There is a Fungus Among Us

I found this mass of mushroom in our yard on Saturday while mowing.
All my wife could say was "GET RID OF IT!" It kinda freaked her out.
I told her it looked kinda like a brain.

I think this is a maitake mushroom, known as "hen of the woods" or "dancing mushrooms."
It's apparently edible and has several health benefits such as a super boost to your immunity.

I'm not a fan of mushrooms, neither is my wife, so we're going to pass on eating it.
But if it means no flu shot this year, hmmm......

A witch.

Just another scrap of paper I had to use for something. I have a lot of these laying around that are cut from bigger pieces. 

What Makes a Best-Selling Children’s Book?

From the Goosebumps to the Harry Potter series, some children’s books become enormous best-sellers. Jean Feiwel, Senior Vice President and publisher of Fiewel and Friends and Square Fish Books, Diane Roback, Senior Editor of the children's section of Publisher’s Weekly, and Micha Hershman, a manager of Borders Group children's department, discuss what makes a best-selling children’s book.

Listen

via The Leonard Lopate Show

Wild Blue

I'm working on putting together a collection of the Wild Blue comic strip that I used to do for the Air Force Times, and ran across this one that I'd almost forgotten about. It incorporated a watercolor drawing I had done that was supposed to be used in an article but never was. I like the way it turned out so I found a way to use it in Wild Blue.

Interview with our own Stacy Curtis!

First off, Let me say Congrats to Stacy and this wonderful book, The 7 Habits of Happy Kids. I just checked and it's at #4 on the New York Times bestseller list for picture books and that's just not too shabby.
p.s. I included a few poorly reproduced photos from my copy and hopefully I won't be answering calls from lawyers this afternoon.








We managed to wrestle Stacy into giving us a peek into his life as a children's book illustrator. I'm always fascinated with the technique side of things so a few of those questions are included.


Stacy, What is your favorite part of the illustration process?

There are two parts I love best.
I love designing characters. Whether it's a picture book, a magazine cover, a spot illustration, etc., creating new characters is fun. Sometimes I can draw three versions of a moose and one of those three sketches hits the nail on the head. Other times, I may have to draw 60 versions of a moose until I get something that works. Either way, it's an enjoyable process.

Secondly, I love moving from sketches and revisions to the final artwork stage. It gives me a chance to really do what I love, DRAW. I love to turn on some music in my studio, sit down to a nice sheet of watercolor paper and just dive in. Sometimes I'll look up and a whole day has gone by and I've got this really nice piece of work at the end of the day.

Do you have a favorite paper? If so, What makes it your favorite.

I've been doing a lot of work on Strathmore Gemini, Cold-Pressed, 140 lb. watercolor paper. It's what works for me right now, but I'm constantly experimenting with different papers and paints.

How detailed are your roughs when you send them in for the first time?

Only as detailed as they need to be for the client. I don't want them too detailed because I don't want to trace my pencil lines. I like for them to be guides and not dictate the exact spot where the ink has to go. It helps keep my lines loose.

Here is a rough from "The 7 Habits of Happy Kids."

How do you know when the piece is "done"?

When my hand hurts.
That's a lesson I've had to learn by doing the work. You have to listen to your gut and know when to say, "It's finished."
There's nothing worse than ending up with a drawing you should have stopped three hours ago.
That used to happen to me quite a bit.

You style is unique to me. Which artists helped inspire you to go in that direction?

As a kid, I would study the comics pages, editorial cartoons and try to imitate the work that I liked best....cartoonists such as Jim Borgman, Jeff MacNelly, Bill Watterson, Mike Peters and Dr. Seuss. As time went by, I started to keep those influences at a distance and I started to feel my own style develop.

When it came to watercoloring my linework, I really didn't have an influence as far as other artists go, I just did what felt right against my linework. Once I did that, I really felt my artwork became something that was mine.

My style has transformed from being influenced by other artists towards being influenced by things. Most times, I carry a sketchbook and/or my camera to capture things I see while I'm taking a walk, go to a new place or whatever. These things eventually end up in my drawings. It really has made my artwork take on a personal element.

Did you draw upon any influences for "The 7 Habits of Happy Kids"?

Not at all. From day one, I felt like this was the project I had been waiting for. Everything about this project just screamed my name, I love drawing animals and outdoor scenes. Some of the Seven Oaks characters of "The 7 Habits of Happy Kids" have been living in my sketchbooks for decades. They were just in there waiting for their chance to be in a project.

When faced with a big project on a tight deadline, how do you deal with managing your time in regards to family, eating well, exercising, etc?


Have you been talking to my wife and my doctor?
Balancing family time for me is easy, because I have no children. My wife and I have made adaptations to accomodate those times when a project has a tight deadline. I moved a small drawing table into our living room, so when I need to work outside my normal work schedule, I can draw while also spending time with my wife and pooch.
As far as health concerns go, that's a totally different story.
One thing we as artists have to acknowledge is that we sit stationery at our drawing tables for long periods of time. Exercise is probably the first thing to drop off our schedule.
It happened to me and after a couple of health scares, I was forced to make exercise a priority in my daily schedule.
You can't draw if you're dead.

How do you manage your workflow? Do you draw everything and then paint, or... ?

Depends on the project, but most of the time, I will draw everything first to keep the linework consistent and then I will paint everything to keep the colors consistent.

What do you think is most important for maintaining a good working relationship with your clients?

If you aren't making a client happy, you probably won't get work from them again.
I think what makes a client happiest is when you re-affirm their choice of hiring you for a project by turning your artwork in on time and try to wow them with the quality of your work.

What do see as the respective advantages/disadvantages of working with digital and traditional mediums?

Making a revision on a digital file: EASY. Making a revision on a final watercolor painting: NOT SO MUCH.
I do love having the option of UNDO, when I'm working digitally.

With traditional mediums, you'll always have an original piece of artwork at the end of the day.
I painted over 130 pieces of artwork for "The 7 Habits of Happy Kids" book and nothing I can do digitally will ever stack up to being able to hold all those paintings in my hands. That's one of the few reasons I haven't switched over to creating digital drawings.

What children's book character do you most identify with?

Is Charlie Brown a children's book character?
I am Sam. I do not like Green Eggs and Ham.

What will we be seeing from you in the near future?

In mid-October, there is another Raymond and Graham chapter book coming out called "Dancing Dudes."
And there's another picture book in my schedule.


Thanks, Stacy! Just awesome!

Lookout!

This was a fun promo piece to do. It didn't turn out quite like I expected, but then that is a regular thing for me.  Painted on Strathmore Imperial 500 with pencil for the highlights and a touch of acrylic white in spots. 

Grubbs Website

The Grubbs website is now live (mostly). Grubbs #1 is available in B&W as a free downloadable PDF. Let me know whatcha think!

Ted

What Artists are Saying About Orphan Works Act

“Illustration work allows me to provide for my family; teaching allows me to give back to the community. My belief in stewardship brings me to the Orphaned Work Bills. This legislation strikes at the core of what we are as illustrators, how we do our business and why we chose to be illustrators.”

– CF Payne, Artist

"I fought for the rights of Superman's creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster. Others made millions while Superman's creators lived in near poverty. Jerry was a clerk and Joe was a legally blind man who lived in his brother's apartment, slept on a cot and worked as a messenger.

"I met and fought for their small remaining rights when they both turned only 60 years old...The battle took months and the settlement was meager, but it let the men live the remaining years of their lives with dignity.

"You know what they cared about most? They cared about having their names once again associated with their character, Superman! Why? Because it was what they were as people. They were their work. Why do we have copyright law? Because we wish to protect people and their creations, even if they are 'hard to locate.'"

-- Neal Adams, Artist

“In 2006, I registered 58,731 images, and in 2007, 71,919 images. If a registry charged $0.50 per image to submit and process, I would have to pay $29,365.50 to protect my 2006 images, and $35,959.50 to protect my 2007 images, for just those years."

–Testimony Concerning How the Proposed Orphan Works Bill Will Economically Impact Photographers, by John Harrington, Professional Photographer

More

Note: The Graphic Artists Guild has given up, choosing to actively support the lesser of two evils, and likewise is encouraging creators to quit fighting the issue. As far as I can tell, this does not represent the wishes of their members or other groups.

Drawing Board

Just a snapshot of the drawing board, with some quick drawings during the day to break from the tablet pc.

Cool Home-Office Toys You Can Write Off

Maryann, a home-based Web site administrator in Virginia, owns 11 computers: five desktop models in the formal office area, another in the basement, a laptop by her bed, another in the den, two more in the dining room and one in her purse.

"It's a veritable showroom," she says. Coming soon: a notebook for the sunroom.

It's not that Maryann and her husband--who have been running the business since 1999 and who chose not to reveal their real names--have a compulsive computer-buying disorder. They want the tax deductions.

"At the end of each December, my husband and I look around and say, 'We haven't spent enough yet,' " she says. "Then we run out and buy things or do renovations. Of course, we keep detailed receipts. We save about $25,000 a year this way."

It's not just computers. The couple's list of work-related write-offs has included an office massage chair, a Kindle (Amazon's e-book reader) and even a mini refrigerator in the shape of R2-D2, the famously chirpy Star Wars droid. Are all of those items truly worthy of a write-off?

Read the rest of the article at Forbes.com...

Ka-Blam Digital Printing

I needed to make some good quality hard copies of the first Grubbs comic book. I had run across a POD (print on demand) printer called Ka-Blam that specializes in comics. Believe it or not, it cost less to have a few full-color comics printed than it would have cost to have laser prints done at a copy shop... in this case, just a tad over $3 a book.

This is great for printing out a good quality dummy to proof before going to print, or for just printing up a short run if you're not ready to have a couple thousand copies printed up. And the cost is less than $2 per book (for 32 pages) if the interior is black and white, making it affordable if you want to print up a few dozen and sell them yourself.

The quality is pretty darn good, and Ka-Blam met their turnaround deadline, and actually got it to me a couple days early. Based on this experience, I would recommend them to anyone who is considering a short print run.

The colors are a little off, because for some reason they require the files be RGB rather than CMYK. They say this is to make the pages more vivid with bright colors, which is understandable, but converting to RGB might require going in and doing a little color tweaking before delivering the files. The color quality is great; it's just that colors change when you convert from CMYK to RGB, and I didn't do any tweaking.

Overall, though, the books look like "real comic books" as my kids said. The paper is nice and one could confidently sell these to readers. It's also an efficient way to make sure everything looks right before sending things to the printer.

I think it is also a great resource for kids who are creating their own comic books. This service is easily affordable and blows Lulu out of the water. Kids can make their own "real" comic books and sell them to their friends.

To find out more, check out Ka-Blam's website.

Orphan Works Copyright Law Dead (For Now)

From Wired.com:

'Orphan Works' Copyright Law Dies Quiet Death
By David Kravets September 30, 2008 | 5:50:25 PMCategories: Intellectual Property
Lost in the House of Representatives' push to pass $700 billion bailout legislation is the so-called Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008.
Late Friday, the Senate passed the measure and sent it to the House, where it landed dead on arrival.
The act changes the rules and reduces and sometimes nullifies damages for infringing uses of so-called "orphaned" works as long as there was a "diligent" effort to locate the copyright owner. Orphaned creative works are those in which the copyright holder cannot be promptly located.
Lobbyists have assured Threat Level that the House, which is mired in trying to broker an economic revival package, won't take up the measure, at least not until after the November elections.
Dozens of copyright groups opposed the measure, saying it encourages infringement. Copyright expert Lawrence Lessig was against it as well. He said the bill was too vague when it comes to defining how "diligent" of an effort is required to locate a copyright owner before a work is infringed upon.
Digital rights groups like Public Knowledge hailed the measure. The group said "it would restore much needed balance to copyright law."

Link: Wired.com

URGENT: Contact your Representative to oppose S. 2913

Take Action! S. 2913 passed Senate Friday- tell the House to vote NO!

The Senate passed S. 2913 –The Shawn Bentley (Yes, Shawn Bentley the lobbyist) Orphan Works Act of 2008- by “hotline” on Friday, September 26, 2008.

(Hotlining is how most bills now become law. They are not voted on but set into a process of automatically becoming a law unless a Congressperson dissents and says, Hey, we would like to discuss this bill first. Which is rare. And do you think Congress was focusing their attention on something else last Friday? Schoolhouse Rock was wrong! -- Ted)

Representative Berman still intends to release the mark-up of his bill, HR 5889. Either the House version of Orphan Works legislation, H.R. 5889, or the Senate version will become law. There are no other possible outcomes. The Guild continues to support Rep. Berman’s House bill. The Graphic Artists Guild is urging all members and other artists to support H.R. 5889, because the bill includes a Notice of Use provision that includes a procedural “speed bump” for potential infringers. The Guild and other visual creators' organizations have fought for inclusion of the Notice of Use and other clauses in Orphan Works legislation. The Notice of Use stipulation requires users to file their intent of using a suspected orphan work prior to use in an archive maintained by the US Copyright Office or other sanctioned entity.
The Notice of Use clause is a non-negotiable and vital provision to provide artists some protection in the future. The Graphic Artist Guild will not support any legislation that does not have this key protection. The Guild urgently encourages artists to join us in our effort to ensure House lawmakers pass H.R. 5889 as it's currently drafted with the Notice of Use provision.

Members of the American Library Association are urging the House to adopt the Senate bill. We must counter their messages! We have provided a letter for you to your Representative in the House through our Capwiz portal. Please act now!

To use this letter-writing portal, enter your zip code and click on "GO" for a sample letter to use. You may also personalize your own letter. The letter will automatically be emailed to the US Senate. We recommend you also print out the letter and mail it.

Thank you for taking action!

Graphic Artists Guild

7 Habits of Happy Kids is a Winner!

I received my personalized copy of The 7 Habits of Happy Kids today, and wowza! I haven't seen a book like this in years. It is jam-packed with Stacy Curtis's wonderful paintings and is just a circus for the eyes. He really poured his heart and soul into this book.

Reading through it, it reminds me of children's books from the Golden Age of illustration. The characters are fun and well-designed, the colors are rich and vibrant and the level of detail keeps you looking at the illustrations and then going back to look some more. Stacy's style is the perfect blend of contemporary and classic children's illustration. This book is on its way to becoming a new classic.

My 9-year-old son walked by the book and picked it up nonchalantly, and then didn't put it down until he finished it. I think that's pretty much going to be the reaction of all kids that are lucky enough to get this book as a gift or find it at the library.

The stories are fun and the book is very well designed. Parents are sure to love reading this to their kids. They're going to have a blast seeing all the problems the characters have and how they solve them. And they'll get a kick out of the little surprises Stacy put throughout the book.

Stacy's illustrations make the book. They put the fizz in the soda pop!

Mell Lazarus - Momma

I ran across the long-running comic strip Momma today, which I used to read all the time when I was a kid. I was pleased to see Mell Lazarus is still drawing it. As far as I can tell, the 81-year-old cartoonist has been drawing his comic strip continually (since 1970) longer than any other living cartoonist. Can you think of anyone else who holds the honors? Most of the strips that have been around this long have someone else doing the writing and drawing chores.

Excelsior, Mell!

Ted Rall on Orphan Works Act

From the Association American Editorial Cartoonists:

"ORPHAN WORKS": NEW BILL LEGALIZES THEFT

The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC) is dismayed to learn that unscrupulous members of the U.S. Senate have taken advantage of Americans' focus on the nation's financial crisis in order to pass controversial legislation that threatens the livelihoods of everyone who relies on copyright for a living.

Deploying perfidious secrecy reminiscent of the circumstances of the passage of the USA-Patriot Act, the Senate passed S. 2913, also called the Shaw Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008 ("Orphan Works Act") on Friday, while the national media was focused on the mortgage meltdown bailout proposal. A similar bill is being considered by the House of Representatives.

The owner of a store notices a man shoplifting her merchandise. She calls the police, who arrest the man. But they don't take him to jail. Instead, they let him keep the stuff he stole. All he has to do is pay the retail price. They let him go.

Crazy? You bet. But that's exactly what Congress wants to do to intellectual property. If a cartoonist or another artist catches someone stealing his or her work, the thief gets to keep it. All he has to do is pay retail.

Sponsors of the Orphan Works Act claim they want to make it easier for libraries and researchers to reproduce intellectual property whose creators or copyright holders are difficult to find. The practical effect of the Orphan Works Act, however, would be far more sinister. If signed into law, it would create an irresistible incentive for unscrupulous individuals and companies to violate copyrighted material, including the political cartoons created by our members.

"The bill enables users to exhibit orphan works if, after a thorough and documented good-faith search, they are unable to locate the copyright owners," reports the Deseret News of Salt Lake City. And there's the rub. A "good-faith search" is so broadly defined as to be meaningless.

Let's say, for example, that a book publisher wanted to print an editorial cartoon in a history textbook. Currently a typical reprint fee for such use is $250. Under current copyright law, a publisher who gets caught using such work without permission would be liable for three times the standard rate—in this case, $750. A judge could order the books impounded. If the cartoonist had to hire a lawyer, a judge could make the violator pay his or her attorney's fees. These provisions deter most would-be copyright violators.

Under the Orphan Works Act, the deterrent effect of punishment would all but vanish. If the cartoonist learned about the infringement and tracked down its perpetrator, all the publisher would have to do to avoid the triple penalty would be to claim that it engaged in an as-yet undefined "good-faith search." In the cited example, the aggrieved cartoonist would receive $250. He or she would have no way to remove the image from a book that he or she might find objectionable—say, one that advocated reprehensible political views. There would be no compensation for legal fees, or the time and effort involved in tracking down lawbreakers. And that's assuming the artist were ever to learn about the illegal usage.

In the unlikely case that an artist were lucky enough to learn that his or her work had effectively been stolen, he or she would only be entitled to "the amount on which a willing buyer and willing seller in the positions of the infringer and the owner of the infringed copyright would have agreed with respect to the infringing use of the work immediately before the infringement began." But this is no different than the storeowner who catches a shoplifter. A victim of theft is NOT a "willing seller."

Laws that encourage illegal behavior are bad laws. We hope the Senate and President Bush will join us, at least 60 other organizations representing writers and artists, and millions of Americans employed in the creative arts, in opposing the Orphan Works Act.

Ted Rall, President

Association of American Editorial Cartoonists

Plan B: Or, Like they actually listen to us

FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS' PARTNERSHIP

Orphan Works Opposition: Plan B

SEPT 27 Yesterday, in a cynical move, the sponsors of the Senate Orphan Works Act passed their controversial bill by a controversial practice known as hotlining. With lawmakers scrambling to raise 700 billion dollars to bail out businesses that are "too big to fail," the Senate passed a bill that would force small copyright holders to subsidize big internet interests such as Google, which has already said it plans to use millions of the images this bill will orphan.

With the meltdown on Wall Street, this is no time for Congress to concentrate our nation's copyright wealth in the hands of a few privately owned corporate databases. The contents of these databases would be more valuable than secure banking information. Yet this bill would compel creators to risk their own intellectual property to supply content to these corporate business models. That means it would be our assets at risk in the event of their failure or mismanagement.

As David Rhodes, President of the School of Visual Arts has said, the Orphan Works bill would socialize the expense of copyright protection while privatizing the profit of creative endeavors. Copyright owners neither want nor need this legislation. It will do great harm to small businesses. We already have a banking crisis. Congress should not lay the groundwork for a copyright crisis.

--Brad Holland and Cynthia Turner, for the Illustrators' Partnership

NOW FOR PLAN B

We MUST try to stop the House Judiciary Committee from folding their bill (HR5889) and adopting the Senate version. PLEASE EMAIL CONGRESS TODAY. If you've done it before, do it again!It takes only a minute to use our new special letter. Click on the link below, enter your zip code, and take the next steps.

Thanks to all of you who heeded the call to action yesterday.

For ongoing developments, go to the Illustrators' Partnership Orphan Works blog:

Over 70 organizations oppose this bill, representing over half a million creators. Illustrators, photographers, fine artists, songwriters, musicians, and countless licensing firms all believe this bill will harm their small businesses.The Capwiz site is open to professional creators and any member of the image-making public. International artists will find a special link, with a sample letter and instructions as to whom to write.

Along the lines of Ted's post below...

I had an assignment for a cover on a local voting topic and I thought i'd throw it in here. It's a wacky proposition aimed at automatically giving a "no" vote for people that don't get out to the polls on that day.  

This probably won't go in my children's book portfolio. :) Fun to draw tho.

A Well-Informed Populace Is Vital To The Operation Of A Democracy

TMT endorses no particular presidential candidate (are any of them really presidential?) but please take time, even if you have already, to learn about all of the presidential candidates and compare their stances on the issues. Remember, the Right to Vote gives you the Right to Gripe!:

Constitution Party Candidate: Chuck Baldwin
Democratic Party Candidate: Barack Obama
Green Party Candidate: Cynthia McKinney
Independent Party Candidate: Ralph Nader
Libertarian Party Candidate: Bob Barr
Republican Party Candidate: John McCain

Grubbs #4 Cover

Tell the Senate NO to orphan works bill today!

Senate is hotlining the Orphan Works Bill!

Take Action!

Contact your Senators today and tell them to vote NO!

We need you to contact your Senator immediately to oppose S. 2913.

Word from Senator Leahy's office today that Senators Leahy and Hatch are pushing the Senate to hotline S.2913, "The Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008" today or this weekend! There is a possibility that Leahy's Orphan Works bill may be tacked onto another economic bill related to current events and quickly passed first by the Senate and then by the House. Senator Leahy has just released an amendment to his bill, but the amendment still does not include the Notice of Use (NOU) nor an archive of NOU filings. Without the Notice of Use provision, the Graphic Artists Guild continues to oppose the Senate Orphan Works bill, S. 2913.

Click on Take Action link at top

School Visits!

Mike Knudson, the author of the Raymond and Graham series, and I teamed up for a couple of school visits to Kingsley Elementary School and River Woods Elementary School in Naperville, IL.

We had a blast!
The kids were absolutely terrific and it was uplifting to meet fans of the Raymond and Graham books face-to-face, entertain them and sign and draw in their books.

A special thanks to the fine folks at both these schools for allowing us to come visit your schools!
We appreciate your support!

Here are a few photos:

The awesome set up that the school folks made for us:


Answering questions...me (on the left) and Mike (on the right):


Mike's doing the talking and I'm drawing, which is projected up on that screen between the Raymond and Graham banners.
Technology sure has come a long way since overhead projectors and transparencies:


Looking at the drawings:


Two student volunteers help Mike make a point about the writing process:


Photos courtesy of Marcia Bean, Kingsley Elementary School

Peanuts Unoriginal

I just can't afford to buy a Peanuts original, and I didn't know when I was younger that Schulz just gave away his originals to fans right and left, so I had to make my own.

India ink with a Zebra G on Crescent board. Two feet wide (!) just like the original.

7 Habits for Happy Kids on "FOX & Friends"

Click here for the video.

Mystic Woods Sketch

7 Habits Book Trailer

Check out this book trailer made for "The 7 Habits of Happy Kids" using the artwork I created for the book.
It's terrific!

Click here to view the book trailer!

7 Habits on the CBS Early Show ....

Watch CBS Videos Online

Note: Sean will be on FOX & Friends Friday morning to discuss the book.

A few monkeys.

This was fun for me to draw except for the architecture of the stairs, which I didn't get quite right. Somehow I can look at reference photos and they will be right in front of me and I'll miss little details about the makeup of things. 

Regardless, I do love google images for that.

-W.

Jan Eliot

Take a look at this video of Jan Eliot, creator of the comic strip, "Stone Soup."



Links:
StoneSoupCartoons.com
"Stone Soup" at GoComics.com

Ban on Baggy Pants Unconstitutional

A Florida judge has ruled that the state's ban on baggy pants is unconstitutional. The law banning so-called "saggy pants" was approved by city voters in March after supporters of the bill collected nearly 5,000 signatures to put the measure on the ballot.

The new law threatened to affect the livelihood of thousands of plumbers in the state. Over three hundred plumbers gathered in front of the state capitol in protest. The circuit judge presiding over the case on Tuesday promised an immediate decision, as his toilet had been backed up for three days.

"Somebody help me," said Palm Beach Circuit Judge Paul Moyle, before giving his decision. Plumbers refused to help, however, until a decision was made.

The law was declared unconstitutional and revoked immediately.

The 7 Habits of Happy Kids

"The 7 Habits of Happy Kids," a picture book I illustrated launches today!

The book was written by the great and wonderful Sean Covey.

It was published by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.

Synopsis:
For the Seven Oaks friends, there is always something to do. Whether they're singing along with Pokey Porcupine's harmonica or playing soccer with Jumper Rabbit, everyone is having fun and learning all sorts of things. These seven stories show how practicing the 7 Habits makes this possible for the whole Seven Oaks Community.

From learning how to take charge of their own lives to discovering how balance is best, the Seven Oaks friends have tons of adventures and find out how each and every kid can be a happy kid!

The book is also available as an audio book, you can listen to a clip by clicking here.

The characters of "The 7 Habits of Happy Kids" book were integrated into Franklin Covey's "The Leader in Me" program.
Take a look at this awesome set of posters for use in school classrooms:


And this absolutely amazing web site, "Student SCHOOLYARD," created using artwork from the book!



Here's a promotional video of Sean Covey talking about the book.
(The book in the video is not the actual book, it was made for use in the video.)


Sean Covey: - For more amazing video clips, click here

If you want to buy the book, you can order it online from:
Simon & Schuster or Amazon.com

Or just pick it up at your local Borders, Barnes & Noble, Powell's, Waldenbooks, Books-A-Million, Costco, Sam's Club or any of the places listed here.

Or if you want an autographed/doodled-in copy of the book, e-mail me and we can make arrangements.

NY Times Interview with Maurice Sendak

Click here to read the interview with Maurice Sendak.

The Little Red Spider

Once there was a little red spider. She loved to climb up the gutter drain and wait for rain to come. When the gutters filled with rain water, she would take a deep breath and jump in. The tiny torrent carried her through the rushing water, ever closer to the drain and then… ZOOP, down she went, into the dark, flooding downspout and then… FWOOSH, out the bottom end onto the soft, slippery grass. She would catch her breath and laugh uncontrollably until Mama called her back to the web.

Sword Bill

This sketch was inspired by the Sword Bill hummingbird. Drawn in ArtRage2. I think.

A Little Vanity

I found my name mentioned in an article that came out last year, and it surprised me enough that I thought I'd post it here. I'm not exactly part of the national consciousness, but if I were world-famous as were my original intentions, I suppose references like this would be commonplace. As it is, I really don't know what it means. But I like that it is written so matter-of-factly.

"Patrick Smith is an animator who creates his frames the old school way: he hand draws them, saving any computer animation work for coloration only. His composition is somewhere between Ted Dawson's Spooner and Berke Breathed's Bloom County. MTV fans are already acquainted with his work as director for the Beavis & Butthead spinoff, Daria, and his animated short works are..."

Original source

Drawring in progress.

I'm just at the point where I ask myself why on earth I took this approach and color scheme. Self doubt is entering in and despair (so about half way done).

More later. 

Banjo Player

Nyquil-induced Faun

Yet another faun. This one brought to you by Nyquil, the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep you ever got on the kitchen floor cold medicine.

If I Were in Chicago, I'd Go To This

Looking for something to do on Sat. or Sun. September 13 and 14?

Well stop by the Renegade Craft Fair in Wicker Park! Get some early Christmas shopping done and stop by our MILE 44 booth and say hi!

Our screenprinting company, Mile 44, will have a booth at the Renegade Craft Fair from noon to 10 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. We'll be selling our gigposters, movie posters and art prints.

Renegade offers a wide range of items including handmade jewelry, tea, and ceramic dishes, to stationery, accessories and clothing... and of course POSTERS (music, movie and art prints). And LIVE music from bands like Califone and Northern State. So stop by booth 102 (between Wolcott and Marion), say hi and check out the arts and crafts!

See you there!

Odin, the White Tiger.

Anyone who draws animals should see these great images of Odin, a rare white Bengal tiger, swimming at a zoo in Vallejo, California. There are poses that would be impossible to find reference before, and video to show almost slow-motion underwater movement.

The faces Odin makes are the things of illustration as well. He looks fierce, but is merely scrunching up his face to block water from entering his nose.

Supes

Color Experiment

Broken Bridge

This didn't quite turn out, but... More Mystic Woods stuff. Still working on concept drawings.

Calvin and Hobbes

By Nina Matsumoto.

odds n ends

Just some stuff for the book that will never see print. Historically, Bud (a real dog who was a travel companion on the first road trip across the USA) never had red goggles... they were whitish. I changed them to red just for fun and contrast.

I'm sure this will tick somebody off in some history department somewhere.