Tomie dePaola Award Time!

The Legend, Tomie dePaola

Legendary children's illustrator Tomie dePaola is having his 2nd annual contest, where he will pick the winner's for the Tomie dePaola Award... which I believe is a trip to NYC to the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Conference.

Tomie dePaola Award

The rules are that it should be in Black and White, and illustrate a segment of text from either Little Women, The Yearling, or The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Here are some of the entries so far...

I am very excited, and am debating whether I do it in half-tone watercolor, Sumi, or in pencil.

Here is a sample of last year's entries.

and last years WINNERS.

I am thinking of doing Tom Sawyer, which... thinking I could watch an old black and white movie, maybe get in the mood for doing a black and white piece...only to find the 1938 movie is in COLOR?! Whaaat? Thanks to YouTube, you can actually watch the movie in parts. Here is a fun game: count how many times the actor playing Tom Sawyer (Tommy Kelly) looks confused, dumbfounded, bewildered, or like he just ate a lemon.

Speaking of of this film being colorized, here is a fun fact from IMDB: 

Many disputes arose between photographer James Wong Howe and his associate, Technicolor photographer Wilfred M. Cline about which colors to use in wardrobe and sets. Cline wanted bright primary colors, while Howe insisted on subdued earth tones. Since Howe got his way, after one week they were not on speaking terms and The Technicolor Company banned Howe from shooting further pictures in color; Howe did not make another color film for 10 years. 

Stay Tuned... I will be turning this in by December 14th.

Halloween #15: Skeletons in a Rowboat

Michael Moses requested someone in a boat being rowed by skeletons.

For a change of pace, I used Brush and Sumi ink on this one.

Below is a video of how Sumi ink is used (you have to grind a stone to use it), and it is used by one of favorite illustrators, Doug TenNapel (who created Earthworm Jim and other characters).

And here is video of Doug TenNapel working.. The man knows how to use a brush!

Sumi Ink/Brush on Bristol

New Castle Crashers Fan Project!

Some news I am excited about. If you have ever played a video game (or your child has)...called Castle Crashers, you will be excited for a (fan) project I am working on... starting in November, when this October art marathon is finished.

 If you are unaware of the game, check out the video below. It involves knights fighting almost everything, in a very hyperactive smash-em-up kind of way. Probably one of my favorite games that I have ever played. From the plot to the action, to the characters, to the power-ups to the fun... everything from top to bottom.

It involves NOT doing my usual thing: SCULPTURE!  ...I am working in sculpey, and this will be the 2nd time I have worked with it: My first statue was stolen back when I was teaching elementary (I guess I should be flattered?)... so this will be like starting my work alllll the way over.

The reason why I am doing some one else's characters, instead of my own has to do with the fact that I am using this little project as a warm-up ...to doing one/some of my own characters.

 Check back in November to see what it is--I wish I could be working on it today!

New Layout!

Hey everyone....

Hope you are enjoying the art this month. I was getting a little tired of the former layout, so I changed it up. Hope everyone likes it. You can click on the upper left for different kinds of layouts (I prefer Magazine)... so there is that.

BTW, I just saw Tim Burton's Frankenweenie tonight. I had seen the original, and this one is great. Lately, I have been having a strong attraction to black/white and silent film. This version expands on the former live action one. Seems funny how Disney didn't deem it child-friendly at the time (1984)... yet years later, it seems like children are ready for it. Click on this post, to see the video from both versions...

Here is the trailer for the new version:

Here is the original, full length version:

Artwork: The Stinky Cheese Man

Once in awhile, I like to take a shot at doing some of my favorite characters. One of my all-time favorite children's illustrators is Lane Smith. One of his books is called The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. Wikipedia describes the book as such:

The Stinky Cheese Man and Fairly Stupid Tales is a postmodern children's book by Jon Scieszka. Published in 1992 by Viking, it is a collection of twisted, humorous parodies of famous children's stories and fairy tales, such as "Little Red Riding Hood", "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Gingerbread Man". Illustrated in a unique style by Lane Smith, the book won the New York Times Best Illustrated Book award, was a Caldecott Honor book, and has won numerous other awards in various countries.

The book has proved to be popular with children and adults, as its lighthearted approach creates interest while educating young readers about some of the features of books (such as title and contents) by poking fun at those conventions.

-He designs the book along with his wife, Molly Leach, who does the layout/typography. She is amazing... Here is a YouTube video of them discussing some of their books:

...And here is his site: Lane Smith Books

I really wanted to do a painting of the main character, who tries to entice everyone to chase him. Nobody does, however, because he stinks so bad.

I tried giving it an energetic background, and tried using some salt to add texture to the watercolor. I probably need to use bigger rock salt, because I did get a texture, but I wanted a little more.... 

Beginning Washes

I also tried to make the lines in the back give the feeling like odor was just coming off him in droves. I wasn't sure what kind of color to give him. I always thought a "Blue Cheese Man" would be interesting... but I went with orange-ish hues.

A man made of cheese, who stinks really bad. I love this kind of stuff!
All said and done, maybe 4 hours or so.