Christina Wald's Design and Illustration Blog

Cover Design-a-palooza: Time to Vote!

2012-01-25T10:47:00.000-05:00

This is concept 6!

Here is the whole set:

Vote and comment here:

http://wordsworthdragon.blogspot.com/p/cover-art.html

It is Year of the Dragon!

2012-01-22T23:07:00.001-05:00

I have been really swamped and am tardy in posting. So, I doodled this today while waiting for my giant files to save. Happy Chinese New Year!

In case you are wondering, I was born in the year of the monkey.

More Wordsworth and the Dragon: Cover Design-a-palooza Week 5

2012-01-11T09:36:00.003-05:00

Featuring the redesigned cavabok! The whole lot: http://wordsworthdragon.blogspot.com/p/cover-art.html

Interview with Carrie Pearson, author of A Warm Winter Tail...

2012-01-04T15:04:00.000-05:00

As I put finishing touches on the art, an interview with the author in Children's Book Insider...

http://cbiclubhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/2011-12.pdf

This book will be so fun. Here is a sketch teaser:

Happy Holidays from Christina Wald Design and Illustration!!!

2011-12-16T09:12:00.000-05:00

As I finish up Warm Winter Tail, animals in snow are on the brain! I love drawing Arctic foxes so I just started doodling and this is the result!

Since I am really swamped this holiday season, just a quickie card this year. Next year I will have something elaborate!

More Wordsworth and the Dragon: Cover Design-a-palooza Week 4

2011-12-14T08:55:00.000-05:00

After this week, two more concepts to go and then voting begins! See the others here: http://wordsworthdragon.blogspot.com/p/cover-art.html

This one is Dash-centric with a whiff of "C"

More Wordsworth and the Dragon: Cover Design-a-palooza Week 3

2011-12-07T09:12:00.000-05:00

See the first two designs here: http://wordsworthdragon.blogspot.com/p/cover-art.html

Slam Bang: The Hungry Housewives

2011-12-05T20:26:00.004-05:00

The series is finally finished! It will be in the Slam Bang Comic Anthology Femme Fatales issue in 2012. (I will have a link up soon.)

It is the Hunger Games meets The Real Housewives in a series I would so watch on television. The Real Housewives show has an almost Othello quality where everyone is the character of honest Iago.

Also, kudos if you get the sci-fi movie reference on page 3...

The jokes just write themselves... Yes, my dream is to be a writer for the Simpsons or work for Mad Magazine...

Other comics for Slam Bang:

The Ultimate Extreme MEGA Meal-Bot

Iron Giant Chef

The Hungry Housewives, Page 1

The Hungry Housewives, Page 2

The Hungry Housewives, Page 3


The Hungry Housewives, Page 4

My self-portrait for this issue keeping the theme in mind!. There is also an interview!

Why you should never leave your purse open on the floor...

2011-12-03T10:45:00.001-05:00

Wild animals might get in...

Review: Annie Jump Cannon in the School Library Journal

2011-12-01T22:00:00.000-05:00

The review for Annie Jump Cannon Astronomer just came out from School Library Journal!

From the review:"This inspiring picture-book biography of a trailblazer in the field presents insight into the challenges of women interested in science during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ... The realistic illustrations capture the time period and complement the text. They’re scientifically accurate, including a physics equation on the professor’s chalkboard. Some of the pictures have helpful labels to inform readers that the building is Harvard Observatory, the man is Edward Pickering, or to make a scientific explanation understandable."

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/printissue/currentissue/892676-427/preschool_to_grade_4.html.csp#nonfiction

The reviewer even noticed the equation on the blackboard! It was by a famous French female mathematician.

Here is more about the art in a previous blog post http://christinawald.blogspot.com/2011/10/book-trailer-annie-jump-cannon.html

Also, cool news: Carole heard from some relatives of Annie's who enjoyed our book!

More Wordsworth and the Dragon: Cover Design-a-palooza Week 2

2011-11-30T10:51:00.001-05:00

Here is this week's cover design. This will be a little more graphic in execution. Also, Chapter 8 is posted!

Just in Time for Black Friday!

2011-11-21T09:28:00.001-05:00

In case you did not notice, I added a bunch of tabs to the blog with art and links. Today I added a tab with toys and games I have done illustrations for that are available this holiday season.

From Tek Nek Toys:

All About Elephants

I illustrated the books for these plush Encyclopedia Britannica toys.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10860489

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10860488

All About Chimpanzees

From Wild Planet:

I did the package art for these Crayola games...

Crayola Doodle Match Memory Game

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4072688

Crayola Guess My Picture Game

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4460224

Crayola Color Mix-A-Roo

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Crayola-Color-Mix-A-Roo/15257331

More Wordsworth and the Dragon: Cover Design-a-palooza Week 1

2011-11-16T09:52:00.001-05:00

I am working on cover concepts for Wordsworth and the Dragon. Above is the first design. We will post a design each week and then we will hold a vote to select which will be the final!

New Furry Studio Gremlin

2011-11-15T11:21:00.000-05:00

His name is Spike and he loves knawing on art books and terrorizing Miffy and Boris.

Hopefully, eating paintings will not be in his repertoire...

I suspect there will be a lot of cat hairs in the paint tho...

In other news, I just signed up with a sketch journal group through the Art Academy going to Taos, NM in June to take in the atmosphere and draw. I will keep you all posted. It is helmed by Amy Bogard who does really lovely journals of her life. I have been inspired by sites like http://www.urbansketchers.org/ and http://www.theydrawandtravel.com/

I recently posted my Greece Sketchbook. I am hoping that this will be an excuse to do more travel sketching and different techniques.

Pictures from Greece Uploaded!

2011-11-11T21:35:00.001-05:00

Finally! Here they are: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14121972@N07/sets/72157627982573615/

Because everyone loves holiday snaps! "And this is Uncle Ted even nearer the side of the house, but you can still see the front."

Cool Blog: The Girllustrators

2011-11-01T18:42:00.000-04:00

This cool illustration blog interviewed me for their illustrators and technology spot.

http://girllustrators.com/post/12210120234/childrens-book-illustrators-and-technology-q-a-with

While you are there, check out the rest of the site too: http://girllustrators.com/

Boo! Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T12:45:00.001-04:00

Here are some creepy fish stickers from a project for Scholastic Book Club several years ago. They seemed fitting...

Books By the Banks Pictures, 2011

2011-10-27T13:23:00.000-04:00

Reception the Night Before with Jared Lee, Jerry Dowling, Me and Jeffery Ebbeler

Carole Gerber and Me with AJC

Scotti Cohn and Me... This is for the Wordsworth Blog

All of us!

I wish I had gotten more photos. It was a great day.

BBTB: A Working Pop Up!

2011-10-19T09:35:00.001-04:00

My dream of having a working pop-up has come to fruition thanks to excellent illustrator and paper engineer Jeff Ebbeler.

I made several mock-ups that will be at the Books by the Banks show Saturday based on the dies he created. Here is a video of his initial working mock up. It has a coolness level of 5!

By the way, I will be doing a panel with Andrea Cheng at 11:00am on Saturday. Hope to see you there!

Greece Sketch Book

2011-10-17T09:40:00.004-04:00

These are some of the images I doodled in my sketchbook during my trip to Greece... I just got a plein air easel set up so I hope to start painting outside here soon. I wanted to do a little painting there, but fear taking paints through customs.

There are some sites online where people post their urban sketching. I hope to get a lot of practice. I am not totally happy with the thin Moleskin paper. My last one had nice thick paper. I use ink a lot and you cannot draw on both sides.

Not only were the subway cars really clean in Greece, they ads were for art supplies!

Dr Sketchy's October-Brainssssss

2011-10-16T17:33:00.001-04:00

Sometimes when I am really swamped, getting out and doing a little sketching helps me work loosen up for better painting (and drawing). This month's theme was "Macabre". It was very entertaining. I wish I had taken video of a big scene they did with zombies and soldiers.

Book Trailer: Annie Jump Cannon, Astronomer

2011-10-06T10:56:00.009-04:00

The book trailer is now up on You Tube!

I am very excited about this book. Both the author Carole Gerber and I did a lot of research.

When I was first contacted by the publisher about the book, I was embarrassed that I had never heard of Annie Jump Cannon. As a kid, my favorite show was Cosmos and I wanted to be an astronomer when I grew up. I not only read a lot of Carl Sagan, but was a huge fane of science fiction as well. How had I never heard of her?

Somehow I ended up in illustration and industrial design, but maybe if I had known about her, I would have still pursued a career in science.

The era of science that she contributed to was an amazing time and it seems like she is lost in the shuffle of more popular scientists like Lowell, Hubble, Einstein, Tesla etc.

When you look at her accomplishments, it is amazing to think that women did not even have the right to vote for most of her life.

Illustrating the book was a challenge since varied pictures are not often paired with her information. It was like a scavenger hunt; figuring out what lab equipment to illustrate and how the classrooms would look or what they would wear, what her childhood house looked like... In addition, I did not want to simply replicate the few images of her that are available. I wanted to make them new and my own take of the scenes.

For Example, there is a famous scene showing Annie and her class with a bunch a lab equipment (http://www.wellesley.edu/Astronomy/Annie/Images/lab.gif) I had a really hard time figuring out what they were doing in the picture to make a dramatic scene from it. I asked several people who had actually taken (and taught) college physics to pinpoint what it was a picture of.

Finally, my cousin's husband who teaches engineering at Cooper Union in NYC put me in touch with a professor who said that his assessment was that they were not performing any experiment, it was a posed picture where the photographer just piled a bunch of equipment around them. So, we decided to go with the picture above where she is doing a spectroscope experiment.

The building at Wellesley was particularly hard to find since it burned down many years ago.

I even tried to reproduce the Harvard Observatory wallpaper. I could not find color reference, so had to wing it on that.

Fortunately, I got in contact with a person at Harvard who had made a documentary about Annie. He was able to give me a lot of information-including her eye and hair color. This may seem odd, but the only color images of her were when she was elderly and grey.

Anyway, the book is now out, and I hope people like the effort we put into it. It was a joy painting the life of Annie Jump Cannon!

By the way, a note on the trailer: Several sources said that Annie loved to play the piano. It seemed like Bach would be a perfect fit for a scientist. When I was young, I tried to learn this two part invention #13 myself, to varying degrees of success, mostly unsuccessfully.

Back Cover

Sketch from the layout...

Back in Town and New Book Cover!

2011-10-04T18:49:00.000-04:00

Just as I got back from vacation in Greece! While I sort out the pictures and get them uploaded to Flickr (including some urban sketches I did), here is a little post on the final cover design for my book coming out in Fall 2012...

It is a wrap around cover and below is the full composition. This one has a really cool concept. For those interested, here is the sketch

And finally, a touch of Santorini from my trip.

Slam Bang: The Hungry Housewives

2011-09-19T10:19:00.002-04:00

The next theme for Slam Bang is Femme Fatales. My contribution will be The Hungry Housewives, with all the glitz and gore that suggests. Stay tuned as my 4 pager develops...

This time, the anthology will be in color... I have mixed feelings about that since the comic I have sketched is loaded with the cartoon violence one would expect. At least a toon is always less visceral looking even when horribly violent. Ask Goya...

More Wordsworth and the Dragon Sketches

2011-09-18T15:53:00.004-04:00

I just finished a couple ideas:

First off, the castle. I went a little crazy on this concept probably because I love castles so much and I have been reading my guidebooks for a trip to Greece I am about to take (the DK versions with all the lovely architecture illustrations with cutaways). The tower in the center is where the alphabet is heavily guarded. I also added a hedge maze, aviary, orchard... I am working on a map too.

The throne room. I am integrating a lot of letters in the design. This scene is from the first chapter with Rho, the King and Sir Clooney.

Read some chapters here: http://wordsworthdragon.blogspot.com/p/chapter-1.html

You can read up to the third chapter.

Books by the Banks Poster Unveiling at Joseph Beth

2011-09-09T09:18:00.001-04:00

Detail of the Skyline

Holding my little mockup to the giant banner...

The Discussion Begins

Great night tonight at Joseph Beth! It was great to see so many illustrators in the audience and on the panel.

I brought my mock up of the Cincinnati skyline I illustrated. I hope to have a working one by the show... Any paper engineers out there?

Below are some of the concept sketches.

Original Idealization Thumbnail

Books by the Banks Poster Unveiling and Article

2011-09-05T12:48:00.002-04:00

Miffy and the Cincinnati Enquirer Article. When I opened the section to read the article, she immediately plopped on the paper and refused to move and nipped at me when I tried to coax her.

Thursday, September 8

7:00pm - 8:30pm Joseph Beth Booksellers

Celebrate the kick-off of the 2011 Books By the Banks, Cincinnati USA’s Book Festival with a panel discussion and a rare poster signing opportunity with acclaimed illustrators, including this year’s artist, Christina Wald. Also on hand will be Will Hillenbrand, C.F. Payne, Ryan Ostrander, and John Maggard discussing their work and the illustrations they created exclusively for the annual Books By the Banks posters. Since the book festival's inauguration in 2007, the posters – now considered unique collectors' items – have captured the essence of what Books by the Banks means to the community.

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=239317536113388

My Initial Thumbnail

Hope to see you there!

Sometime later this week I will post some sketches (including the unused concept).

Link to article in the Cincinnati Enquirer by Lauren Bishop:

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110904/ENT07/109040338/Illustrator-s-poster-celebrates-books

Link for Coupon if you buy something the day of the event:

http://www.josephbeth.com/events/BBTB-11.pdf

Advance Copies: The Wild Life of Elk

2011-09-03T19:20:00.005-04:00

Good News Everyone! I just got some advance copies of The Wild Life of Elk

It was an amazing project and I had an excellent team to work with and it shows in the book. This was also along with author Donna Love, who had the most difficult task of writing a book about elk that was entertaining and interesting and recommended me for this project.

I also was lucky to work with a graphic designer who was willing to make his job a whole lot harder to make the book look REALLY GOOD! (No spread is the same.)

It is a joint venture between Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and US Forest Service and published by Mountain Press Publishing . There is a LOT of art in this book. This is an tiny sample...

Hopefully it will be available at Books By the Banks. There will be some other book signing events along with the book too. Stay Tuned!

Me, doing research in Jackson Hole at the Wildlife Art Museum. I also went to Yellowstone and Missoula, Montana.

Signing at River Read Books

2011-08-31T00:02:00.000-04:00

Thoreau, the bookstore kitty

Cynthia Reads

I recently did a book signing event with the author of Habitat Spy at River Read Books in Binghamton, New York.

It was great fun and I hope to do more in the future. Thanks to the bookstore for a great event!

My mom and aunt...

T-Shirt Design for my Aunt's Birthday

2011-08-22T13:17:00.000-04:00

I mentioned on the Cincinnati Illustrators Blog that I designed these shirts for my Aunt's birthday party. Here is most of the family in the shirts at dinner the night before at a great Chinese restaurant. (Their clams in black bean sauce are especially good.)

Anyway, here are the designs:

I framed the original ink drawing. Here is Aunt Rosie holding it up!

More Wordsworth and the Dragon

2011-08-20T18:35:00.002-04:00

We added a new banner and look to the Wordsworth and the Dragon blog.

Also, First look at Princess Rho

Princess Rho is described as dressing plainly without the traditional "princess" trappings. She has a long braid, but this sketch does not show it.

New Blog! Wordsworth the Dragon

2011-08-10T22:07:00.004-04:00

I have started doing some sketching on this wonderful book Scotti Cohn has written called Wordsworth and the Dragon.

Here is a link to read the first chapter: http://wordsworthdragon.blogspot.com/p/chapter-1.html

My favorite non-human character is the Dragon Dash. He actually has a dash of the dragon from Grendel.

As far as humans, here is my first sketch of the main character Wordsworth on his Cavabok. I have painted Springboks before (and spronking Springboks), bit this was more pony-like. I wanted him to be more solid like a pony than the slender gazelle look. This could be the new unicorn! Looking at my most recent sketch, I may add some gazelle markings to add a little wildness.

Finally, a view of the hero... More soon! The blog: http://wordsworthdragon.blogspot.com/

Biook Signing at River Read Books

2011-08-10T18:39:00.000-04:00

Cynthia Kieber-King and I will be signing Habitat Spy at River Read Books in Binghamton, New York on Tuesday, August 16th at 6:30.

If you are in the area, stop by and say hi!

Location: 5 Court Street

Downtown Binghamton

607 217-7292

Sneak Peek: Cover Sketch Approved!

2011-08-04T12:46:00.000-04:00

My next book for Sylvan Dell is called A Warm Winter Tail written by Carrie Pearson.

Just got the cover sketch approved. It is a wrap around and I will have the final soon.

There is a quiet serenity around snow scenes. I always enjoy painting them.

Coolest Sculpture Ever! Triceracopter by Patricia Renick at UC Langsham Library

2011-07-27T15:14:00.000-04:00

I was dropping off proofs for my poster at the UC Library today and came across this amazing sculpture. It is huge! It was done by Patricia Renick and was in a warehouse until recently. Definitely check it out. My puny pictures do not do it justice. Also, there is quite an art collection at the library if you walk around.

Better pictures and the story behind the sculpture: http://www.libraries.uc.edu/triceracopter/index.html

Miffy Vs. the Printer

2011-07-26T21:42:00.000-04:00

Our cat Miffy is obsessed by the printer. For a while, she seemed to give up but now she is attacking again. Very funny...

Encyclopedia Britannica-Plush and Animal Books

2011-07-21T11:11:00.001-04:00

Just found out these came out!

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10860489

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10860488

There is a book enclosed with each plush that I did the paintings for. Another will be out soon!

Definitely ordering a couple of these!

Habitat Spy won a Brain Child Tillywig Toy Award!

2011-07-18T11:17:00.001-04:00

Good News Everyone! Habitat Spy won a Brain Child Tillywig Toy Award!

So excited! The art for this book took a very, very long time so I am glad people are enjoying it.

http://www.tillywig.com/award-winners.php

First Annie Jump Cannon Review! My Sentiments Exactly!: Book Review #1184Annie Jump Cannon, Astronomer,...

2011-07-13T21:14:00.001-04:00

My Sentiments Exactly!:

Book Review #1184
Annie Jump Cannon, Astronomer,...: "Book Review #1184 Annie Jump Cannon, Astronomer, by Carole Gerber, illustrated by Christina Wald Rating: three stars (out of four) I..."

Ask a Writer! Interview: Cynthia Kieber King

2011-07-11T19:57:00.001-04:00

CW: How did you get started writing children’s books? CKK: I think it must have started when I was a kid and fell in love with books – I was what they used to call a bookworm, reading books whenever and wherever I could! Those books I loved are still important to me, and when I had my son I wanted to share them with him. I realized I wanted to be one of those authors – what could be better than to write a book that makes a kid excited about books and reading? So I took some classes at our local community college on writing for children and loved every minute of them. I actually wrote the rough outline of what would become Habitat Spy during one of those classes! I subsequently joined the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and began learning what I could from other authors, agents, and editors, either through books or from attending SCBWI conferences and visiting children’s writing websites. The world of children’s books is inhabited by fabulous people willing to share what they know.

CW: Since this is your first children’s book, what was the road to publication like? CKK: I think many side roads of experience intersected for me to be able to create Habitat Spy. But the actual path between my first rough poem and the final published book was fairly straightforward, though lengthy, involving two submissions of two quite different versions to Sylvan Dell. I think it was important to believe in my idea and persist with the submission process.

CW: What is your background? CWW: I have degrees in zoology and biological oceanography; my first career was in environmental science. But all during my formal education and first career I remained an avid reader and creative writer.

CW: What is the inspiration behind this book? CKK: I live in a beautiful rural area in Central New York State, and a number of years ago the area behind my backyard was full of brambles, and far beyond the brambles the land rose into a wooded hill. I would wonder what those woods looked like, but I couldn’t get to them - those brambles were too extensive and painful! I imagined what I would see if I could get from the meadow to those woods. And then I wondered what I would see if I kept walking across the United States to the Pacific Ocean. What a trip that would be – so many habitats full of incredible plants and animals! Since I couldn’t make that walk in real life, I made that trip come to life on paper, and that imagining turned into Habitat Spy.

CW: What do you have coming out after this? CKK: I hope to have a chapter book and a young adult novel; both are in final stages of revision. And I have several ideas for another science picture book…

Thanks so much Cynthia!

Cynthia and I will be at River Read Books http://www.riverreadbooks.com/who-we-are River Read Books August 16th at 6:30. Hope to see you there!

Unexpected Searches

2011-07-07T05:11:00.000-04:00

Humorously, I just noticed this 3-pager I did for Slam Bang's fast food issue comes up on diet search key words...

Chicago Visit 2011

2011-06-27T14:33:00.000-04:00

Really Cool picture of jellies. I love the glass reflection. It looks like it is from another dimension...


I thought this was an octopus, Troy thought it was a Cthulhu...


This frieze is amazing. So were the bronze doors.

Just got back from a beautiful weekend in Chicago.

The Shedd Aquarium is a retrofitted building from the 1893 exposition. Lots of gorgeous sculpted detail. Nothing is built like this anymore, unfortunately.

We also went to Oak Park. Frank Lloyd Wright lived and worked there until he took off with his mistress in the early 1900s. He influenced and built a lot of the homes in the area-none of which I will ever be able to afford...

Troy by an enormous fish sculpture...

Me by Frank Lloyd Wright's studio

How can you improve upon great home architecture? A huge inflatable water slide!

We missed our window of opportunity. This house was completely redone in the late 1990s and was sold recently for 3 million dollars. (Originally listed at 6 million but at a bargain price due to the real estate market crash...)

Video Game Character Designs

2011-06-22T16:59:00.001-04:00

A while ago, I did these fun character designs for a game designer in Norway.

Although the game was put on hold, the designs were a fun mix. My favorite were the wintery characters above, but they each had their own qualities. I loved the tribal characters too.

All the concepts were in Illustrator.

Some Concept Sketches

Reference Around Town

2011-06-20T09:21:00.001-04:00

I was driving around town yesterday collecting reference for an illustration I am working on and got this cool shot of the rooks at the entrance of Rookwood Pottery.

Oh, and the cool cityscape below.

I am working on illustrations for a lot of fab stuff right now. I will be posting sketches soon. Stay tuned!

There is a reason why people live in Mt. Adams. The view is amazing! I need to get out to do some urban sketching...

Just Joined Twitter

2011-06-15T22:31:00.000-04:00

I just joined twitter. I am not sure what it means or what to do with it, but it is what it is. Any ideas of cool people to follow and how to use it?

I know I am a latecomer to this slice of the social media pie. I am reminded of the saying: "If you tweet and there is no one around to read it, is it still 140 characters?" Or something...

Slam Bang: The Robot issue is now available!

2011-05-30T14:12:00.002-04:00

The new volume of Slam Bang is out. You can order a copy here:

https://www.createspace.com/3607656

This is the issue I created the 3 page comic Iron Giant Chef for.

Also, news for Slam Bang fans from Allen Freeman, architect of Fanatic Press: "Dan Burke takes over as editor/publisher of Slam Bang. Dan has been publishing fanzines since he was 12. His online websites are www.customcolorcomics.com and www.attackearth.com.

Dan is an experienced pulisher and will continue to produce Slam Bang as the lowest level er ....I mean highest level..possible. SLAM BANG issue #47.
Deadline November 2011. THEME: "BAD GIRLS! Femme Fatales."

Claire's Night and Day: 2011

2011-05-22T10:22:00.005-04:00

Christina and Carole at the Toledo Lucas Children's Library taken by Mary Kay Carson

The photo above are Carole Gerber and I at the Toledo Children's Library by the framed Little Red Bat painting hanging there! We had the unveiling last year.

The Claire's Day festivities were once again a wonderful experience this year. I met a lot of great authors, illustrators, and participants at the various events this year and last year. (Thanks to Mary Kay Carson who drove up with me-having someone to talk to on road trips keeps me awake!)

On Friday, I had a wonderful school visit at Fairfield Elementary School. I hope the kids enjoyed it as much as I did. I expanded my slide show and did some drawing for them on a big pad of paper. Sharpies are unforgiving so I hope they liked the art anyway... Sometimes your brain says" What does a panda look like anyway?!" even when you have opainted and drawn many of them.

Here are the pieces unveiled at Claire's Night this year. Sorry it is not a better image of all of them.

This year's new illustrations being added to the collection.
Art by fom left to right: Wendy Popko, Ralph Masiello, Karen and Darrin Brege (speaking), Leslie Helakoski, and Claire Ewart

The biggest part of the Claire's Day itself of course are the CARE awards. From the site:

"A highlight of the day is the C.A.R.E. (Claire’s Awards for Reading Excellence) Awards which are given to children nominated by their principals and teachers as being the most improved readers at their grade level. The C.A.R.E. Awards program has grown from recognizing 27 children for their efforts the first year, to giving out over 300 awards this past year"

It is a great program and I am glad to be a part of the festivities. I wish I had photos from the day of the event, but I am a poor archivist and did not take any. Maybe I can find some since there were photographers there. Here is an article about the event:

http://www.toledoblade.com/Books/2011/05/19/Region-to-celebrate-10th-annual-Claire-s-Day.html

Carole and I also did a presentation on our book coming out in September: Annie Jump Cannon, Astronomer.

There was also a tribute to Wil Clay, an amazing illustrator/author who passed away from cancer in January. I really enjoyed being introduced to his work last year at my first Claire's day and was sad to hear of his passing. I had bought a couple of his books with hopes that I could get him to sign them this year. His paintings in the children's library are incredible!

It was a treat to meet his daughter who came up with her husband in rememberance to celebrate her father's life and his contribution to Claire's Day. Check out some of his work on his site: http://wilclay.com/fine_arts_paintings.htm

Habitat Spy Book Signing Saturday May 14th

2011-05-09T18:19:00.000-04:00

My mom found these great binoculars online at a party supply. I added the cool stickers.
Great for junior naturalists! Get a pair of them when you purchase a copy of Habitat Spy (until they run out).

More Signing info:

1356 South Fort Thomas Avenue

Fort Thomas, KY 41075
Phone 859.781.0602 FAX 859.781.0728 e-mail bluemarble@fuse.net
website http://www.bluemarblebooks.com/
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=125195514223818&pending#!/event.php?eid=125195514223818

Giant Squid

2011-05-02T09:38:00.001-04:00

All this rain made me think of sea beasts. Here is a giant squid I illustrated for a Weekly Reader science magazine. Release the kracken anyone?

I love New York in Spring!

2011-04-26T15:38:00.001-04:00

Central Park

Just got back From NYC to visit my brother's family. It is SO BEAUTIFUL in spring! Tested out my new iPhone photo apps...

Giant Bubbles

Another Central Park Pano

Park Featuring a Statue of Chester Arthur.

Saw a bunch of books in the series of pop-up books Big Cats is in. Did not see BC os Sharks though...

Cherry Blossoms

Easter Egg Goodness

2011-04-18T12:12:00.000-04:00

This was from Scholastic magazine Lets Find Out several years ago in their April issue. I like the little octopus the best.

The challenge was making them look appealing for 5 year olds and not creepy.

Dr. Sketchy's Drawing Group April

2011-04-15T10:17:00.000-04:00

Everyone Draws Intently

Just went to another Dr. Sketchy's session last night. I needed to get out and do some loose sketching.I notice when I do more live drawing, it improves my drawing skills overall but I have been SO SWAMPED!

I want to go to the Cincy zoo for a day of sketching. I have a lot of animal illustrations coming up...

Annie Jump Cannon Cover

2011-04-13T22:08:00.000-04:00

Today is 70th Anniversary of Annie Jump Cannon's death on April 13th, 1941... Here is the cover of the book Carole and I did coming out in fall!

Seasons Series: Spring Final

2011-04-09T02:21:00.001-04:00

Final color to my spring illo. Sketch here... http://christinawald.blogspot.com/2010/07/seasons-series-spring-sketch.html

I was a little shocked that the sketch for this was from July. Time is passing way too quickly! When will I finish fall I wonder?

Cover Art Revealed: The Wild Life of Elk

2011-03-30T18:25:00.000-04:00

Coming this fall! The ultimate ungulate experience! Stay tuned!

It is a children's book put out by a joint venture between the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and National Forest Service written by Donna Love.

Iron Giant Chef Mini Comic-Finished!

2011-03-24T21:11:00.002-04:00

This 3 pager is for my friend Allen Freeman's comic anthology Slam Bang. The robot topic was irresistable! The last topic was fast food and I combined both topics both times. The title Ultimate Extreme Mega Meal Bot explains itself.

Although my schedule is increasingly less open, I still try to do occasional mini-comics for fun.

Glorious Samples

2011-03-11T15:51:00.000-05:00

Just got in an advance copy of Habitat Spy! The kick off signing is in May 14th at Blue Marble Children's Bookstore.

The Illusionist and Edinburgh

2011-02-15T10:46:00.000-05:00

We just went to see The Illusionist by Chomet on Sunday. While the story was not as quirky sweet as Triplets of Belleville, the character design and backgrounds were beautiful.

It especially captured Edinburgh. We went to Scotland in September 2003. As we left the theater, I said remembered Scotland as unusually nice and sunny during our visit. It was, but not in Edinburgh. It was fairly grey.

Or rather, captured perfectly in the movie:

My memory was more of the lochs and the mountains which were spectacularly sunny. I highly recommend the movie though, even though it says ventriloquist figures have no value.

My sunny memory of Scotland:

Bugginess

2011-02-03T21:30:00.001-05:00

I was looking through some old files and came across this sticker sheet (1 of 10) for a Scholastic project. Lice are surprisingly fun to draw. I think I had drawn krill (and carpenter ants for that matter) for various publications a dozen times, various sizes.

Maybe I will get to draw bedbugs soon since they are all the fashion.

Habitat Spy Book Trailer

2011-01-20T15:28:00.001-05:00

Check it out! Should be getting book samples soon! Hooray!

New Sylvan Dell Facebook Fan Pages

2011-01-18T20:14:00.000-05:00

You can now "like" these pages from my three books from Sylvan Dell:

Habitat Spy (out in March and trailer coming really soon): http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Habitat-Spy/146733592049045

Little Red Bat http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Little-Red-Bat/133204930076453

Henry the Impatient Heron http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Henry-the-Impatient-Heron/170990129612332

Happy 2011! Iron Giant Chef: Teaser

2010-12-31T12:40:00.000-05:00

When I am working on big painting projects, it is fun to blow off a little steam with quick doodles. This is a teaser for the 3 pager I am working on for the Slam Bang robot issue. Spambot 2000 vs. Roncobot 9000

Grandes Felinos

2010-12-28T09:36:00.000-05:00

Big Cats has been translated into Portuguese and is available in Brazil! I really, realy want a copy of Grandes Felinos!

http://www.americanas.com.br/produto/7307437/livros/animaisdeestimacao/animaisdiversos/livro-grandes-felinos?epar=buscape&opn=YYNKZU

Happy Holidays Everyone!

2010-12-23T10:51:00.000-05:00

Package Illustrations: Wild Planet

2010-12-08T19:58:00.001-05:00

Just got samples of these packages I illustrated for Wild Planet. They are at Toys R Us:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4072689

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4072688

They are done in Adobe Illustrator and are vector.

On Mix-a-roo, I did the card Illustration as well!

Commissioned Portrait: Lisa's Cats

2010-11-07T12:05:00.001-05:00

I do not often do many personal commissions but I recently did a portrait of my friend Lisa's four cats: Nigel, Elizabeth, Amadeus and Nathan. They are two pairs of litter mates as you can probably tell from the family resemblance.

I just got to meet the kitties on Friday. Very sweet. Nigel and Nathan seemed the most outgoing bit Amadeus warmed up a little at the end though. I just saw a peek of Elizabeth. I am told she is her mamma's kitty.

Press: Article in Northwest Press

2010-11-02T19:46:00.001-04:00

Nice article in Northwest Press about Bat Fest last Saturday. http://issuu.com/cincinnati/docs/northwest-press-102710?mode=a_p

Blue Manatee 10-23-2010-Cincinnati Museum Center Up Next

2010-10-27T16:41:00.001-04:00

Photo by Tom Uhlman http://www.tomuphoto.com/

Great Event at Blue Manatee Saturday. Next up, Bat Fest at the Cincinnati Museum Center. I will have a lecture about illustrating the book at 1:30 and reading the book Little Red Bat after!

Christina, Kathy, and Mary Kay with our bat friends.

The Bat Scientists Part 2: Interview with Tom Uhlman

2010-10-19T09:12:00.002-04:00

Tim's Website: http://www.tomuphoto.com/

In the last entry, we talked to author Mary Kay Carson about the process of writing The Bat Scientists.

This week, an interview with her husband Tom Uhlman. Tom did all the photography for the book. He also takes pictures for various magazines and media outlets.

One of Tom's amazing bat photos on the book cover

As an illustrator, I was very curious about how different the approch is for doing photography for a book. I usually get a manuscripts and sometimes an illustration list.

CW: How did you get into photography and wildlife in particular?

TU: I always enjoyed photography, and I always loved looking at wildlife and nature photos in particular. I was in in school for biology in my early 20's, which only lasted a couple of years before i quit school and became a musician. In my late 20's I got into a band made up of mostly photographers from the local paper and after listening to them talk about photography my interest were rekindled. I never lost my interest in nature and the two were a great match. To photograph wildlife I have to spend a lot of time waiting for the right moment, which is time well spent watching getting to know my subjects.

CW: What kind of preparation do you have to do for this type of book?

TU: Getting ready to shoot photos for this book about bats took some special preparation, some of which I hadn't thought about when we took the contract. I had shot a lot of photos in caves so I knew a little about the hardships of crawling through mud in the dark with a pack full of cameras and flashes. However to go into Bracken Cave, where there are millions of Mexican free-tailed bats, and to handle bats that rehabilitaters had, I had to get rabies shots, which cost a lot of money and didn't feel real good getting. It was worth it though to go into the cave. It was a spectacular sight.

CW: Due to the subject matter, were the photo shoots more complex to direct than for your other books? (It seems like lighting would be a challenge for a lot of these photos...)

TU: Shooting for this book did get complicated at times. Animals never do what you want them to do and bats are no different. The shots of the mother red bat and her babies turned out well but I had to shoot a lot of photos to get lucky on a few. Barbara French, the bat rehabilitater, had them ready to be released, hanging in a tree in her yard. The wind was blowing like crazy and the branch was swinging and moving all over the place, which the bats slept right through. I had to set up a few lights and shoot in between wing gusts. Shooting in caves where it's slippery and wet is always difficult. Cave also eat light, so I often have to use four or five flashes just to get a little piece of the cave lit up enough to tell it's a cave. Otherwise it could just look like someone standing on a dirty rock in the dark.

CW: Did you work with an art director? How did you know what content was needed?

TU: We did have an art director for this book, but it's hard to know what will be used. I just sent them a lot of photos so that they could pick a choose what the needed.

CW:What was the most interesting shoot you set up for the book?

TU: By far the most interesting shoot for this book was Bracken cave and the millions of Mexican free-tailed bats living there. Our first day there we were near the mouth of the cave looking around, trying to figure out good angles to shoot from when our scientists got there. People can't go into the cave without wearing a respirator to filter out the ammonia from the bats guano. We were there in the late afternoon and the bats started coming out early to feed. All of the sudden we found ourselves in a tornado of bats circling out of the cave. It was one of the unforgettable life experiences to have thousands of bats flying so close with the wind sor strong from their wings blowing our hair back. The photos I shot ended up on the back cover!

CW: What projects/books do you have coming up?

TU: Other than the seasonal sports and business shooting I do, I'm working with another writer on a book about scientists that monitor volcanos. I spent two weeks this summer hiking around Mt. St. Helens.

Spooky joint bat events:

Saturday October 23rd: Blue Manatee Children's Bookstore with a live bat program from Echobats 4-6 PM

Saturday October 30th: Bat Fest at the Cincinnati Museum Center

Tom and Mary Kay at the Bat Cave!

Follow news and events for The Bat Scientists on Facebook!

Meet Miffy!

2010-10-15T11:13:00.000-04:00

My new little furry assistant. She likes to chew on and bat at paint brushes... She also changes the TV channel. (Animal Plannet yes, Real Housewives, not so much...)

The Bat Scientists Part 1: Interview With Mary Kay Carson

2010-10-11T19:40:00.002-04:00

It was a coincidence that Mary Kay Carson and I worked on bat books for completely different publishers at the same time. She and her husband Tom Uhlman were very helpful when I researched to do my red bat illustrations.

Now that both books are out, it only makes sense that we are doing book events together!

If your child loves Little Red Bat and wants to learn more about bats or is too old and wants a bat book that is for an older audience, The Bat Scientists is perfect!

So, here is part 1 of 2 interviews first with Mary Kay about writing The Bat Scientists and then with Tom about taking the photographs.

CW: Tell me a little about how you started writing and how you got into writing non-fiction.

MKC: I’m not one of those people who has been a writer since childhood. I was a kid who loved animals and a biology major in college. I had no interest in writing until my mid-20s, truthfully. It wasn't until I was serving as a Peace Corps volunteer overseas that I began to appreciate and enjoy writing. I lived in a village with no running water, no electricity, and no telephones so started writing lots of letters and then some articles for the volunteer newsletter. When I returned to the US, I looked into science writing programs and ended up at New York University. From there I was hired by Scholastic to write for SuperScience, a classroom magazine for grades 4-6. The magazine really hooked me on writing for kids. It's soooo much more fun than writing for big people! Writing nonfiction for kids lets you be a generalist, and not be limited to one topic. Right now I'm writing about the Titanic, weather, and salamanders. I love that. If I start getting tired of one subject, I can switch to one of the others!

CW: How did you get involved writing The Bat Scientists?

MKC: The Bat Scientists is a book in Houghton Mifflin’s award-winning Scientists in the Field series. My photographer husband Tom Uhlman and I did another book for this series called Emi and the Rhino Scientist and pitched the Bat Scientists book proposal to the series’ editor. The idea for the book came from reading some information on bat scientist Merlin Tuttle and his organization, Bat Conservation International, while writing about bats for a different project years ago. The scientists we featured in the book are tirelessly leading the campaign to change hearts and minds about bats. And young readers are a perfect audience—they love mysterious, unusual, and bizarre animals! Bats are always a favorite part of the presentations I give during school visits.

CW: How do you research for this kind of book? It looks like there was some interesting travel involved.

MKC: I wanted the readers of The Bat Scientists to feel like they were there alongside the scientists working in the field with bats. For me, the best way to convey this is to write scenes that set a place and have some action. Being able to tag along during field research is the best way to capture the details, conservations, and atmosphere that end up in the book. We traveled to Austin, Texas, where Bat Conservation International is headquartered to meet up with a number of the scientists in the book. We spent a night netting bats with a researcher in the Texas Hill country, poked around under bat filled bridges with another, and spent many hours meeting and photographing bats at a bat rehabilitator’s barn in Austin. A big part of the trip to Texas was spending time at Bracken Bat Cave. Its 20 million Mexican free-tailed bats make up the largest colony of mammals in the world! Tom and I went to the cave one evening to get to know the area a little before our scheduled next day trip into the inside of the cave. We had the place to ourselves pretty much and were sitting near the mouth of the cave when the bats started flying out. All of the sudden we found ourselves in the middle of a tornado of bats as they started flying out of the cave. A stream of bats circled to gain speed and flew up to join a ribbon of flying animals all the way to the horizon. Truly amazing! The trip inside the cave was as astounding, but uncomfortable. It was super hot, we had to wear respirators because of the ammonia and mud boots to not be chewed on by carrion beetles and long sleeves and hardhats to not get covered in biting mites falling from the bats which covered every wall, rock, and ceiling.

CW: Is there anything you learned about bats that surprised you or was unexpected?

MKC: I learned tons about bats I didn’t know! One of the biggest surprises was how long-lived they are. Some can live thirty years or more. This is very unusual for an animal of such small size. Also, the fact that there are more than 1000 different species is pretty fascinating.

CW: Your husband Tom did the photography for this book. How many books have you done together? Was he involved in this book from the beginning?

MKC: Tom was onboard as the book’s photographer for The Bat Scientists from the beginning. Having a professional photographer that an editor knows will produce high-quality stunning images is a big asset to a book proposal, I think. Tom has had art contracts on two of the books I’ve written—The Bat Scientists and Emi and the Rhino Scientist. And he’s also contributed photos to a number of my other books—including The Underground Railroad for Kids and The Wright Brothers for Kids. Hopefully, we’ll get to do more books together soon. We’re been pitching some books ideas to different publishers, so fingers crossed!

CW: What are you working on now?

MKC: I’m finishing up a book called Inside Weather that will be out in fall of 2011. I’ve just started working on a new fun history series of books for younger kids. The first one will be about the sinking of the Titanic, the 100-year anniversary of which is April 2012.

CW: You mentioned several books you wrote are suddenly coming out. What are they and when will they be available? Do you and Tom have any upcoming collaborations?

MKC: Besides the Bat Scientists book, I’ve a number of other newly released books. Two are about natural disasters, Inside Tornadoes and Inside Hurricanes. They are large format books with ten foldout pages—both vertical and horizontal. The pages are packed with photos, diagrams, and lots of dramatic eye-witness accounts of storms. A 12-book series I’ve been working on for a long time is finally out, too. It’s called the Far-Out Guide to the Solar System and the titles include the eight planets, sun, moon, asteroids & comets, and the icy dwarf planets. These books focus on recent discoveries and missions, which was a lot of fun to research and write out. I love space stuff.

CW: What is your advice to aspiring writers of children's non-fiction?

MKC: Tell stories! Just because it’s non-fiction doesn’t mean it should read like an encyclopedia. True stories of people’s lives, history’s happenings, and scientific discoveries make for dramatic tales.

CW: Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions!

Next week: Part 2: Interview with Tom Uhlman about this book and his adventures in photgraphy.

Mary Kay and Tom will have a Launch Party at Blue Marble Children's Bookstore this Saturday 1-3 PM with batty fun, treats and crafts!

Spooky joint bat events:

Saturday October 23rd: Blue Manatee Children's Bookstore aith a live bat program from Echobats 4-6 PM

Saturday October 30th: Bat Fest at the Cincinnati Museum Center

Books By the Banks: Photos and Recap

2010-10-05T22:05:00.002-04:00

Photo by Tom Uhlman

Books By the Banks was great this year! Mary Kay Carson and I had the bat table. Unfortunately, the pictures do not show the extensive level of battiness, but it was there. We had bats on the wall, bat garlands, bat candies, glow-in-dark bats, and, well you get the idea...

Good thing too, the turnout was amazing. We signed a lot of books!

I wish I took more pictures at the show. There were some amazing illustrators in attendance this year (and authors) and I spent too much money on books. But hey, books are an addiction...

More of my photos are on the Cincinnati Illustrators Blog...

Photo by Tom Uhlman

Books By the Banks: October 2nd

2010-09-29T20:13:00.000-04:00

I will be at Books By the Banks signing Little Red bat on Saturday, October 2nd. There will also be many other top notch authors and illustrators like Loren Long, Will Hillenbrand, Mary Kay Carson, C.F. Payne, John Maggard, Cinda Chima and many others. I do much of my holiday shopping there!

What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon?

Books by the Banks 2009

Indiana Bat Festival

2010-09-27T07:39:00.002-04:00

Close Up of Fruit Bat

Here are some images from the Indiana Bat Festival! Thanks to Laura Hohman and the Indiana State University Center for North American Bat Research and Conservation for being excellent hosts and the invitation. It was great fun!

I will have a link soon the the university photos when they are onine.

Rob Mies doing his Bat Demo with a Fruit Bat

Me Signing at my Table

One of the Cool Things About a University Science Department: Skull Displays!

Bat Shirts

2010-09-16T22:00:00.001-04:00

Here are the shirts that will be available at Indiana Bat Festival Saturday! I will also have activity sheets and a variety of the books I have illustrated including Little Red Bat of course!!

Big Brown Bat T-Shirt Design

2010-08-29T14:48:00.001-04:00

This is the other design for the festival. Big brown bats are so cute.

Yes, many people get these bats as visitors. It is a good reason to put out a bat box. Bats eat a LOT of insects and are extemely valuable to the environment but are unfortunately misunderstood.

Some species of bats are being wiped out by the white nose fungus which is still spreading and could be catastrophic...

Eastern Red Bat T-Shirt Design

2010-08-28T16:03:00.001-04:00

I am doing several bat oriented events this fall including the Indiana Bat Festival. So, I am making a couple t-shirt designs to wear to signings and sell. This is the first. The next will be a large brown bat. I love their faces.

Has it Really Been a Month Since I Posted?

2010-08-21T08:26:00.002-04:00

I am painting day and night on some really cool work that I plan to post soon. This is my messy painting studio. Look for some great releases in 2011 and 2012!

Also, I have some exciting book signings and events planned in the next couple months including the Indiana Bat Festival, Books By the Banks, the Buckeye Book Festival, Bat Fest at the Museum Center and Blue Manatee. Stay tuned!

This is Agatha, the spider living outside my studio window. She is very active late at night

Seasons Series: Spring Sketch

2010-07-14T01:57:00.000-04:00

A couple months ago, I posted the finish of the first painting in a series for the seasons. This is the sketch for spring with a lot of cherry blossoms, a big horn lamb, bluebirds and a bunny. It will be a long while before I can color this, but I can hardly wait. Here is winter: http://christinawald.blogspot.com/2010/04/finish-of-winter.html

Kenton County Library Children's Writer and Illustrator Workshop: Saturday, July 17th

2010-07-10T13:16:00.003-04:00

Dave Richardson and I are doing a talk for writers and illustrators at Kenton County Library next Saturday.

Here is the description:

"Writer Dave Richardson and illustrator Christina Wald will lend their expertise to help those who are looking to publish work for children's books or publications. Discussions will cover topics such as writing for children's magazines, marketing your illustrations traditionally and online, and an overview of the process of illustrating a children's book from start to finish. Registration is required as space is limited."

Location: Mary Ann Mongan Library, 502 Scott Boulevard, Covington

Hope to see some of you there!

Additional information:

Anyone interested in registering for the workshops can call 859.962.4077 or email Patricia Richards at patricia.richards@kentonlibrary.org. If you are also interested in the writing portion with Dave, he is asking that they bring one page of a sample writing they have for kids.

Also, bring a portfolio if you are coming to the illustration portion.

Since the library doesn't open officially until 10, she asks everyone who registers to be here no later than 9:50-9:55, so that we can begin promptly at 10.There will someone at the front entrance of the library to let workshop attendees in ahead of time.

July Dr. Sketchy's

2010-07-08T23:59:00.002-04:00

Great night at Dr. Sketchy's in Covington! The models were dressed as clowns and they were very good. (It was there first time.) They had really cute costumes (almost anime) and the turnout had some really good artists this evening.

Dr. Sketchy's is a monthly sketch group where the models pose in themed costumes rather than nude as is traditional for life drawing. It is way cool. The sessions take place at Leapin' Lizard in Covington every 2nd Thursday of the month.

Frozen Stare by Oneal Walters

2010-07-01T10:02:00.001-04:00

OK, I really do have some new art to post. This is a book cover for a new book of poetry by Oneal Walters released today on Canada Day. He lives and works in Toronto and his company The Age Begins books is actively looking for poetry books that concentrate on women and world issues. Here is a link!

The art is showing a frozen rose starting to thaw. It was refreshing to do something more conceptual.

Deer and Squirrel! (Or a whole lot going on!)

2010-06-30T19:04:00.001-04:00

I am really busy painting at the moment and I have a lot of exciting projects in the works but it will be a while before I can show any of it (next year) so in the meantime, a couple more cool paintings from Little Red Bat. I love the pose of red in the deer one, but she is very tiny...

Video From Yellowstone and Glacier

2010-06-15T20:18:00.001-04:00

Here is a video Troy took of our trip. Pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14121972@N07/sets/72157624145282143/

Here I am by a bronze elk ouside of the National Wildlife Art Gallery. Behind me is the National Elk Refuge. It kind of looks like a fake background.

New Review for Little Red Bat!

2010-06-08T00:48:00.003-04:00

The Children's and Teens' Book Connection Blog
http://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com/2010/06/07/little-red-bat-by-carole%c2%a0gerber/

Now available on the Bat Conservation International website!
http://batcatalog.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=392

Comic Side Projects: 12-Way with Cheese

2010-06-07T16:47:00.000-04:00

In honor of 12-Way with Cheese being released, I thought I would show how differently things started.

As I said, I have worked on this story concept for YEARS and could not get it to gel.

Below here is the first attempt...

After I kept sketching and working on the story, I realized the art was totally in the wrong direction. As a result, I worked on new more cartoony concepts as seen to the left here. I even had a whole manuscript with a different story I tossed.

This is the final result:

You can see the rest here.

So, stay tuned now that the book is out for upcoming signings and events. There was even just an article about the book in CityBeat. Check it out!

I should also mention we just had a blurb in Imagine FX as well!

Speaking of anthologies, I am also in Allen Freeman's latest Slam Bang comic anthology lampooning fast food. See my contribution here!

Meeting Donna Love

2010-06-05T18:46:00.000-04:00

I just got back from a wonderful trip to Montana, Yellowstone, Tetons, Jackson Hole and Glacier Park. While out west, I got to meet Donna Love. She wrote the delightful text for Henry the Impatient Heron and we are now working on a cool new book project together.

Here we are at the Loon and Fish Festival to sign books. I will post more images soon!

Below, Troy and I encounter the wildlife in Glacier Park. Donna has a cool book about Glacier Park coming out soon. I will do a post when it is out!

Claire's Night

2010-05-17T14:43:00.000-04:00

Here are Carole Gerber and I at the unveiling of a painting from Little Red Bat that has been added to the collection at the Toldedo Lucas County Children's Library as part of the Claire's Night festivities!.

What an honor!

In the first picture are Julie and Brad Rubini who started Claire's Day in memory of their daughter who loved books and reading almost 10 years ago!

More phots soon! It was a great event!

Photos from Ohioana

2010-05-17T14:34:00.000-04:00

Here is a picture of Carole and I at the Ohioana Book Festival a couple weeks ago posing with First Lady of Ohio Francis Strickland.

Ohioana Book Festival

2010-05-05T23:01:00.000-04:00

I will be in Columbus Saturday with Carole Gerber at the Ohioana Book Festival. Hope to see you there!

We will be signing books with a lot of other talented authors and illustrators! Yes, I will be giving away magnets AND colorsheets!

More Glorious Samples!

2010-04-29T17:14:00.000-04:00

Here is the March Scholastic News 1 and 2 see-through issue.

I just got samples in the mail today! Glorious! It is fun to see the them. When you hold the issue up to the light, you see hidden animals.

It can be quite a design challenge. Often, things do not show up well if there is a lot of texture-like the beaver dam. So it takes a bit of finessing to get it to work . Thank goodness for Photoshop! Below is the "hidden part", pages 1-4. Above is 2-3 where all is revealed! This is such a pastoral issue.

Finish of Winter

2010-04-27T16:49:00.001-04:00

I was waiting to get feeback for the cover sketch on my next book and finished this up while waiting. It is part of a four illustration series based on the four seasons. Here is the explanation and sketch.

Signing-Blue Marble Children's Bookstore

2010-04-19T22:56:00.000-04:00

The signing at Blue Marble Saturday went really well! Here are a couple pictures. More are here! Our next event will be at Ohioana Book Festival where we get to meet the first Lady (Frances Strickland) of Ohio!

Press: Article about Little Red Bat in the Cincinnati Enquirer

2010-04-15T08:59:00.000-04:00

Thanks Lauren Bishop for this great story in the Cincinnati Enquirer!

Hope to see everyone at the signing at Blue Marble on Saturday from 2-4PM! Address: 1356 South Fort Thomas Avenue, Fort Thomas, Kentucky 41075

Ask a Writer! Interview: Carole Gerber

2010-04-11T17:27:00.001-04:00

Carole Gerber wrote Little Red Bat! It is a wonderful bit of luck that she lives in Columbus, Ohio! It is the first time I live close to an author of any of the books I have illustrated so it is a treat that we will be able to do some appearances together starting with a kick off signing at Blue Marble Children's Bookstore in Ft. Thomas, Kentucky on Saturday the 17th of April from 2-4 PM.

Carole was kind enough to do an interview about Little Red Bat and writing. As an illustrator, the experience is quite different as I described on Scotti Cohn's web series several weeks ago. Carole has written many great books so check them out!

CW: Tell me a little bit about your background and how you started writing.

CG: I taught high school English for one year and then middle school English for another. Both were urban schools and I did not have the temperament to deal with all the problems. I applied to grad school at OSU early in my second year of teaching - was accepted to the School of Journalism and was selected for a fully-paid assistantship that required me to write two articles a week about OSU honor students. After earning my master's I held a variety of writing jobs - inhouse magazine editor, copywriter at an ad agency and hospital then went freelance when my daughter was born. Writing for children grew out of a couple of freelance assignments for a local publisher.

CW: How long does it take you to research and write a picture book?

CG: Depends on the book. It can take a couple of weeks to a couple of months. LITTLE RED BAT took more time because it required a lot of research - first on bats in general and then narrowing it down to red bats, which I think are so adorable and unique. I have other PBs for younger children (i.e., BLIZZARD) that required little or no research but - because they are told in verse - take more to put the words together.

CW: Are there usually a lot of changes from the original manuscript?

CG: Usually the basic story stays the same - whether in verse or prose - but the editor always wants changes and/or additions. These are easier to make with prose books - since most of mine are in verse, making changes requires a lot more thought. Also - before an editor sees it, I have revised it many, many, MANY times. Because of my background in journalism, I am quick to take valid suggestions and readily make revisions - and do both quickly. That flexibility is appreciated by editors who do NOT want to deal with people who won't take direction.

CW: With most of my books I have illustrated, I have not had contact with the author. Do you ever get any input into the art or sketches when working on a picture book?

CG: Yes - the illustrator's sketches (even yours!) were sent to me and I did have input through the editor/intermediary. Some changes are always made and others are not. One of my previous illustrators lives here in Columbus, so we were more of a team in putting the words and images together. I have been delighted with the illustrators editors have chosen to make my words come to life - a writer always hopes the illustrator's vision is similar - often it is even BETTER! That is a joy.

CW: What was your inspiration for writing about red bats?

CG: The publisher of several of my previous books put out a book about bumblebee bats a couple of years ago in a Q & A format. I thought the Q & A approach was uninspired and also thought it unlikely that children would ever actually SEE a bumblebee bat. I decided to common research bats and find a pretty one that had unique characteristics - and I also wanted to tie it to migration, hibernation and adaptation - the three way animals get through the winter. Little red bats fit my requirements AND did I mention they are adorable? Also important - because I always think about the pictures that go with my words - they are solitary. This means the illustrator could concentrate on what ONE bat looks like in the beautiful outdoors instead of trying to draw dozens of bats in a dark cave.

Naturally, I could not submit to my previous publisher since they already had a bat book. I felt the manuscript would be a good fit with Sylvan Dell and editor Donna German thought so, too.

CW: People seem to have a strong reaction to bats. What has the general reaction been when you have done visits and readings so far? Do the talks seem to change the attitude of those may fear them?

CG: I have my first school visit the first week in May, so we'll see. Bats are so incredibly important to our ecosystem. If they didn't eat all those mosquitoes, we'd all get a lot more bites each summer. :) Seriously, nature is like a complex puzzle the way all the different plants, animals, and insects fit together in a habitat, Learning about all the fascinating critters in God's creation puts my own little life in context. I, too, am just a little piece of that puzzle - and I am humbly grateful to be able to research and write about what I learn.

CW: Did writing the book change your attitude about bats?

CG: I never gave much thought to bats until I researched them. I didn't have a bad attitude - I was just ignorant. I still don't know much compared to the highly educated bat experts out there, but I know enough to be impressed with what little red bats can do. Hey, how many humans can roll up like furry pine cones?

CW: What are you working on now? What will it be out?

CG: My next book is also about nature and it will be out in 2012 from Holt. The title is SEEDS, BEES, BUTTERFLIES, AND MORE: NATURE POEMS FOR TWO VOICES. It's pretty hilarious - among the poems is one where seeds talk to one another about the ways they travel (yes! nature has a plan for even the smallest among us). The manuscript was literally "plucked from the slushpile" by the executive editor because - in her words: "It's funny, fun to read AND teaches a lot of science facts."

I am always working on new manuscripts - most of which never get "born." Sob! I won't tell you about all the ones still out there searching for a birthplace, the ones laying forgotten on an editor's desk, or all the "pre-born" ones flitting about in my strange writerly brain. Seriously, I am superstitious about talking about my writing until the deal is done and the contract is signed. It's tough to get published!

Thanks so much Carole! It is so interesting to hear from the author's point of view! I totally understand the "superstitious" feeling. Hope to see many bore books in the future!

Check out Carole's Website!

Also, the books that she has written that are available in the "books" section of her website!

Visit us at other joint appearances including Ohioana Book Festival May 8th in Columbus and Claire's Day May 15th in Toledo!

Little Red Bat Fun Sheet

2010-04-02T15:43:00.000-04:00

Here is a hand out that I will be giving away at my signings. I love activity sheets! They are so fun to design. I did not use all the dangerous animals listed in the book but I think kids will get the idea.

More Spring Celebration!

2010-03-31T11:28:00.002-04:00

Here are my spring e-mailers this year. Above is the style I plan to use for my graphic nover version of Six Swans and below is a spring painting. I kind of love painting bluebirds. I hope to and photograph some this summer when biking!

On the top picture, I snuck in a pysanka egg. I am learning to make them from my friends Theresa and Paula. They are really good at it-I have a long way to go...

Easter Promotion

2010-03-29T16:11:00.001-04:00

In honor of Easter, a mailer that I licensed my art to last year. Hopefully a lot of people donated to them when they saw it!

Winter Sketch

2010-03-26T13:00:00.001-04:00

This is a sketch for a series of paintings I am doing for the seasons. The plan is to make some sort of 2011 calendar on one page with the four paintings. The New Yorker did it so why not?

This is winter so the palette will be mostly monochromatic. Her dress is the hoop underskirt representing the trees without leaves. Fall will be her dress in oranges and reds and tattered and so on... I promise sketching this did not summon the bit of snow we got last night ;)

Prints on Etsy

2010-03-22T10:32:00.000-04:00

I will be adding prints to my Etsy shop all week. Stay Tuned!