Kobee Manatee: Cover

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!

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.

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!