Tony DiTerlizzi's Blog, page 19
March 7, 2011
TODAY Show Airdate: March 18th
I'm still over the moon (and still trying to lose weight) in preparation for my TODAY Show debut scheduled to air this month. As I had posted earlier in the year, The Search for WondLa is the featured title for Al Roker's Book Club for Kids.
The live interview with yours truly is scheduled to air on Friday, March 18th. Of course, my segment can slip based on breaking news or other unforeseen scheduling conflicts. Should the date slip, I'll be sure to post it here ASAP. Okay, back to dieting and WondLa 2…
March 4, 2011
iSpeak some iThoughts on an iPad Friday Fan Art
A couple of weeks ago, I posted a couple of wonderful watercolor renditions of a Spiderwick nixie and mermaid from Mason. Shortly thereafter, we received a follow up piece from him that, I think, is much stronger. The difference: he created this on his iPad.
Wow.
Normally I would move onto another submission of fan art for FFA, and fortunately, there is much here for me to choose from. And, though I've had computer-generated fan artwork here before, based on the simple fact that this was created on an iPad, I felt it needed to be shared. Its a nice segue to post my thoughts about digital artwork, something that can be quite a heated topic among illustrators.
I have a love-and-hate relationship with artwork created on a computer despite the fact that I use it regularly for many aspects of bookmaking. In fact, the majority of the Meno books were created entirely in Photoshop. Though, in truth, they started out like all of my illustrations – as pencil drawings, just like this sketch for the cover of The Wyrm King.
I love the freedom to explore a variety of compositions and palettes with the swipe of a mouse or click of a button. However, I am oft-times left with a longing for the original artwork that was touched, smudged, smeared and crafted by my hand. You know, something to cherish and share after a project is completed. (Or, if I am lucky enough, to exist in a gallery long after I perish).
The presence one feels when viewing an original piece of artwork does not exist in the virtual world of a computer. One needs only to visit a local art museum and stand before a painting done by Vincent Van Gogh, John Waterhouse or Norman Rockwell to know this to be true. But, as seen by Mason's iPad artwork, it is becoming increasingly more enticing (and dare I say convenient?) to create art digitally.
I suppose at the end of the day, creativity is creativity no matter what medium an artist chooses. Like music and film, books have reflected our love and curiosity for the digital world. There are trends to be sure, but if the artist's imprint is successfully relayed to the viewer, I suppose it doesn't matter if it was done in hand-ground pigments or in pixels.
For me, the computer is no different than a pencil or a brush. Its what you create with it that speaks your truth. As to whether it will hold its allure, like an original watercolor wash by Arthur Rackham or a graphic gouache painting by Mary Blair, I suppose only time will tell.
February 21, 2011
TD does DAT
About a month ago I posted a bunch of old Dungeons & Dragons art from the early part of my career on my facebook page, (which were well received to my utter delight). As I scanned the dingy drawings, I realized that some were pushing 20 years old already…yikes!
This was on the heels of my reminisce of breaking into the RPG industry for Wizards of the Coast's creative director, Jon Schindehette. On top of that was a revisit to Planescape (sort of) for Black Gate magazine's series on the history of gaming illustration.
The editor for Black Gate had asked me to create a new piece using the same mediums and tools I had used in my 90′s heyday. However, I was down in Florida at the time working away on the final art for WondLa and had very limited time and art supplies. Instead, I opted to create a piece that was a more modern approach. The result was a hybrid of both art styles found in WondLa and Planescape.
Despite the fact that the drawing style for WondLa was cleaner and tighter than Spiderwick, the inking process for the illustrations involved the usual warm-up exercises. Leading up to the Black Gate piece were a handful of old D&D and Planescape warm-up drawings (something I've done before).
Most of the warm-ups I do are a hodgepodge of doodles, usually focused on an aspect of the piece I am preparing to ink (like hair, buildings or plants). Sometimes, I will stick with the warm-up and complete an entire image. However, the drawing is then discarded as I slide right into inking the final art. Its sort of like stretching and jogging in place before beginning a morning run.
Many times these doodles are inconsequential to what I am working on. They can be favorite scenes from books, explorations for possible new characters for a story, life drawing and studies. So here's an ink warm-up done last summer during the WondLa art session of a D&D goblin.
Recognize the pose? You old timers will, it's after David Trampier's goblin done for the AD&D Monster Manual back when boomboxes and Rubik's cubes ruled. And as many remember, the enigmatic Trampier simply signed his work DAT.
As you can see, I've been a fan of this piece for many years.
…and wanted to do a new version 29 years later(!) I hope you like'em. (Click for a larger image)
As I came off of the Black Gate piece and returned to my work on WondLa I thought of the journey I had taken thusfar. Its a journey that I am happy to say I am still traveling on and sharing with my longtime fans.
February 18, 2011
Aquatic Friday Fan Art
This week we have some lovely pen and ink renditions of a nixie and a mermaid from Mason.
Both images are inspired from the Spiderwick sequel, Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles.
I really enjoyed coming up with the designs for the aquatic denizens of Spiderwick. As I've mentioned before, growing in South Florida had a tremendous impact on my imagination, especially the tropical wildlife, as you can see in these characters.
Hey, I went through the old BtSC files and found a sketch for one of the covers that never came to pass.
For those who read the books, this is the mermaid with the fish from Laurie's aquarium. By the way, this pose and composition mimic the cover to book 3 of the original series (you know, the one with Simon receiving the fairy fruit). There was a tentative book titled scribbled underneath the sketch, The Mermaid's Gift. I might have to find a new story for that title, I rather like it…
Great work Mason! Keep drawing. Keep dreaming.
February 17, 2011
WondLa Two
I took a coffee break this afternoon and walked back into my Florida office to see this perfect still life. It reminded me that I should announce that the second installment of the WondLa trilogy is well on its way.
When I started outlining The Search for WondLa, I planned what I hoped to be an epic tale. I broke the story up in three places based on the growing stages of the heroine, Eva Nine. Since so many fairy tales begin with the hero being an orphan, or a parentless "child of the world", I decided to rewind Eva's tale a bit. I felt the lead up to the events that would make her an orphan were integral to her emotional growth as her adventure unfolded.
Now I must push her forward into the complicated real world that she will ultimately have an effect on. Much of the emotional plot in book 2 deals with Eva coming to terms with the fact that she is more than just different, she is a truly empowered hero.
For Eva, learning always comes at a cost. In book 1 it was physical and emotional costs, but in 2 I feel the cost may be a loss of innocence and a shard of childhood. After all, that is part of growing up. (Frankly, I won't really know until the writing is completed. Sometimes these themes evolve along the way.)
Of interest in the above photo are the detailed drawings of Hailey's ship where many scenes take place. Though the airship is obviously a product of my imagination, I used a combination of traditional boat and airplane terms to describe it. Also, you'll see an open Moleskine notebook which I've carried with me for the better part of a year. It is full of notes, notions and drawings on what I hope to incorporate in books 2 & 3. (There's even a cover sketch in it!)
Lastly, you may see a copy of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. For homework, I reread this and George Orwell's Nineteen-Eighty-Four all in preparation for the creation of my human city…
I'll be working on the story and art for the entire year with a release date of early 2012. I know its a bit of a wait, but I want to take the time to make this an exciting solid sequel.
February 11, 2011
Friday Fan Art
Thirteen year-old Tobias from Argentina tells me he likes to draw a lot. He sent Ang and I a bunch of drawings including a "Strange Bird" and a "Colorful Mini-Elephant". (My fav is that Jules Feiffer-esque critter up on the top.)
I savor the exploratory, imaginative creatures he's come up with, including his rendition of the Spiderwick dragon.
Keep drawing. Keep imagining, Tobias.
PS – Have some art you'd like to share? Send it to my loverly wife, Angela, and maybe I'll post it: angela@diterlizzi.com
February 4, 2011
January 31, 2011
TODAY Show Picks WONDLA
On this morning's TODAY show, Al Roker revealed that the next choice for his "Al's Book Club" segment was none other than The Search for WondLa! To say that I am stunned, excited, over-the-moon and thrilled would be an understatement. Wow.
The segment is tentatively schedule to air next month. I'll post a firm date once it is confirmed. I'd like thank all my fans and the folks at Simon & Schuster for the groundswell of support for this story…okay, time to start losing those holiday lbs for my close-up.
January 28, 2011
I'm (There and) Back Again
(Yes, it is Friday, but I am going to file this one under "TD-created Friday Fan Art")
I'm a bit swept away by the response from last week's homage to Tolkien's masterpiece about his miniature hero. Between here, Rivendell and facebook I've realized that there are many elves, dwarves and orcs who love Middle Earth as much as I.
So, as a reprise, I thought I'd dig into my Mines of Moria (aka my Art Archive on My External HD) and see what scraps and bits I had floating around in the digital ether from my brief stint as an "Official Cover Painter for Hobbitses".
What I found right away, (that I'd completely forgotten) was a decent sketch of the great hero, Tuor, as a possible alternative to cover for Unfinished Tales. Clearly, this would have projected a much more epic image for the book jacket, but the coziness of Tolkien's own hobbit-hole won out. Below is the color study for that.
After the sketch was approved, I donned my fanciest hobbit-made attire and struck a quick pose. As with any photographic reference, no one photo captures all the elements you need, and so several photos were utilized to create a final sketch of Mr. Baggins.
You can check out how it all came together in the final painting posted last week.
Also in my Illustration Mines of Moria, I discovered some pen & ink drawings of D&D (ahem) "halflings" that were done for player-character sheets that I sold back in my gaming-art days. As mentioned before, my halfings were inspired by the hobbits of my childhood, though I also realized there was a bit of Frank Frazetta in there, especially from his "Lord of the Rings" portfolio released in 1975.
Click the image below to marvel at Fraz' fabulous inkwork.
Have a wondrous weekend My Preciouses and DON'T LEAVE THE PATH.
January 24, 2011
You know, I am BIG in Asia…sort of.
(This was one I totally spaced out and forgot to post from awhile ago. I was reminded of it when I came across the files on my computer). Design Popular Imagination magazine (or DPI, for short) based in Taiwan, China, did a nice interview on yours truly last year. For those interested, the jpegs here should be large enough for reading (They are in English and Mandarin, just click'em). Otherwise, you can enjoy the lovely page design.
For my friends abroad, here is a direct link to the issue. Perhaps back issues can still be purchased…
