promotional chickens

January 24th, 2010

I’m designing my postcards for the SCBWI winter conference next weekend. I had it all planned out when I realized that I wanted a different image on one side. I’ve already done several finishes for the chicken PB, but they were all similar emotion-wise. So I did a new finish from a different page in the dummy. On one side of the postcard will be the new image:

sruble postcard image 1

sruble postcard image 1

On the other side is one of the chickens I finished last week:

sruble postcard image 2

sruble postcard image 2

I also have new business cards with this image on one side (and a crop of the new image on the other side):

sruble's new business card

sruble's new business card

It’s always takes longer to design postcards and business cards than I think it will (not to mention that printing and cutting usually takes twice as long as I think it will). That’s why I started early this time, but it’s worth it if they turn out.

Update: all 105 postcards and business cards are printed and cut, and ready for the conference! This is the earliest I’ve ever been done with promo materials before a conference. Now all I have to do is finish all the art and stuff for my portfolio! Whew!

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Posted in art, children's books, promotion | 9 Comments »

new blog chickens, IF chickens & portfolio chickens!

January 21st, 2010

It’s chicken week here at sruble.com, which means new chicken art!  They’re all pictures of Daria (the chicken in my picture book), except for the IF sketch, which features lots of chickens. 

Did you notice the first picture of Daria the chicken? It’s on my shiny new blog header above. It’s based on an image from the PB dummy and is in my portfolio too.

There are also two new pictures of Daria. You might have already seen them on my CBIG portfolio, but they look a little bit different now. I changed a few of things to make them better. What do you think of the new images? 

Daria the snowboarding chicken

Daria the snowboarding chicken

Daria the skydiving chicken

Daria the skydiving chicken

And finally, the prompt this week for Illustration Friday is, “wilderness.” The first thing that popped into my head was this sentence: It’s a little known fact that the wilderness is full of chickens. I started sketching right away! (Yes, I do know I’m a strange; people tell me that all the time.) Since I don’t have time to paint this week, the sketch will have to do for now, :( but I am going to paint it later because the idea totally cracks me up. :P Doesn’t the idea of chickens in the wilderness make you laugh too?

chickens in the wilderness

chickens in the wilderness

It’s been a chicken sort-of week around here. What kind of week are you having?

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Posted in art, children's books, writing | 7 Comments »

And the winners are …

January 18th, 2010

The ALA awards were announced today! Updated: I think they’re all here now, but I didn’t miss many (which is surprising, since I don’t type very fast). I left all the exclamations from the live blogging, but fixed the typos:

Newbery Award: “When You Reach Me” by Rebecca Stead

4 Newbery Honors: “Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice” by Phillip Hoose, “The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate” by Jacqueline Kelly, “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” by Grace Lin, “The Mostly True Story of Homer P. Figg” by Rodman Philbrick

Caldecott Award: “The Lion and the Mouse” written and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney!

2 Caldecott Honors: “All the World” illustrated by Marla Frazee, written by Liz Garton Scanlon, “Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors” illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Joyce Sidman

2011 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture: Lois Lowry

Theodore Seuss Geisel Award: “Benny and Penny in the Big No-No!” written and illustrated by Geoffrey Hayes

4 Geisel Honors: “I Spy Fly Guy!” written and illustrated by Tedd Arnold, “Little Mouse Gets Ready” written and illustrated by Jeff Smith, “Mouse and Mole: Fine Feathered Friends” written and illustrated by Wong Herbert Yee, “Pearl and Wagner: One Funny Day” written by Kate McMullan, illustrated by R.W. Alley

Carnegie Medal: “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus” produced by Paul R. Gagne, Weston Woods Studios, and Mo Willems

Sibert Award: “Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream” written by Tanya Lee Stone

3 Sibert Honors: “The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer’s Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors” written by Chris Barton, illustrated by Tony Persiani, “Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11″ written and illustrated by Brian Floca, “Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice” written by Phillip Hoose,

Batchelder Award: “A Faraway Island” written by Annika Thor, translated by Linda Schenck

3 Batchelder Honors: “Big Wolf and Little Wolf” written by Nadine Brun-Cosme, illustrated by Olivier Tallee, translated by Claudia Bedrick, “Eidi” written by Bodil Bredsdorff, translated by Kathryn Mahaffy, “Moritito II: Guardian of the Darkness” Written by Nahoko Uehashi, illustrated by Yuko Shimizu, translated by Cathy Hirano

Pura Belpre Author Award: “Return to Sender” by Julie Alvarez

2 Pura Belpre Author Honors: “Diego: Bigger Than Life” written by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, illustrated by David Diaz, “Federico Garcia Lorca” written by Georgina Lazaro, illustrated by Enrique S. Moreiro

Pura Belpre Illustrator Award: “Book Fiesta!: Celebrate Children’s Day/Book Day; Celebremos El dia de los ninos/El dia de los libros” illustrated by Rafael Lopez, written by Pat Mora

3 Pura Belpre Illustrator Honors: “Diego: Bigger Than Life” illustrated by David Diaz, written by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, “My Abuelita” illustrated by Yuyi Morales, written by Tony Johnston, “Gracia Thanks” illustrated by John Parra, written Pat Mora

Odyssey Award (Audio Books): “Louise, Adventures of a Chicken”

3 Odyssey Honor Books: “In the Belly of the Bloodhound: Being an Account of a Particularly Peculiar Adventure in the Life of Jacky Faber,” “Peace, Locomotion,”  “We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball”

Printz Award: “Going Bovine” by Libba Bray!!! OMG! Hooray!!! (This was the one I wanted to win! So happy for Libba!!!)

4 Printz Honors: “Charles and Emma: The Darwin’s Leap of Faith” by Deborah Heiligman, “The Monstrumologist” by Rick Yancey, “Punkzilla” by Adam Rapp, “Tales of the Madman Underground: An Historical Romance, 1973” by John Barnes

YALSA Non-fiction Award: “Charles and Emma: The Darwin’s Leap of Faith” by Deborah Heiligman

William C. Morris Award: “Flash Burnout” by L.K. Madigan!!! Congratulations L.K.!!!

Margaret A. Edwards Award: Jim Murphy

Coretta Scott King Author Award: “Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal,” by Vaunda Micheau Nelson (A Carolrhoda book!)

Coretta Scott King Author Honor: “Mare’s War” by Tanita S Davis

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award: “My People” illustrated by Charles R. Smith Jr., written by Langston Hughes

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor: “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” illustrated by E.B. Lewis, written by Langston Hughes

Coretta Scott King / John Steptoe New Talent Award: “The Rock and The River” by Kekla Magoon – Congratulations Kekla!!

Coretta Scott King Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award: Walter Dean Meyers!

Schneider Family Book Awards for Teens: “Marcello in the Real World” by Francsico X. Stork

Schneider Family Book Awards for Middle Grades: “Anything But Typical” by Nora Raleigh Baskin

Schneider Family Book Awards for Young Children: “Django” written and illustrated by Bonnie Christensen

10 Alex Awards: “Stictches: A Memoir” by David Small, “Tunneling to the Center of the Earth” by Kevin Wilson, “Souless: An Alexia Tarabotti Novel,” by Gail Carriger, “My Abandonment” by Peter Rock, “The Magicians” by Lev Grossman, “The Kids Are All Right: A Memoir” by Diana Welch and Liz Welch with Amanda Welch and Dan Welch, “The Good Soldiers” by David Finkel, “Everything Matters!” by Ron Currie Jr., “The Bride’s Farewell” by Meg Rosoff, “The Boy who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope” by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer

* Want to know more about the awards and what they are for? Check out this great post by Elizabeth Bluemie.

* The official press release with all the awards can be found here.

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Posted in art, children's books, reading, writing | 2 Comments »

Time to make the donuts …

January 14th, 2010

no wait, that should read, “Time to make the artwork!” or “Time to write the story!” or “Time to read the books!”

I was traveling for about a month, but I’m back home now, creating artwork, writing, and reading books.

Artwork: It’s only January 14th, and I’ve already had my first portfolio review of the year! It was very helpful and showed me I’m going in the right direction, at least for now. It also showed me an area where I might be able to grow and create a new style. Lots of art deadlines in the next month, and 2 chicken images I need to have done by the end of the week. I’ll post them soon! One of them is for a postcard to send out to art directors and editors (also from my PB dummy).

Writing: I’m starting a YA writing class next week, so I’m busy building my zombie world and characters for the novel I’m going to write (same world as Sheila, but different MC for this book, which will be prose, not a graphic novel).

Reading books, books, and more books: I’ve been tweeting about what I’m reading. It’s a fun challenge to sum up a book in 140 characters. Here are my reviews of what I’ve read so far this year (I’ve added the author’s name here and deleted the tag #bookreview):

Going Bovine by Libba Bray: One of the best books I’ve read in a while. Funny & heartbreaking. Road trip, mad cow disease, & a garden gnome.

Candor by Pam Bachorz: A nice place to read about, but I wouldn’t want to live there (shudder). George Orwell would love this book; I did too.

Liar by Justine Larbalestier: Who needs the truth, when the MC tells an amazing, can’t put the book down story? Read for the truth about Micah, maybe.

How to Be Popular by Meg Cabot: Fun book I got sucked into & couldn’t put down til I was done. Loved the advice from the old book she reads.

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers: Can mean girl Regina survive after friends turn on her? Amazing story that shows brutal reality of girl bullies.

I’ll continue tweeting book reviews in the future. You can follow me on Twitter here.

Happy 2010 everyone! What are you reading, writing, and/or drawing?

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Posted in art, reading, writing | 5 Comments »

Art Cards for Bridget Zinn Auction

December 11th, 2009

There’s an auction going on for author/librarian Bridget Zinn, to help her kick cancer. There are lots of great things to bid on, including books, art, critiques, cards (some with my art on them) and more! Bidding is open until 9pm (CST) Friday December 11. Go to – www.32auctions.com – Auction ID: bridget Password: rules (info about Bridget and the auction at the end of this post).

Here’s more about the cards I donated if you’re interested. There are five sets of cards, featuring: Animals & Birthdays, Chickens, Elephants, Puppies, and Reading &Writing. Want to see the cards? Here’s all 20 designs for the 5 collections (each set has 8 cards, 2 of each design).

cards for Bridget Zinn auction

cards for Bridget Zinn auction

Ooh, pretty. Actually, the cards turned out really well. I was worried for a bit, because when I donated the cards, I was going to have my local printer print them for me. He couldn’t do it because there were too many designs to print in a small quantity. Then I tried an online printer I trust, but they couldn’t get them here in time. I knew I couldn’t print them with my old printer (it was barely printing passable prints for my portfolio … ok, not even passable for that).

So … I bought a new printer and some great textured felt card stock (and envelopes). Then proceeded to print lots of test prints (and mistakes), before finally printing up a whole batch of cards for the auction.

All cards are hand printed, cut and folded and can be used to send as birthday cards, thank you notes, or even a handwritten note, because everyone loves to get snail mail once in a while.

There’s only one day left to bid on the items in the auction. Please bid before 9pm (CST) Friday December 11 if you want to help. Go to – www.32auctions.com – Auction ID: bridget Password: rules

More info about Bridget and the auction: Browse, bid, and win for a good cause at this online auction to raise money for Bridget Zinn and Barrett Dowell. Bridget is a 32-year-old writer and librarian who is currently being treated for stage 4 colon cancer – and her “healthy young person between jobs” health insurance does not cover many of her expenses. Read Bridget’s blog at http://www.bridgetzinn.com/blog for more information.

We have received dozens of generous donations of items to be auctioned off. Many authors – Bridget’s friends and acquaintances – have donated signed copies of their books; there are also a number of manuscript critiques and proofreading services for authors. But that’s not all – there’s something for everyone! We also have works of art, note cards, food and drink, baby gifts, jewelry, and more. Many of the items would make lovely gifts, just in time for your holiday shopping. Take a look – you may find just the thing you’re looking for!

Auction items can be viewed at http://www.32auctions.com/view_auction?id=bridget&pwd=rules – or just go to www.32auctions.com and use the Auction ID: bridget and Password: rules (as in: Bridget rules!!) to view the auction. You will need to create an account on the site in order to bid on auction items. (Creating an account simply requires your name, email address, and a password, and it is required so that we can contact you if you win an item.) Bidding started on Nov. 27 and will continue through 9 p.m. Central time on Dec. 11.

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Posted in art | 10 Comments »

Best Twilight comment ever!

December 3rd, 2009

This is the best Twilight comment ever! (Or why I have to see New Moon; unfortunately I haven’t seen it yet.)  This is from the site My Life Is Average. Big thanks to Adrienne for the link!

“Yesterday I went to see new moon with my twilight crazy friends. Not being a fan of twilight, I felt like an outcast tagging along. When Robert Pattinson came on the sceen, a 8 year old girl got up and screamed; “Cedric Digory lives! I must tell Dumbledore!” She then proceeded to run out of the cinema along with half the cinema including me. I’ve never felt so included. MLIA”

Anyone want to go see New Moon with me so we can do this? (Then we’ll go to a different theater and watch it all the way through.)

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Posted in fun stuff | 9 Comments »

CBIG: Birdie Family

November 24th, 2009

The prompt this month for the CBIG blog (Children’s Book Illustrators Group) this month is family. The birdie family from my portfolio fits this theme well. Mother Goose is protecting her five goslings from the rain:

 

Birdie Family

Birdie Family

Speaking of CBIG, I have new images up in my CBIG portfolio, including the two elephant illustrations I did recently. Click here if you want to check it out.

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Posted in art | 5 Comments »

IF: Musical Elephant

November 22nd, 2009

The prompt for Illustration Friday this week is, “music.” I remembered a small elephant sketch I did a long time ago (I think it was with a crayon on a paper table cloth at a restaurant). I found the original sketch, which was okay, but I felt it needed a bit more. Here’s the sketch:

Original Trumpeting Elephant Sketch

Original Trumpeting Elephant Sketch

Here’s my updated version (note – it looks small compared to the original sketch, but it’s actually 22″ long!):

Trumpeting Elephants

Trumpeting Elephants

I had so much fun doing this and I like how it turned out. I’m going to put it in my portfolio the next time I update it.

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Posted in art | 11 Comments »

week four (4 week novel) interruptions

November 21st, 2009

Week Four of the 4 Week Novel*: Sometimes you’ve got to concentrate on things other than writing, like Thanksgiving and family, or laundry that needs to be done. But don’t forget about your novel; you’re in the home stretch now! Try to set realistic goals for how much you can write by the end of the month.

If there’s no crisis and you’ve got clean socks, then go eat dinner and get back to writing. Ask someone you love if they will do the dishes for you :)

Don’t forget to resolve the conflicts and storylines you started. They don’t need to be wrapped up with a bow, but they should have some sort of resolution so the reader will be satisfied with the ending. If you can’t figure out exactly how to end your book, don’t worry. That’s what revisions are for.

*The 4 week novel tips are designed for NaNoWriMo, but could be used any time of the year if you are trying to fast draft a story. This is the sixth post. The others so far were: NaNoWriMo Thoughts and Tips, prepping for the 4 week novel, week one – ready, set, go, week two – getting unstuck, and week three – halfway there!

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IF: Unbalanced Elephant

November 19th, 2009

The prompt for Illustration Friday was unbalanced, which totally cracked me up. I had lots of funny image ideas, but finally settled on this unbalanced elephant who is getting ready for a birthday party.

Unbalanced Elephant

Unbalanced Elephant

Update: I liked this image, but I didn’t think the cake worked and the background was too plain. The cake was a good idea, but was too small compared to the packages and made the elephant look more balanced than unbalanced. So, I revised the image, and I think it works better, sans cake and with a more textured background. What do you think? The new version will be going into my portfolio next time I update it.

 

Unbalanced Elephant Take 2

Unbalanced Elephant Take 2

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