BE LITTLE Book Now Available!

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.

Vulture Verses Covers

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.

Big News!

Hello everyone,

I've been hinting at some big news lately, so here it finally is! Today I signed the contract to illustrate a children's book for Prospect Park Books! It is a small publisher in Pasadena, CA, who is doing their first children's book and I have been given the opportunity to work on it with them.

My Fiance's grandma told me that she heard about a publisher in Pasadena who was going to do a children's book and was looking for an illustrator. She had heard it through a friend of her's. So I looked up the publisher online and contacted them. They said they were surprised to hear how I found out about their project because they hadn't really told anyone about the children's book project. (haha, oops!) To my pleasant surprise they asked me to come in for an interview with the President and the Author if the book. The interview went great and soon after I got an email saying they wanted me to be the illustrator!

I'm not sure how much I can tell you about it but I think it's going to be really fun! It has an educational element to it, and I get to paint lots of fun animals! It will be released in September 2012. I'm so blessed to be able to do my first book with a real, established publisher! I can't wait for the adventure to begin!

On The Day Love Was Born now available!

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

Book Cover - Ghost Tales

Just finished a Book Cover for a client. This is probably one of the easiest projects I've done in awhile. The client had no complaints about the sketches or the final painting, so there were no revisions! Now those are the kinds of projects I like!!

As always, I did a sketch and added some values in Photoshop. This time, however, I did some underpainting values...which I never do. It really helped! I'm going to make it part of my process because it makes the painting go faster in the long run.

The book will be released sometime around September as an eBook only. I don't know many more details other than that. But look for it soon!