Tony DiTerlizzi's Blog, page 9

Gabe Invades the Blog!

Note from T: Fifteen year-old high school student and artist, Gabe, contacted me sometime back about a summer internship. And, though its crazy nuts here in DiTerlizziland, I obliged. I did this because Gabe has real drive and talent and because I longed to hang out at Brain Froud’s studio when I was Gabe’s age. Wanting to make this a special experience, my assistant and I devised an assignment for Gabe to do while visiting: describe what it is like in my studio with words and pictures (no photos). Read on to see what this little mastermind dreamed up while hanging out with us.

When I picture an illustrator in a studio, the image that comes to mind is that of a pale creature that has never seen the light of day hunched over an immense stack of paper, feverishly attempting to finish his passionless task before the deadline runs him down like a tractor.

Okay, not really.

But, if I did think that, then Tony Diterlizzi’s studio would be a real shock.

The Diterlizzi Studio is bright, inviting, and pleasantly cluttered. Tony works at his desk, cheerfully singing along to 80’s rock music. (Maybe we should all listen to it? Songs that are good enough for the Spiderwick mind are good enough for mine…) After meeting Tony a few years ago (and being a fan for half of my life) I proposed the idea of an internship, and he responded with an invitation to write a guest post on his blog. Jumping at the opportunity, I prepared this portrait of the artist in his habitat (guided by his loyal canine, Mimi.)

 

The book collection in the studio is fantastic. At one point I mentioned that I didn’t understand how Jon Bauer’s art was the inspiration for Jim Henson’s 1982 fantasy film The Dark Crystal. Tony immediately grabbed two books off of the shelf and explained how Brian Froud had included a Bauer-inspired scene in his first art book, The Land of Froud, which director Jim Henson had (in turn) been inspired by. A slightly tweaked version of the character in Froud’s painting appears in the film as the peaceful race of Mystics. Wow.

Mimi is a harsh critic.

 

Another moment that made an impression on me: as I watched Tony draw, a small fly alighted on his drawing board. Where some would smack at the insect or shoo it away, Tony drew my attention to the little fly as it fastidiously cleaned itself. Pausing from his drawing, he leaned forwards and studied the fly. He watched the creature with pure wonder, reminding me of the same wonder I continually find in his words and pictures.

Thank you, Tony

Thank you, Gabe. Keep dreaming. Keep drawing.

Another Fantastical Anniversary

Though I am dying to dive back into the writing of WondLa III, I have diverted my attention to a certain trio of siblings and their encounters with the fey-folk.

Next May, The Spiderwick Chronicles will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary(!) For this milestone, I am redesigning and illustrating new jackets for the original five books. Though I can’t reveal the finished artwork just yet, I can share some snapshots of my progress:

Back when I originally illustrated the chapter books, I created a reference model sheet of head shots so that I could keep the main character’s features consistent. This came in handy when I returned to drawing the Grace kids once again. Above, the rough sketch has been traced onto Bristol board using a light table.

Since I have drawn these characters numerous times, I can usually render them fairly accurately out of my head. However, I still used reference for their poses to get aspects of the anatomy and details correct. All this sketch work is done in a #2 Ticonderoga pencil.

The style of art for these is a special mix of turn-of-the-century illustration, comic books and 2D animation. I never want it to veer too close to any one of these styles so it is a bit of an artistic balancing act. There are no rules per say, I’m just going on instinct as to whether the drawing “looks right”. As I did back in 2002, all images are inked using a Hunts 102 nib and sepia FW ink.

Some of the fairy fauna are adorned in plant material. I drew from leaves, grass and weeds plucked from our backyard to get the details just right.

Its not always smooth sailing, especially with ink drawings. The Green-Eyed Elf maiden (from Lucinda’s Secret) didn’t quite come out to my liking the first go-around. I drew up another head and replaced the first one using Photoshop. In 2002, she would have been carefully cut out then glued on as a patch to the original ink drawing.

Some elements, like these bio-luminescent mushrooms, were inked separately on a sheet of vellum. I planned on using a different color for their inked line and having the art separated makes this much more convenient when it comes time to tint it.

In fact, I utilized an artistic process for these pieces that I had been experimenting with for some time. I painted a acrylic paint wash on a transparent sheet of marker paper laid over the finished ink drawing. In Photoshop I merged these elements, along with some stained antique paper, to use as my underpainting for the finished illustration. Though the elements are combined digitally, at this point all are created traditionally.

However, the local color was flatted in using Photoshop. Having the color as a separate element allows me incredible freedom to explore various palettes for the five book jackets.

I’ll go into more detail on just how I combined all these elements next time. In the meantime, I’ve been tweeting and posting these snapshots on my Facebook and Instagram page, so stop by and check out additional pics. Seeya there.

A Hero for WondLa Sketchbook

Just as was done with The Search for WondLa back in 2010, Simon & Schuster has printed a limited edition sketchbook featuring some of the designs that went into the illustrations for A Hero for WondLa.

Throughout the year, I handed out these 32-page, 2-color softcover sketchbooks at my various appearances. If you missed me, fear not, for I have sent a signed bundle of books over to my pal Stuart Ng.

 

These were printed in an edition of 2000. The first sketchbook is long gone (in fact, I only have a few copies here in the studio for my library), so once Stuart sells out of his stock, that will be it until we release the third sketchbook next fall to coincide with the release of the third WondLa book.

The sketchbook was put together by my good pal, John Lind, and designed right here in the studio. It was tough choosing my favorite sketches to jam into the 5 x 7-inch presentation, but we did it. And I hope you enjoy it.

Friday Fan Art (From One Artist to Another)

Carlos Rocafort is a freelance illustrator and designer whom I had the pleasure of meeting while on book tour this past spring.

During my signing at Hicklebee’s in San Jose, Carlos handed me a quick portrait sketch drawn from life while I was doing my presentation. Needless to say I was flattered – mostly by his generosity of my hair and hairline.

Shortly after, I received a polished colored piece with a few familiar faces added. As Carlos said, “We loved your chat and books so much that we wanted to give you something back.”

Thank you for this, Carlos. Please continue drawing and creating. I am sure one day soon, someone is going to say the same about your work (if they haven’t already).

Keep drawing, keep dreaming.

Quite a Society

My mind is still awhirl from the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI for short) summer conference held in Los Angeles last weekend.

I joined an amazing faculty (comprised of award-winning authors, illustrators, editors, art directors and agents) to share knowledge and experience to aspiring kid’s lit creators. Over the course of 4 days I attended workshops, sessions, keynotes, reviews, parties and a massive book signing (with all faculty members signing at once). It was marvelous!

Above: with illustrator David Diaz and art director Cecilia Yung.

Don’t know what the SCBWI is? They are a non-profit organization devoted to encouraging and developing the next generation of children’s lit writers and illustrators. Founded in 1971, many of its members have gone onto win the prestigious awards of children’s publishing, like the Newbury and Caldecott. I have known of this organization for years and have steered many would-be illustrators in its direction, but I had not participated in any of their events prior to the gracious invite from Lin Oliver and David Diaz to the LA conference.

Did I mention the keynote presentations? I was asked to speak on day one, following the illustrious Arthur Levine (known by many as the editor of the Harry Potter books). Speaking in front of the 1200+ attendees I focused my speech less on how I create my books, but more on why I create my books – with a focus on the importance of imagination.

Now, I usually like to open with a bit of a laugh to get everybody in the right frame of mind. For this gathering, I spoofed some ideas I had been toying with for kid’s books, like dystopian tales for preschoolers:

…and Twilight for a new generation:

…not to mention evolving Fancy Nancy for the older crowd:

Thankfully, these went over well and I was off and running for my hour-long presentation.

The following day, I spoke to a room full of illustrators about the process of writing from a visual perspective. I broke the elements of writing down into art terms to help convey the steps in crafting a final manuscript. What surprised me was the amount of note-taking that went on while I spoke. I hadn’t really stopped and thought as to how much of my earned knowledge was coveted by these fellow artists. As I chatted with attendees, I was swept back in time to my own trials and tribulations of breaking into children’s publishing. How I would have loved to have the opportunity to listen to Chris Van Allsburg or William Joyce explain their process to me back then.

On Monday, I spoke more about bookmaking to a group of serious illustrators. This was part of the intensive programming that went on throughout the day. I sat in on many of these sessions but had to take frequent breaks as my poor brain was soon overloaded. (I honestly don’t know how the attendees could absorb anything more after three packed days of the conference – but again there was lots of note-taking.)

Above: Three-time Caldecott winner, Bryan Collier, and his editor, Laura Goodwin, discuss his humble beginnings

I emphasized the importance of working for game companies early in my career. The publications that I did for TSR taught me a whole lot about building a world from soup to nuts.

For fun, I brought bits of my past to show the group. I still had one of my submission portfolios, which I used to point out the flaws of my early work. I also brought along a sketch-covered manuscript and the book dummy for Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You. All of these tactile components to my presentation seemed to go over well and I was glad to share them.

To say that the conference was amazing would be a gross understatement. If you are attempting to enter this field, I cannot express how invaluable this experience is. Learning from successful mentors (who had similar aspirations when they were getting started) not only galvanizes your drive but also shows that you are not alone in your dreams.

Above: Trying to appear serious with fellow faculty members, Dan Yaccarino and Dan Santat

*With thanks to fellow illustrators, Debbie Ridpath Ohi and Jill Bergman, for use of their additional photos.

A Decade of Web-Weaving (Part II)

As I mentioned back in February, This fall marks the 10-year anniversary of my picture book adaptation of Mary Howitt’s classic poem, The Spider & The Fly.

To celebrate, I’ve created a new (perhaps creepier) dust-jacket with a vintage 1930′s-styled film poster on the reverse side.

Unlike other stories where I’ve had to visually explore to find just the right shapes and forms for a character’s design, I had an instant vision of both Ms. Fly and Mr. Spider when I was asked to illustrate the poem back in 2002. Of course I was conjuring the dark comedic visions of Charles Addams and Edward Gorey, but also I thought of the Spider as Lon Chaney in an old Dracula movie. I continued down the path of great actors to draw from, using a hint of Marlon Brando’s charisma and Raúl Juliá’s devilish grin.

I completed the new art for the jacket in the same technique I had used back then: a detailed Berol Prismamcolor pencil drawing with washes of Holbein’s acryla gouache.

However, what has changed since 2002 is my use of Photoshop. In fact, The Spider & The Fly marks the first time I had used Photoshop as a tool for creating final illustrations for a book. The ghost bugs were drawn separately and then digitally dropped into the final paintings, complete with an eerie glow.

Since the new images for the 10-year needed to work both in the horizontal layout of the dust-jacket and the vertical format of the poster, I created them in the same fashion so as to have the freedom to move and size them.

I am indebted to my (then) editor Kevin Lewis to offer me the opportunity to illustrate this picture book. I honestly had no idea how much it would change my life. The Spider & The Fly’s success gave me the support from my publisher to embark on an ambitious fairy-themed chapter book series, which will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary next year (gulp)…

…looks like its time to get back to the drawing board.

PS – Look for the 10-year anniversary of The Spider & The Fly later this month in a bookstore near you.

Comic Con Capers

Its taken over a week for Angela and I to recover from the madness of San Diego’s Comic Con International, but boy, was it worth it.

I first attended Comic Con in 1997 as a guest of Wizard of the Coast. Along with artists, Rebecca Guay and Terese Nielsen, I signed piles of Magic the Gathering cards and was grateful to meet many a fan. Of course, I also got to be a fan myself, which is something I love about attending conventions of this sort.

These days I primarily attend to promote my kid’s lit. However; I still enjoy catching up with artist-pals who I met back during my gaming days – like Doug Alexander Gregory and Jason Felix (above).

Another old friend I was excited to meet in person (for the first time) was award-winning author, Peter Beagle. Many know Peter’s work through his his beloved tale, The Last Unicorn, which is also a fav of mine. I had the opportunity to illuminate Peter’s prose for his anthology Giant Bones early in my career, and was thrilled to reconnect with him. Perhaps there will be more Beagle/DiTerlizzi book collaborations in the future…hmmm.

Speaking of books, I spoke about translating books to film on a panel hosted by LA Times reporter, Geoff Boucher. Along with many talented authors, we discussed the inevitable changes made when a book is adapted into a screenplay. In the end, all panelists agreed that, despite a film’s success or failure, the book will always remain to express the author’s true vision of their story.

I continued to talk story with fellow kid’s lit authors Brandon Mull and Lisa Yee (as seen above) on a panel focusing on the heroes of middle-grade fiction. This was another fascinating discussion that I wished could have continued far beyond our 1 hour time limit.

I can say that I am happy to see the kid’s lit presence grow in comic con’ s pop culture Petri dish. After all, many of the most celebrated (and biggest film/tv/toys/game) franchises came from books aimed at young imaginations. You know, books involving this guy:

…and this gal:

…and even these guys:

Many thanks to those of you who attended my events and stopped by the signings to chat. Your support of my work allows me the excuse to experience comic con both as an creator and a fan.

(above) Ang and I with Yo Gabba Gabba’s DJ Lance and Muno. Look at my guilt-ridden face as I meet my daughter’s favorite TV characters without her.

With Joey Chou, artist extraordinaire responsible for illustrating Ang’s debut picture book, Say What?

Picking up a copy of the comic, Cursed Pirate Girl, by inkmaster, Jeremy Bastian.

Seeya soon, San Diego!

 

 

Friday Fan Art

This week we received some Wondlaful drawings inspired by the WondLa trilogy from magnificent Maine.  Neil is an aspiring writer and artist who gains much inspiration from reading books and looking at other artist’s illustrations (I definitely know what he means by that). Check out this awesome profile series Neil has created featuring some of our favorite Orbonian residents.

Nice work, Neil.  You’ve done a great job capturing some of our most beloved friends (and foe).  I love how you’ve included Eva’s messy hairstyle, Rovender’s furrowed brow, and Besteel’s sinister grin!

Though it is important to draw inspiration from artist’s one admires, it is equally important to develop your own ideas.  Here, Neil has rendered his own illustration – depicting a girl in front of a large mysterious house.  Is she just arriving at the house or has she just left in a hurry?  Is there anyone or anything else in the house?  Is she frightened and if so why?  One intriguing picture has the potential for so many different stories and here Neil has tactfully given us just enough information to get those storyboard gears rolling.  When you look at Neil’s drawing what do you see?

Keep writing, keep drawing, keep dreaming.

Comic Con 2012 Schedule

For those attending next week’s Comic Con International in lovely San Diego, California, here is my schedule of events:

BE SURE TO STOP AT SIMON & SCHUSTER (booth 1128) TO RECEIVE A FREE COPY

OF THE A Hero for WondLa LIMITED EDITION SKETCHBOOK!

 

Thursday, July 12

10:30am-11:30am

Books and Hollywood: Literary Franchises in Television and Film— Authors discuss their work transitioning across various mediums, from screenwriters to novelists turning popular books into hit TV series and Hollywood films. How does the creative process differ when writing a screenplay as compared to a novel? Authors describing the process of adapting novels for the big screen include Rebecca Serle (When You Were Mine), Margaret Stohl (co-author of the Beautiful Creatures series), Scott Speer (Immortal City), Tony DiTerlizzi (The Search for WondLa series), Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz (Colin Fischer), Mike Richardson (president of Dark Horse), and Mark Frost (The Paladin Prophecy). Moderated by Geoff Boucher (Los Angeles Times). Room 24ABC

7:00pm-8:00pm

The Scoop at Simon & Schuster!— Get the inside word on Simon & Schuster’s upcoming books and the chance to win exclusive prizes. Lucille Rettino (director of marketing), Carolyn Swerdloff (marketing manager), Chrissy Noh (senior marketing manager), Liesa Abrams (associate marketing manager), and Anna McKean (publicity manager) give you the scoop on upcoming books from exciting authors, including Cassandra Clare, Tonya Hurley, Tony DiTerlizzi, Orson Scott Card, and Brandon Mull. Hear what is going on with S&S’s hot properties — Star Trek and The Smurfs — and get a chance to win exclusive giveaways. All attendees will receive a limited edition T-shirt for Becca Fitzpatrick’s Hush, Hush. Room 9

*Note: this panel is with Simon & Schuster staff only. Tony will not be attending.

Saturday, July 14

3:00pm-4:00pm

Book signing– Mysterious Galaxy Book Store presents Tony DiTerlizzi. Many of Tony’s titles will be available for purchase or bring your books and cards to be signed. Booth 1119

Sunday, July 15

2:45pm-3:45pm

Heroes for the Middle-Grade Reader (And You, Too!): Middle Grade Books That Will Rock Your Socks Off— Everyone loves a hero-from the depths of the ocean, to outer space and other worlds in the present and future, these authors have adventurers and unexpected champions that we can all cheer for. Get heroic with authors Nathan Bransford (Jacob Wonderbar series), E. J. Altbacker (Shark Wars series), Cornelia Funke (Ghost Knight), Lisa Yee (Warp Speed), Brandon Mull (The Beyonders series), Tony DiTerlizzi (The Search for WondLa series), Emily Janice Card (Laddertop Vol. 1), and Derek the Ghost (Scary School), as they converse with moderator Maryelizabeth Hart of Mysterious Galaxy. Room 5AB

PS –For those not attending this year’s comic con who wish to nab one of the limited edition A Hero for WondLa sketchbooks, fear not. Stuart Ng Books (on of my favorite places to spend my royalty checks) will be selling them after the convention.

Beauty & the Beast at The Book Show

In between book tours and summer barbeques, I’ve managed to squeeze in a couple of new pen & ink images of two beloved characters from La Belle et la Bête (better known as Beauty & the Beast) for an upcoming exhibit in Paris, France.

The Daniel Maghen gallery specializes in graphic novel artists from abroad. The talent represented in the gallery’s collection is mind blowing, so I was thrilled when I was asked to contribute an image for their upcoming “Book Show” exhibit in which a gaggle of artists render an image from a favorite book.

Seeing that the exhibition was in France, my mind drifted off to my favorite French fairy tales, especially the work of Charles Perrault. I’ve been enamored by the original Beauty & the Beast story since I first read it, so I used the exhibition as an excuse to create my own interpretation of the main characters, Belle and Beast.

Though the original artwork will not be for sale (Ang wants to hang them in our personal collection), I may yet create prints of them down the road…hmmmm.