Ken W. Min ~ Illustrator

The Day is Done (UPDATED)

yesterday illustrator's day (see previous post), an event i helped coordinate, came...and went.

it turned out to be a lot of fun and i was really happy with how everything played out. and if you know me, i'm my own harshest critic, so there's always something to bug me, even if it's some small detail that no one else would really pick up, but i can't say there was anything glaring yesterday...well, o.k. i wince every time i think about how i too quickly turned off the lights in the auditorium on brian floca's slide presentation. should have done it one light switch at a time, drop the lights gradually. sorry brian.

so i hope that everyone who attended came away with some good info, a touch of inspiration and a smile.

i also want to thank my tag team partner, milla, for co-conceiving the day with me and to my "volunteer army" for all their best efforts behind the scenes.

tho, i think the best part for me was getting to meet and know such bright, creative folks in the children's publishing world. my hat's off to brian floca, jen rofé, rich deas, abigail samoun and the irascible dan santat.

maybe we can all do it again sometime.

 

(* UPDATE- we've got pictures! if you would like to see some of the pictures from the day, you can visit the flickr site of friend rita who shot the pictures at this link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rhcrayon/sets/72157625453108190/

 

 

SCBWI-LA Illustrator's Day 2010

i suppose i could have written about this sooner, considering it takes place this saturday, but well, ha ha.

illustrator's day is coming. this is an event that i co-organized and i think we have a pretty spiffy line-up. we have author/illustrator/ dan santat, tricycle press editor abigail samoun, sr. creative director at macmillan rich deas, author/illustrator brian floca and literary agent jennifer rofé (accent on the 'e')

my partner and i have been plotting, planning, moving huge boulders and making back room deals to get this event put together and, frankly, i can't wait to see it unfold. i think we've got a little something for everyone. interested in how a picture book is conceived? you'll find out here from brian floca. want a mix of craft and industry talk plus what an editor thinks when acquiring a book? abigail samoun will tell all. what goes into cover designing? listen to rich deas. you've got a book to promote? jennifer rofé will tell you how (and she'll clean your fridge. what do i mean by that? come to illustrator's day and i'll tell you. :)

i don't know what dan santat is planning. he keeps saying he'll get around to preparing his talk. one of these days. that's why i've developed an ulcer and a nervous tick.

i think the curiousity of what dan is presenting- that alone is worth the price of admission. 

plus we'll have raffle give-aways, books for sale, contest prizes, and a secret something that we won't spoil here.

find all the details below:

http://www.scbwisocal.org/events/la_illustrators_day.html

 

so come on out and see what all is going on. it will be a blast!

The Bet that Paid Off! (UPDATED)

finished up the SCBWI summer conference over the weekend and i definitely had a blast. lots of good speakers. lots of great workshops and to me, the best thing of all, was hanging with a lot of wonderful people.

but the one thing i wanted to specifically follow up on was the bet i made with one tammi sauer. ms. sauer hails from oklahoma and i, of course, live in LA so we made a friendly basketball sports wager on the outcome of the LA lakers/OKC thunder match up. if the lakers lost, i would pony up original art. if the thunder lost, i get an advanced, signed copy of tammi's new book. but best of all, loser has to wear a t-shirt of the winning ball club during one day at the SCBWI summer children's book conference.

guess who won?

yup, tammi is sporting the purple and gold of the NBA champion lakers.

and here's my booty from the bet.

 

with it's rather curious dedication

tammi was an incredibly good sport and to show you all that i'm not the cad you might think i am for making possibly one-sided bets, i presented her with some art based on her most recent book "chicken dance" (illustrated by my buddy dan santat)

so, please, a round of applause for tammi sauer and go out there and read her books. they are terrific.

visit tammi's website at:

http://www.tammisauer.com/Home_Page.html

'mostly monsterly' comes out august 31st in fine book stores near you. get a copy!

(UPDATED) i would be remiss if i didn't mention the very cool, sweet swag that tammi brought out for me from OKC. i have to imagine i'm the only person in LA driving around with this particular car flag.

 

on another note, i noticed there was this rather curious mustachio'd gentleman wandering about the conference flirting with all the ladies. i think his name is something like enrique suave (accent on the 'e') and apparently he is something of a lothario at large. beware ladies, beware!

(and one rather disgruntled dan santat who was not amused. OH NO, not at all)

It's Summer Conference Time Again...

it's the middle of summer which means it's time for the SCBWI national conference. the conference takes place july 30th - august 2nd at the hyatt here in century city, ca. i always enjoy getting together with old friends and making new ones while rubbing elbows with...well, whoever will rub elbows with me.

they always have a nice roster of talent speaking and discussing the business of children's literature, but here's my list of things that i'm looking forward to this year:

-that "first day of school" feeling the morning the conference begins. i still get a touch of the butterflies in my stomach. but it's always nice to see how people are doing and what's new with everyone.

-wondering what the ratio of writers to illustrators will be this year, cause you know, we illustrators are the 'black sheep' of the group. *baaaaa*

-hazing the obvious newbies who are here for their first conference. like giving them the wrong directions, making them carry my pack, letting them push pennies across the lobby of the hotel with their nose and having them wear their clothes inside out and backwards for the first day of the conference. be forewarned 'scrubs', find a good place to hide!

-wondering what take-out food author lisa yee will forget about and leave under the seat of her car to fester and 'mutate' and ripen by the time of the conference; like an unwanted science experiment. last year she had a bevy of little creatures come alive to sprout, amuse and entertain her. that is until she took her vehicle to get it cleaned out. this year, i'm guessing the food of choice will be a nice half eaten burrito. and could you please leave your car parked out on the street under the hot sun to ensure maximum results?

-seeing writer tammi sauer model the latest in l.a. laker fashion wear. ms. sauer and i made a little sports wager back when my lakers were playing the oklahoma city thunder in a basketball playoff series. loser has to wear a shirt with the logo of the winning team. gee, i wonder who lost that fight? now it's just a matter of which day is best for her to wear that stunning, sparkly, shiny shirt i picked out for her...

-drinks in the lobby. if you know what i mean, just touch the side of your nose and nod your head once.

-the sugary snack we get on monday afternoon. some years it's ice cream. sometimes it's cookies. and some days it's cupcakes. at heart, we're all little kids looking for a treat at the end of a fun, busy and informative conference.

looking forward to a good time.

and i plan to be sporting a moustache!

NaPiBoWriWee-Day 2, Post 1

slept in today. feeling much better after the bout with whatever bug i had yesterday. feeling almost like my normal self. don't think it was the s---- flu going around. not unless it's something one can kick in 24-36 hours. or maybe i just have a super human immune system. like wolverine! yeah, cool. arrgh.

still, decided to stay in today which meant, unfortunately, i skipped out on going to a wedding.

sad, yes, but it gave me time to lay back and do some writing.

wrote out rough (and i do mean 'rough') drafts for two stories.

that'll at least get me back on track.

time to get back to bed and curl up with some comic books. let's see what wolverine is doing now.

for more info on "napibowriwee" go to http://paulayoo.com/

NaPiBoWriWee-Day 1, Post 5

went to lie down and rest the ol' body. let it try and heal thy self. but ideas came to me. i plotted out 4 stories in long hand and need a middle and an ending on a fifth. this is all coming together nicely. granted i haven't strung words together to actually form sentences, but there is time enough later. i do so love the conceptualizing stage. where one can just let the mind wander and feel out tales.

why does my hair look like conan o'brien with that updo sweep? oh, yeah, cause i didn't wash it and it's a little ratty today. i wonder if there could be a story in that??...

time for lunch and off to paint. 3x3 canvases won't paint themselves. (as much as i wish it were possible)

for more info on "napibowriwee" go to http://paulayoo.com/

NaPiBoWriWee-Day 1, Post 4

woke up this morning feeling very off. actually, 'woke up' is a relative term. i woke up several times this morning because my stomach was not doing so well. now it seems i'm running a slight fever. slight.

rats.

i hope it's not that s---- bug going around. i don't see how i could have contracted it. i didn't leave the apartment at all yesterday. i just trudged around the place in my robe with my kleenex box shoes muttering to myself.

this will make painting and writing tricky...

for more info on "napibowriwee" go to http://paulayoo.com/

NaPiBoWriWee-Day 1, Post 3

before i can get heavily involved in the picture book writing, i need to finish 3 paintings. damn you, paying gigs, why do we need to chase the green cabbage in order to eat and live? i'd much rather have fun making up stories.

if i only had a machine that could take dictations straight from my brain. i wouldn't need to speak the words, rather it would just take my thoughts and write them down. granted, those thoughts would come out all jumbly and disorganized and...strange. but i could then paint and "write" at the same time.

also, i wouldn't leave the market having forgotten that one item that was on the tip of my tongue that i couldn't remember cause the 'brain machine'© would have written my shopping list for me.

for more info on "napibowriwee" go to http://paulayoo.com/

NaPiBoWriWee-Day 1, Post 2

cold...cold...so cold here inside my head.

where are the ideas????

where, where, where!

come on, something....

.......

wait!

nah!

eh...

yes, yes...

gotta go.

TAP, TAP, TAP, TAP...

for more info on "napibowriwee" go to http://paulayoo.com/

NaPiBoWriWee-Day 1, Post 1

friday may 1st.

having a bowl of cereal while surfing the 'net and checking email. need an idea. what to write about. what would a kid like to read about? stare at bowl of cereal. is my cereal talking to me? i listen closely. snap, crackle, pop. what about a story where the honey bunches of o's escape the confines of my bowl and make a mad dash for freedom...? nah, too complicated. too elaborate. too...dumb. how about water buffalo...nah, lame. when i think of water buffaloes i think of fred flintstone and the order of the water buffalo and his silly hat. ah, my kingdom for an idea.

WWPD (what would Paula do?)

for more info on "napibowriwee" go to http://paulayoo.com/