Ken W. Min ~ Illustrator for Hire

SCBWI: Post Conference

tired.

that's the first thing that comes to mind after the 4 day conference that took place last weekend. i think that's why, in part, it has taken me so long to get back to updating this thing.

energized.

that's the second word that i think of.

who would have thought that sitting around for 4 days would be tiring. it's not like i went hiking or climbed a mountain all of last weekend. but it's the wealth of information that one takes in. of meeting new people and getting to know them and making new friends. of discovering new art and artists that inspire and make you "want to be a better person" (to coin a phrase from that jack nicholson movie) but in this case- to be a better artist. so maybe this is also where the word "energized" comes into the picture.

definitely should have blogged about this earlier in the week, when everything was fresh and new in my mind, but i had to get back to this poster that i'm working on. i'm only pausing now because i just had lunch and i'm "digesting" (yeah, right, more like goofing off :)

but, really, had a good time at the conference. learned a lot. enjoyed listening to the speakers. it's nice when you can come into a situation where you are not overly familiar with someone and they put on an entertaining presentation. that was true for a number of the speakers most notably peter brown, kadir nelson, allyn johnston and marla frazee, larry day and john green, 

peter brown is a writer/illustrator (who also happens to hail from my alma mater- art center). he is the author of three books currently out on the market. "flight of the dodo", "chowder" and "the fabulous bouncing chowder". i'm fond of all three of his books but i think that the new one, "the fabulous bouncing chowder" is the best yet. he gave a great presentation of his career up to now but it was in his individual workshop that we got to see inside the process- of how he worked to develop his style. he showed us what other artists influenced his look, and it wasn't just any one person, but rather he took a little from a variety of artists and created an amalgamation of those different styles and channeled them into what would become his art. when i look on his work i see smooth playful colors depicting fun, whimsical images. and textures. i love textures if you haven't guessed from my own work. check out peter's work at: www.somebrownstuff.com

kadir nelson is an illustrator who has worked on some really fine books. passionate comes to mind. passion in the subject matters and passion in the art. the art is big and broad and bold in it's expression and pallete.  very good, hearty stuff. he also has a new book coming out centering on the negro baseball league. being a huge baseball fan, and specifically the dodgers who helped integrate baseball when they signed jackie robinson, i look forward to reading this one.

i admit to some bias when it comes to marla frazee. i took a class under her at art center on children's books. so much of what i know came under her tutelage. she and her editor at harcourt, allyn johnston, did a little presentation on their working relationship as author/illustrator and editor. they had a little back and forth banter going which really highlights their friendship but also their mutual respect for one another's talents. you can also tell that in their working relationship, they draw the best out of the other. marla has a new book coming out in the spring which looks to be a lot of fun. view marla's work at: www.marlafrazee.com

larry day was not an illustrator that i was familiar with before the conference. he won an award during the weekend and so i decided to take in his workshop. he's quite the cool character. he's an ad guy from the windy city, chicago, and he has a book out called "not afraid of dogs". working as a storyboard guy, day has a quick, sketchy style which is what you want with storyboards. but when he slightly modifies that approach with his books he creates something that has the quality of energy and movement with a narrative that is direct and conveys the story easily. he's working on a new book about the duel between alexander hamilton and aaron burr. the sketches he showed along with a couple of finished pieces automatically puts this on my wish list. it's a great period in history to depict and i often think of that hilarious commercial that came out years ago based on those "got milk" ad campaigns. here's a link to youtube with said commercial: www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-JyOMJsPMM

john green is the author of "an abundance of katherines" and "looking for alaska". he gave a very earnest and endearingly funny talk about his work and process. i'm not familiar with his novels but just from his talk, i'll be looking to do some catching up on his books. john green's site is at: www.sparksflyup.com/

i apologize for expounding on the illustrators and just only, apparently, highlighting the writers. (actually make that writer. looks like i only mentioned one writer and 4 illustrators) eh, sue me, i guess you know where my heart lies...:)

but i did take away a lot of things from the conference. new books to look at, new experiences, a very cool moment that happened on saturday, new friends and also some good practical advice. if you want to get better at your craft you need to immerse yourself in the field. to that end, this one particular author, linda sue park, said that if you are a writer of young adult novels you need to read 500 novels in your life. and for picture book people, you need to read 1000 picture books. and when i thought about it, she was right. i do read picture books but not to that degree. her advice was absolutely practical. in order to get better at writing (and illustrating) picture books, one should read all sorts- the good ones and the "not so good" ones (so as to see what doesn't work) invariably, it comes down to making you better at your craft.

stuff to work towards, i think.

k

p.k. (post ken)

i made a new friend who resides in the midwest. even though she is a writer, i think she harbors art chick aspirations. she "claims" to be an expert palm tree illustrator, so i put her to the test. now i possess an original drawing by "j". as you will note, in the bottom right corner, i've already priced it for auction. i'll be throwing it up on ebay in the coming weeks. thanks "j", you are going to make me a rich man.

(just kiddin' "j". i'm not going to sell it...maybe trade it for a hockney :)

Book Fair Poster

i've been working on a freelance project- a book fair poster- an event that will take place early next year. it's been fun so far. here's a look at the color sketch.

my concept is to showcase various characters from different novels as if they are "emerging" from their books. i have characters ranging from tom sawyer, mowgli from the jungle book, jay gatsby (my favorite book) and others. i've decided to work on it in segments, focusing on individual elements/characters. this way, in the final draft, i can move people around, move them closer, up or down, and also pull them out and feature them on postcards and bookmarks.
i've painted up a couple as of this writing. i figured, with my children's book conference starting up tomorrow, i thought i would include these two in my portfolio. (hey- kill two birds with one stone) have a look at the results.

 

The Getty Villa

a friend put together a field trip down to the getty villa museum in malibu this past week. it was the first time in, i can't remember how many years, since i last visited the getty villa...well, now that i think about it, there was an art history girl i knew back in '94...but i''d rather not dwell on her right now...

in a prior post, i talked about an exhibit i saw at the getty center. the getty villa, on the other hand, is the original museum located along pacific coast highway which housed much of the collection of j. paul getty.  the getty villa was closed for a number of years while undergoing some renovations and remodeling. in that time, the getty center now houses much of the artwork of the collection, while the getty villa contains the antiquity collection.

it was interesting to go back and see the original villa. much of the area surrounding the villa has changed (with some new buildings erected and an outdoor amphitheater installed), while the villa itself has remained relatively the same- which is to say that the villa has a clean and "polished" look to it, with some minor upgrades of technology to enhance a person's visit. the reflecting pool is still the center piece of the compound with some fun statuary poking around the grounds.

if you are a fan of ancient mediterranean cultures, greek, roman, etruscan, etc., the villa is definitely worth a visit. and don't forget, you can pick up your roman action figure, with sword and sandals accessories, at the gift shop on the way out.

what follows are a few picts i took of my visit:

   

(wherever you go, the eyes follow you--j/k)

as always, click on the image for a larger view.

ciao

 

Under the Sea

here's another piece i'm doing for the 'ol portfolio. the scbwi summer conference is coming up so i like to do some new things for it.

i don't know where the idea for the image came from. i think i was staring at a fish in an aquarium and it's little one-sided eye was staring back at me and i wondered what it must have been doing before it was put in this tank and then the fish spoke to me and said, "how is my family?" which really spooked me and then i...

o.k. i actually made that story up. i really don't know where the idea for the picture came from. although, have you ever worn a diving mask while in water and stood in a pose where half the mask was in the water and half above it and it's like you could see clearly into two worlds? i think part of that memory played into this image. i think that's why the ocean floor is shallow and so close to the surface. i also wanted to get a strip of sky across the top. and i personally like the way the little girl's hair came out. weightless, unbridled, free.

anyways.

i've posted the pencil and final image for your perusal.

SCBWI

what is it and does it have a catchy nickname?

for a while now, i have been gearing my artwork towards the children's market. that's why you probably won't see a lot of pictures of superheroes wearing spandex on this site. (not that there is anything wrong with that. i still read the funny books. just check out my bio) but, as was explained in a prior post, i'm about making art (and one day books) for children.

which brings me to SCBWI. SCBWI stands for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. (look for a link to the organization- stage right -->) i have been an associate member now for 5 years. it's a great place where people with a love of children's books can gather and share in their joy of the medium. it's also a great place for networking, gathering resources and information, and just to get a general idea and feel for the children's book industry.

i have met some really nice and talented folks through this organization. people who have made me a better illustrator. (of course i wouldn't tell them that, it would just go to their collective heads :)

but it's a good group to be a part of.

plus, this august, their annual summer conference is taking place here in los angeles. if you have any interest in the field, you should definitely look into it. it's 4 days of talks, workshops, good information, a portfolio display of the best up and comers along with some laughs, good stories, parties and my personal favorite- drinks in the hotel bar after it is all over. that's when my friends and i unwind and relax while waiting out rush hour traffic. check out the SCBWI website for more information.

now, if only there was a catchy nickname for 'SCBWI'. i've had friends refer to them as "squibly" or "squeeby". (i don't think the higher ups in the organization would be too keen on those names :)

alas, we'll just have to keep working on it.

Art in Progress: Bear Park ~ Fin

not a heavily inked picture, (unlike the last one) but altogether satisfying. i'm actually happiest when i don't do a lot of ink work. my goal is to use fewer inked lines, cause i'm hoping i can pull off some contrast just from the paint...one hopes :)
i'm probably most pleased with the grass. i was wondering if i could pull it off- the idea of it that was in my head; the contrasting shades. i knew how i wanted it to look and how i wanted to approach it, but there are times when something just goes off the tracks and gets a little messy. but in this case it worked for me.

whew!

(you can view a larger image by clicking on the picture)

Art in Progress: Bear Park pt. 5

paint job time.

we're rounding the corner and heading into the final stretch. as you will notice, i've only painted in the main figures. this is something i've been doing lately. keeping color on the main characters only while leaving some background characters or other "props" dressed in similar colors. it's just an added way to direct and draw the viewer's eye. (or so i say, maybe i'm just full of myself...or full of something :)
i will go in and add some details to the background characters to separate, and to distinguish them, from the bg.

but that's the next step. the final stage. the ink job.

(you can view a larger version of this stage by clicking on the image above)

Art in Progress: Bear Park pt. 4

field and background.

i don't really have a set pattern when i paint. i know some people like to render in the backgrounds first in order to incorporate and blend in the main figures to the bg and get that color harmony. some like to do the main focal point then the bg. i started with the background first in this instant because i was worried how the bg would come off. was i going to get what i pictured in my head or was it going to give me problems. in which case, i didn't want to have painted in the main bodies only to, possibly, start over. (sure in this day and age, with photoshop, one could easily take the figure from one image and drop it onto another, but when possible, i like to have everything all in one- call me old fashioned :) thankfully in this case, it came out well. i was worried that i would screw up the blades of grass and mess up the contrast of light colors against the darker grain. especially the way i paint, it's easy to go too dark, too fast. but i'm happy and i'm moving on.

Art in Progress: Bear Park pt. 3

final sketch ~ before it goes to board.

tightened some things up. settled on a face for my bear. not a whole lot to say so i think i'll go ahead and do another post with the next stage.

Art in Progress: Bear Park pt. 2

character design stage.

always fun...(he said tongue in cheek-ily) this can sometimes make or break my enjoyment of a piece. if i can find an interesting "take" on the character, then i'm content enough to move on through. but if it feels like pulling teeth, well then, so goes my mood. and if this is the case, then the piece can move along very slowly. (and it's not like i'm trying to re-invent the wheel, character-wise, just want something that compliments the composition in my head)

and this is also a good place to play loose with the action of the piece. like how the kid sits on the bear's shoulder. the way the boy's body flows out from the bear. if i like the sketch well enough, i'll sometimes just trace it out again to preserve the "spontaneity" of the form.

sometimes. :)