Happy Pub Day to Kobee Manatee: Shipwreck Sea Freinds! The third book in the educational series is now available!
This book is all about tropical fish that can be found around Puerto Rico and explores the SS Antonio Lopez shipwreck. Learn about a new fish on every page!
Kobee Manatee Book 3 is endorsed by Fabien Cousteau, internationally well-known for his historic "Mission 31".
"Kobee
and his ocean pals are full of fun, adventure, and inspiration. They
give the reader a better sense of the magic and mystery within our ocean
world." —Fabien Cousteau, oceanographic explorer and conservationist
Book 3 is also collaborating with The Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center (OLC) for this book release and they have set up some great prizes! Go to the webpage to find out how to get some awesome Kobee merchandise as well as some OLC Merchandise!
Happy Valentine's Day! Here's a little sibling love for you this time. Valentine's Day doesn't always have to be about romantic love. Love comes in many forms! Tell someone you love them today.
After a loooong wait, I am so excited to share this video with you all of Christian Slater reading The Coal Thief on Storyline Online! What an honor to be included in this literacy program put together by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation and BookPals.
BookPALS (Performing Artists for Literacy in Schools) is
a signature children’s literacy program of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation.
BookPALS provides union performers, gifted in the art of storytelling,
the opportunity to give back to their local communities. Every week
dedicated volunteers read to thousands of children in title 1 public
school classrooms across the nation.
And P.S. No, I didn't do the animation in the video, and no, I didn't get to meet Mr. Slater. Everything was taken care of by the talented people from SAG-AFTRA.
Kobee Manatee front cover is finished! Come with Kobee and his friends, Pablo the Hermit Crab and Tess the Seahorse, as they adventure from the Northern Atlantic Coast down to the warm waters of Florida.
This painting was a bit of an experiment to try a new process. I blocked in all the colors digitally and then printed on Bristol paper and painted over that. I believe it made that painting process a bit quicker, so I think I will continue trying this technique for awhile. Always looking for ways to make the the creative process quicker without compromising quality.
Interior sketches are finished and will start painting those soon. The book should be out by next summer!
Today I am the featured artist for
"Illustrator Saturday" on a great blog about illustrating and writing
for Children's Books. It's a very extensive interview with a whole bunch
of my work, new and old, and very old.
I've never had an interview before, and especially not one that is this long.
Hot off the scanner: another finished painting for Dimplemeyer's Design. My favorite so far.
I'm pretty satisfied with how Dimplemeyer's face and hand turned out, I lack confidence in illustrating and rendering hands and human faces, but I think they turned out ok! The biggest challenge and scariest part of this painting was the glow on the eye. I can easily add a glowing effect digitally, but with paint I don't know how to get the same effect. I think I got a semi-decent glow going. I guess the more I practice the better I will become. Maybe I should do some more glowing illustrations...
While working on Vulture Verses there was always talk about doing a sequel book, but it was never for sure and couldn't be committed to. After dropping hints, begging, and pleading -- ok, maybe not very much at all -- we finally got the word in September from the publisher that they COULD commit to a second book! (I knew they would all along...hehe)
So with MUCH excitement, this is my official announcement that the sequel book to Vulture Verses is Ratty Rhymes! Coming Fall 2013, published by Prospect Park, with more fun and educational poems by the wonderful Diane Lang, and illustrated by me, of course! This book will be mostly bugs that live on or in the ground, but also the oh so cute mouse and rat!
I will be posting a few sketches as they are developed but for now, here is my sketch for the front cover. I hope you are as excited as I am, but I highly doubt it. :)
Three finals paintings for Dimplemeyer's Design are finished. Here is the one I like the most so far. Of course, there are still 13 more paintings to complete so that might change.
I think this one if worthy of my portfolio, so I am also adding it to my website shortly.
There has been a recent change in plans as far as prioritizing projects, so this book will take longer to finish than anticipated. But in the end it will all be a good thing. More explanations to come.
Today is the official release date of Vulture Verses (even though it has been available online for awhile)! It seems like there has been so much going on already, I'm excited to see how the book does now that it is officially out! I have absolutely loved working on this book and working with Diane Lang and Prospect Park on this book and there is talk about a second book, so my fingers are crossed!
There has already been a lot of publicity for the book including newspaper articles, reviews, radio interviews and I'm sure so much more that I don't even know about!
There is a whole list of events planned to kick off the book release. If you are interested in attending one, see the Prospect Park Events Page. I will be attending a few of theses events in Southern California if you want to come get a book signed!
Hope to see you there and thank you to everyone for all your support and encouragement! I am so thankful for all my friends and fans!
Back in September (that was a long time ago!) I started on a new book project, now titled Dimplemeyer's Design, that was put aside for awhile during the holidays so I could finish some other projects with more strict deadlines. Fortunately for me, the author of this book was gracious enough to allow me to take a break. Now I'm back on the project working on the final sketches before I start painting. Here's the evolution of one of the sketches from thumbnail to (almost) final sketch. I will be posting a few more in the next few weeks.
Thumbnail sketch just to get the gist of the narrative and idea.
Slightly more developed sketch with atmosphere and detail in the character. The stereotypical gesture of the character isn't doing it for me. But sometimes you just need to get it out of your system. That's what sketches are for.
Setting the composition. Still not satisfied with the character's actions...
Tight, detailed sketch fixing a lot of problems with proportion, composition, narrative, etc. Now the character is holding a dying flower which recalls an earlier event and also holds some symbolism in the story. (Hurray for symbolism!)
That's as far as I've gotten so far on this sketch. Next is to add value/lighting, and color before I can move on to the final painting. I'll need to finish all the sketches before I can do any painting, so that wont be for awhile. Plus I will be taking a month off to backpack through Europe with my husband (WOOHOO!) so that will put a hold on things even more. This book WILL be finished this fall (I'm determined!) and hopefully published shortly after. But we'll see how things play out. More to come!
My latest book cover is now available! Really excited about this one!...probably more so for the book itself than my art, although I'm proud of that too! It is a middle-grade novel by Chris Karim, whose story addresses the topic of bullying and the courage to overcome it. A great book for boys, in my opinion. It made me really excited and inspired to illustrate the cover. What a privilege!
Author, Chris Karim, started his own website for children (Letkidslead.com) as he starts his career as a children's author. This novel will be his first self-published book and certainly not his last! He is very passionate about his book and the message it gives. (I must say that I am passionate about it too)
Be Little is available at the Letkidslead.com bookstore as a printed book as well as Kindle version.
After a full month of nothing but painting, designing, and lots of tea and coffee, Vulture Verses is done and ready to print! WEEE!! Actually, there is still time for small edits before it goes to print, but the bulk of the work is done. I'm really excited to see it all done and in book form. Unfortunately, it doesn't come out until September, but that's ok. I'll just have to be patient I guess. There are a bunch of fun events planned to kick off the release of the book. I hope I'll be available to be involved! The biggest learning experience for me during this project was definitely the printing process and preparing for it. But that just helps me to know better for next time....and I believe there are thoughts and rumors of a second Vulture Verses book after this. Fingers are crossed!
Here are a few of my favorites from the book. There are plenty more to love if you get the book! Let's love our unloved animal friends!
Oh, hello. I haven't seen you in awhile! I've been crazy busy getting work done for a deadline at the end of January. I need to complete a painting a day to finish on time. But since I haven't posted anything in FOREVER and I was so excited to have finished a few paintings, I thought I'd take a few minutes to share what I'm up to.
I'm currently working on 3 books. Vulture Verses, a book from a small publisher in Pasadena is my first one. I started it in October. I just finished the paintings for the front and back cover last night, so here they are. The text colors will likely change, but probably not too much. Next I will start on the interior paintings. I'll post a few of my favorites as I complete them. I'm illustrating AND designing/laying out this book, so it's really exciting but a lot of pressure! The book will be out this Fall!
The oh-so-sweet and creative Diane Lang wrote all the poems in the story. Check out her website!
I'm also working on a middle-grade chapter book cover. I have to squish it into my painting schedule this month. I'll finish sketching it in my in-between times when I'm prepping canvases and such. I'll be posting that as soon as I get the ok.
Yesterday I redid a painting. I sold my original apple painting at a silent auction and the second bidder also really wanted it, so I offered to paint him another original...I personally think the second apple came out a little better.
Here are a few sketches for the projects I'm working on. Can't reveal too much, but here a few character studies for a story someone is self-publishing. It's more of a classic fairytale type story. The second book is what I am doing for Prospect Park Books in Pasadena. These animal sketches probably wont be in the book, so it's fine to post. But I thought they were so cute, I wanted to at least post them so they didn't just sit in my sketchbook forever. More to come!
Just finished a freelance project. It's actually going to be a YouTube video of a song someone wrote for his daughter who loves their Red Polka Dot curtains! My illustrations will accompany the music. Here's a clip from 2 of the illustrations.
The lastest book I illustrated is now available to purchase! Here's a special note from the publisher/author:
Hello Friends!
Its finally done! A labor of love, 7 months in the making, my new book On the Day Love Was Born is now published! For children, parents, and parents-to-be, it highlights the sweet sentiment of "soul connection," with gorgeous illustrations by west coast artist Lauren Gallegos that really engage the little ones.
Please visit my website www.littlehillpublishers.com for more info., and *please* forward this email to everyone you know! My marketing campaign includes a big "grass roots," "get-the-word-out" effort, so any assistance to spread the word would be much appreciated.
For a limited time, Little Hill Publishers is offering an Introductory price of $8.95 to our first customers (an 18% discount off regular retail), with flat $4.95 shipping for up to 12 copies. Perfect for Mom's clubs, church groups, school groups, etc.. Wholesale discounts to qualified resellers are also available.
Soon I'll be sending blasts via Facebook and LinkedIn, so you may see this announcement again in a different form. For anyone interested in reviewing or discussing my book, please visit my Amazon Author's Page. I welcome any feedback and encourage reviews!
Thanks so much everybody, and enjoy the rest of your summer!
Warmest regards,
Dana Cerrito, President
Little Hill PUBLISHERS
A small elevation can still improve your view
www.littlehillpublishers.com
Here's a little drawing I did for someone who's throwing a Sweet 16 party for her daughter. This is the cake design as well as the image that will be used on her invitations.
This last weekend was the 15th Annual Orange Open at the Guggenheim Gallery at Chapman University. Unfortunately for me I missed the opening reception again (I missed last year's too!), so I went to see the show today. To my pleasant surprise, I got 2nd place for one of my paintings!! Hurray!
This is a great show with some great art, but it's only going on for a few more days. I hope to continue to be a part of this show annually, and I hope next year I will be able to make it to the opening reception!
No new work from me today, but I want to share someone else's work! He has been one of my biggest artistic influences while starting my illustrating journey, and even now. During college when I was trying to find my "style" I spent a lot of time looking at other illustrators just to see what I liked.
I kept coming back to Chris Sheban's work. I just couldn't pull myself away from it! And I couldn't figure out what his technique was! It was different then anything I had ever seen! I bought all of his books and studied each image intensely. Finally I couldn't take it any longer...I looked him up online and emailed him! I didn't really expect him to answer, but to my pleasant surprise, he did!! He was very appreciative of my curiosity and told me about his technique in depth. (He starts with a dark watercolor underpainting an works over that with Prismacolor pencils and occasionally touches of pastel. He works back into darker areas with watercolor. The grainy surface texture is achieved through the use of and Arches 90 lb cold press surface.)
This led to my attempt to use colored pencil on toned pastel paper. I loved the textured look of it! But, as some of you know, I've run into difficulties with this technique, the colors would fade (a lot!!) after some time and the drawing pretty much looked dead. I tried everything to fix it, so far I haven't found anything. So recently I've started to switch to acrylic. However! I'm still in love with Chris Sheban's work, and will always be inspired by it!
Another one of my favorites of Sheban's books is "Red Fox at McCloskey's Farm". GREAT illustrations, GREAT story....it always reminds me of a song by Nickel Creek (GREAT band!) called "The Fox"...
I want to share his WEBSITE with you. It has been updated with TONS of new illustrations. I was SO excited when I discovered this because he used to only have a few illustrations available to view in his portfolio. Now there's tons!
He also has another book out A Night On The Range. A lot of the interior illustrations in his portfolio. I admit it...I just ordered a copy for myself...guilty. I can't wait for it to come!!
