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When I got back from the LA conference, I started working on my new website, which was supposed to be a small, easy project. However, I changed to new servers and added a blog, so it didn't go quite as planned (there was a lot of head scratching while trying to figure out Word Press code and CSS). Then I just decided to wing it and guessed a bit while using my previous knowledge of html and Dreamweaver.
The only really bad thing was that I lost all images that were on my old server, and it will be almost impossible to recreate most of them, especially the ones for the artist interviews.I don't have copies of all their art. I just uploaded it to use for the blog. FYI for anyone switching servers for their website: Apparently when you switch servers, you don't really have 10 days to do everything. You only have until you change the name servers and I did that right away.
The good news is that:
My new site went live today! There are still a couple of things to be worked on, but the site is up and it looks soooooo much better than it did before.
I uploaded
my new portfolio too! There will be new pictures more often (I think the last time I updated was a couple of years ago - hangs head in shame).
And last, but not least, I have a
new blog! I decided to move my blog to my website so that everything is in one place and so that I can post more art.
I've started posting things about the LA conference. The first one was links to
blog posts about LA (if you've blogged about it, send me the link[s] and I'll add them). The second one was about the
Blue Moon Ball and my outfit. I'll be posting notes soon too. Probably tomorrow.
The best news of all is that Mom is doing well. She's started chemo, the pneumonia is gone, and she's optimistic. So am I.
The last time I updated my blog, I’d just gotten done with my comics class and Sheila had made her debut at the MoCCA comics festival and I was going on an unexpected cross country trip. What I didn’t say in that post was that my mom had just been diagnosed with colon cancer. At the time, I was a bit shell-shocked and couldn’t talk about it. I threw a bunch of stuff in a suitcase and jumped on a plane and soon as I found out so that I could spend a couple of days with her before surgery and then visit her in the hospital after surgery.
A couple of days before surgery they found something else, so she had to have 2 major surgeries at once (she was lucky they could do both with one incision). To keep her mind off of things, we went to an art exhibit, saw a play that was better than the version I saw on Broadway (I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change), and visited Betsy and Tacy’s houses (unfortunately not when Meg Cabot was there).
Mom’s surgery went well, but she’s had some complications since then (including pneumonia). Now she’s back on track, is having surgery today to install the chemo port and will be starting chemo soon – fingers crossed that everything goes well and she’s healthy again soon!!
I was going to update about 3 weeks ago, but then I *sprained my wrist, making it nearly impossible to **type, which also meant that I had to drop out of Linda Sue Park’s scene workshop in LA. I’m really bummed about that, but what was I going to do? “Um, I can’t revise during the workshop because I can’t do a lot of typing because I sprained my wrist.” Yeah, no. I don’t want to look like a complete idiot in front of LSP, plus the workshop would be a waste if I couldn’t actually do the revisions, and I’d probably just be worried about my mom starting chemo anyway.
It’s not all bad news though. My wrist is getting a little bit better (although not for typing). I’ve been able to make some art for my portfolio in LA, (yay) making sure to take lots of breaks and ice my wrist several times a day. I’m crossing my fingers I’ll get enough done in the next couple of days to have a decent number of images in my portfolio (hopefully 8-12). Almost everything is new, but a couple of pieces are reworked images from the past.
That’s all for now. I plan to catch up with everyone after LA or maybe in LA. Hope to see some of you there and I hope that you and your loved ones are all he
*I didn't go to the doctor, but it feels like when I sprained my ankle. It also might be from overuse. Apparently it's not a good idea to do massive amounts of laundry, lift weights, and paint for 10+ hours straight, all in a 36 hour time period. The painting is what threw me over the cliff. My LA portfolio is digital art, not paint.
**Typing with 2 hands = ouch. Typing with 1 hand = slow.
Sheila the zombie cheerleader made her big mini comic debut at the MoCCA comics festival last weekend. Yay!!!! It was lots of fun and very hot. There's a news report from the festival here, pictures here, and notes about the comics my classmates and I produced for the festival here (and a bit on the process of making Sheila's comic here).
And here's the cover of my mini comic:
I came into the class with a script, that changed a lot, and I had 2 weeks to put together the comic, including adding 5 pages at the last minute and doing most of the inking in one day. Wheee! It was exhausting, but so worth it!
I'll be doing a series of posts in the future on the making of my mini comic. I'll have more details and more pictures then.
14 Week Novel - Final Week and Final Thoughts
This is the last week (seven more days to work)! If you're not done yet, type faster!! :) I'm not done yet, but I'm hoping in the next week I will be much further along. I have some travel days and usually work well at the ariport, so I'm hoping to have some real progress in the next week or so. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to post the last 2 weeks, but it wasn't possible with my class (but the project for class was the same character from my novel, so I was still working). My final thought on the 14 week novel, is that 14 weeks was too long for me. I kept thinking of all the time I had left and didn't get as much done as I would have with a shorter deadline. Also, the intensive class I've been in the last 2 weeks made me realize that setting a shorter goal and trying to stay off the internet or limit my online time until it's done is a good idea and one I'll try again. I hope that the posts were helpful to read and that you were able to make progress on your projects. Let me know how your projects are going if you have time to comment!
Cross country trip - I was going to come back and start blogging this week, but I'm heading across the country on an unexpected trip instead. I'll be gone a week or so and will try to check in, but don't know if I'll be able to with everything going on.
I'm taking an intensive comics class (read updates and see pictures here). So far it's a great class, but there's a ton of homework, so I probably won't be around much for a couple of weeks. I'm crossing my fingers that I can get everything done when it needs to be done (tonight's homework is iffy).
The best thing is that I'm doing a Sheila the Zombie Cheerleader mini comic! And I got new medicine from my doc yesterday, so hopefully I'll be better and have a finished comic by the end of class. There are a couple of other comics I might try to get done too, but I don't think it'll happen. Sheila is very demanding.
Last week I asked other writers to weigh in on writing novels. If you haven’t already, check out the excellent answers that everyone gave on both blogs: Live Journal week 10 , Blogger week 10. Thank you so much to all the authors that commented!!!
It’s week eleven and we’re almost to the finish line …
Goal for week #11: Follow your own path. Find a way to work that works for you, whether it’s the 14 week novel, NaNoWriMo, fast drafting, slow drafting, BIC, or your own process.
What’s my path? The last couple of weeks I’ve been fighting a cold and unable to work (or worry) about my WIP the way I usually do. It’s made me realize that the way that I write might not fit well into the 14 week novel challenge, and that’s ok. I’m glad I did it because I like trying new processes, and it might work for someone else. I’m going to continue with it until the end, because I think it’s still a valuable exercise and it helps me to keep working on my projects. And anything that keeps me moving forward is worth it.
Why isn't it working? I think it’s because I need time to let my ideas percolate; they aren’t always ready when I want them to be. Or it could be because I’m not a one-project person, even though I’d like to be. I’m a multiple-project girl and I need to (finally) embrace that craziness. As long as I’m working on something and working towards the finish, that’s good for me.
What is working? I have learned to stick with a project (like Sheila the zombie cheerleader), even when I need to stop and work on another project for a while. For instance, I finally figured out a novel that’s been bugging me for a while and has been everything from a PB to a comic strip. The next few days are going to be devoted to writing it all down. Then I’m going back to working on Sheila’s story and taking a intensive comics class to help me learn more about writing and illustrating graphic novels.
What process works for you? How long did it take you to figure it out or are you still trying to find your process?
I’m back from the doctor. Don’t worry, it’s not the swine flu. I didn’t think it was, but with the news lately, I thought it would be good to reassure everyone that the piggies haven’t gotten me, well other than the ones on my toes and the character in one of my books.
My doctor is a bit like Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) from NCIS (he could be a Jimmy look-a-like, although a few years older). I’ve been going to my doctor before NCIS existed on TV; I didn't just pick him because he looks like one of the cast members. Just like Jimmy, my doctor likes to talk about interesting medical things, whether it’s what I’m there for or not and non-medical things (a lot like Jimmy and Ducky on NCIS). It always makes it fun to go to the doctor, because I never know what we’re going to talk about. Today we talked about jury duty, since that’s where I got my cold, and since my doctor had recently did jury duty too.
He gave me a couple of prescriptions (here’s where I channel my grandma) … one of them was $50, for five pills! That’s $10 a pill! And we have prescription insurance! Grama used to complain about the cost and tell us that she counted her pills to make sure they were all there. I totally get what she meant now.
Along with my prescriptions, I got some chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, because you know the old saying, “a big chocolate cookie makes the medicine go down.” No wait, maybe that was, “a spoon full of sugar.” The two guys behind the counter looked at my cookies, and their conversation went something like this:
“Oooh, those are the dark chocolate cookies.”
“You mean the good cookies.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“You have to have them with milk. Cold milk, not warm milk, like some people like.”
“Warm milk? No. You have to have cold milk.”
At this point, they are off in milk-and-cookie land and I didn’t have the heart to tell them that I like my cookies sans milk (it dilutes the chocolate). For some reason it made me really happy that they approved of my cookie selection. Maybe it’s because they were saying, “if you eat chocolate cookies, it will make you feel better.” I want to believe that, because this might not be the first batch of cookies I’ve eaten since I got sick.
Being sick hasn’t been all bad. The head cold wouldn’t let me concentrate on anything for long, so I thought about old stories and characters, my current WIP, and new stuff I want to do in the future. I started thinking in pictures again, which is easier and more creative (for me) than trying to think about how I’m going to write the story. And I finally figured out two projects that have been plaguing me for a while. Yay! (Finally!)
Project One
Then: During a portfolio review a couple of years ago, the art director picked one image in my portfolio and wanted to see a PB dummy with a new story – she didn’t like the other images or the original storyline.
Now: I combined the scene in the picture with an old idea that I couldn’t figure out and it works now! It’s probably too late to sub it to her, but I’m going to draw it out and see what happens. I’m just happy that I thought of a plausible story to go with the picture.
Project Two
Then: Many years ago I had an idea that I just loved, but couldn’t make work. I tried it as a PB, chapter book, MG, and comic strip. I even subbed it to a children’s book publisher (before I had a clue about subbing or children’s books).
Now: I combined the old idea with some characters that I drew last year (that I couldn’t find a story for). Not all of the characters made it into the new version, but I think the ones that did work well with the new plot and story idea. I think it’s going to be a young MG graphic novel. I’m trying to get as much of the story written as possible before next week, when I start my comics class and go back to my WIP graphic novel.
With my new medicine, chocolate cookies, new and improved projects, and NCIS reruns, I’ll be feeling better in no time (I hope). 14 week novel post later tonight.
Happy Anniversary to my sweetie! We started dating 10 years ago today and were married 4 years ago today.
Sorry I haven't been around much or answering comments (yet). I'm still sick, but I'm going to the doctor tomorrow (thanks to my DH for telling me I had to go).
I blame the perfume-y lady at jury duty because after sitting next to her, I started getting sniffly. (Other than the cold I got, jury duty wasn't that bad ... except for the smelly lady. I'm glad I didn't get put on a jury though. I would have had to call in sick.)
Update tomorrow after I see the doc.
Today’s Art Day Interview is with illustrator Kristi Valiant. Read on to find out more about Kristi and her art.
Q: How did you get started illustrating for children?
A: While I was in art school, I had an internship at a small children's publisher. Then during my senior year, I won an illustration contest to illustrate a leveled reader by Seedling Publications. Those were my first steps into children's books.
Q: Tell us a little bit about the recent book you illustrated.
A: Cora Cooks Pancit is my latest book; it just came out last month, in April, 2009. It's a multicultural picture book written by Dorina K. Lazo Gilmore and published by Shen's Books. In the story, Cora wants to cook but usually gets stuck with kid jobs. When her older siblings head out for the day, she's finally allowed to be Mama's assistant chef and learns how to make pancit, a Filipino noodle dish. The recipe is in the book, and it's super yummy!
Q: What are you working on right now? Do you have any other books or art projects you’d like to talk about?
A: Today I'll be painting an illustration for Highlights magazine. I love Highlights, so this is an especially fun project! I've had a lot of work lately, including interior illustrations for two chapter books, covers for six chapter books, hundreds of black & white line drawings for educational materials, and yesterday, I turned in sketches for an educational project for McGraw Hill. All this work is a huge blessing! But I'm still making time to work on my own picture book dummy that I'd like to start submitting to agents soon. I took part in NaPiBoWriWee last week, and now I have 7 more picture book rough drafts that I'd love to start revising as well.
Q: Do you do non-children’s book art (licensing, fine art, etc.) or art just for fun? Is that art similar or different from your children’s book art?
A: I license card designs and illustrations for Christmas cards every year. Some of those illustrations are in my children's book look, but some are very different. I've also illustrated in a fashion vector style for a fashion magazine and a high-end clothing store.
Q: When someone else has written the text for a picture book or novel, how do you decide what scenes and details to draw?
A: Picture books by definition tell part of the story through pictures, so I try to pick out parts that can be expanded upon to tell a deeper or funnier story by "reading" the illustrations. For example, in Cora Cooks Pancit, I added a dog to the illustrations who wasn't mentioned at all in the text. He follows around the main character and keeps bringing more and more toys hoping the little girl will play with him. She ignores the dog all the way through the book, until the very end when she's lying on the floor playing tug of war with the dog. I don't draw only what the text says for picture books, but novels are a bit different. In a novel, the whole story is told in the text and the illustrations usually just show the action or feeling of what's already told.
Q: Can you explain your art process?
A: I work all digital nowadays. I still have lots of great paints and materials from art school, but my mac and wacom tablet are my favorite tools now. I sketch in Photoshop using the wacom tablet and electronic pen. I move around parts of the sketch and resize and redraw until it's ready. To paint, I use some fun Photoshop brushes that I've downloaded and I've manipulated to look like pastels or watercolor or acrylics or whatever medium I want this painting to appear to be done in. My personal taste is to steer away from creating artwork that looks airbrushed on the computer. Photoshop allows you to play around a lot with their brush creator, so I use multiple brushes as I paint. I work in separate layers, so I can move or edit certain parts of the painting if it's not working. Working digitally allows for so much freedom while painting - I love it! If you're working with traditional paints and you mess up, sometimes you can't fix it, and you have to start over. But working digitally allows me to experiment along the way and if something isn't working, I can delete that layer, or recolor just that area very quickly without it looking retouched. The undo button has become a huge part of my process!
Q: What is your favorite color?
A: Cobalt Blue (I've painted my office/studio cobalt blue and yellow with artwork hung all around - it's so energizing!)
Q: What is your favorite medium to work in?
A: Colored pencils. The Museum of Children's Art in Oakland, CA has a show right now called Then & Now. It shows a current picture book illustration next to a piece of art created by that artist when they were a child. I have pieces in that show and my childhood piece is a colored pencil drawing I did in 5th grade.
Q: Do you have a favorite childhood picture that you remember making?
A: I created the childhood picture I have in the Then & Now show in class in 5th grade. I had finished my schoolwork early and the teacher let me draw. I drew this girl in colored pencil and thought she looked like a photograph. Of course, as you can see, it didn't. But I was proud of it, and got in trouble showing it to everyone around me - they were still working on their schoolwork.
Q: Did you always want to be an artist when you grew up?
A: Pretty much, yes.
Q: Do you use models / source pictures or do you draw from your memory/imagination?
A: All of the above. With source pictures, I have to be careful I don't infringe on anyone's copyrights, of course.
Q: What gets you through an illustration you’re having trouble with?
A: Chocolate and my husband or mom pointing out what's wrong with the illustration.
Q: What illustrated book(s) do you remember from when you were a child?
A: When I was little, I was fascinated with the illustrations by Janet & Anne Grahame Johnstone in Dean's Mother Goose Book of Rhymes. I still am, and I own two copies of that book now.
Q: Is there a children’s book illustrator whose work you gravitate towards in the bookstore now? (You can list more than one.)
A: LeUyen Pham, Holly Hobbie, Adam Rex, Christopher Denise, Amy June Bates, Jen Corace, Adam Gustafson, Elena Kucharik, and more.
Bio: Kristi Valiant loves dancing, cooking, red walls, monkeys, penguins, and mice, all of which can be found in one or another of her children's books. Kristi's newest book is a multicultural picture book she illustrated called Cora Cooks Pancit. She's illustrated dozens of leveled readers and hundreds of black and white line drawings for educational materials. Kristi graduated magna cum laude from Columbus College of Art & Design with a major in Illustration. She grew up in Wisconsin, studied in Ohio, moved to Texas, spent a summer in China, and now lives in Indiana with her husband. You can see more of her artwork on her website: www.kristivaliant.com or on her blog: http://kristivaliant.blogspot.com
Thanks for the interview Kristi!
All images in this post © Kristi Valiant.
I'm still fighting a nasty cold I picked up at jury duty last week, so instead of the regular 14 week novel post, I thought I'd ask for comments and opinions from anyone that's written a novel (or novels), is writing their first novel, or hasn't yet started writing but wants to.
Feel free to share any insights or aggravations about novel writing, or answer the questions below (if you like questions):
* What made you want to write a novel?
* What's the one thing you wish someone had told you before you started writing your first novel?
* What author would you most like to have coffee with, and what questions would you ask them?
* Have you ever tried a new format, POV, or genre that was different from what you usually write? Did it work?
* What obstacles have you faced in writing your novel(s) and how did you overcome them?
As always, whether you're on the 14 week novel plan or not, keep your BIC, and happy writing!
Maggie Stiefvater is having a contest for her new novel Shiver. I've joined team
Ravelda (go team!) If you want to join the team too, go
here. Find out more about the contest
here.
For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.
Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.
Art games are fun!
What are art games? Those are the games that your non-artist friends and family don't want to play with you ... kidding, sort of. Here's an art game that you can play by yourself if nobody will play with you. Or you can play with non-artist friends and family if they're game.
Step one: Think of something to draw (start out with something you are good at drawing, for instance, I would probably pick cows).
Step two: Get out a paper and pencil (make sure it's a big piece of paper).
Step three: Put on a blindfold (you can just close your eyes if you want, but no peeking).
Note: non-artists have the option of looking while they draw - it levels the playing field.
Step four: Draw!
Step five: Repeat, with different subjects, or the same subject (as many times as you want).
You'll be surprised what happens when you try this, or maybe you won't. I'm always surprised how good it looks, considering that I wasn't looking at what I was doing. Plus it makes me feel better about my real drawings, which look like masterpieces compared to the blindfolded ones.
(BTW, I got this idea from playing Cranium, which is a good game because there's a category that everyone likes, and one that everyone hates. Also, the clay smells really weird, not like real clay at all.)
What are your favorite art games?
Running off to jury duty, but I have time to post winners. DH picked the winner out of a hat and helped me choose the runners up from the remaining entries. All the entries were really great; it was hard to choose!
Grand Prize Winner (and new owner of a ceramic chicken): Carrie Harris – Cluck Skellington and Zero
Runners Up:
Mr. Muerte and Margaret - Angeltreats
Mordred and Peep - Ravelda
(Runners up win their choice of either Tunnels by Brian Williams and Roderick Gordon, Robot Dreams by Sara Varon, or a Dramatic Conclusion T-shirt by sruble – size Large … I have 2 of each of these in case you both pick the same thing.)
Honorable Mention: The Colonel and Secret Sauce, which I loved, but found out is my husband (who is technically not eligible to win and unhappy about it – poor DH). I’m going to take him out for ice cream to make him feel better.
** Winners and runners up, please email me – stephanie (at) sruble (dot) com - with your address so I can send out your prizes, and runners up, let me know what your choice is. :)
A confession: Remember in week 5 when I inexplicably decided that writing my chosen novel as a graphic novel meant that I could no longer use it for the 14 week novel? Well, that was dumb. I never stopped writing it, and as much as I love the book I switched to, writing both isn’t working and one of them has to go. The original one is the one that’s been constant throughout so I’m going back to it, or maybe I should just say I’m continuing with it. So the zombies win, and Sheila is happy.
I didn’t realize this project would take so many twists and turns! However, if you forget about the novel switch, the only real twist is that my book is now a graphic novel. What’s going to happen to the other novel? I’m still going to write it - after the other one is done. Two novels at once, is too many, especially with all the other projects going on.
Whew! It feels good to get that over with. Plus now I have a clear path and don’t have to feel guilty about working on my graphic novel.
Goals for week #9: At this point you’ve probably got a main storyline, but what about subplots or parallel plots? Have you thought about them yet? The goal this week is to plan out your subplots and/or parallel plots (if you haven’t already done that) and figure out how they work with the main plot and the main character. The other goal is, as always, to keep writing your novel.
Links: Wikepedia on subplot and the ABCs of subplot.
Quotes: (from GN conference 2008)
“It doesn’t have to be pompous to be great, it just has to have a core.” - Mark Siegel (FirstSecond)
“If you’re chasing after your own genius, I’m already interested in you.” - Mark Siegel
(I love this quote because it reminds me to strive for what might be impossible, or just out of my reach if I don’t push myself and take chances.)
“Respect the reader and let them participate in the cartoon.” - Paul Karasik
(He was talking about cartoons and comics, but it applies to novels too)
“Moby Dick in 40 pages is always going to suck.” – Scott McCloud
(He was talking about MD, the graphic novel, but it’s really about giving yourself enough room to tell the story, plus it’s a funny quote.)
Guess where I am today (today being tomorrow, but I'm posting this early)?
While I’m away, the chickens have asked me to remind everyone that the deadline for their contest is Thursday, May 7, at 10pm EST. What can you win? The coolest little ceramic sculpture of a skeleton in a chicken suit, like the ones in the picture with me above (see below for a real picture).
All you have to do is comment on this post and tell me what you will name your chicken and his little sidekick. A random drawing picks the winner, and 2 bonus prizes will be awarded for the most creative names that aren’t picked in the drawing. Here’s a picture of the ceramic chicken – isn’t he cute?
Since I’m going to be having fun at jury duty all day (and maybe several more days … I hope not), I thought I’d leave some fun links for you all to check out.
Over at The Five Randoms, Amanda Marrone talks about her hook compared to her agent's hook for her first book, UNINVITED. You should check this out if you're subbing to editors or agents.
There's an auction/benefit for author and teen librarian, Bridget Zinn, who was recently diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.
There are a ton of art director and publisher interviews on childrensillustrators.com. If you're looking for who likes what, art-wise, check them out.
Like contests and have a great opeining? There's an openings contest at The Write Game blog - winner receives first chapter critique.
Want to see a video of author/illustrator Meghan McCarthy painting? It's posted it on the Blue Rose Girls blog. It's really cool - check it out!
Editor Cheryl Klein blogged about the process behind editing the book, MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD.
If you want to make graphic novels, here are some great tutorials from Kazu Kibuishi:
Flatting (preparing line art to color in Photoshop) and a step by step making of his online comic, Copper
I read 2 great webcomics articles recently, the first one is on Visual and Technological Advances in Comics, and the second one is about Author-Reader Relationships and Finances.
Enjoy the links and don't forget to enter the contest to win your very own ceramic chicken. What will you name him or her and the sidekick?
This is a watercolor pencil sketch, after the water was added. There were several other stages after this, including color with more watercolor pencil and regular colored pencils, plus ink. I also started a digital under painting of this stage.After all that, I still like the simple image best, so here it is:
If I continue with the other versions and they turn out, I might post them at a later date, but I kind of like this best. Gives me a few ideas for a new process to try out too, and I like trying new stuff. :)
I figured it worked well for both the Mommies and Babies theme for Watercolor Wednesdays and the Hierarchy theme for Illustration Friday.
Kazu Kibuishi is a comics and graphic novel author/illustrator of several comics for both children and adults. If you don’t know his work, you’re really missing out.
Kazu’s the author/illustrator of my all time favorite graphic novel, Daisy Kutter (there’s a new Daisy Kutter story coming out soon – yay) and the editor and contributor to the Flight and Flight Explorer comic anthologies (Flight 6 is coming soon).
Scholastic did a series of interviews with Kazu last year about his graphic novel Amulet. There are seven videos in all. They’re all good, but make sure to check out the video “Kazu Kibuishi’s Sketches.” It’s a look at his amazing sketchbook, which has art and notes for Amulet, as well as other projects, including a brief glimpse of Daisy Kutter.
If you want to read some of Kazu’s comics and see his amazing art, he has a wonderful online comic, Copper.
If you’re interested in making comics, check out his comics workshop.
If you’re a children’s book author or illustrator, there’s a lot to learn from and enjoy in the work of Kazu Kibuishi. Check him out!
* Note: Don’t forget to enter the contest to win your very own ceramic chicken. Go here to enter.
We’ve been writing for seven weeks; today is the start of week eight. Which means, we’re half way there!
Goals for week #8: Take stock of where you are and how much you have left. What can you realistically get it done in the next 7 weeks (June 18 is the last day)? It’s ok if you don’t finish, as long as you are working towards your goals.
I’m going to plan out the next 7 weeks this weekend. I’m still hoping to be done by June 18, even though I’m behind right now due to other projects that have had earlier deadlines.
How is everyone else doing?
Exercise for this week: Now that you’ve been writing for 7 weeks, it’s time to ask a few questions. I’ve included some questions below, but feel free to ask your own questions. [Note: You may have asked a few of these questions already, but it can be helpful to ask them again when you’re in the middle to see if things have changed and where the story is going.]
* What’s the main quest that your MC is on and how is she going to achieve it?
* Does your story have a theme or a question it answers?
* What’s the emotional tone of your story?
* Is your MC someone that the reader can care about and identify with?
* Can the reader identify with what’s important to your MC?
* What’s your MC’s secret? Do you reveal this to the reader?
* Do you know the ending of your story yet? Is it the logical conclusion to your story? Is it plausible?
* How does your character grow and change in the story?
That’s it for this week. How are you all doing with your novels?
It’s the last day of BEDA (Blog Every Day April), and my personal take on it, which has been to make art every day. Technically I started BEDA on April 2 (but I posted twice that day). If I post tomorrow for IF it will be a full month. Plus I’m posting twice today (14 week novel post later today).
The last blog art for April 2009 (it was going to be a different image, but then I drew this one and I like the idea that the puppy is saying, “What’s next?):
It’s time for the top 5 good and bad things about blogging / making art every day in April. Then we’ll have a contest to win a Death Chicken – remember the Death Chicken?
BEDA - the GOOD:
1. It was fun, and I really needed that after a couple of not so fun months.
2. Deadlines and discipline helped get rid of procrastination techniques.
3. Art builds momentum - It helped me turn out multiple color sketches for a possible new client and make sketches for a mini comic for my graphic novel class (I didn’t post all the art I did in April).
4. I started participating in Illustration Friday and joined Watercolor Wednesdays, which I might not have done otherwise. I think it’s been good for me to share my art, which I haven’t done a lot of on my blog.
5. It’s helped me to think about my goals for art and writing in the future.
BEDA - the BAD:
1. Not enough family time.
2. No days off for weekends, holidays or birthdays.
3. Taking forever to respond to blog comments and not reading and commenting as much on other people’s blogs, and working late many nights to get it all done.
4. Making art for my blog instead of my portfolio. (There’s a big difference. Although some blog art might be sketches for portfolio art later.)
5. Not having enough time to devote to other projects I needed to work on.
After all that, would I do it again? Absolutely. Although I might make some art ahead of time, so I don’t have to wait for paint to dry before posting.
And now for the Death Chicken contest!!! To win your very own Death Chicken (pictured here with a Sleestak), leave a comment on this post, along with the name for your Death Chicken and his little sidekick.
Winner will be a random drawing from all entries on both blogs. Creative names, or explanations for regular names could possibly win second or third place prizes, like a Sheila postcard or a book or something else I think up before the drawing. (Winners for additional prizes will be picked on a purely subjective basis.) Contest is open until 10 pm EST on Thursday, May 7. The winner(s) will be posted Friday morning, May 8.
What did I name my Death Chicken? Glad you asked. I’ve decided to name mine Will, and his sidekick Holly (after Will and Holly in the Land of the Lost … and thus having an explanation for this wacky picture).
Watercolor Wednesdays has a monthly challenge, in addition to the weekly prompts. This month it was Aesop's Fables, and I chose The Tortoise and the Hare because it reminds me of publishing. Slow and steady wins the race (or at least that's my hope). I started this painting after midnight last night, so it's not exactly the way I would have gone about it during the day. However, it was a fun experiment.
I started out with a navy colored pastel paper and drew on it with watercolor crayons.
I liked this stage so much that I almost didn't go any further. However, Watercolor Wednesdays implies the fact that I should probably use some water. So I got out my spray bottle, which made it look like this, which I also liked.
This morning, I really wanted to use acrylic to finish the painting, but first I tried regular watercolor paints. That wasn't very effective on the navy paper (I knew it wouldn't be, but it never hurts to try). So I decided to use my gouache paints.
Note: I don't like gouache. I can't make it do what I want, it smells weird, and it cracks after it dries.
But I decided to use it anyway, since this was an experiment. The first bits of gouache I painted didn't look good, but I stuck with it. I like the way it turned out, other than the cracking of the paint as I untaped the painting from the board. (Anybody know a way to make it crack proof?)
Here's the final result:
What's your favorite Aesop's Fable?
I looked out the window this afternoon, and it was snowing! Big flakes of snow were whirling and swirling outside. There were so many that it looked like a snowstorm was rolling in. That may not seem too unusual for April, except that it was 88 degrees outside (I knew that because I watched the weather channel a few minutes earlier).
So if it wasn’t snow, what was it? It looked feathery and there used to be a bunch of pigeons roosting in the apartment building next to ours, but pigeons don’t just lose feathers and I hadn’t heard any shots.
Maybe it was butterflies?
Nope, not butterflies. When I went to the window, I saw that it was flower petals floating and flying around outside! We have lots of flowering trees where we live and it was windy outside. Still, we’ve lived here for many years and have never seen a flower storm like this. Maybe it happens every year, but since we’re not near the ground floor, we don’t see it. Or it could just be one of those things that rarely happen.
What kind of trees did the snow come from? No clue, but here’s a picture:
Luckily, it “snowed” again after my husband came home, so he got to see the blizzard too. :)
Over on Watercolor Wednesdays, Wendy asked me a question that I thought other people might have too. Wendy was nice enough to let me repost her question and my answers here, along with the story of today's painting. Thanks for the question Wendy!
Question:
I see on your live journal you have decided to post a drawing a day. Kudos to you for actually succeeding so far. How have you accomplished this? I can't seem to maintain any kind of regular schedule in my creative output and would love some pointers from you.
My Original Answer:
Getting started doing one a day is the hardest part. Once you get on a roll, it gets easier. There seems to be a momentum that builds (I've found this other times when I did challenges, like cow a day or dog a day for a year). The momentum can wear off, like this week after finishing a big art deadline for something else. But then you just have to start again.
There are days when it's hard to get one done (thus the midnight postings) and other things that need to slide a bit, like reading and commenting on blogs. I'm not doing as much of that since I started, but maybe that's not so bad.
Remembering that it can be a sketch and it doesn't have to be perfect helps. Also, you can start sketches or do a bit of the color before the day you're going to post it. It doesn't all have to be done that day, unless you are behind and have to squeeze it in.
It's also easier to do one a day if you don't have to post them to the blog, because that involves scanning and posting, which takes time. If you just do a small sketch or a painting and don't post it, it's easier to do it.
I think making the public announcement that I was doing it also helped. It makes you feel like you have to do it or you'll let people down (not that tons of people read my blog, but you know...).
Then there's the story of today's painting, a.k.a.
How things went horribly wrong, or how forcing yourself to work with a deadline can lead to creative solutions for artistic problems.For today's painting, I sketched a kitty, then re-drew it on watercolor paper, painted it (multiple layers), then got to the very end of the painting, which is when I normally add the black outline and details with paint or marker.
When I got to the outline stage, I already knew there was something wrong with the face. The drawing was fine but it looked weird now. However, I didn't have time to paint another painting. I'd already spent part of last night and off and on all day on this one. Plus, it has to dry before I can scan it and I didn't have anything else to post today. I had to use the cat.
So I inked the painting, including the cat's face. It looked horrible. Then I tried to fix it. It looked even worse after I tried to fix it (you can't fix watercolor unless you get lucky).
I thought about just posting the bottom of the painting - the grass and flowers looked nice. Or the cat with a blanked out the face like they do on TV. I even thought about not posting anything tonight, but it's almost the end of the month and I've made it this far.
Then I said to my husband, "I could put a mask on the cat."
He said, "No ... unless it's a bee mask."
I'd been thinking of an elephant mask, to tie in with the end of elephant week. Or maybe a big yellow smiley face. The bee mask was a much better idea, since there were already bees in the painting. Plus, quite honestly, there was no way the cat could look worse than it already did.
So I painted a bee mask (with acrylic to cover the watercolor and ink).
Then I waved the painting around and used the hair dryer, and waved it around some more, so I could scan it (while it was still just a bit on the sticky side) and get it up while it's still Monday somewhere in the world.
So here now, is my creative solution (with some help from my husband) for today's painting. I kind of like it, and it's a bazillion, gazillion times better than before the mask. What do you think?
I saw a nature show on TV recently. It had lots of footage of elephants swimming. It even had some shots with the camera below so you could see what the elephants looked like underwater. It was very cool.
For the last day of elephant week, here's my rendition of elephants swimming:
With baby ducks. ;)
When I saw that the topic for Illustration Friday this week was theater, I wondered how I could make it work with the fact that it's elephant week here on my blog. My next thought was, "Peter Pan." Surprisingly, Peter Pan works perfectly for elephant theater. Enjoy :)
Some people are able to keep plowing through, all the way to the end of the draft, while others write in fits and starts, sometimes getting stuck along the way. There are lots of reasons you could be stuck. Maybe you don’t know what your characters should do next (if you had an outline, you threw it out a long time ago). It could be that you’re bored with your story (probably need to add more conflict or a subplot). Or, you could just have other things that have had to take priority over this project. Maybe it’s another story, or work, school, family, or the need to sleep. Since it’s elephant week here on my blog ...
Maybe the elephants can help us get writing again:
* If your plot is stalled and your characters are wandering around aimlessly, send a herd of stampeding elephants through your story. Something is bound to happen.
* If you’re bored with your story, imagine that your characters are elephants. How does that change the story? What if they are elephants in space? Ok, that’s just silly, but sometimes you have to think up some crazy ideas to realize that your story is exciting, or maybe those crazy ideas will be just what your story needs.
* If checking email, getting a snack, or reading blogs keep you away from your writing, imagine that there’s a HUGE elephant behind you. There’s another elephant in front of you. Everywhere you look, elephants. Now imagine that all the elephants have just filled their trunks full of water and will spray you, unless you get back to work.
* If other commitments are keeping you away from your writing, try to think about your story even if you can’t write it all down. Elephants never forget, but you might not remember all the cool things you thought up while driving to soccer practice or sitting in a meeting at work. Keep a little notebook and a pen with you at all times so you can make notes to help you remember. You could also get a voice recorder or leave yourself voicemails or text messages.
** If you really need a break, take one. Even elephants visit the watering hole when they need to.
Goals for week #7: Write something every day, even if it’s just one word. Yes, “the” counts. Hopefully it will make you say, “the, what?” and keep writing. If you want to set a specific daily or weekly word count, that’s good too.
Link for this week:
There’s only one link for this week, because I’m sending you to a page that has a ton of writing articles by Alicia Rasley. I haven’t read them all, but the ones I have read have been great.
Quotes for this week:
“It is necessary to write, if the days are not to slip emptily by. How else, indeed, to clap the net over the butterfly of the moment? For the moment passes, it is forgotten; the mood is gone; life itself is gone. That is where the writer scores over his fellows: he catches the changes of his mind on the hop.” ~Vita Sackville-West
“The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say.” ~Anaïs Nin
“Writing became such a process of discovery that I couldn't wait to get to work in the morning: I wanted to know what I was going to say.” ~Sharon O'Brien
“The wastebasket is a writer's best friend.” ~Isaac Bashevis Singer
“The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible.” ~Vladimir Nabakov
“I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork.” ~Peter De Vries
“Every writer I know has trouble writing.” ~Joseph Heller
“The only cure for writer's block is insomnia.” ~Merit Antares
“The best time for planning a book is while you're doing the dishes.” ~Agatha Christie
Happy Birthday to my husband, who is watching hockey as I write this. :)
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