Strange Fruit

In this story of the strange old fruit,

it wasn't even old, 

but definitely a mute.

"Hello?" called the feather-coat man.

But it couldn't say word or even shake his hand.

It was not an apple, a peach or even a plum.

What did it taste like? Where was it from?

The fruit gave a wiggle, a shake and a nod

And then disappeared with a quickness

that deserved applause.

In this case of the strange little fruit,

well - 

I don't know.

The story is moot.

Telly

Telly was always a reluctant one. She was a tiptoer and always looked thrice before coming out of her room. She sat near the fish pond one day wondering why she wore a fool's horn. She certainly wasn't a fool. No one ever told her why she was to look this way, and she was, of course, too shy to ask. One day, reluctant little Telly became brave and tugged the horn off. Alas! She no longer had a face. And that, my friends, is why she wears a horn. Poor Telly. 

Time and Honey

I believe it has been over a week since I have written a thing here. I would give the whole rundown of my many excuses, but I'll spare you. We all have hiccups here and there.

Hiccups. Yes. They do get in the way of the oh-so perfectly planned schedule I made for myself. Write at this time, do work at that time, read sometime, draw every time. Time. Time. Time. I do need to grab that wily rascal by its furry little ears and catch up with it. Furry? Yeah, in my head, it's furry. And yes, I have had sleep. And no, I have not lost my mind. It's right here.

Moving on.

Speaking of time, this recent illustration gig has taught me a lesson or two. Nothing terrible, of course. I felt as though my time management was impeccable. I wake early, have my coffee or tea and check my calendar for my daily duties - with drawing being a part of every single day. When I say drawing, I mean both for non-personal work and for personal work. If I don't draw at least once during the day, I can't seem to focus on anything else. Yet, my ideas stop flowing and begin to drip as slow as honey and I still push myself. I try and squeeze all that I can out of my imagination. This is great, right? Well, sure it is, but I have become somewhat obsessive with it. For instance, I started a book and a new comic series back in January and haven't made it even halfway through either one. Not a big deal you say? No, it is not. A lot of people do that, but that is just a small slice of other things that I neglect. I don't get out much and that, my friends, is fuel for creativity. Getting out. Experiencing the world outside of my studio. That slow honey will crystallize if I don't buzz like a free little bee.

So, this week, I am going to go smell the air outside. Get these legs a-movin'. The moral of the story is, you can't have a balanced (creative) mind without wandering about and being in the world. I mean, I suppose you could, but it wouldn't be as colorful without it.

I have had so many ideas for stories that began as little drawings for a very, very long time. I think a break from my desk is just what I need to get them trotting along.

Oh,

What have I been working on?

I have a few little fellas that I'd like to share, but they will be posted in a few hours. For now, it's time for more coffee.

"The Brothers Gruesome"

This post is starting a bit later than I intended. Had a bit of a hiccup this week with getting some personal things done, but you don't wanna hear all that now, do ya?

So, a few months back I stumbled across a children's book in the random heap of books in at a local thrift store. I immediately went for it because of the amazing illustration on the cover. The style was in a way like mine. It looked like pen and ink with some cross-hatching on it. I had to have it. It was only a dollar, but I would have paid more, of course. What was this book? Welp, I'm about to tell you all about it. Keep in mind that I am in no way a book reviewer nor do I know how to do such a thing. I'll try my best, though.

Book title: The Brothers Gruesome
Author: Susan Elgar
Illustrator: Drahos Zak
Published by: Houghton Mifflin Company
Released in 2000
Printed by: Sino Publishing House in Hong Kong

The basic synopsis of the book is that these three brothers go about committing utter destruction by eating and stuffing their face with all that lay in their path. This includes their mother, gardens, trees, shoes, pots and pans, bats - well you get the idea. Everything. I love that it's not a typical cutesie (is that a proper word to use?) type of children's book. It's a bit different. The word "gruesome" in the title explains it well, because they are in fact just that. It's pretty great.

Here is one of my favorite lines with the illustration from the book:

"In the town of their birth they were loathed and feared,
But in the depths of hell they were worshipped and cheered."

 

 

The little devils are just the coolest with their sharp, pointy noses and flickering black snake-like tongues. I also really admire the colors used in these illustrations. The coloring also varies in some pages which also makes it very appealing to me. There is a page in which the gruesome three are traipsing about a forest on their quest to devour all that they can. I enjoy the blues and how the brothers are left to be illustrated only a sepia color with the bright moon lighting the way. It's just really wonderful - and look at that face peering through the left! I just love it.

 

 

 



 

I shouldn't go too far into the story since you should just find it and give it a looksee for yourself. This little book really does inspire me to work harder. The in-rhyme style even makes me want to write and illustrate my own book since it is related to something I would write. I see books like this from time to time and I always fall in love with them. In a way, it makes me think of Edward Gorey and his style of writing. It even reminds me of Grimm's Fairy Tales a bit as well, albeit less gruesome.

People often think of children's books as being only about learning the morals, tying shoes or taking ol' Spot out on a doggy adventure - and there's nothing wrong with those - but there's a whole world of different types of children's books that people don't know about. Having said that, the moral of this story is likely greed, but a fun way to go about it nonetheless.That is what has always drawn me to children's books. The imagination is boundless and the possibilities are endless. Did I mention that they don't necessarily have to exclusively for children? Of course not! There are no rules to reading and no one should limit their child-like wonder to their age. That's just no fun.

Remember at the beginning when I said that I wasn't a professional book reviewer of any kind? Now you see.

I should end this with links to buy this incredible book if you're interested. So, here is what I found on the information superhighway:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Brothers-Gruesome-Susan-Elgar/dp/0618005153

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/brothers-gruesome-drahos-zak/1003581060?ean=9780618005154

Till next time.

Nudging My Way Into the World of Illustration

It is 9:41am and my coffee is brewing. Good morning. I'd like to ramble about my goals and what I have been learning lately as I have been trying to achieve them. Let's get straight to the point here - I really want to make a living as an illustrator. I mean, I sort of do now, but I mean, I want to work for a publisher(s), to do editorials, to illustrate my own book - I want to drown in work and love what I do (doesn't everyone?). So, I have been slowly nudging my way into that world.

I have been drawing nonstop ever since I graduated. Yep, art degree. I hear it all the time, "what are you going to do with that?" I used to think to myself that I'd probably work some random job and do art on the side - which I wouldn't have any problems with at all. I just know how I am and how my brain works. I'd get too comfortable with the routine and slowly but surely get out of the my drawing habits. Or maybe not. I don't know. I do get that itch to pick my pencil a lot, so maybe that would never go away. Here I go rambling again, sorry.

Anyway, I am in no way bashing my education, but as I am trying to make my way into the business of illustration, I am also teaching myself so many things that I wish I had the opportunity to learn while I was in college. For example, writing up a contract, copyright, usage, the ethics of charging and pricing for work. Oh and a tear sheet? What the hell is that? I know these things now of course, but topics like that were definitely never discussed or offered in any class available to art students. I really think that should change. No matter what "type" of artist you become, that sort of information is really important to have. I just have these moments every now and then when I am submitting things or just curiously reading about other artists where I am saying to myself, "I had no idea I needed to do that." or, "Damnit, I should have done that." No, I am not whining about not knowing. It happens. That's how we learn - from mistakes. I am just consuming as much information as I can to get things rolling a bit faster. There is nothing more that gives me such great anxiety as not being prepared.

Despite the hurdles and the let downs that have happened in my journey, I am making some headway. Recently, as I may have mentioned in a previous post, I was hired by an author to illustrator their book covers for a series. I joined the SCBWI and now have a portfolio up in their site. I applied for a grant in order to afford packets to send to publishers. I have submitted to a few magazines. I have typed-up my own contract. I built a new website. And hey, I am keeping up with a blog for once! Things are happening and I am excited about what's to come no matter how long it takes me. I mean, hey, I didn't rack up a crazy student debt for nothing ;)

It's now 10:08am. Pause for coffee refill.

Moving on ....

Next time, I think I am going to talk about this children's book I snagged at a thrift store a few months back called, The Brothers Gruesome by Susan Elgar and illustrated by Drahos Zak. It's by far one of the best things I have found lately. More about that next time, though.

For now, as per usual, I leave with you a sketch in progress from the ol' sketchbook. This is one of the many that I wish I would have started on good paper since I really want to add some ink washes.

Sleepy Super Sunday

Perfect day for rain. Well, it's always a perfect day for rain for me, but today was even better. I'll tell you why.

Welp, so, I have failed to mention this so far, but I have been hired by an author to illustrate the covers for her upcoming book series. It's my first job doing book illustrations of any sort, so it is extra exciting for me. I have always wanted to work with books. Illustrating them or writing them. Or both.

So, aside from spending small portion of the day getting things done - like grocery shopping and the like - I've been scanning some sketchbook pages and working on ideas for the book cover. I won't share any of the cover ideas quite yet because I'd like to keep that between the author and I for now. 

I also joined the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators yesterday afternoon, so that is pretty damn cool to me considering I really need to make connections with others and need to gain more knowledge about the industry (aside from reading their book). 

Upon becoming a member of SCBWI, I decided to go ahead and apply for an illustration grant that would help me fund sending examples of my work to publishers. I've been talking about doing this forever it seems, but I need to stop procrastinating and just take the plunge. What's the worst thing that could happen? They say no or nothing at all. Then, on to the next, right? The only other thing that has been holding me back is the money to produce packets to send them - and yes, most publishers I have read about only accept these things by snail mail. Today was the first day to be able to apply for the grant and I didn't waste a second. Again, the worst thing that could happen is that I get turned down, but ohhhh man, the money from the grant would surely help - tremendously.

I've been rambling on and on, but the point is, is um ... well, none I guess. Just a perfect rainy day.

And now, since this blog is also for drawings, I'll end this with some random, freshly scanned sketchbook pages. 

Character idea I had for a book. I may revisit this one day.