. . . but it won’t be forgotten!

There’s so much to savor from The Original Art Exhibition: The Fine Art of Children’s Book Illustration, as it winds up its stay in Carlsbad, CA.

To recap, here are more trailers from the participating artists in the Show:

For me, the highlight was being able to hold up the actual book page, and compare it alongside its original. I will share some observations in future posts. Seeing them side-by-side provided meditations on the wide spectrum of art media possible, coupled with the reality of CMYK print — it’s all good stuff!

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Why? Because after November 23, 2014 , the traveling exhibit, “The Original Art 2013“ at the Cannon Art Gallery, in Carlsbad CA will close!

Don’t miss this exhibit! You’ll encounter 40 examples of the best-illustrated books of 2013, from the most talented in the field.

A highlight is the inclusion of published illustrators who happen to live in San Diego and Los Angeles, including Salina Yoon, Debbie Tilley, Andrea Zimmerman & David Clemesha, David Diaz, Janell Cannon, and Robin Preiss Glasser, to name just a few!

There’s a dedicated reading corner where you can sit and peruse the books each piece is culled from. Many of the originals include drawings, paintings, prints, etchings, and collages — a rare opportunity to fully appreciate the diversity of creativity applied to these works. Gallery curator Karen McGuire even adhered post-its to corresponding pages of each book, so that visitors can compare the printed result to its original, up-close!

There’s also a video featuring 19 trailers highlighting selected artists on display, broadcast throughout the duration of the exhibit. Don’t miss it — it’s at the reading corner! Here are just a few of the trailers you’d encounter.

IDEA: It’s not too early to order picture books for holiday gift giving! Give everyone you love a children’s picture book. It’s a bazillion times more enduring than a mere Christmas card! There’s something for everyone.

Like this one (below). Yes, Renata Liwska‘s original work is on display at The Cannon Art Gallery too!

Check out the work of Renata, and her multi-talented illustrator colleagues, at the Cannon Art Gallery, before it becomes yet another happy memory.

1775 Dove Lane
Carlsbad, CA 92011
(760) 602-202
Hours
Tuesday – Thursday: 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Friday – Saturday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday: 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
CLOSED MONDAYS

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What Makes Your Characters “Tick”?

Let’s look at the beginning of a picture book story.

The initial step is introducing your main character. Can you tell us what he/she is thinking?

What is their prime directive? What motivates them? What problem are they confronting in your story?

I love sharing this series of spreads created by  graphic design pioneer Bruno Munari — an Italian Paul Rand — who loved children’s picture books.  This is from his book The Elephant’s Wish.

Here’s Elephant, who wishes he could be as carefree as a bird…

 

Bird wishes he could swim. Can you guess why?

Snake wishes he could graze majestically like a bull . . .

Bull wishes he could be like the elephant. Why? Then he could swish away those pesky flies! We come full circle by the end of the book.

 

 

 

 

Here’s the cover, which hints at the animals’ thoughts, while intriguing us with an unusual graphic.

 

 

 

 

Check out how Laurent Moreau lets us in on his characters’ thoughts:

 

 

 

Check out what other students have created here!

Drawing a story? Do this exercise with each of your characters first.

Check out more results here!

 

 

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Here’s Travis and Tian Brown, with their dad, sharing a counting moment…

Here’s a cross-reference guide, from The Gallaudet Children’s Dictionary of American Sign Language (click on either image to enlarge)

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Let’s start with unveiling the cover itself. It features a lenticular!

And it’s going on press this month! I’m so excited!

Why? Because it all began as a list of words on a spread sheet almost five years ago. Gallaudet University Press lined up a team of illustrators for their upcoming definitive American Sign Language reference (think Merriam-Webster, but for signing), aimed at the pre-school through grade 3 level. It had to be usable for hearing families as well as the deaf and hearing-impaired.

 

One of the illustrators already on board was Debbie Tilley. When agent Richard Salzman discovered it was (a) Gallaudet first foray into children’s books and general trade; and (b) they expected Debbie to produce the layouts too, he recommended they contact me to pull it all together for them. It was a dream project for all of us!

  

 392 pages of full color! It looks like a graphic comic, with over 1,000 word entries, fully illustrated. Plus it includes a DVD featuring a rainbow of children signing. There’s also a special feature on forming sentences.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll guide you on the process. It will be like a diary on the making of a children’s reference classic. . .

You will witness exclusive behind-the-scenes book making. Stay tuned. That’s why I’ve been away for so long. Been dictionary-ing…

 

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Great question! You can take the class at your own pace. It’s a 9-week course, with a new exercise/assignment given at the start of each week. You post completed exercises online, to share with classmates, at the end of each week. And you can post questions at the Class Discussion Board anytime, too. It’s an asynchronous class

For more info, go here.
Register anytime, 24/7, here.

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Every new class I teach is like embarking upon a new adventure mind trip.

It’s good to re-visit familiar terrain from a wholly different angle. Here, I do it upside-down, sideways, anyway-but-regular. I see it as the ultimate brain synapse challenge. Like quickie sit-ups, with a lilt!

For instance, I love drawing from Emberley.  In each of the following, we start with the letter D, step-by-step. . . but holding the book itself upside down.

This is the way to see PURE SHAPE. Forget about the end result entirely.

Fact: Guess who has the hardest time doing the above — from all the people who’ve taken my illustration class — the artists, or the writers? The seasoned artists. Not all of them, but just a few. Why? It’s unfamiliar, not envisioning the end-result. These renegades then discover they are falling back into old patterns of drawing, unwilling to try something new. I remind them that this is the way to venture into new terrain. To discover new possibilities in drawing. How letting go of certain drawing habits will set them free. And when they allow it to happen, they smile. Inevitably.

Try any of the following. Bonus:  If you render these, purely as shape, you can do them in ANY size, from tiny to titanic — no sizing tools needed!

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Then notice how these same shapes re-occur in everything around you. . . .

The above images are progressive drawings from Ed Emberley’s Drawing Book of Animals, © 1970 by Edward R. Emberley, animated as .GIFs . This book is the required textbook at my UCSD Extension class, Illustrating Books for Children. I think everyone needs this book in their lives. Follow each step. Watch it change the way you see your world.

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So excited. I’m taking part in the Ultimate Walden Pond Experience at the Advanced Illustrators Workshop at the Highlights Foundation, August 28-September 2nd.

Been brainstorming with the amazing Cindy Smith on the illustration exercises (I call them Guerrilla Work-outs) I will lead on-site. I sent my proposal to Cindy, and within minutes, she shoots back “WONDERFUL.” She’s my soul sister.

I’m blessed. Look at the illustrators I’m accompanying: E.B. Lewis and Matt Tavares. . .

Here’s Matt …

and E.B. in action…

and here I am.

But before the immersion begins, conferees are treated to an insider peek at the inner workings of Highlights Magazine and Boyds Mills Press. Here’s editor Linda Rose, specifying what gets published in Highlights. She’s looking for full color visual ideas via their picture puzzler feature. Hey you editorial illustrators, here’s an opportunity! Every submission to this feature will be considered. Think visual witticism. Tell Linda you heard it here…

More tomorrow.

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Greetings! If you live, work, or are vacationing this summer in the San Diego area, consider creating stories with pictures at my class, on the beautiful campus of UCSD in La Jolla!

Illustrating Books for Children

Instructor:  Joy Chu

June 26-August 21
Wednesday evenings, 6:30pm-9:30pm
extension.ucsd.edu

Register before June 25!

 

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Inspiration is Everywhere!

During last winter’s 2013 class at UCSD Extension, I asked my students to locate the CIP book summary from any picture book, and use it as the inspiration for an eight-panel wordless picture story.

CIP (“pronounced “sip”) is book publishing jargon for the Library of Congress Publishing Cataloging-in-Publication Data. This is found within the copyright page text of every book. It features a well-constructed one-phrase synopsis of the book’s theme.

Here is an example. One student, Aijung Kim, selected the following CIP summary from Chalk by Bill Thompson. While she didn’t read the book, she knew from its cover that it featured a dinosaur. . .

“Book Summary:  A wordless picture book about three children who go to a park on a rainy day, find some chalk, and draw pictures that come to life.”

Here’s what she came up with:

Another student, Fnu Anisi, enchanted by Kevin Henkes‘ Kitten’s First Full Moon, wanted to explore an eight page wordless re-telling.

Book summary:  When Kitten mistakes the full moon for a bowl of milk, she ends up tired, wet, and hungry trying to reach it.

Here are Anisi’s results:

At my upcoming summer 2013 UCSD Extension class (June 26-August 21), Illustrating Books for Children (ART 40011) we might look into creating an advent-styled calendar as a possible inspiration for creating a picture story.

Example: Look at the one Zachariah OHora created from his own story. Fun, yes?

Creating a 3D model for your story setting can also serve as an invaluable reference in plotting out your narrative, as well as a guide in drawing scenes from a variety of perspectives. Note how illustrator Sophie Blackall created a diorama for her work-in-progress. She can view her characters from above!

Author/illustrator Barbara McClintock builds cut-paper replicas of her illustrations, in composing her scenes. The following sequence is from her studies for an upcoming book, Adèle and Simon in China (all 3 photos below © Barbara McClintock)

Here’s Tove Jansson, creating reference models for her fabulous Moomin stories.

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Illustrating Books for Children / Art 40011

June 26-August 21
Wednesdays, 6:30pm-9:30pm
extension.ucsd.edu

Register before June 25!

 

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Kathleen Krull is here!

We’re jumping feet first into the summer with a visit from one of the best story-tellers on our planet!

It’s fun to be nosy about Kathy Krull’s latest activities…especially when she responds to Blog Hop questions. Read on. Add a comment. You just might receive a surprise . And do check out the splendid creators Kathy has blog-tagged at the end. —J.C.]

1.  What is the title of your work-in-progress?

KK:  It’s not in-progress, but piping hot off the press: What Was the Boston Tea Party

2.  Where did the idea come from?
KK:  Without being an expert on the Boston Tea Party, I still had a sense that the current Tea Party movement, which began in 2009, a month after President Barack Obama took office, was not always accurate in its depiction of American history.  So I wanted to know the real story of the event and present it to young readers.

3.  What genre does your book come under?
KK:  Nonfiction chapter book, illustrated with line drawings and 16 pages of photos.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie?
KK:  150 of Hollywood’s buffest and cutest and youngest–more than a third of the participants that night were under 21.

5. One sentence synopsis for your book?
KK:  What happened on the night of December 16, 1773, placed within a context of what led up to it and what resulted–how it led to the birth of a whole new country.

6. Is your book self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency?
KK:  Published by Grosset & Dunlap, a division of Penguin.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
KK:  At the same time I was thinking Tea Party thoughts, my editor at Penguin, Jane O’Connor, was starting up this new series — WHAT WAS, a spin-off of WHO WAS.  The deadline was tight, a matter of months, during which I was drinking tea from morning till night.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
KK:  Is it conceited to say I hope I’m trying in my way to follow in the footsteps of Jean Fritz?

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book? 
KK:  American history is endlessly fascinating, and I love getting the chance to portray it as accurately and meaningfully as possible, fighting the good fight against cluelessness.

10.What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
KK:  It’s controversial!  Anyone who enters the fray will get sent a free copy of the book.

And now, I am tagging two upstanding children’s book folks: Helen Foster James , co-author of Paper Son: Lee’s Journey to America and several other popular books, and Carlyn Beccia, illustrator for one of my newest, Louisa May’s Battle and other beautiful books.

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Exercise your art chops!

Summer Solstice! What could be better after a full day’s work (or surfing), or sight-seeing around San Diego, than hunkering down, and drawing pictures with other passionate story-tellers?

We’ll work on hand-on drawing-and-sharing, in class, in person. Examine the latest picture books, plus a few timeless classics. And address aspects of the current children’s book market.

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Join us!

Class:        Children’s Book Illustration – ART-40011
Dates:       June 26 – August 21  (9 meetings)
Day:           Wednesdays
Time:         6:30pm – 9:30pm
Location:  Extension, Room 128

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Required books: 

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Writing with Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children’s Books (paperback) :: Uri Shulevitz   ISBN: 9780823059355

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Ed Emberley’s Drawing Book of Animals (paperback)
:: Ed Emberley   ISBN: 9780316789790

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Don’t delay, sign up today!

You may purchase textbooks via the UCSD Bookstore.
extension.ucsd.edu.  Register now.  Ask about ART 40011
Fee:  $250 / $275 after 6/10/13

  

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The kids have spoken!

The Irma Black Award, given by The Bank Street School,  is unusual in that children are the final judges of the winning book.  This year’s award went to Big Mean Mike, written by Michelle Knudsen and illustrated by Scott Magoon.  More than 7,500 first and second graders around the world voted  Big Mean Mike as their clear favorite.

There were three other Irma Black honor books, also chosen by kids themselves:

Children also choose The Cook Prize winners, sponsored by The Bank Street School:  The best science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) picture books published for children aged eight to ten. This year’s winner is:

The honor winners are:

Congratulations to all the winners!

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A working knowledge of anatomy will give any illustrator a solid foundation upon which to hone one’s drawing skills. The possibilities are infinite, as along as you begin with the basic skills first.

Case-in-point:  Check out this interview with multi-talented artist Edel Rodriguez here. Then check out his portfolios and blog here.

Note the variety of moves he applies to his character, Sergio, a penguin who loves soccer!

 All illustrations © Edel Rodriguez

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It’s a unique opportunity when an illustrator can also write stories that other artists can render. This happened to Don Tate when he wrote It Jes’ Happened, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie.

Check out this excellent discussion between Anne Rockwell and Don Tate, at Anne’s site.

“…While I could have illustrated the story, my illustration styles weren’t the perfect match for the text. My editor wanted the art to be edgy, gritty. I wanted to go with an illustrator who had broader name recognition than myself. Greg Christie became one of our top choices.”—Don Tate

Remember this if you encounter a book editor who loves your story, but suggests that another illustrator provide the art. Don’t insist on all (doing both story and pictures) or nothing.

If a publisher is seriously interested in acquiring one component, make sure to ask why. Decisions like these are made for the good of the project.

Editors want your book to sell as many copies as possible. One practical consideration is name recognition. Newcomers tend to forget that buyers invariably prefer to request a familiar name or brand, when they shop, even in bookstores or libraries. Publishers also need to see how your name fares out there initially, in the mutual interest of nurturing a new career for the long term.

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Use Post-Its for your thumbnail storyboards

Check out Christian Robinson‘s method, and get a behind-the-scenes peek into his upcoming book Rain, written by Linda Ashman here.

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. . . comes in threes !

[1]  Blog hop* time!

It’s been awhile since my last post.  I’ve been deeply immersed in the world of online learning & teaching, at UCSD Extension. What an adrenaline rush!

I will share highlights (my students were awesome) next week. Alumni & friends will be invited to comment. In the meantime…

[2] I was tagged …

by the a•maze•ing Roxie Munroe , who shares links on creating apps for books at my public Got Story? Facebook page.  Her books are a maze of dazzling fact-filled wonders. Besides creating e-books, she takes you inside and outside of cities, events, and creatures (eggs, bugs, and snakes, oh my), and much more. Do check out Roxie’s blog-hop responses here.

* What is a blog-hop? An author is tagged to answer a set of questions at their own blog. They then tag two other authors with blogs, to keep the blog-hop going.

I think I’m the first blogger/art director/book designer/teacher who’s ever blog-hopped this event! Here goes:
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1. What is the title of your work-in-progress? The Gallaudet American Sign Language Dictionary for Children  [as art director/designer, and production artist, that is].

2. Where did the idea come from?  *Gallaudet University Press editor Ivey Wallace.

[* Note: Based in Washington DC, Gallaudet University is the only institution of higher learning whose programs and services are customized to accommodate deaf and hearing-impaired students. Thomas Gallaudet (1787–1851) was a pioneering figure in the advancement of deaf education.]

[ASL sign for TV, by Debbie Tilley (l) and Peggy Lott (r)]

Debbie Tilley was selected because her witty illustrations communicate well to children and adults. Debbie’s agent Richard Salzman recommended my services as a free-lance designer who’s fluent working with artists and editors; and in the prep of layouts and electronic files for print and other media.

3. What genre does your book come under? Children’s illustrated /Ages 3-11 / reference / American Sign Language / parenting / instructional / school / general trade

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie?  A wide spectrum of fluent multicultural ASL signing children, ages 4 through 11, will be in the accompanying DVD. A joyous group!

5. One sentence synopsis for your book? A kid-friendly definitive children’s American Sign Language dictionary with companion DVD, of over 1,000 entries, humorously illustrated by Debbie (Hey Little Ant!) Tilley alongside easy-to-follow signing diagrams by an unparalleled team of ASL experts.

6. Is your book self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency?
Due out Fall 2014, from Gallaudet University Press.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? Debbie, the signing illustration team, and I were supplied with the final word list in December 2010. We’ve all been collaborating steadily since then. That’s over 1,000 illustrations from Debbie; and 1,000+ diagrams from the signing team. Sketches, approval process, revisions, final art, organizing, scanning, etc. Sentences are composed as layouts are formed.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? There’s none like it. Anywhere.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book? The Gallaudet University Board of Directors made this project part of their mandate. The jewel of the crown.

10.What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? In addition to instructors, students, and users, parents will want to teach ASL to their babies, who are often able to sign before they can talk! Imagine that. Real-life ASL, and it’s from Gallaudet, the go-to source!

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And now, I’m blog-tagging three friends. Visit their blogs for…

[3] Tag 1, 2, 3…

My colleague Andrea Zimmerman [1] teaches the writing aspect of picture book creation at UCSD Extension  [Writing Children’s Picture Books (WCWP-40261)] with Sara Tomp. Check out her fabulous blog, Picture Book Party here. She is both an author and author/illustrator. Among her many titles are Train Man (with David Clemesha); Eliza’s Cherry Trees; and Trashy Town (illustrated by Dan Yaccarino).

Julian Hector [2] draws and writes stories in his inimitable way. Visit his blog here. Check out C.R. Curmudgeon (written by Leslie Muir); Monday is One Day (written by Arthur Levine); The Little Matador; and The Gentleman Bug. Here’s the trailer for his 10 Scary Animals: A Field Guide.

Kathleen Krull [3] roots out the most interesting aspects of a person’s life, and distills it into snappy delightful prose. Let’s peek at her über-awesome output:

I knew her back in the days of Harcourt, San Diego (she was Senior Editor, I was Art Director), where she edited luminaries like Tomie dePaola, Eve Bunting, Patricia Hermes, Anne Lindbergh, Jane Yolen, and Amy Schwartz, before she left to launch her own writing career.

She also collaborates with husband Paul Brewer on projects — including The Beatles Were Fab (and They Were Funny), and Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter Saved the President (and the Country). In 2011, she won the Children’s Book Guild Nonfiction Award for her body of work.

NOTE: Since Kathy uses her Facebook page in lieu of a blog as of this writing, her Q & As (and tagging) will happen here at the Got Story Countdown. Watch for announcements, and spread the word. . . 

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Are you as curious as I am to get a peek into the latest and greatest children’s book illustrations of 2012, as selected by a jury for the Society of Illustrators Original Art?

My plan is post a few books a day, at intervals, over the next several weeks. Just glimpses, with artist links. I figure it’s handy to see visuals of the selections, all in one place.

This feature is dedicated to my UCSD Extension students, past, present and future. Comments from visitors are welcome, as always!

The judging process is spelled out here. And here (below) is this year’s esteemed jury:

Illustrators featured at Original Art 2012, A-to-Z

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Illustrator:   Barroux
Title: My Dog Thinks I’m a Genius

About Barroux / portfolio

Louie loves watching his young master paint, and when the boy puts his finishing touches on a particularly good self-portrait, Louie barks enthusiastically. One day, when the boy is at school, Louie tries his own paw at painting a still life. Is this purely an accident, or is Louie a “genius,” just like his master?

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Illustrators:  The Brothers Hilts
The Insomniacs

The Founder’s Award is given to the most promising new talent in the field of children’s book illustration. To be eligible, an artist can have no more than three books published, and his or her work must be juried into the year’s Original Art show. The award carries a cash prize from the Dilys Evans Foundation and a Certificate of Merit from the Society of Illustrators. The 2012 Founder’s Award winners are the Brothers Hilts for The Insomniacs (G.P. Putnam’s Sons).

The wonder of nighttime comes to life in this breathtaking debut

When the Insomniacs move twelve time zones away for Mrs. Insomniac’s new job, the family has an impossible time adapting to the change. They try everything to fall asleep at night–take hot baths, count to one thousand, sip mugs of milk–but nothing helps. Venturing out into the dark, they learn there is a whole world still awake and a beauty in their new and unconventional schedule.

Illustrator:  Jim Arnosky
Creep and Flutter: The Secret World of
Insects and Spiders

Jim Arnosky’s website

In his fourth stunning nonfiction picture book for Sterling Children’s Books, acclaimed naturalist and illustrator Jim Arnosky brings out the beauty–and the “wow!” and the “yuck!” factors–of hundreds of insects and spiders. Eight spectacular gatefolds show moths and mosquitoes, butterflies and beetles, spiders and silverfish life-size, up-close, and personal!

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[Next group posting: Patrick Arrasmith, Amy June Bates, Carin Berger]

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Illustrator Denise Hilton Campbell was among the participants at my UCSD Extension class, “Illustrating Books for Children” last Spring.

She has an extensive portfolio of published works for advertising and print.

While she and I had worked together (I as art director/designer at Harcourt; she as illustrator) on several book jackets, she had never tackled the children’s picture book genre.

While Denise’s preferred medium is watercolor . . .

. . . she also possesses superb drawing skills.

On her illustration blog, she chronicles her explorations into book dummying. Some highlights:

You can follow Denise’s own picture story on her process in creating her class assignment sketches, here.

And check out the many finished pieces she produced post-class here. A sampling of her progressive experiments with one double-page spread from the above mentioned 32-page dummy follows, below . . .

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Holiday Tip:  Gift your favorite creative person with an Art Class!

Course title:  Illustrating Books for Children (ART 40011)
Instructor:  Joy Chu
Dates: January 7th – March 9th, 2013 (nine weeks)
Fees: $275  [early bird special: $250 if enrolled by 10 Dec 2012]
To register: 858-964-1051; ucsd.extension.edu

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Since I’ve been receiving numerous emails with questions about my upcoming online class at UCSD Extension (January 7-March 9, 2013), I thought it would be good to combine them here.

Q:  Can you give a little more info on how the class is structured?

Our goal will be to zero in on the book dummy itself, in terms of telling a story with utmost clarity.

We will explore the most effective ways of communicating story through images.

I must stress that this will not be a drawing class per se — in the sense that there will be no time to apply any drawing details, nor tight rendering.

In my experience, students (and many pros) have a tendency to focus lovingly on completing details and minutiae prematurely (before fully plotting the entire story), creating exquisite but static compositions at the expense of the whole. The story itself becomes incomplete.

By keeping our drawings simple, we will avoid becoming a stuck car tire, spinning mud.

Nailing key points like character creation; pacing, creating drama; graphic shapes and their importance; rhythm; making judicious use of white space. These are just some of the issues we will address.

We will be identifying art media (so many possibilities) used in today’s picture books, both traditional and digital. See a style you like? Ask about it!

And there will be plenty of sketching!

The book dummy is the most important stage in the creation of picture books. Analogous to drawing architectural floor plans before building the house itself, this is the stage where all creative decisions on the picture book are made.

With your completed floor plan (the book dummy), you can move on to experimenting with the art media of your choice upon completion of this class.

This is why all drawings for our class must be done simply. We will complete three book dummies in nine weeks. In other words, stick figures are totally smart & OK!

All students are required to have an active library card. Everyone must borrow, read and share picture book selections, based upon a given theme for that week. Nowadays, any library book can be reserved online for later pick-up.

“Dancing figure” (above) © Christophe Niemann
“Librarian” (below) © Debbie Tilley

In addition, everyone will be required to have a Flickr account. This is where rough sketches would be uploaded. Students link images to display direct onto the class blog or discussion boards. This is to insure we do not over-tax UCSD Extension’s servers, as images take up far more memory than text.

All class participants will have access to:

(1) A Discussion Board, where everyone shares thoughts about the weekly theme, as well as technical tips (Example. Best ways to create low-resolution scans and PDFs; recommended links).

(2) Your own personal on-line blog, provided for this class only via UCSD’s Blackboard software. Classmates will be able to comment on mutual book selections; offer resource suggestions, or technical insights.

(3) Class availability, 24/7. You can work on assignments anytime. Just remember that new lessons will be posted every  Monday morning!

Q:  Can you give a little more info on how the class is structured?

Every Monday, there will be a new Announcement summarizing the lesson plan plus assignments for the week. Assignments must be completed and uploaded every Sunday @ 11:59 pm. Each new class week begins on a Monday.

Q:  Will we get to share our work with other students?

Definitely! In fact, this is a must, and a major feature of this class! There will be critiques, discussions, and opportunities for feedback  throughout the course. Rules and guidelines for procedure and protocol will be distributed.

Q: Will you be giving feedback?

Yes!  I will be reading everyone’s comments —- with an eye towards encouraging everyone’s mutual support. And I will jump in as appropriate.

I will also list specific times when I will be online live to address immediate concerns.

Most importantly, students must have high speed internet to participate. To test your equipment, go here. To preview and sample our class’s online tools free, go here.

Questions? Post them below (‘Leave a reply’)! I look forward to meeting you, and building our Creative Online Community. Feel the buzz? Register here.

Think you can’t express anything with stick figures? You’d be wrong! Click here and enjoy!

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Course title:  Illustrating Books for Children (ART 40011)
Dates: January 7th – March 9th, 2013 (nine weeks)
Fees: $275  (early bird special: $250 if enrolled by 10 Dec 2012)
To register: 858-964-1051; ucsd.extension.edu

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Hear ye, hear ye! If you draw or paint like this. . . .

. . . you’ll fit right into my UCSD Extension / Winter 2013, 100% online class, Illustrating Books for Children.

If you have access to a high-speed internet connection, are willing to meet more folks who adore picture books of all kinds, join us!

There will be drawing warm-ups.  Story sequencing. And book dummies, oh my!

You’ll be able to take this class on your schedule, within a 9-week format, from anywhere in the world!

I’m seeking an international community of doodlers!

It’s a fully accredited course (3 units). You can also elect to take it as a noncredit self-enrichment class.

Space is filling quickly, so sign up soon as you can!

And in the meantime enjoy this video, and remember that November is Picture Book Month…

 

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I’ve been away working with UCSD Extension to customize lessons plus on-line tools for the online version of my UCSD Extension class.

I’m very excited about meeting new as well as seasoned illustrators and authors; seeing both old and new friends! It’s an opportunity to get together virtually to tell story with pictures, share our passion about it, and get our creative juices flowing.

Course title:  Illustrating Books for Children (ART 40011)
Dates: January 7th – March 9th, 2013 (nine weeks)
Fees: $275  (early bird special: $250 if enrolled by 10 Dec 2012)
To register: 858-964-1051; ucsd.extension.edu

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Special Bonus:  For more about on-line learning, including free tutorials on what’s involved, take the course tour here. Find out beforehand if on-line learning is for you! You don’t need a password for this feature. Just click directly on the links in the right-hand column.

In addition, every UCSD mobile class features additional free mini-tutorials to optimize your individual online experience. Yes, it’s that easy! Technical assistance is also available to all students.

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Questions? You are welcome to write in the comments section below.

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There’s always surprises and delights galore when perusing Best Books Lists. Here’s this year’s N.Y. Times picks, via Pamela Paul and the 2012 committee: Chris Raschka, @henryfingjames and Cathryn Mercier. Congratulations to the winners!

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Dear Reader:  ♥ August 15, 2012 is Julia Child’s 100th Birthday ! ♥ 

More eye-catchers!

Another title that exerted a strong visual pull on me at the ALA Convention Floor last July was a fun-packed book called Bon Appetit! The Delicious Life of Julia Child, published by  Schwartz & Wade (a division of Random House).  It was written and illustrated by Jessie Hartland.

What was the je ne sais quoi for moi?

There’s the combination of ebullient art, alongside wickedly funny text: “…She is a hearty partier and still a prankster. She is famous for painting a toilet seat in her dormitory red…“ Simply irresistible.

Then I discover that author Jessie Hartland was the creator of another book that tugged at my heartstrings previously at ALA Mid-Winter 2011, How the Sphinx Got to the Museum (published by Blue Apple Books).

Besides having illustrated eight picture books, Jesse is a commercial artist whose work appears on ceramics…

and fabric…

and in advertisements.

Why did both the Julia and Sphinx books jump out at me? I think it’s because both books underscore the act of process.

It’s as if Jessie wholeheartedly takes us along for the ride, while she researches her subjects. We get blow-by-blow commentary, at a fast clip.

Playfully rendered, and partnered by lively hand-written text, each page feels like notes shared by your BFF, who happens to render doodles into color. Mais oui! 

[A tangental note for my students:  Much of the fun in creating picture books is derived from uncovering all the back story of your subjects. We gather all the juicy parts; the nasty bits; the settings; the unexpected gems. It's the resource of inspiration. —JC]

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For Julia’s story, Jessie combined her own love of cooking with travels to Paris. I had to find out more.

Joy Chu:  Tell us about the genesis of the Julia Child book. Whose idea was it?

Jessie Hartland:  It was my idea. I love to read biographies and I wanted to do a series of “graphic biographies” for children, my own way.

I pitched Julia Child as the first in the set.
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This was about 5-6 years ago, before Nora Ephron’s film, Julie & Julia.  The response I got was “…no one cares about Julia Child anymore.”

[However] the film revived interest in Julia, and I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to do the book.

JC:  Did you do many preliminary character sketches of Julia herself?

JH:  I looked at lots and lots of photographs of Julia and watched all the DVDs I could find, then started sketching — from my head. I did a lot of doodling in cafes, and other odd places.

JC:   Was there much back-and-forth on the progressive dummy? How many versions — including the ones you did for yourself?

JH:  Yes—of course. Lots of back-and-forth. Many scenes needed to be clarified for the wee ones.

Some images I had as full-page got shrunk to a small panel.

Some tiny panels got blown up to full-pagers.

My two editors, Anne (Schwartz) and Lee (Wade), were wonderful to work with, the whole way. They would prod me with, “tell us more about…”

JC:   Favorite medium? And do you work same size, or up-size?

JH:  I tend to work up-size, just a bit. I paint in gouache, which is opaque watercolor.

JC:  Did you provide your own scans? Back and forth on color corrections?

JH:  They [the publisher] did the scanning. I don’t remember much in the way of color correction. However, there was lots to fix and clarify, what with all the hand-written text, made more complicated by the bits of French sprinkled in.

JC:  Are you a foodie yourself?

JH:  Yes, I love to cook. I grew up watching “The French Chef” on TV. My mother did not like to cook and it was fun to watch someone cooking who enjoyed it. At home we ate frozen vegetables, canned fruit and dreadful things made with soup mixes and such. As a teenager I got an after school job in my town’s only fancy-foods shop where I had my first croissants, baklava and French cheese.

While in art school I worked weekends and summers as a restaurant cook. Nowadays our family eats a lot of seafood caught by my 20 year old son, Sam: tuna, sea bass, bluefish, porgies, mahi-mahi and cherrystone clams. I grow tomatoes, cucumbers and raspberries and have a thriving herb garden.

JC:  How did you get started, in brief — from school to the field?

JH:  I went to the Boston Museum School, a very fine arts-oriented school, not commercial. It is affiliated with Tufts, where I took excellent academic classes.

After graduating, I worked briefly at a high-tech start-up, then moved to NYC and worked freelance doing production work for independent animators.

During lunch, I took my portfolio around and began getting illustration jobs and was able to quit the animation work.

As an illustrator, I found the assignments I most enjoyed were those asking for some writing and coming up with ideas.

When I was designing and installing windows—at night—for the Barneys department stores, I got the idea for my children’s book, “Night Shift.”

I had a fabulous gig for a couple of years, travel-writing and drawing a regular column for Travel and Leisure/ Family.

You could say moving on to writing and illustrating children’s books was a natural transition, but I think it’s really what I wanted to do all along.

JC:  Biggest influences?

JH:  Saul Steinberg, Robert Crumb, Roger Duvoisin, and old Graphis Annuals from the 50s. I grew up reading and loving Babar, Madeline and especially the collaborative books of Margaret Bloy Graham and Gene Zion (Harry the Dirty Dog). My mother made fabulous felt puppets and adapted the stories of Maurice Sendak and poems of Ogden Nash for puppet plays, and I put on the shows for my school.

JC:  What are you working on now?

JH:  Another biography, this one of Steve Jobs. It will be targeted to older kids, though—and in black and white. A smaller format, and with many more pages. More focus on the writing and drawings—and I’m up for the challenge! He’s another fascinating character: rebellious, intuitive, ingenious…

I also have 4-5 other ideas in various stages of development. . . And I just found out for sure that there will be a third in the “Museum” series of books — How the Meteorite Got to the Museum — about the Peekskill meteorite.

JC:  How delicious! Do keep us posted. And until then, bon appetít, Jessie!

[Inspiration can sprout from anywhere:  "... thanks to my mom, Dottie Hill Hartland, for fabricating for Xmas 1965 the brilliant French café dollhouse (complete with tiny food and menus in French!), which got me started on France, cooking, and Julia Child." — Jessie Hartland, from her Acknowledgments note on the copyright page]

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Join us here this Wednesday, August 15th, when author/illustrator Jessie Hartland takes us through her own collaborative process, with examples from her upcoming book, Bon Appetit! The Delicious Life of Julia Child (Schwartz & Wade). Spread the word…

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