ZULU: Thumbnails

Ideas are flying as I figure out how to show Zulu's adventures in pictures. There are many more pages of these thumbs but here are just a few. I'm narrowing down and refining ideas and sketches are I go, but this is the best place to start to just get the ideas out, good and bad.

All Dimplemeyer Paintings Completed!

All the Dimplemeyer paintings are DONE!! PHEW!

Now to do layout and prep for printing. It will probably be awhile still until it's all done and ready to go. I will keep you updated on when it will be available to order.

"Inside the fortress's central vault, like a mother placing her newborn in its cradle, the princess set her glass heart on an amethyst pedestal, upon which it seemed to beat."

Dimplemeyer's Design: Violet's Feather

This is a pretty dramatic part of the story, so no text to accompany it this time. Don't want to give away too much! I'm proud to say I completed this painting in one day! Most of the paintings for this book have taken about 3 days each. Granted, this image is more simple than others, but at the same time, this is the last image I finished sketching--just last week in fact. It was a challenging point in the story to illustrate because I didn't want to be too gruesome. So it ended up being a lot more symbolic than literal. I'm satisfied with it and especially enjoyed lighting this image. Oh, so fun!

Introducing: ZULU

HEY THERE...Oh, I mean...hey there.

I'd like to introduce you all to the character of the picture book I am writing, Zulu! Yes I said writing. It is time for me to start considering myself an author/illustrator, not just an illustrator. Enough of all this hesitation and fear! I am going to learn to write and I am going to write the stories I want to illustrate!

Zulu is a tiny exotic bird from the Amazon and all she wants is a little peace and quiet so she can take a nap. But all the noises of the forest are just too loud to hear her tiny hushing. Where, oh where, will she find a quiet place to nap??

I've already started creating my book dummy (or B.I.P. - Book In Progress) and plan to have it all finished by this year's SCBWI Summer Conference. That's a lot to do this summer, but I am committing to finishing it so I will have my very own dummy to show. I will also be sending it out to publishers and agents as soon as it is presentable. 

Keep coming back here for updates on my progress and more cute pictures of Zulu and her noisy adventures!