Sneak Peek of Page by Paige Laura Lee Gulledge

I first met Laura Lee in the winter of 2008. She had only been in New York for little less than a year and was ready to make her mark. I had seen a zine she had published and was impressed with how she used metaphors to get her ideas across. She began to post her drawings to her blog www. whoislauralee.blogspot.com. I found them all very intimate, tender and honest. I knew that there was a graphic novel in her but to be sure I sent editor extraordinaire Maggie Lehrman a link to Laura Lee's blog. Next thing ya know ( 8 months later ) Laura is working on her first Graphic Novel Page by Paige!

About the book

Paige has just moved to New York with her family, and she's having trouble adjusting to the big city. In the pages of her sketchbook, she tries out different identities, including the ultra-secret one: ARTIST. As she makes friends and explores the city, she starts to bring her secret identity out into the open, which can be great (new, fabulous friends and possible boyfriend) and terrifying (fights with mom and vulnerabilities exposed). Laura Lee crafts stories with images that are thought-provoking, funny, and emotionally resonant. This is not your ironic, precocious, detached Juno-type teenager—this is the real deal, honest and unflinching.

Laura Lee and Maggie working at my desk

Here are some teaser panels from
Laura Lee's first graphic novel!


Rule # 1 Remove excuses! Buy a sketchbook and draw a few pages each week.


Rule #2 Draw what you know. If you feel it or see it DRAW IT!

Rule #3 Shh . . . quiet . . .
listen to what's going on in your head.

Laura Lee is almost done. All that is left is wrapping up the digital shading part of the process, and tackling the lettering. How yeah and the cover. Yikes! Better get on that.

Who is Laura Lee Gulledge?

"Laura Lee is a cartoonist, illustrator, and all around cool chic. Lee’s imagery and sentiments have been called ‘tender, silly, serious, touching and fun all at the same time.’" —Juxtapoz

Laura Lee, is scenic painter (most notably for Macy's famous holiday windows), muralist, street artist, and glitter technician. She has a Master's degree in Art Education and has taught in both Virginia and Africa. She is currently finishing up writing and drawing her first graphic novel called Page by Paige which will be released in Spring 2011 by Amulet Books. Visit her at www. whoislauralee.blogspot.com

My bookshelf of books I have designed and art directed. Yeah me!

My bookshelf of books I have designed and art directed. Yeah me!
Originally uploaded by chadwbecks

ATTACK OF THE FLUFFY BUNNIES offical Mask!

Listen up ya knuckleheads! Here's your chance to look like a real life space bunny!

Mask by DAN SANTAT

Other Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies blog enteries

1. Cover Evolution
2. Interior Sneak Peak

Evolution of the The Strange Case of Origami Yoda cover

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away . . . .

Tom Angleberger sent me a small Origami Yoda

He sent chubby ones, some with faces and others without. Tom made dozens of different Origami Yodas. Searching for just the right one for the cover.

Below is a video showing how Tom makes his Origami Yoda.

As Tom searched for just the right Yoda. I began to think of how the cover might be laid out. Below is a 1st attempt sketch using the Star Wars font.

Only this seemed to obvious a direction. Yoda needed a face but how do you get a face from folded paper? The force was strong with Jedi Master Angleberger on this problem. A few weeks later Tom sent me this ( see below ) new and improved Yoda. Now with a light saber and crinkled brow!



Now that we had just the right Yoda. All that was left was to find the correct back drop. Since the story is set in a school the enviroment seem like a no brainer. We through around different ideas for the back drop. Crinkled paper? Lockers? Bulletin board? Final we settled on a chalk board. Which would also give the appearance of looking like space.

My thumbnail sketch ideaHow do you treat the text? Now that we settled on a chalkboard for the backdrop the font and how the text would be rendered must blend into the environment seamlessly. To prevent the text seeming like it was just laid on top of the design. Since Dwight, a loser, talks to his classmates via an origami finger puppet of Yoda. There seemed like only one solution to this problem

Solution: Thought Bubble and a font that looks like it was drawn on a chalkboard.

Next step: Designer Melissa Arnst worked up a thought bubble designs and photographed
a chalk board to get that school time atmosphere.

A font is chosen. Only the design is still not sitting well with me. The colors are to dull and the title doesn't command the space it is in. It's still missing some character.

Solution: Illustrator Jason Rosenstock. Jason using his vast illustration abilities, renders the type to perfection, tweaks the color saturation and drew little chalk drawings as well as a couple x-wings and planets.

And there you have it a perfect Origami Yoda cover! May the force be with you.

The book surrounded by 1,000 Origami Yodas
Italian Edition

About the book

In this funny, uncannily wise portrait of the dynamics of a sixth-grade class and of the greatness that sometimes comes in unlikely packages, Dwight, a loser, talks to his classmates via an origami finger puppet of Yoda. If that weren’t strange enough, the puppet is uncannily wise and prescient. Origami Yoda predicts the date of a pop quiz, guesses who stole the classroom Shakespeare bust, and saves a classmate from popularity-crushing embarrassment with some well-timed advice. Dwight’s classmate Tommy wonders how Yoda can be so smart when Dwight himself is so clueless. With contributions from his puzzled classmates, he assembles the case file that forms this novel.

About the author

Applying for a job as a newspaper artist, Tom Angleberger was mistakenly assigned to cover local government meetings. Fifteen years and countless town council meetings later, he is still writing instead of drawing, currently as a columnist for the Roanoke Times in Roanoke, Virginia. He began work on his first book while in middle school. Tom is married to author-illustrator Cece Bell. They live in Christianburg, Virginia.

Lauren Myracle Speaks

"For those of y'all with a little time on your hands, check out this vimeo with ABC dude, Aaron Katersky. Classy, smart guy. I had so much fun chatting with him! Ooo, and at the end is a bit from Thirteen Plus One about nekkid boy bottoms!!!!"—Lauren Myracle

Banned Books: Lauren Myracle at ABC News Radio from ABC News Radio on Vimeo.

The Evolution of the Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies Cover

One day a year he is Santa Claus, but the other 364 days Dan Santat works as a children's book writer and commercial illustrator. He is also the creator of Disney's animated hit, The Replacements.

Dan graduated with honors from the Art Center, College of Design.

He lives in Southern California with his wife, two kids, a cat, a bird, and one rabbit

For some time I had been looking for a project that would be just right for Dan's sensibilities. Crazy giant rabbits from outer space fit that bill.

From the beginning our ideas for the direction of the cover were in sync, vintage monster movie posters! Here are some that we looked at.

Here is some photo research of a giant bunny.

Dan's first sketch

Here is Dan's first sketch. A pretty good start. But something isn't right yet. This book is about crazy giant bunnies. I want to see that bunny big and looming. Kinda like this.

Much better! We tweaked the title a bit and things seem to be going along just fine. But of course we still have some meddling left to do.

After a cover meeting the group felt that the bunny might be too scary. I thought how can bunnies be scary?

Oh. That's how.

Solution shave down his teeth and lessen his angry brow.

Next step Dan then sent in the final art . Only those eye's need some Visine.

Aww moist eyes! With a couple of small tweaks our cover starts to come into focus.

Back cover art

Now it's time to place all that pesky type

Type placed!

About the book

When Joules and Kevin Rockman’s parents drop them off at Camp Whatsitooya on their way to an International Spamathon, the twins expect a summer of marshmallows, campfires, and canoe trips. What they do not expect is to defend the earth from an invasion of sugar-addicted, murderous, seven-foot-tall rabbits from another galaxy. Happily, the Rockman twins, veteran watchers of the Late, Late, Late Creepy Show for Insomniacs, are unusually well-prepared for dealing with monstrous beings from outer space. If only their fellow campers were so lucky.
Andrea Beaty, author of several very funny picture books and a mysterious novel, here reaches new heights of hilarity and verbal dexterity in a novel sure to become a camp—ba-dum-dum—classic.

About the author

Andrea Beaty was raised in a small southern Illinois town, where her family ran a tiny grocery store. When she wasn’t roaming the nearby fields with her brothers and sisters, she was reading Nancy Drew mysteries up in the branches of a maple tree. Andrea now lives outside Chicago with her family. She is the author of When Giants Come to Play, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes, and Iggy Peck, Architect, illustrated by David Roberts. Andrea blogs about funny books for kids at www.ThreeSillyChicks.com. Learn more about her at www.AndreaBeaty.com. Dan Santat’s Guild of Geniuses (2004) won the Marion Vannett Ridgeway Award for best debut author/illustrator. He has since illustrated The Secret Life of Walter Kitty, by Barbara Jean Hicks; the Otto Undercover series, by Rhea Perlman; The Ghosts of Luckless Gulch, by Anne Isaacs; and Chicken Dance, by Tammi Sauer. He is also the creator of the Disney animated series The Replacements, and is at work on a graphic novel, The Domesticated Four. He lives with his wife and two children in Southern California. Visit him at www.dantat.com.

Do you think anyone will notice if I'm out?

Laurent de Brunhoff delivers art for the newest BABAR book

Laurent de Brunhoff delivers art for the newest BABAR book, originally uploaded by chadwbecks.

Nurse, Solider, Spy: Story of Sarah Edmonds—ART SNEAK PEAK!

John Hendrix posted a few final pieces for his next illustrated adventure, Marissa Moss's Nurse, Solider, Spy. The Story of Sarah Edmonds, on his blog. His last book John Brown was met with much critical acclaim. However his art for this new book might in fact be even more impressive!






"For those of you who are not aware of the story of Sarah Edmonds- she was a passionate woman who wanted to fight for the Union in the Civil War. But in order to enlist, dressed up as a man, Frank Thompson. In this book, we tell the tale of her enlistment, her exceptional abilities in the battle field and her adventures as a spy behind the Confederate lines. She went on many clandestine missions, but in this book we depict one where she dressed as a slave. "—John Hendrix


To find out more about John follow his blog Drawing on a Deadline