Sunday, October 18, 2009
Number nine...number nine...number nine...
Hooray! "The Runaway Mummy" hits #9 on The New York Times Bestseller List on 10/25. Thanks to everyone who has made this happen!---Mike
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Hello Again
Has it really been over a month? I've been very busy doing a few things...on September 8 I started my fourth year teaching ceramics at Lehman High School. At night, and on weekends I've been wrapping up my next book, "Furious George Goes Bananas." Two nights a week I attend Grad School, and I've been out doing signings and readings on the weekends.
Busy isn't the word.
And for no real reason, he's a quick little drawing of some zombie kids.
Busy isn't the word.
And for no real reason, he's a quick little drawing of some zombie kids.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Drawing in the car
Back from a week in the Catskills where I did very little drawing but did manage to get some writing done. Flipping through an old sketchbook I saw this one and really liked it. This was done while sitting in my car in the driveway while I let the boys nap a bit. They had fallen asleep during a long drive, and I knew that trying to move them from the car to their beds would be wake them, so I drew instead. These little car naps can be very productive if you're prepared!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
THE RUNAWAY MUMMY-In Stores Today
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Watercolor astronaut
Monday, August 17, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Happy Graduation!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
More Caveman Stuff
Monday, August 10, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
BookTowne, NJ!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Book Signing, Manasquan NJ
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
The Runaway Mummy-Review
I recieved a very good review in the current issue of Publisher's Weekly. They really understood what we were going for with this book.
PW Review
Sunday, August 2, 2009
More watercolor work
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'd really like to change the way I complete my drawings. On one hand, I'd like to go all digital, like the robot drawing from last week. On the other hand, I'd like to stop using the computer all together. I have nothing against it, I'm just looking for a more immediate, hands-on style. Here's a drawing of a boy and a little monster doing a dance. The monster is too dark. I was using Dr. Martin's concentrated water colors, and man, they are rich. Next time I'll thin it out a bit. I'm pretty happy with the line, and I even like the pencil line visable underneath. There's a sense of process there that gets lost in digital work.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Food Fun
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Caveman, Part 2
Thinking the caveman idea through, it dawned upon me that the title might be the character's name. In this case, the caveman is called Peaches. Because he loves peaches. And it's absolutely the wrong thing to call a caveman. I'm finally writing this now, and think that it might be solid enough to move forward with and pitch to an editor.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Ideas and Covers
People often ask about how I get my ideas. I'm not too sure, they seem to come in all different ways. However, one thing I like to do is create covers for titles that I come up with. Many times I have a title for years before I am able to match a story to it. I like drawing cavemen, and have wanted to do a caveman book for a while. This title was rolling around in my head, trying to get put on some paper, so I decided to do a little sketch for it. It made me chuckle, and I'd love to see it on a bookshelf. Since I drew this, the idea has taken off in a different direction. I'll post that tom'w.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Goodnight Goon/The Runaway Mummy
What's Funnier, Part 2
So I re-drew the doctor image and added piles of research materials, made the man's condition worse (his hair!), and added a window with a dark sky to show that brave Dr. Ralph will work all night if he has to! I like them both, and both have their strong points, but I've never been able to figure out which one was funnier.
Monday, July 27, 2009
What's Funnier?
Today I'm going to post a drawing from a book that I never got off the ground. The idea is that this little dog, Ralph, can do anything. In this picture, he is a doctor, and trying to figure out this man's strange disease. After I drew this, I thought that I didn't go far enough, so I redrew it again. I will post that tom'w.
Friday, July 24, 2009
For Tim...
Thursday, July 23, 2009
My boys like blocks...
So much for keeping this just about my work...We've been building block towers lately, and the boys were very proud of this one. In fact, it stayed up for two day, as opposed to the usual two hours. It was right in front of the couch, and made watching tv very difficult. Declan is on the left, he'll be five in October, and Gavin turned three in May.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Sketchbook...
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Digital Art
Over the years, I've been messing around with all digital art. I'm happy with most results, I just don't always have a project that fits the style. One of these days I'll either go all digital, or scrap the computer all together. All I know is that after my 2010 title, I want to change my style drastically. The little moon is a scanned in tortilla.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Goodnight Goon
New Project
Article on Children's Parodies
Publishers Weekly wrote an interesting article on children's book parodies. "The Runaway Mummy," which comes out August 20, is featured.
PW ARTICLE
It's odd to think that I may have created a genre.
Not So Evil Empire
1,300 Signed Books
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