTALLY made my day!

The kids may have learned something, but I was surprised to learn a few things myself. One, that my biggest challenge that day would be to keep my cool! The kids were so sweet and caring, and loveing and innocent, that there were a few times where I thought I was going to actually cry. And two, it really made me think of the responsibilities we have as writers and illustrators to our young readers, and the huge rewards (like hugs!) we receive for all our hard work. And that I am SO thankful that Mr. H chose me, of all the other artists out there, to illustrate his story.

Hey! You wore the same thing as me!

If I ever doubted in the past that this career path was meant for me, I truly will not doubt it ever again. Seeing those little faces light up because of something I did? There is no money in the world worth trading that feeling. I will never forget it!

And the awesome thing is, neither will they. :)

Hold up your cool Little Raindrop stuff!

Now do something silly!

Now pose like a raindrop!

As my Auntie Jean would say: SO stinkin' cute! :D