Tony DiTerlizzi's Blog, page 8

Metamorphosis

In 2002, Angela and I said farewell to my Favorite City in the World and moved out to Amherst, Massachusetts. We were excited to hang out with artist-friends already living in the Pioneer Valley who were part of its thriving kid’s lit community, but it was the opening of a grand museum dedicated to the art of the picture book that really drew us to the area.

That fall in ’02, Ang and I had just returned home (from The Spider & Fly book tour) before attending the grand opening of the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art (aka The Carle). It was a beautiful modern building showcasing all the things that we love in books including Eric’s iconographic art and an exhibition of Maurice Sendak’s work. Amongst the throngs of press, locals and fellow kid’s lit folk, I made my way to Eric Carle, introduced myself and congratulated him on this momentous achievement.

With only three picture books to my name, I think it is safe to say he had no idea who I was.

However, some years later (2007), I was blown away when the museum held an exhibition of my Spiderwick artwork. In fact, Eric agreed to put our exhibit in the permanent gallery that normally displays his artwork(!) Wow.

That’s me with museum director, Nicholas Clark.

…and here is Holly and I posing with an early prototype of Hogsqueal (sculpted by Miles Teves).

This was the first exhibition of a body of my work and I was thrilled, honored and validated all at once. On top of that, I was just happy to be raising a family in a neighborhood that was home to such a treasure as this museum.

So perhaps you can imagine my sheer delight when I was invited to share in the 10-year anniversary of The Carle (celebrated this past weekend). I was asked to draw alongside Eric and Peter Laird (co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) in a fun fundraiser called Doodles for Dollars. For $10 each you’d got a sketch from us. There was a limit to 100 sketches, consequently; the fundraiser sold out in no time.

Fortunately, I was able to finagle a doodle from Eric.

And here I am sketching away for some fantastic fans.

…and here is Peter sketching a Ninja Turtle. Kowabunga!

Sophia even joined me in the draw-a-thon. I think that moment is a highlight in my career.

I hope all who attended this event had as great a time as I did. I’d like to thank the fabulous museum staff and Eric for having me. Perhaps I’ll see you at the 20th…

PS – Wanna see more pics from the “Doodles for Dollars” event? Take a browse through my old Photo Albums.

November is Picture Book Month

New Orleans, Louisiana – November 1, 2012 begins the second annual Picture Book Month. Across the globe, schools, libraries, booksellers, and book lovers are coming together to celebrate the print picture book. 2011 marked the inaugural year for Picture Book Month. A resounding success, it went viral through social media and was even featured on Oprah.com.

The website, PictureBookMonth.com, features essays from “Picture Book Champions,” thought leaders in the children’s literature community. Each day in November, a new essay is posted from the following kidlit luminaries: Alma Flor Ada, Kathi Appelt, Sergio Bumatay (Philippines), Doreen Cronin, Kelly DiPucchio, Tony DiTerlizzi, Jackie French (Australia), Brett Helquist, Uma Krishnaswami, Tara Lazar, E.B. Lewis, Tom Lichtenheld, Pat Mora, Margie Palatini, Sean Qualls, Emma Quay (Australia), Chris Raschka, Jean Reidy, Adam Rex, Peter Reynolds, John Rocco, Dan Santat, Jon Scieszka, Don Tate, Joyce Wan, Bruce Whatley (Australia), Karma Wilson, Kari-Lynn Winters (Canada), Kat Yeh, and Paul O. Zelinsky

This year, the American Association of School Librarians and the American Booksellers Association have joined as partners. The Children’s Book Council, Reading is Fundamental, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators continue their support of the literacy initiative. A downloadable promotional kit is now available as well as certificates, posters, and bookmarks. Brain Burps About Books Podcast, the #1 kidlit podcast on iTunes, is dedicating the entire month of November to Picture Book Month. People are encouraged to grab the Ambassador Badge, put it on their websites, and link to www.picturebookmonth.com.

Founder Dianne de Las Casas said, “Not only are picture books alive and well, they are thriving. Picture books are not just an early childhood step to literacy, they are little pieces of emotion and childhood wrapped in a beautiful, page-turning package. November is Picture Book Month. Read * Share * Celebrate!”

“Picture books are here and they’re important. I have yet to meet a three year old person who didn’t know what to do with a crayon. You make pictures with it.” – Chris Raschka, 2012 Caldecott Winner, from his Picture Book Month Essay

“Picture books are the connective tissue between a parent and a child. …you stop everything, snuggle up on the couch or the floor and share a story.” – John Rocco, 2012 Caldecott Honor Winner, from his Picture Book Month Essay

“Picture books bring the world to children, one tiny piece at a time.” – Doreen Cronin, New York Times #1 Bestelling Author, from her Picture Book Month Essay

Doodling for Dollars

If you are in the Pioneer Valley and a lover of kid’s lit, you may want to plan on visiting the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art this Sunday (11/11).

Celebrating their 10 year anniversary, the museum is hosting a day-long book signing bash featuring some of my favorite artists such as Jerry Pinkney, Paul O. Zelinsky and Barbara McClintock. Later, I’ll join Eric Carle and Peter Laird (of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fame) to sketch for attendees as a fundraiser for the museum.

There is more info on the Carle museum site, here. Seeya there!

(A Trick-or-Treat) Friday Fan Art

I do hope this Friday finds many of you still enjoying Wednesday’s haul of Halloween booty. For our friends in the Tri-state area, I hope you are safe and recovering from that dreadful storm.

Ang, Soph and I enjoyed some serious trick-or-treating in nearby Northampton (where I freaked out more than one passersby with my undead Elvis costume…thank you, thank you very much).

Speaking of costumes, I was delighted to receive some snapshots of some recognizable faces this holiday, like this Spiderwickian wood elf:

That’s Hadley, from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She and her mom raided the local craft store to get the headdress just right. Nice face painting!

As we all know, big kids enjoy Halloween just as much as little kids. Its especially cool if the big kid also happens to be your teacher – like Mr. Milbury from Modesto, California. His class has been reading The Search for Wondla, so he thought it high-time that Rovender Kitt pay his students a visit. Dude, you wore blue tights in honor of my character. I am impressed.

The reading continued with Tony Pope of Atlanta, Georgia, who totally rocked out The Spider & Fly with a black light. What!? I had no idea the art would glow like that. That is so totally cool.

The “Best Costume” award, however, goes to seven year-old Noah from Barrie, Ontario. Noah admires Arthur Spiderwick’s commitment to the unseen world and is converting his bedroom into a study of his own!

With help from some crafty parents, Noah was able to piece together Arthur’s period attire. He made the sprite himself out of a clothespin and flowers. He even found a actual seeing stone! That is SO AWESOME!

I can’t express enough to you all how wonderful these make me feel – especially from a kid who always sported a home-made costume. Thank you for sending in these photos. I can’t wait to see who you plan on dressing as next year…

Jack-o’-Lantern Parade

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays ever. I loved it as a kid. I love it more as an parent.

Last year, I did some gag coloring pages inspired by vintage-styled die-cut Halloween decorations. I was going to draw some new pages this year, but my daughter wasn’t that inspired to color any of them (she’s 5 and hasn’t been introduced to Cthulhu…yet). She asked that, instead, I draw some Jack-o’-Lanterns for her to color. With superstorm Sandy blasting away outside, how could I say no?

As I drew each one, I realized this little gal is smart (like here mama). I like her thinking.

So, for you teachers, librarians, parents and Crafty McCraftykins. I present some FREE downloadable Halloween coloring pages. They are kid tested and kid approved. Just click’em. print’em and color’em.

Trick or treat!

This Geekdad’s Top 10 Creepy Kid’s Books

Wired magazine’s Geekdad blog features a list of some of my favorite spooky stories for kids. Check it out.

NEW Original Artwork Now Available

The 4 original watercolor studies dubbed “A Collection of Sprites” (that I posted about earlier this week) is now available for purchase at the R. Michelson Gallery in Northampton, Massachusetts.

If interested in acquiring one of these pieces for your collection, contact Rich Michelson at: RM@RMichelson.com

Inertia

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve been busy these last couple of of months rendering new artwork to adorn the dustjackets of the 10-year anniversary of The Spiderwick Chronicles. Early next year, Simon & Schuster will unveil the new jackets, along with news about the re-release of the original five chapter books.

The art for the Spiderwick jackets was created with a combination of traditional inks and washes along with Photoshop. After the work was complete, the inertia to continue onwards with my daily sketch exercises was still within me. Free of any contractual restraints, I started drawing fairies.

Some were old designs revisited…

…others were new ideas altogether.

Are they Spiderwick sprites? They certainly share the same style and design as the art rendered for the books, but I think these studies are a bit further developed. There’s a more mature aesthetic infused in them that I am satisfied with (for the moment).

The sketches were traced onto Strathmore smooth Bristol using a light table. From there, reference was gathered (with help from my little 5-year old sprite) from the outdoors and from my bookshelf.

Once the drawing was complete, I inked the image with my usual Hunts 102 nib and sepia FW ink. Though I will erase the heavy pencil work after the ink dries, I leave some of the underlying sketch to reveal a bit of my process.

Color was applied with Yarka St. Petersburg Watercolors over a thin wash of Burnt Sienna Holbein Acryla-Gouache. The Bristol board isn’t really the best for watercolors – its quite porous with little (if any) sizing on it – but I like soaking the color into the drawing to enhance the line. These are more tinted drawings than paintings to me.

Finally, since I hardly ever release my art for sale anymore, I thought it would be fun to make these available for purchase. Details on acquiring the original artwork will be posted here (and on facebook and twitter) this Wednesday (10/24) at 12 noon EST. Perhaps one of these little studies will find its way into your collection.

You can click the above image to see more detail. Also, I’ve added more of the sketches and color studies to my Art Gallery under Sketchbook. Enjoy!

(A Rocket) Friday Fan Art

From A Hero for WondLa:

At the park entrance a beeping gondola landed, and the bubble doors opened to reveal two other teenage girls. Both looked nearly identical to Gen…

…”So,” Gen said, locking arms with the other girls. “These are my two darlings–Gen and Gen.”

“We are known as the three Gens!” they said in unison.

Courtney Armstrongis a Canadian artist whose work exhibits a nice blend of traditional 2D animation and anime styles. Both Angela and I were over the Orbonian moon when she sent us a link to her rendition of the three Gens from WondLa. Check it out:

Favorite detail: the old-timey radio used a music player. I want one!

You can check out Courtney’s blog to see these images (and more) along with some of her process. Its very cool stuff.

Thanks for taking the time to render this for FFA, Courtney. I showed your piece to Gen Pryde. She wanted me to tell you how ROCKET it was.

 

Keep dreaming. Keep drawing.

New Interview for Girl Scouts

I recently did a brief interview for the Girl Scouts of America with a focus on the creation of WondLa.

Be sure to check out the developmental sketches of Eva Nine, Rovender Kitt and Besteel. Also, there is a comparison of a scene from The Search for WondLa between the first draft and the final copy-edited manuscript. Lastly, I’ve shared a deleted scene from the first book.

The Studio is a special section within the Girl Scouts main site which is aimed toward young storytellers. They’ve featured some of my favorite authors, so give it a look. Enjoy!