Donna Summer passes away at 63

It saddens me so to say that legendary Queen of Disco, Donna Summer has passed away at the age of 63. She will be sorely missed but her legacy and contributions to an era of music will never be forgotten.

Over at Once Upon A Sketch, one of our ongoing initiatives will be to provide meaning for terms and phrases that are local to the Children's Market. So from this point forward we will go into some of those terms and what they mean. If you have specific requests feel free to e-mail them to us! One of the first set of terms that confused me was the varied Book Market classifications. Many publishers listed the markets of books they published and I wasn't sure what the words meant exactly. Trade and Mass Market most notably. So they will be first.

   
Above is cover to Hardback Trade Edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling.    

Trade Books- Books released to the Traditional (trade) Markets are generally directed almost exclusively to Bookstores and Online markets for sale. In most instances this is a books initial public release and would be a precursor to being released to the larger Mass Market depending on sales numbers of the book within the Trade Market. Trade Books are often printed in smaller runs, on higher quality paper and binding in a larger format. While it is frequent that you will have a hard cover with a slip cover for a Trade Book, this is not always the case. First run Prints of Trade books can also be softcover but the quality of these books is still generally at a higher grade than what is used in Mass Market Books. Because of the better quality the book is also generally more expensive, which also contribute to its smaller customer base. They are usually sold on shelves with either their covers out or their spines showing. Trade Books are also the version of a book that you will most often find being used by Libraries for their patrons. This is due in large part to the sturdier format that makes the books more able to stand up to many uses and reads by multiple Library patrons.  
Above is cover to Softback Mass Edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling.  

Mass Market Books- As the name implies these books are directed at a larger (Mass) audience and consumer base. This is accomplished by making it available in more outlets to consumers, as well as making the books smaller and cheaper for purchase and personal convenience. While trade books are available in bookstores and online. Mass Market books are more commonly found at the checkout counter of your grocery store, drug stores, gift shops, airports and newspaper stands. They are priced cheaper to attract more impulse buys and purchases. Think small child begging at Mommy or Daddy’s feet for that Zora the Explorer Activity Book! Mass Market books are generally paperback books printed on less quality paper and sized to be easy to carry in your pocket or purse. The production of Mass Market books also generally follows the release of the Trade version of the same book title. The Trade versions are usually of a higher quality paper, larger, more expensive, and hardback in nature. Mass Market Children’s Books are very often tied into more popular books, licenses or characters. If you think about it in most of the outlets listed above for Mass-Market you are much more likely to find products from Licenses like Disney, Warner Bros., or Nickelodeon. However, it is just as likely that you’ll find classic best sellers like The Hungry Caterpillar, Where The Wild Things Are, and Goodnight Moon. Books that are so popular that they demand to be available to more customers.

I'm in Highlights in June!!

If you remember I made a post a long time ago about sending off a submission to Highlights Magazine fresh out of college. I got a letter back expressing interest in seeing more, which scared me to death! (The human mind is so funny at what freaks it out, success being amongst those fears.) Well 10+ years later I finally have conquered my fears and I'm in!

My first appearance in a Highlights Magazine is out next month!!! Soo Excited!! I just got my two complimentary copies in the mail and I am psyched!! I hope to get to work with them again in the future and hopefully move up to the cover at some point!! So be sure to stop in your local bookstore or library and check me out when you get the chance! A definite lesson to be learned here. Hold onto your goals and fight for them. Times are hard all over but be persistent, keep your goals in sight and do everything you can to reach them. Do all you can to get input on your work and improve what you do! It may not happen when you want but with a lot of hard work and perseverance it will come eventually. Nothing beats a failure but a try.

Finally my first hardcover children's book has been released! It's for sale at Amazon, Books A Million, Barnes and Nobles and a bevy of Christian Bookstores!

There is also a Free App that has games and activities. Some that require the book and others that don't. Be sure to check it out! You can download it here!

So far the reviews are pretty good and "Mommy Reactions" have been wonderful. (Currently 5 stars on Amazon!!) I'm super excited about the prospects this book will potentially bring in the future and we are already working on the follow up adventure!! So stay tuned for more information! Creating the illustrations for this book taught me an awful lot about my personal business, my flaws and the sacrifices needed to do what I love. Hard and great lessons all. I look forward to the next book coming out!!

October Mailer

Here's our October Mailer for Once Upon A Sketch. Norm, Edrian and I will be mailing these bad boys out pretty soon! Just in time for Halloween!!!

Free Digital Stamp/Coloring Sheet 14

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

It's October and time for some Halloween images! Enjoy!!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FULL SIZE!!

CLICK IMAGES BELOW TO DOWNLOAD FREEBIES FROM PAST WEEKS!

October Mailer Process

1. Roughs-Of course, we start with the initial scribble. I do this on any paper, any where, whenever the idea hits and I happen to have paper and pencil ready. It doesn't need to be fully fleshed out but enough that by the time I get home to scan it in, I'll still have some idea what the heck the idea was.


2. Tights-Here I refine the image more. Sometimes there will be a stage between this and that really rough sketch above. But time was of the essence and I had a pretty good idea of the direction I wanted this to take.


3. Light source study-I threw these tones in to give myself a rough idea of the light source. I laid a flat tone of brown in another layer and dropped the opacity down. Then I used the eraser to act as the light source and erased where the light was touching and generating from.

4. I start laying in some base tonal colors for the background. If I had more time I would have layed in base tones on every character as well. But time was short and I had a good idea of what colors the costumes and whatnot were going to be.

5. At this stage I start painting in the characters from the background to the foreground. You can really do this in any order that you like.

6. Moving more and more forward. It's the fairies turn!!


7. You'd think I was done at this stage, but with a break and a return to the image I realize how very, very GREEN everything is looking! Must correct that!

8. I use curves, levels and adjustment layers to pull out the green and boost my colors from being so murky. (Layer/Adjustment Layer/Curves-Levels) Curves to remove the Green and Levels to brighten my lights and remove murkiness. Isn't Photoshop great!!! Now I have a finished image ready to be added to our mailer in time for Halloween!

Let me know if you have any questions!!