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I'm almost done with expanding my children's book portfolio. I know I had previously said this wasn't probably the best choice for an image for a book cover, but no one is sitting here in my studio telling me what to do so I do what I want. The second I traced the drawing on the Bristol board I was lost in the image. I just had to finish them. Couldn't let go of the rope.

CHECK THE TECHNIQUE 

It was actually a good exercise in technique and medium considering I've been trying to figure out how to expand my spontaneous tea/watercolor splash style and limp color palette that comes with it and the graphite work. 

I read somewhere that artists are either really great at color or really great at drawing. Rarely are they great at both. 

I used pen (that's new!) and my Dr.PH Martins dyes which I was forced to buy in art school to use on one project and haven't touched since. If I was allowed to do whatever I wanted with the dyes back then rather than the way it was presented in the demo, and if I had the balls to do what I wanted anyway, I may not have to be figuring this stuff out right now. But this is where I'm at, I have to go with it.

I'm a traditionalist when it comes to illustration techniques and the text illustration probably could have gone a lot smoother if I assembled the elements on the computer but there's no challenge in building up the layers by hand. I like having mistakes and irregularities. 

Now the hunt is on for a children's book rep. 

Yea. I'm still working on the WOBBP (yea you know me!) book cover. C'mon, I had to throw in a Naughty by Nature reference in there. After 5...or 8 sketches and a LOT of self loathing, this is what I came up with. 

 THOUGHT PROCESS: 

I realized last week that I am a terrible illustrator. I really do not know how to be literal with imagery (which is necessary for children's books). I'm more of a symbologist (is that a real word?). Which I guess is a by-product of doing design, because insignificant symbols have to become and represent a world of different things such as an emotion, a statement, or an idea. The closest a kid will understand is if I wrote that in emoticons. 

I know, this cover is probably difficult to understand, but you see, when one flips the book over to the back there will a pair of Puritan hands puppeteering above the water and a very dainty pair of hands down towards the bottom of the cover cutting the strings loose. 

So I guess what you are seeing is nothing of importance. So sorry to bother you. I'll post the new version when I can.

I NEVER post work in progress because when I'm working I'd rather not take the time to snap photos, edit, upload + blog it. Takes too much precious time out of the fun part. But when I'm designing, I can just snap a screen shot. I love you Dr. Spencer Reid. No? No one else names their iMac? 

Here are the beginning pieces of a few spreads of Underground Art School Magazine. The issue is Art & Fear and your looking at 15 year old Raul Romo. Amazing photography, right? These will not end up looking anything like what you see now. In fact, I've already changed the design by making that adorable little ghost + camera pattern for Raul's background. 

Here's some in-process work. Turns out my process for illustration is not methodical. It varies depending upon the project. I knew what I wanted for the Catcher in the Rye, so I just knocked it out. For the Witch of Blackbird Pond, I'll admit, I'm a little lost. 

 POINTS OF CONSIDERATION:  I think that one of the most important elements to the story is water and it has to be one of the main features in the scene. All of my ideas involved the title on the bottom of the cover since water is involved, that will allow for space in the bottom portion. The other issue to address was how to portray Kit. Most of the previous covers involved portraits which I blasted and I figured I could forgo the portrait route and instead make the witches house on Blackbird Pond but, I just didn't find that challenging for me or the viewer.

 CONCEPT #1:  I thought it would be awesome to have the water as these strands of hair like waves, unraveling into a hand drawn typography title. However, I really effed it up on the technique. The problem is there is no technique here. Plus the waves turned out looking like yarn. As for Kit...she's a little dead. That's a problem- should she be sad? Swimming or floating? Feeling like she's drowning? Overwhelmed by the situation of moving to a new place, or is the water renewing? Is the situation challenging but optimistic? This isn't the worst image I have made, but I can do better.

 CONCEPT #2:  I stuck with my original idea of a portrait, using my watercolor/tea technique. Feels a lot more alive than the last cover. I was planning on having the hair unwind again into a hand drawn type title but after butchering that last image I let go of that element. Honestly, I just try to sneak in hand drawn type wherever I can. It's my weakness. I wanted to see what I could make without using reference and when that happens, people usually turn out stylized. It's sort of an anime spin to it, mixed with art nouveau. That wasn't part of the plan, just how it happened. I liked that she was coming out of the water without it being too M.Night Shyamalan, except I'm worried she might be too young. I wanted her to have a bit of a smirk rather than straight up possessed look because there's a childlike mischievousness but innocence to Kit. She likes to do what she wants, and doesn't understand why the Puritans don't. What is very adult of Kit though is she tries to understand why that is.

I'm not thrilled with the composition, it's all a little boring. However, I know where I'm headed now. 

The next book cover I wanted to re-illustrate + design for my children's + young adult book portfolio is The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. It's a historical novel that takes place in Wethersfield, CT.

Actually, I'm sitting in Wethersfield, in my studio right now. This is my hometown. I have to represent! Plus, the story is SO GOOD. It's so good it's a we-should-petition-for-a-movie-that's-how-good-I-think-it-is good. This book is one of our only claims to fame. The problem is, the book covers suck. I need to revive this witch. 

 MY VERSION OF THE STORY:  The year is 1687 and 18 year old Kit Tyler makes a very adult decision to sail from her home in Barbados to live with her aunt and family in the ridiculously Puritan settlement of Wethersfield, Connecticut. She's seeking independence, not because she wants a lip piercing, but because sometimes young girls get married off to sloppy 40 year old men. It doesn't happen in Wethersfield, but it did in Barbados. She travels in on a boat called The Dolphin and the captain's son is named Nat and he is like legit hot. They stop in Old Saybrook. Whilst the crew unloads goods, a little girl drops her doll in the water and Kit immediately dives in to rescue it. The girl's mother is named Goodwife Cruff and she is one of "those" mom's. Ya know, all up in everyone's business, brags about "MY child" a lot, and probably sanitizes her kid from head to toe every hour. She sees this "miraculous" yet horrific event in which a young girl can swim and takes note, 'cause like, she's always keeping score...of everyone. Once they land in Wethersfield Kit is like "for real, I left the clear sunny islands for this?" And Nat is like "haha, yea ya did sucka" (you see he jokes with her because he likes her). The Dolphin (and Nat) sail away. Then Kit Immediately realizes she doesn't fit in. Her cousin Judith is a bitch but thank God her cousin Mercy is cool, but handicapped. So that puts a damper on clubbin' at the meetinghouse. Kit tries her best to work with what she has but always finds herself in awkward situations like love triangles. After being reprimanded for something stupid, Kit flees to the meadows (which still exists by the way) and stumbles upon a little shack by Blackbird Pond. It is lived in by Hannah Tupper who is accused of being a witch, but really, she's just a Quaker. They make friends, there's more love triangle action and Amelia Bedelia behavior from Kit. Illness runs rampant, Kit's cousin Mercy gets sick and the townspeople blame Hannah Tupper. Apparently witches have horrid immune systems (as do Quakers?). There's a pivotal fire scene. Through the flames Kit sees the sails of The Dolphin.