This dress was one of those great eBay finds for like $10, and Hera wore it till it was falling apart and faded :) I liked it so much I decided to branch out from the ink & digital colour technique to do a watercolour & white pencil study of it for my illustrated diary of Hera’s clothes.

Another good question from a children’s book illustrator…
Question : I have set up my artwork at the size of 17″ x 22″ so the artwork will be read as one whole illustration as each page is turned. I hope I am clear in explaining myself.  I am wondering if this is ok for submission when it comes time to print the book?

Answer : Yes, it’s ok to do illustrations that go across both pages (this is called a spread.) Many of my books have been made up of two-page spread illustrations (The Little Boy’s Smile.) Just make sure to consider the seam (gutter) when you’re working on your composition, you don’t want anything important getting folded in half or lost in the gutter!

A signed contract between the Publisher/Author and Illustrator is the very first thing that should be in place before delving into illustrating a children’s book. When you work with a Publisher, they will provide their own contract and terms tailored for your project. But when working with self-published Authors, it is even more important to have a contract. Most first time Authors aren’t familiar with working with Illustrators, and a contract both educates the Author and protects both parties from things going pear shaped.

I’ve been fine tuning my contract (or Illustration Commission Agreement) ever since my first book, and it is still a work in progress, always being adjusted to match the project I’m working on. Feel free to download a copy of my contract (by clicking on the image) and use it as a launching pad for your own contract. The main details I include are :

• • Name and Contact Details of both the Author and Illustrator
• • Title of the work
• • The number of illustrations to be commissioned
• • 1) Commission and Grant of Rights : this section describes that the Illustrator is selling the rights to USE the artwork to the Author… they are not selling the original artwork specifically, and it goes on to state that original artwork belongs to the illustrator.
• • 2) Sale & Purchase of Artwork : States clearly how much money the illustrator will be paid as well as exactly what the illustrator is selling to the Author. It is good to be specific about what currency you are to be paid in, especially when working with international clients.
• • 3) Royalties : establishes how much the Illustrator is to be paid in royalties for various types of sale of the book.
• • 4) Project schedule & delivery : including dates here both helps the author know when to expect the art and give you space during that time, and also gives you a deadline to be accountable to.
• • 5) Illustrator’s Copies : establishes how many free copies of the printed book you will be provided, typically between 10-20.
• • 6) Copyright : states very clearly that the copyright of the illustrations still belongs to the illustrator.
• • 7) Credit : How you as the illustrator wish to be credited in the book
• • 8) Promotion : says the Author can use your illustrations to promote their book free of charge.
• • 9) Failure to Deliver and 10) Cancellation : in the unfortunate event that the book is cancelled or you are unable to finish, these sections set out how much you will be compensated for the work you have completed, as well as what the author can expect from you if you do not deliver what you’ve agreed upon.
• • 11-16) Legal Stuff : covers a lot of legal jargon that is also important. Some of the points it covers are establishing that you are the sole creator of the artwork, stating you will not create competitive works, the Author has control over when/if they publish their book and details on assigning the agreement to another person.
• • Signatures of both the Author and Illustrator

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I have nothing but warm feelings towards Ecojot, a Canadian company who makes adorable sketchbooks, journals, and stationery from 100% post-consumer recycled papers. Sigh, flutter flutter goes my heart whenever I look at my new apple & birdie sketchbook. The paper is silky smooth–not the rough quality you’d expect from recycled–and has little tiny flecks of fibers throughout. Tweet. Their designs are delicious, and they also have very cute e-cards.

What makes them green?

• • Ecojot uses acid-free, processed chlorine free paper & board.
• • The inks & glues are vegetable based, therefore bio-degradable.
• • No new trees are used to make the paper & the paper mill is powered by biogas harnessed from a nearby landfill.
• • The protective packaging is corn-based.

I’ve been receiving emails from my publishers with updates on the Google Book Settlement, and I’m not embarrassed to say that the whole thing had me feeling a bit overwhelmed by the detail and muddled as to whether it was a bad thing for me as an illustrator that Google was scanning books and making them available in digital format. I did a Google search (ironic) and found “The Google Book Search Case for Dummies*” by David Weir, which I found was an easy to understand (and funny) overview. So I’m left with feeling like there is middle ground to be had here… on the one hand I want the publishers, authors & illustrators to be compensated for their work, and on the other I think it’s wonderful to make books available to anyone around the world who mightn’t have access to them otherwise. Whether you opt-out or opt-into the settlement, you’ve got till March 2011 to get informed and decide.

“*That would include me.” –David Weir

I stumbled upon Polyvore a couple months ago, and have found it really intriguing (and a bit flattering!) seeing digital crafters using some of my artwork in their collages. Polyvore is meant to be a sort of interactive magazine, where you create your own visual style collections “Mix & match products from your favorite stores.” Then you can “Shop looks created by the web’s largest fashion community” by browsing through links provided to where the images originally came from. But from looking through how the site is actually being used, there are a lot of very personal collages being created which have absolutely nothing to do with fashion! It’s so interesting how these things develop and grow beyond their original intent. While it was a bit disconcerting at first seeing my illustrations used without my permission, I like that Polyvore is very good about putting up links to and crediting the artists of the original “pieces” within the collages.

The above collage, “Together…” by WendyG Short Hair Contest!, uses a drawing I did of myself and a woman I met in India who guided me through the wells of Abhaneri (shown in the film The Fall.) Also by the same artist is “Opa’s Best Friend” which uses a teddy I illustrated for my diary of Hera’s stuff. The collage below, “i.am.dreaming, let.me.never.awake” by light.my.saphire, uses my art nouveau inspired butterfly drawing.

Well, Spotty & Eddie have headed out for another adventure… off to Trafford to be published & printed! Was very satisfying finishing up the illustrations and layout right before the holidays, and then after having the author, friends & family put a fresh set of eyes on the book, made some minor improvements to make the book “just right” before sending it off.

I had a lot of fun working on this story… aside from drawing turtles which is so much fun, I like adding little personal touches like using my red sneakers and Hera’s top & necklace for inspiration for Trixie’s outfit. Trixie herself is inspired by a photograph of the author’s mum. I grew up watching the Ninja Turtles, so personalized the cab driver’s license plate to “TRTL PWR” for those other children of the 80’s who may read this book to children of their own.
Looking forward to seeing Spotty & Eddie’s second adventure printed and in my hands finished Here is a sneak peek at a few of the final spreads from the book (clicking on them makes them larger.)

Eeeeee, my new frankie 2010 calendar arrived in the post! A little disappointed that the corner got bashed in transit, but VERY happy to have such a beautiful calendar full of edgy/nostalgic illustrations to keep me inspired through the new year. Cheers, Monica, for putting me onto this fun magazine!

Here is my tribute to those beloved shoes Hera sadly outgrew a few months ago, now part of my illustrated diary of Hera’s clothes. Drawn with pen, coloured digitally, above is the after & before.

P.S. For those illustrator parents out there, crocs are the best shoes ever for toddlers in the summer, they can wear ‘em in the water, in the dirt, they’re easy to clean, and don’t fall off! I heart crocs. I think these faux crocs were like $5 at The Children’s Place, money very well spent.

There’s something really satisfying about finishing up a sketchbook, cover to cover. I use mine for to-do lists, scribbling, and as a general hub for all the bits and pieces of 2D inspiration I collect. I’m five pages short of the end, and am scribbling away in anticipation of cracking open my new ecojot sketchbook! But first, thought I’d share a little of my madness from this well loved spiral sketchbook… be warned, I’m an obsessive list maker, like to rip pictures out of magazines, collect stamps, and write very small. And, um, gasp, I don’t do a lot of sketching in my sketchbook unless it’s for a project! (And clicking on them will bring up a larger image.)