Do Your Dogs Love House of the Dragon?

Yup, had to do it. Our entire family loves watching House of the Dragon. Including the cats, although I’m certain they’re rooting for the dragons to torch everyone. As you know from the strip, I love sprinkling in Easter Eggs and pop culture references. That will continue in the upcoming graphic novels, except on a grander scale.

I’d love to make shirts out of this art, but I don’t like messing with existing trademarks, even if it is a parody. But rest assured, a more robust tribute will show up in the upcoming books. Right now, I’m playing with a Game of Throne-esque story that involves a bunch of foster dogs. We’ll see.

Let me know what other Easter eggs or pardoies you’d like to see the dogs and cats take on in the graphic novels.

Get Ready, the Dog eat Doug Graphic Novels are Coming!

Finally, get to announce this news! It’s been nearly two years in the making. As many longtime readers know, I’ve wanted to expand Dog eat Doug beyond a newspaper comic strip. Newspaper comics are getting smaller and smaller which doesn’t leave room for storytelling. Now, Sophie, Doug and the rest of the gang are setting sail on a new adventure:

Brian Anderson's DOG EAT DOUG, an early reader series of books pitched as in the spirit of Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes, based on the syndicated comic creation of the same name, following the exploits of a chocolate Lab with a nose for the nuances of sarcasm and irony and a happy baby with limitless curiosity, to Michael Green at Marble Press, in a good deal, in a four-book deal, for publication launching in fall 2023, by Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio

Yep! They’re getting a full on, graphic novel series! I’m already working on the second book and of course, I’ll be sharing some peeks here and on Instagram. Oh, and make sure you’ve signed up for my newsletter. I’ll be hosting some exclusives and a few giveaways. I’m also looking for a street team to help spread the word. 

Get ready to experience Dog eat Doug like never before! 

How to Write and Draw Story Books - Full Page Illustrations

Full page illustration from the kids’ fantasy series “The Conjurers”

Arthur C. Clarke said “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”. Today’s peek inside “The Conjurers” shows where magic and science meet. I kind of knew from the start that eventually there would be a conflict between the unknown and the known. 

Clarke’s third law became the catalyst for the third book. A super cool showdown between magic and science isn't interesting enough. I wanted to explore the human side of that idea. In other words, how far would a woman of science go for someone she loved? Sorry, I have to be vague to avoid spoilers. Book three’s “villain” puts that concept to the test. Don’t worry, the outcome will surprise you. As one thing science teaches us, one second of understanding opens the door to an infinity of questions.

Today’s drawing from book three shows the antagonist in her lab. And I’m sure you can tell the dude in the chair is not having a great day. Let’s get down to the drawing choices here. First off, why a full page? If you’ve read my previous posts, you know nothing is random about choosing what to show. 

So why a full page? Why not focus on Derren, Latiff and the chair dude? While that would heighten the tension, I wanted, as much as I could, to give a sense of scale to Latiff’s operation. Unlike the Conjurian, which is a bit of an anarchical mess, Latiff’s world of science is organized, efficient and focused on a single goal which is...nope, can’t tell you. 

Using the full page allows me to show that Latiff has a gaggle of scientists working for her and it also lets me show the reader the device that comes into play later. And this drawing visualizes the lengths to which Latiff will go to achieve her objective (you’ll have to wait and see what happens to chair dude). One single page illustration can pack a wallop of story. 

That’s what you should try to do with your drawings. Let me clarify. You should experiment with how much information you can broadcast with a single illustration. You should also weigh the impact of that information. If your drawing is stuffed fuller than a subway car at rush hour, you might confuse your reader. 

Let your story dictate how much or how little you put into the drawings. And always ask, “does this move the story forward and enhance the reader’s experience?”. My first sketch of this scene only included the chair dude and the egg shaped thingy on the platform (really, I wish I could tell you more). It did the job of explaining what the egg thingy does, but I already had that in the text. Then I added Latiff. The drawing was more intimate now and gave the reader a snapshot of her evil genius. 

After reading through the text again, I realized this was the first time the reader meets Latiff and her secret science group, “Sanctum”. Pulling back and showing the scale of the laboratory gives the reader a whooshing pop sensation of what Alex and Emma are up against. Kind of like the opening shot in Star Wars that pans along an entire imperial star destroyer. Right away, you know the rebels are fighting an insurmountable force. Which, of course, makes for a satisfying victory. 

The takeaway tip today is to play around with what you put into your drawings. Experiment with taking things out and adding things in. Always consider the effect it will have on your reader and also what effect you want to have on your readers.

Easy way how to draw and create Complex Characters in Three Steps

Excerpt from “The Conjurers: Fight for the Fallen”

See that beast roaring out of the jungle? It’s one of my favorite creatures. Now I can’t tell you everything about it without revealing a major spoiler from “The Conjurers” book three. Trust me, there’s a lot more to that tree monster than meets the eye. 

What I will do is give you a quick breakdown of how this monster, “Awen”, made its way into the pages of book three. And it starts with a tip I’ve shared before. 

1. Always carry a sketchbook

Yep. I keep saying it because I mean it. Let me tell you why. While I was re-writing book two, I kept doodling in my notebook. At the time, I had no idea what the story was for the third book. So I scribbled down all ideas that popped into my head whenever and wherever they popped. Sometimes while we were out to dinner and others while I waited to pick my son up from school. 

One day, this terrifying, lumbering wooden monstrosity appeared in my sketchbook. I sketched on, piecing together ideas about book three taking place in Las Vegas and listing all the magicians I wanted to work into the story. So while I pondered how to get Mr. Electric, Siegfried and Roy and Melinda into the plot, I forgot all about the nightmare I had sketched weeks earlier. Which brings me to my second tip:

2. Sketch and Forget

The most important part of filling up notebook after notebook is exactly that: keep filling them. It keeps your imagination going as long as you don’t stop too long to think about what all these drawings mean. That’s where the forgetting part comes in. When I first drew Awen, I could have spent hours or days trying to figure out how it fit in to book three. That turns into frustration, which dries up the idea stream. Gotta keep the pen moving. 

Keep drawing and forgetting. Assume you’ll never use 99% of the stuff that pours out of your head. There’s gold in there somewhere, but you’ll never find that pea sized nugget if the river runs dry. Finding those nuggets comes later. 

The key is to draw a lot and often, which is easier when you have your trusty notebook in your pocket. This is the fun part, so when you think too much about what all this randomness means, take a break. 

3. Revisit your Sketches

Time to find your gold! When new ideas slow down, take some time to sit back and flip through your notebooks. Especially the older ones. There’s a lot more in those that you’ve forgotten, and that’s important. When you see them again for the first time, a wave of new ideas will flood in. Get those down on paper and see what happens.

In my case, I was outlining book three. In the opening scene, Alex is scouring his parents’ journal he found in book two. He discovered they had sailed to an island, and going back to my previous post about obstacles, I knew I would have to fill that island with obstacles. What about a monster? Bingo! I flipped through my notebooks until I found Awen. That was my monster! I had forgotten all about the tree beast and now, with fresh eyes, a tornado of ideas littered my current notebook with background info on Awen and how it connected to Alex and Emma’s parents. Sorry, can’t reveal what that connection is. 

If I my pile of notebooks full of random ideas hadn’t existed, there’s no way I would have come up with Awen. And that time between the first doodle and the outline for book three gave rise to a complex character that is central to book three. How central? I can’t wait for you to find out!

How to Write Books for Kids - 3 Tips to Overcome Obstacles

Illustration from “The Conjurers: Fight for the Fallen” Book 3

In my last post, I discussed putting your characters in impossible situations. Paint them into a corner. When writing books, the more difficult you make it to your hero, the more heroic they become. Also, it makes it a lot more exciting for the reader.

Now, if you come up with an obstacle and you know how your character is going to get out of it, chances are the obstacle isn’t hard enough. In the previous post, invisible imps hunted Alex, Emma, Pimawa and Savachia. When I wrote that scene, I had no idea how they were going to get out of it. That can frustrate when you’re a new writer, but it’s exactly what you want. So here are some simple steps I used to figure it out.

1 - Walk Away

Yep. Any time I get stuck, I walk away. Doesn’t sound terribly heroic, does it? Here’s the thing. The worst thing you can do is sit and stare at a blank screen. I have a set amount of time each for writing. Usually four hours. That’s four hours of writing, not banging my head against the desk or deciding it’s time to clean all that nasty gunk build up on my mouse. If I get stuck during my writing time, I skip past that part and keep moving. I’ll figure it out later.

2- Always Carry A Notebook

There are many reasons you should always have a notebook in your pocket. We’ll cover the coolest one today. And that is, you never know when a solution to your character’s obstacle will pop into your head. It’s a funny, magical bit about writing. You can walk away from the work, but your brain keeps working on it. Not that you’re aware that your brain is sneaking in overtime, but it does.

The trick to this is you honestly cannot actively think about your story. Not even a little. I like to walk my dogs. If I’m walking my dogs and trying to figure out how the kids escape the imps, it’s not going to happen. When I walk my dogs, I stay focused on them. Easy to do, considering they’re all rescues with some behavioral issues. So my mind is 100% thinking about my dogs. That’s when the secret story factory hidden deep in your brain gets to work.

I was walking Weezy one day, looking for other dogs so I could see how she was progressing, when my secret story factory sent up an idea like a firework. What if Imps are afraid of fire? Well, that’s good, but where would the fire come from? You can’t have your character randomly whip out a torch. That’s when my super secret story factory said, “Remember the woofle dust?”.

Boom! There it was! Those of you who have read the first two books know what I'm talking about. Here was a solution that was already in the story. It made perfect sense! Also, it made fire! And that’s why I always have a notebook in my pocket. Or you can use a voice recorder on your phone. Whatever works for you.

3 - The Solution Has to Make Sense

The Woofle Dust illustrates my last tip perfectly. If, suddenly, Emma had high level Navy Seal fighting skills and defeated the imps, it would be silly. Your solution has to fit your story and your character. These are things you may have already set up in your story or you might have to go back and set up in a rewrite (yes, all writing is rewriting).

Alex is the over thinker. He has to know how everything works and is convinced he can solve any problem, given enough time. In this case, he used his Sherlock Holmes deduction skills to find the woofle dust solution. And it worked! And it was a solution that fit the character.

That’s it for today. One of the cool things about writing fantasy books for kids is that your obstacles and solutions are a lot more fun than real life. Remember that when you’re playing Dr. Evil and devising sinister obstacles for your characters.

How to Write Books for Kids - 3 Tips to Make Your Story Hard to Put Down.

Two page spread illustration from Chapter 3 of “The Conjurers” Middle Grade Fantasy

Today’s preview from “The Conjurers: Fight for the Fallen” shows an angry mob of Imps chasing Alex. The kids are stranded on an island, one of them (no spoilers) is gravely wounded and the jungle is trying to eat them. And this is only chapter three!

This illustration was a blast to draw. First off, using a two-page spread for a chase scene is always the best layout. The action sweeps across the both pages, adding to the energy and tension of the scene. 

I’m also implementing a tip from my previous post, which is limiting the amount of detail. Initially, I had a lot more line work in the background. But by using a series of washes to build up the foliage, the creatures and the main character stay in focus. It’d be easy to get lost drawing all sorts of palm trees and weird jungle fruit or even a few hidden snakes here and there. All that would swallow the purpose of the drawing, which is the chase!

Here are three tips that used to pile on the action and suspense in the first three chapters:

1.Throw a bunch of obstacles between your character and their goal

One of the most common questions from storytellers is "How do I create a challenging obstacle for my protagonist?

One way to create a challenging obstacle for your protagonist is to use the fear-factor. Fear can be an immense motivator and can create a tremendous challenge for your protagonist. For example, if you set your book in an animal reserve, the animals could escape and endanger the lives of everyone nearby.

In the example above the imps are the obstacle between the kids and finding out what happened to their parents. But the imps are far from the only obstacle, which leads me to my next point.

2. Make the obstacles progressively more difficult

Getting chased by a bunch of imps with a taste for humans seems hard, right? Sure is. But not nearly as hard as what is coming next. Of course the heroes will find away around the imps. Otherwise, this would be a short book. So in order to keep the reader interested, the next challenge has to rival the razor sharp imp jaws. 

Your goal is to keep making these harder for your characters. Don’t worry about solving these challenges. If you can’t see a way out right now, neither will your reader. If you focus on the solution, you’ll inadvertently lessen the danger of the challenge. Figure that part out in later drafts. Usually, the solutions come when you’re not thinking about the story. Just keep writing. I had no idea how the kids were going to escape the imps. Here’s the super cool part: they figured it out for me.

That’s why you never want to get “stuck” or stall out over how the characters survive the obstacles you throw at them. Make a note or leave a line full of question marks. As long as you keep writing, your characters keep growing and you learn more about them. When they become real, they solve their own challenges. 

3. Make the obstacles related to your story

Alex and Emma defeat the imps! Suddenly, a land shark with a ninja sword swings out of the trees and...wait, what? Makes no sense, right? Sure, it sounds cool, but it has no relation to the story. My books are about magicians (not pointy hat wizards but deck of card carrying magicians), so random sword wielding sharks are not happening. How do imps make sense? Glad you asked. Now I don’t want to spoil too much, so let’s just say magicians used to smuggle imps out of the Conjurian to facilitate the tricks in the flat-world. 

The imps are native to my story world, so they make sense. And here’s the cool part. When you add things like this to your story, they may come in handy later (no spoilers). And defeating these native threats may rely on other items or creatures that appeared in the first two books. Shy away from random things that don’t fit your story. And definitely make sure the solutions for the obstacles don’t appear out of the blue. If Alex and Emma stumble across an imp trap, it would feel contrived and you’ll disappoint the reader.

Hope these help! See you next time with another look inside book three!

3 Simple Steps to Creating Engaging Illustrations for Your Book

Scene from Chapter 2 of “The Conjurers” middle grade fantasy series.

Middle school books for all ages are not just books for kids. They are books that can be read by any age group and provide a wide range of topics. They have more complex plots, themes, and issues that are more engaging to the reader but still appeal to younger readers as well.

The goal of middle school books for all ages is not to scare anyone away. It is more about catering to different age groups while still discussing relevant topics like bullying, death, or divorce in a way that is accessible to a range of people. Of course, doing this in a fantasy setting makes these topics a little easier to confront.

And I like to think adding a ton of illustrations makes it even more enjoyable for all ages. Illustrated novels have always felt more alive to me. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy a dense spy thriller every now and then. But drawings add another layer of magic.

Take for instance the drawing I posted above. It’s from the opening of chapter two. Now obviously there’s not a ton of action or anything exciting going on, so why include it? It gives a visual punch to the difficult situation our heroes find themselves in: stranded on an island covered with a foreboding jungle. In a split second you set the scene in your readers mind. And as you’ll see in upcoming illustrations, that forebooding danger escalates.

Today I’m posting three simple steps to creating engaging book illustrations. And it’s hard to keep them simple. I could prattle on forever about drawing. Hopefully these are boiled down enough to help. But if you do have more questions, drop me a line.

1. What are you Drawing? What will your Audience Notice?

A well-designed illustration can make or break a visual and textual message. A fascinating drawing could be the difference between average and effective communication.

You could simply pick a random scene from a story and draw it. But if you put in the time and think about why you should draw that scene, it’ll make your book more powerful. Does it enhance the story? Will it create an emotional response in your reader? You may not always know the answer to these questions and that’s fine. The key is putting in the time to ponder them.

2. How Much Detail Do You Want to Include in Your Drawing?

The goal of the drawing is to give a general concept and not a detailed picture. And that’s coming from someone who loves a ton of detail. Here’s the rub. If I added the amount of detail I would like to my drawings, I would never finish them.

A common mistake beginners make is being too detailed in their drawings. They might include a lot of minute details like shading or shading in the background. You can get lost in the joys of crosshatching. The important thing is to stay focused on what you want the drawing to convey to the reader. Once you have that down, adding more is limited by your deadlines.

3. Study other Examples of illustrations online and Trace Inspiration from Them!

Tracing inspiration from others is a great way to get started on your own work.

Looking for inspiration on the internet can be difficult. You can either find something that is far too similar or not in the same style as what you want to create. So, how do you know which images are worth tracing? Well, this is where the study of other examples comes into play. And there are plenty of examples online to look at! One example that most people know about is Disney movies and how they were made with pencil drawings and then colored digitally by animators.

For various reasons, tracing gets a bad rap. People see it as cheating. It is cheating only if you take credit for the drawing. However, when I tell students they should trace and trace a lot, I clarify that this isn’t about taking credit for someone else’s skills. It’s about improving your own abilities. From that perspective, tracing is one of the best methods for training your drawing muscles.

In fact, it’s the fastest way to get better. You still need to study anatomy and perspective, however, including tracing in those studies is like uploading that knowledge straight into your brain.

Next time, we’ll venture into the Conjurian jungle!

5 Writing Tips for Middle Grade Novelists

Illustration from “The Conjurers” book three middle grade fantasy series.

Today’s preview of “The Conjurers” book three comes from the end of chapter one. One of my favorite tips for writing any story is to pull the reader from one chapter to the next. Theres a bunch of ways to do this. My favorite is mini cliffhangars. As you can see from the drawing above, chapter one ends with a ship wreck (technically a “carriage” wreck. If you’ve read the first two books you know what that means).

I try placing an illustration at the end of every chapter. It helps amplify the “what happens next” element of the text. In this case, the reader is left wondering about the fate of our heroes. From a technical aspect, I drew the ocean with a lot more ink than I had in book two. I wanted the drawings in book three to have more bite. The kids are a little older, a little more mature and so are the readers. The heavier lines and tocuh of realism softens the cartoony aspect the previous books.

And here are a few more simple tips for writing middle grade novels:

1. Conduct thorough research and include dialogue and scenes to create authentic prose

We need to ensure that we are not crafting a cookie-cutter story.

The first step is to conduct thorough research and include dialogue and scenes to create authentic prose. We should start with the basics and ask ourselves, what kind of story do I want to tell? What do I want the readers to take away from my article? Who is my audience? What are their needs, wants, desires?

2. Use simple grammar, sentence structure, and vocabulary to make the reading experience pleasurable

This is a beginner's guide to writing in a more human-like way, and it's not as hard as you might think.

The main obstacle is the preference for simple grammar, sentence structure, and vocabulary.

For example, "I love to eat chocolate" is less complex than "I really enjoy the scrumptious taste of chocolate."

We also need to use verbs instead of adjectives when describing someone or something.

Instead of saying "The apple tastes sweet," we can say "The apple tastes delicious."

3. Know your audience and what they like in their books e.g. funny dialogue, character development, or suspenseful plot twists

Know your audience and what they like in their books.

For example, if you are writing a book for children, you'll want to make sure that it is filled with funny dialogue. If your book is more action-oriented, develop the characters so the reader can get invested.

4. Seek feedback from publishers or writing organizations such as SCBWI

Although this is not a group you should join to find a publisher, it will help you narrow down your list of publishers to send your work to. If you are unsure what publisher would be the best fit for your book, SCBWI is an invaluable resource for writers in children’s publishing.

SCBWI stands for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and it is an organization that provides resources and networking opportunities to those who want to get started or advance in children's publishing. It also offers workshops, webinars, conferences and regional events for its members.

Every year SCBWI publishes the Writer's Market which contains up-to-date listings of all the agents, editors, publishers, contests, festivals and more in the children’s

5. Take classes on how to write middle grade novels from an experienced teacher so your project can be successful

For those who are interested in writing novels for young readers, there are a few guidelines to follow.

1) You should always come up with a backstory for your protagonist even if you have not revealed it to the reader.

2) There are a few common mistakes that writers commonly make when they build their plots. One of the most common is focusing too much on their protagonist and neglecting other characters or events. This can lead to a story that has no suspense, tension, and conflict.

3) Keep your sentences as short as possible and make sure that you use descriptive language.

4) Use simple words that children can understand instead of big words.

Key Elements of a Good Middle Grade Novel

Some key elements of a good middle grade novel would be:

- The main character should be relatable to the reader.

- The story should have an interesting plot that is not too predictable.

- The book should have likable characters and a happy ending.

- It should focus on aspects of the world that children are most interested in, such as school, friends, family, pets, or hobbies.

Five Bonus Tips for Writing Great Middle Grade Books

1. Write with a child's voice in your head

2. Ask yourself, "What would make this an interesting story?"

3. Make sure all the stakeholders are on board before you start writing.

4. Aim for a diverse cast of characters to help readers see themselves in the story.

5. Create a full character arc to give readers someone to root for.

That’s it for today! Again, send any and all questions my way and let me know if you’re enjoying these posts.

How to Illustrate Books for Children: Expert Tips from a Professional, Part Three: Creating Characters

Excerpt from “The Conjurers Book 3: Fight for the Fallen”

Today’s excerpt from book three features everyone’s favorite character, Pimawa! He is certainly my favorite, but how did I come up with him? Thought I’d share his origin’s and also a few tips on how you can create your own characters for your story.

The idea behind the Conjurian was that it was a land of magicians, where they could be free of persecution. That meant, when they crossed over into our world, “The Flat World” as magicians like to call it, they had to disguise the secrets they brought over. Now, from day one, I did not want to inclcude the cliched rabbit out of a hat. However, during one brainstorming doodling session, I sketched these rabbit like creatures called Jimjarians. They are sort of like butlers for magicians. They were too interesting (and cute) to discard. I had to work them into the story.

Thank goodness I did. As the Jimjarian history revealed itself to me, I discovered they were much more than cute, fun companions. Their past is intricately intwined in “The Conjurers” story, as you saw in book two. Even more so in book three. No spoilers here. This happened because I put in the time exploring Pimawa’s personality and his family’s past. The point is, great characters take time.

I’ll share a few simple tips you can use to make your own unforgettable characters.

Tips for Writing Character Biographies

A character biography should provide readers with a sense of the character's background, personality, and quirks.

A great way to start writing a character bio is to answer these questions:

- What are some of their hobbies?

- What are their favorite foods?

- What do they like in bed?

- Where would they go on a dream vacation?

- What's their favorite TV show or movie?

These questions might seem very personal, but remember that making your characters as real as possible will make your story more compelling.

How to Come up with Great Ideas for Storylines

To come up with great ideas, one should be creative in their thought process. One can also look at the different aspects of a character or setting that can help them develop something interesting.

There are various methods to come up with ideas for storylines. One of the most popular ways is taking inspiration from real life events and developing it into a fictionalized version. Creative thinking can also lead to interesting storylines, by asking questions about the world and trying to find answers for them.

It is important to note that one does not need to have all the answers for an idea before they start working on it as they will come up with new ideas while they work on their project.

What's the Difference Between Protagonist and Antagonist?

In a nutshell, the protagonist is the good guy, and the antagonist is the bad guy. But not all heroes are good and not all villains are bad.

A hero can be a protagonist in some stories and an antagonist in another story. It's all about perspective. The same goes for a villain- they can be an antagonist in one story and a protagonist in another.

Conclusion: Writing Characters is a Tough Task but not Impossible!

You can do a great job of creating believable and compelling characters. The key is to understand the audience, genre, and story you are telling.

The most important thing when writing a character is to make sure that they are interesting. Create a character that has strong desires or motivations in order to give them something to act on. They should also have flaws or weaknesses that they struggle with and have an arc throughout the book - going from weak to powerful by the end of the story.

As always, send any questions my way or suggestions for what you’d like me to post about next. Cheers!

How to Illustrate Books for Children: Expert Tips from a Professional, Part Two

Opening to “The Conjurers” book three done in graphic novel style.

Usually book covers are my favorite thing to create. However, The Conjurers series has given me the chance to mix in my other favorite medium, sequential art, into writing children’s books. Obviously I’m biased, but I believe all books should be illustrated, not just middle grade series. While drawings are used to engage and enthrall young readers, It would be super cool to see Brad Thor’s next thriller brimming with Frank Miller style art. Just saying.

Now back to how to illustrate books for kids. Books can be illustrated in a variety of ways, from hand-drawn pictures to digital drawings. They should always be relevant to children's interests and needs.

Illustration is an important part of the book publishing process. When publishers are considering new books, they look at whether the illustrator has a style that is appropriate for the book's goals. If they like the artist's style, they may ask them to read the manuscript to get a sense of whether their art will work with it.

The illustrations in children’s books should be designed for young readers and give them a sense of what the story will be about or what some of its key events might be. The animals, people and environments in children’s books should have features that are immediately recognizable to their intended audience.

The illustrations in children’s books have a lasting impact on the imagination of young readers. They can recognize features of people and objects that they see frequently in their day-to-day lives. 

The Basic Steps of Book Illustration

The process of book illustration is a highly creative process. It involves a variety of steps. The artist has to think of the story and then illustrate the text on paper. Depending on the complexity of the text, it might take from one to three months for an illustrator to complete a single picture book.

Book illustrations are usually created with pencil, ink, acrylic paints or sometimes just with crayons and watercolors. The illustrator needs to be very creative in their work and come up with countless ideas that will encourage children to read books and learn unfamiliar words while they enjoy themselves at the same time.

There are many methods that illustrators can use in order to create their artwork for books. One such method is direct drawing, which is where an illustrator draws directly on paper and then inks over the drawing to create a clean line.

Direct drawing is a graphic process in which an illustrator draws directly on paper and then inks over the drawing to create a clean line. The artist can produce work of any size, from small sketches to large murals.

Over the years, I’ve transitioned from direct drawing to digital. While my preference will always remain pen and ink, digital art has a ton of advantages. The biggest advantage is time. A double page spread for “The Conjurers” would take me a day or two drawing with pencils and pens. Working in Clip Studio Paint, I can create the same illustration in a few hours.

Let me make one point clear, digital drawing software does not do the work for you. It is not “easier” from a skills perspective. The same drawing fundamentals still apply and you must continue to work at mastering those skills. Digital software only saves you time and ink stains on your hands. 

Book Illustration Tips for Authors

Successful authors understand the importance of illustrations. Authors can use images to introduce a character, describe an emotion, or to emphasize a point. Authors should have their illustrators create sketches before they write the story in order to make sure that there is no confusion or miscommunication.

The illustrator's job is not simply creating a cover for an author's book. They are just as much of an author as the person who writes the words on paper. The way they did a lot of books in the past was to select a moment in the text and illustrate it. It’s called “spot illustrations”. 

I like to use the illustrations as an extension of the storytelling. This means things I show in the drawings are the story, not a repeat of what’s in the text. The hard part is making this seamless in the reader's mind. 

Let’s finish up with a couple quick tips on getting started illustrating kid’s books. These apply to picture books to young adult novels.

1. Create a Storyboard

A storyboard is a blueprint for what you are going to create. There are a lot of ways to go about creating one - but there are some fundamentals that should be at the forefront of your mind when you're creating one. The purpose of a storyboard is to illustrate what is going on in the story.

Picture books rely heavily on storyboarding, as that’s what picture books are. Every word and drawing counts. Now for middle grade books like “The Conjurers”, the storyboarding process is a bit more involved. As I wrote the books I was deciding what would be text and what I would illustrate. 

As you can see in the image above, I opened book three with sequential art and no words. I love taking a cinematic approach to storytelling. And considering the book opens with a lot of action, why not pull the reader in using art? 

2. Make sure you know your audience

It’s essential to know who you’re targeting with any piece of content. Targeting the wrong audience will not only result in low engagement, but it will also be a waste of time for both the content creator and their target audience.

There are tons of books and articles on how to find your target audience. And you certainly should do the research. Let’s keep it simple today. If you’re starting out as an illustrator or author, do this: write and draw your story for one person. That could be a brother or sister, niece or nephew. Or you could invent the person. 

My son was in middle school when I started writing “The Conjurers”. So I kept him in mind when creating the characters and mapping out the plot. I would consider his concerns and worries. What was he into? What things upset him? What made him happy or sad?

Hope these short tips are helpful. Let me know what you think and send along questions or topics you’d like me to cover in the next post. Till then, cheers!

How to Illustrate Books for Children: Expert Tips from a Professional, Part One

Illustration from book three of “The Conjurers” Middle Grade Fantasy Series

Illustrations for book three have set sail! Currently, I’m working on chapter six. The manuscript is complete and the cover (oh wait until you see it!) is almost ready to reveal. To be honest, after I finished book two, I did not know where book three was going. I lost sleep thinking the third installment couldn’t possibly live up to the previous books and would leave readers unsatisfied with the ending.

And just when things couldn’t get worse, my editor suggested we needed to pull the villain from book three. Her backstory was a lot. Like several large suitcases of backstory that stretched back decades. To pull it off, the book would expand to over four hundred pages (probably). Doom, doom, doom with a side of doom. 

Every story has that “dark night of the soul” moment. This was mine, except it wasn’t fiction. But just like fiction, I had that wonderful revelation. You know the bit that was there all along, but you didn’t notice it? A character from “The Conjurers” webcomic got the call to the big league. Yep, I recast Latiff from a side story to the top of the call sheet for book three. And she didn’t disappoint. You’ll see. 

Back to the illustrations, as that is what my next several posts will focus on. I’ll try not to expose any spoilers from the art. As you can tell from the drawing above, book three picks up shortly after book two. Our heroic team setting sail on the sea of Dedi! Where are they going? Just you wait. You’ll get some hints from the next few drawings. All I will say for now is that they will encounter one of my favorite creatures I’ve ever conjured. The magician in me made sure that, like any excellent trick, this creature has some serious surprises. More on that next time.

I’ve stepped up the art game in book three. I wanted more intensity in the drawings to match the break neck action in this installment. I’ve added more intense shading and made the watercolor washes heavier. I think it adds more visceral reality and maturity just like the characters have matured through the story. Alex and Emma will face their greatest challenge yet and the art will match that intensity. Book three opens in a storm and that will be the calmest it gets. 

Book discount - Today only!

Conjurers Book 1 - $1.99 Today Only!

Super short post today. But it’s a good one. My publisher agreed to discount “The Conjurers” ebook for today only. if you haven’t read it yet, or want to send it as a gift to someone, grab your copy now. It took some work to convince them to give this a shot (thanks Elizabeth!) and I’m not sure if they’ll do it again.

Just click the button below and select your preferred eBook provider:

Book Review: Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball

Let’s start with the illustrations. They are fantabulous! They are what drew me to the books initially. If you’re a fan of Tim Burton or Edward Gorey, you’ll fall in love with these characters before reading a single word.

On to the story. It is a riotously fun, silly, touching tale, littered with disgusting details one would expect from a world populated by monsters. The attention to detail in the characters, their clothes, homes and food is astounding and endlessly entertaining. You can feel the joy the author must have had creating it all.

A gothic romp full of wit that will please anyone that wishes Halloween could be year round.

Book Launch Signing - The Magic of Bookstores

Teleportation is real

It is. Truly. At least for me. Let me explain, and yes I will expose a the trick. It’s simple but takes time. In fact, forget about time. Drive through winding country roads, past the shiny fields of crops and slumping silos. No need to go fast, as I said forget about time. Take in the tree tops cutting a jagged line along the blue sky. Wave to the cows and if you come upon a rickety farm stand booth, pull over and grab some corn or watermelon, green beans or squash.

Back on the road, mute the GPS apathetic voice. You don’t need it. This is not a road, it’s a portal. Keep going, with the windows down. Could be ten minutes more, could be twenty. Doesn’t matter. Eventually the portal will open into a new realm. Shop lined streets, old buildings layered with a history of paint and rusted fixtures. Dark green lamp posts alongside matching iron benches. Two birds battle over a crust outside a bakery. An old man on the bench sketches dogs while listening to jazz.

Congratulations, you have teleported. You are a traveler here, yet something in the humid breeze and the peoples’ waves makes you feel at home. Keep walking as you are not without purpose. There is a place you seek. There’s one in every magical realm. You will find it, every traveler does, as do the wizards and dragons and ghosts and Fay. It is where the ley lines converge. These places are not hidden, rather openly marked with a sign or only a symbol. You will know it when it comes into view. The amazing bit, the truly mind blowing realization is that these places are filled with millions more portals.

These are photos of one such place in the realm of Salisbury, N.C. , dubbed “South Main Book Company”. I was fortunate enough to travel there this past weekend. Without a doubt, a magical place. From with its walls you can travel to anyplace or time in this world or thousands of others. I was there to meet travelers who wished to travel to my world, the world of “The Conjurers”.

Above is one such traveler. We discovered we both enjoy voyaging to worlds of weird and wild things. Graphic novels, scary books, Manga, Anime. I was quite thrilled to introduce this traveler, Emma, to the worlds of Neil Gaiman and Clive Barker (Clive’s stories for younger readers of course).

This is Logan. Not only did he want to visit the Conjurian, he was interested in learning it’s most important tradition, magic. After a couple demonstrations he worked on vanishing a coin. If he practices long enough, he might be able to sneak into the Conjurian through the official channels.

I’ll finish with a thank you to those who made my latest teleportation a jubilant event. You can visit them at the links below, although in person is much better. And of course, now that you know the secret, I hope you seek out the portals in your realm.

Links:

South Main Book Company

The Spice and Tea Exchange

Livestream - Make Your Own Comics

Going live again! Still working on doing these events more often. Tomorrow I’ll try and simplify how you can make your own comics. Obviously there’s a ton of material I could cover, but like my last videos, I want to boil it down and also get rid of a lot of the frustrations you may have when starting out.

Hoping none of the glitch gremlins show up. The link below will bring you to the Youtube page where you can set a reminder. Hope to see you there!

The Lighter Side of Book Promotion

Book Promo Art for The Conjurers Book One

I love making promotional images. However, I noticed I had fallen into a rut. Or, more accurately, doing what everyone else does. Not a terrible thing, because it works.  Mostly you slap a picture of your book on top of the cover art. It looks nice. The colors work well and it creates a harmonious drama to the image. 

One thing I try to force myself to do is to deconstruct something and try building it completely differently. This is super hard when re-writing stories. You’ve put a ton of work into an outline or a first draft. it’s difficult to scrap all that work. I know, I’m attempting to do it right now with a picture book that’s been sitting around for a couple years. Thankfully, it’s much easier to do with art.

Scratch up a doodle in a couple minutes. Don’t like it? Scratch up another one. Each time I do, I attempt to redraw it in a unique style or angle. It’s the same with book promos. I’m fortunate that I’m also the artist. I don’t have to charge myself for a few extra drawings. That’s why I should push myself more outside of the creative comfort zones.

With this image, I thought it would be cool to have a few of the characters loitering around the book. And I wanted them on a white background instead of a heavy, moody background. Voila! A few doodles later and I have some of the cast just chilling. Looked good on a white background but I tested out throwing in a subtle background. It works...kind of. I need to test it out and see if people respond to it. 

The lesson learned is that even when you’re doing something you enjoy, you need to prevent it from becoming a grind and step outside, walk around it and see it from fresh vantage points. Creativity doesn’t just happen. It takes thought and discipline. 

How to Write a Book - Research and Inspiration

Thought I’d share a bit about how and where I got ideas for the Conjurers books. First, I’ll be talking about my experience and methods and also potential pitfalls. Early on, when writing books and coming up with ideas, I would get swept away in the currents of research. Why? Because it’s fun and interesting and you can quickly forget that you’re supposed to be writing a book.

Now i have a rule for myself that I try my best to stick to. Although one tumbles down a rabbit hole here and there. The rule is “write first, research later”. I want to stay in that passion zone for writing the story. In a first draft nothing will or should be perfect. My prime focus is making sure that I like my characters, and the story is exciting and fulfilling.

The Conjurers is based on magic, actual real life magicians and my history of studying and performing. I had a lot to pull from in regards to characters and tricks I could use in the books. However, when it came to how magic works and why it was dying, I had a lot to work out. Even after finishing the first draft of book one, it wasn’t clear how real magic worked. What was the difference between a magician and a normal human (they’re called “Flatworlders” in the books). More importantly, why was magic fading out of existence?

When I would come upon those blurry logic spots in my story, I would write a note to myself to hash it out. Then, after the first draft, I could brainstorm the hows and whys of magic in the world of the Conjurers. The above painting is one of the “hows”.

Hieronymous Bosch has always been one of my favorite artists. Mostly because he was weird. However, this piece was my favorite and became a central inspiration for the Conjurers.

The painting depicts St. James converting a magician from his demonic ways. For me, in my world of the Conjurers, this became the basis for how magic had faded over the centuries. I found many other examples to pull from and used in the story. But I straightened all that out after writing the first draft. As I’ll show in my next post, I could easily spent months just studying the history of magic.

Free Cartoons - It Followed Me Home

A Kaiju take on the old cliche, “He followed me home, can we keep him?”. This is one of the comics I wish I had more time to draw a uber-detailed monster. It came out a bit too atmospheric, but I find the contrast in sizes humorous. Might re=draw it sometime in the future.

Speaking of Kaiju, might be time to watch “Pacific Rim” again. Haven’t watched the sequel and honestly don’t plan too. Also looking for any good Kaiju manga recommendations. Or any manga recommendations. I’m reading “Witch Hat Atelier” right now. Absolutely love the art and the story is charming.

Feel free to leave an manga suggestions in the comments.

If Aliens are real, what's with all the probing?

I have a dozen doodles of aliens looming over a sleeping human. For whatever reason, I find that particular setup funny. And a probe joke seems a little easy. The low hanging fruit. But I liked the idea of suggesting a probing without saying it directly. Also, once I drew the guy’s eyes open, it made it a lot funnier.

I’ve never been into UFOs all that much, besides the X-Files. Have to admit, some of the more recent footage is pretty compelling whether you believe its aliens or not. If you know what I’m talking about, be sure to go back and check out “The Joe Rogan Experience”, episode 1361, with Commander Fravor. This isn’t some loon claiming he saw flying dinner plates messing with cows. This guy for sure saw something and has the video to back it up.

Writing and Illustrating Middle Grade Fantasy Books

Another peak at “The Conjurers” book two. Another double page spread. The text will be overlayed in white on the dark, crosshatched top half of the illustration. It’s technique I love and try not to overuse. Too much can be annoying to the reader methinks. But it is a fun way to blend the prose with live action shots.

I think this is from chapter nine. Can’t tell any details, although it is a big moment in Emma’s character art. After all her struggles, it was cool to come upon a scene in which, while everyone else was running from danger, she was running straight at it.

Aesthetically, I once again employ using deep perspective to make the drawings lift off the page and add drama. Perspective is an amazing tool and one I encourage young artists to work with. It can be terribly frustrating and I rarely get it close to correct, but the effects are worth it. I think I’ll include a simple perspective lesson in one of my live-streams.