Tony DiTerlizzi's Blog, page 17

Friday Fan Art

Fellow artist, Michael Voogd, sent us a great gaggle of Spiderwick creatures rendered by his nine-year old daughter, Amie. Michael says that when Amie, "loves something, she puts all her energy into that one thing." That sounds like how I work!

Thanks for sharing Michael. Keep drawing, Amie, and keep dreaming.

New Interview for Scholastic News

Back in March, Cecilia Gault of Scholastic News Press Kids Corps interviewed yours truly right after my Today show appearance. Cecilia asked some great introductory questions about The Search for WondLa, so if you've been curious about my latest novel, this may of interest. Enjoy!

Welcome to the NEW DiTerlizzi.com

I am happy to share with you all the relaunch of my site, DiTerlizzi.com! I hope you stay for a bit and have a look around…

My wonderful web designer, Anthony Salimbene, and I have been working off-and-on for several months now to get the site just right. You'll notice that the Flash animation is gone, allowing diterlizzi.com to be viewed on a variety of mobile devices including the ubiquitous iPhone and iPad. Because we have returned to using html code, you (and I) can link to any image or page within the site – yay!

One of my biggest priorities was the ability to share my artwork in a large, easy-to-navigate browser. I've uploaded some of my favorite images from my book illustrations as well as my early years as a gaming artist. There is even a sketchbook as well, full of ideas and explorations. I'll be adding more to these galleries in the coming months, and will feature any gallery with new art on the "Featured Gallery" widget here on the home page.

I loved the interface on the art galleries so much that I used it for my photo albums (under the ABOUT section). I've got a handful of photos up now, but will be adding lots more next week from my travels and events over the past 10 years of bookmaking.

Anthony and I will continue to refine the site over the next month (like adding the desktops and updating the FAQ answers), so if there is something you'd like to see, just leave me a comment below. (Speaking of comments, I did lose a couple of recent comments in the transition of the blog. If you commented on a blog post in the last couple of weeks, can you please re-post? I promise I'll reply:)

I've been fortunate to have a web presence since 1994 when a fan, Jim Gaynor, created a page of my work for the Changeling role-playing game. Since then, I've gone through several iterations of the site, but it has always been with you, my friends and fans, in mind. Thank you for supporting me and my work all these years and allowing me to do what I do. Have a great holiday weekend!

Microvisions Auction Now Active

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned creating an original Spiderwick piece to be auctioned off with all proceeds to benefit the Society of Illustrators' student scholarship fund. I am happy to report that all images from the Microvisions show are currently available for active bidding on eBay.

Here is a direct link to my piece, a study of a "Moth-Winged Orchid Sprite". Happy bidding!

CA Illustration Annual 52

Communication Arts magazine just released their illustration annual with an feature by Lisa Cyr titled "Building Fantastical Worlds". Yours truly was interviewed along with James Gurney (of Dinotopia fame) and Philip Straub.

Be sure to check it out at your local bookstore.

FFA: A Glazed Goblin

Gabby sent us some cool pics of a Spiderwick goblin that she created in her sculpting and ceramics class. Check it out:

She says: I made him have a gnawed off hand to show him in battle and scary eyeballs. The back was the funnest part to do (if funnest is a word…) and he was colored with watercolors.

I think this goblin is one of the funnest renditions we've seen, Gabby. Keep dreaming. Keep creating.

Preparing a Paperback WondLa

Although it is not out until early next year, DiTerlizziland has been in a twitter for The Search for WondLa as a paperback edition.

We decided to redesign the jacket for the paperback, a process similar to one that I've gone through before with Spiderwick. For WondLa, it was a chance to capture the mood of the story more concisely in an image that could reach a broad audience of readers.

"But wait," you say. "Didn't you sort all of this out when you did the first jacket?"

Yes and no.

Yes, I tried to introduce these new characters in an inviting way, but no, I did not have a full understanding of them or the material when I created the artwork for the jacket. It was rendered prior to the completion of the writing so that the publisher had something to use to sell the book.

You see, the jacket image for a novel (whether it be for an adult or middle-grade title) is usually the only visual attached to the story. Therefore it is a great selling tool for the booksellers and an invitation to be picked up by book buyers. I would even argue that an iconic jacket can help pave the way for a title's success. Don't believe me? Check out the original cover to Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief as it was released in 2005.

I am not adverse to the direction of the first cover. In fact, the 10-year old in me rather likes the comic-book renditions of Medusa, Cerberus and the minotaur. What (or rather who) is noticeably absent, however; is the hero, Percy…and this may have led to the thinking on redesigning the jacket. The monsters are cool, but as reader who do I connect with?

The second cover, designed for the paperback, is a different approach altogether. In fact, there are now no monsters present at all, or the slightest shadow of Mt. Olympus – facets that make this title unique. And yet, this cover (wonderfully rendered by John Rocco) is more successful. Why?

My feeling is that this works better as an invite to the reader because of what is is showing: A lone teen in a sea of change. Certainly this could symbolize what one feels as they go through adolescence, especially with a Great Big World off in the distance. The centralized single figure with weapon in hand is also immediate – we now know who our hero is and are intrigued by his dramatic situation of seemingly epic proportions. This sort of composition was used often in the ubiquitous Harry Potter books illustrated by Mary GranPré.

Quite simply: The second Lightning Thief cover works more successfully because there is an understanding of what is intrinsic to the story and that was conveyed in a manner approachable to many.

I used this sort of thinking when I returned to WondLa, now armed with a deeper understanding of the characters and the world that I had created for them. This image hopefully gives a better sense of who the central characters are, especially the heroine, and the danger-filled mysterious world that they are exploring. Themes, I feel, we all can relate to.

What do you think?

PS – For your viewing pleasure, I've included a gallery of cover ideas and explorations that didn't make the cut. I thought you may enjoy the glimpse into my process.

 

Microvisions

Each year, the Society of Illustrators holds an exhibition, called Microvisions, to raise funds for their Student Scholarship. To date, they've raised $15K by asking noted illustrators to create an original piece to be auctioned off for the fundraiser. The fun part? As per the title of the show, all originals are 5×7 inches.

Yours truly took a break last week from writing to complete a small color study of a Spiderwick sprite for this event. As I leafed through The Care & Feeding of Sprites, I did a few sketches and finally settled on one of the orchid sprites (my favs).

The auction will be held via eBay in the near future. I'll post news once it goes live. In the meantime, if you are in New York City, drop by the Society of Illustrators and check out the show.

A Realistic Friday Fan Art

Thirteen-year old Tobias from Argentina sent us a new batch of art a couple of weeks ago. Amongst his drawings of carnivorous plants and alien designs were several photos integrating creatures of his own imagination.

Tobias tells me he used Photoshop to merge in his drawings with a realistic background. I LOVE THIS.

Not only is he using major planning skills at the photographic stage of these images, he is designing creatures (like the Pomegranate Apple Gnome above) and posing them to fit properly in their appropriate setting. At 13!? That's AWESOME!

This is good stuff, Tobias. You've inspired me. Keep dreaming, keep drawing.

Thank You Switzerland!

On Monday in Lucerne, Switzerland, yours truly received the Prix Chronos book award for Kenny & The Dragon.

The Prix Chronos is an inter-generational book award with the ambition to encourage people to read and to bring together generations: children at the age of 10 to 12 and elderly people together read and review five nominated books. All readers, both young and old, can cast their votes.

One of the nomination criteria is: the relation between these two generations must be a main topic of the book. Or, in this case, the relationship between a dragon and a rabbit.

Since I could not be present, (I have to finish WondLa 2 at some point), I wrote up a thank you letter that I thought you might enjoy:

Hello Dear Readers,

First off, let me apologize for not being here in person to receive this honor. I tried, I truly did. But apparently you can't bring a full-grown dragon on the plane, even if said dragon purchased their own first class round-trip ticket.

A rabbit? Perhaps. But a dragon? Not gonna happen.

If I were present, I would likely have let this dragon, Grahame, give the acceptance speech. He's much more eloquent and articulate than I. Oh, he would have begun with kind words about your beautiful country and awe-inspiring landscape, but honestly he would have be present for the food. You know how dragons are.

He would have then continued on about how this award would not have been possible if it were not for him and his endless wisdom and wit. If there were no dragon in this book, then it would have simply been a story about a bunch of angry bunnies, and who wants to read about that?

Finally I would come up and join Grahame and remind him that his story would not exist were it not for Kenneth Grahame's beloved tale, "The Reluctant Dragon" originally published in the book, "Dream Days". I would wax on about how much I adored this old classic and wondered if I could create a new take on it. I would recount how worried I was that children and adults would not like my new version however earnest it may have been. Grahame would chuckle and say, "of course people will like it. It has a dragon in it. And a classy one at that."

"Yes," I would agree. "Everyone enjoys a story with dragons, no matter what age they are."

I know this because there were certain books that I loved as a child that my mom enjoyed reading as well. As a parent I now realize a good book can bridge a generational gap with the flip of a page.

When I was young, sharing a book with my mom and then discussing it afterward was one of my favorite things to do. These conversations often led to what else was going on our lives and it still continues to this day.

In our age of communication chatter, its comforting to know that a simple book can open up real dialogue between the young and the old. I continually strive to craft stories for children of all ages and this award acknowledges my mission and inspires me to continue on my creative journey.

Thank you readers of Switzerland and Prix Chronos for this fantastic award. I share this honor with my translator, Anne Brauner. Thank you to my German publisher, Random House, and my US publisher, Simon & Schuster, for making my stories available the world over. I promise I'll visit Lucerne soon and I'll be sure to bring my dragon.