Day 272: Drawing a Sea Rex with Molly Idle

Molly Idle has been drawing ever since she could wield a pencil. But while she started scribbling before she could walk, her professional career as an artist began slightly later…
It was upon her graduation from Arizona State University, with a BFA in Drawing, that Molly accepted an offer to work for DreamWorks Feature Animation Studios.  After five years, a number of film credits, and an incredibly good time, she left the studio and leapt with gusto into the world of children's book illustration!
Molly now lives in Arizona with her brilliant husband, two wonderfully mischievous sons, and two snugly cats. When not making mischief with her boys or watching old Technicolor musicals, she can be found at her desk scribbling away, with a pencil in one hand and a cup of espresso in the other- creating a plethora of profoundly whimsical picture books!

Don't forget to visit Molly's website!

Day 271: Drawing Llama Llama with Anna Dewdney

Anna's bio, in her own words:
I live in a big old house in Vermont with three scruffy dogs, and I spend a lot of time on the road, mostly visiting my two daughters, as well as schools and libraries.  I talk at conferences, and I go visit my publisher in New York.  But mostly, I spend my time at home, sketching, writing, and painting.  I spend at least an hour a day in the woods, running and walking with my dogs, and I love to putter around outside, planning gardens and cutting down trees.  I spend most of my time in the studio, making pictures and writing stories.  It’s a pretty good life, and it took me a long time to get here.

Alice, my little sister, liked dressing up and playing pretend with me, and she also really liked beautiful, fancy things. She has two great kids.  I am lucky that she lives nearby, too!

I’ve had a lot of paying jobs over the years:  waitress, furniture salesperson, daycare provider, teacher (I also drove the school bus), mail carrier (that was probably my favorite “real” job...), but through it all, I drew pictures, sometimes for money, and wrote...although no one bought my stories until a few years ago.
I  come from a family of five -- mom, dad, and three girls, Tanya, Anna, and Alice.

My mom is a really cool mom. She is also a writer. You may have read her book, Only Brave Tomorrows, by Winifred Luhrmann. I am lucky that I still get to spend time with my parents because they live nearby.

My Dad is a doctor. He reads a lot, and likes to collect books. When my sisters and I were little, he used to read to us from A. A. Milne's POOH books. Now, whenever I read them to my own children or to myself, I hear his voice.

My older sister Tanya went away to school when I was only seven years old, so I didn't spend too much time with her when I was little. She was always reading serious books and using big words. I guess that's what she likes to do, because now she writes serious books and uses lots of big words when she teaches at the Stanford University. She still gets silly, sometimes, though, and we have a lot of fun when we get together. Tanya's latest book is When God Talks Back (Knopf 2013).

Remember to visit Anna's website!

Day 270: Drawing Bernice with Hannah E. Harrison

Hannah Harrison was born as Hannah Smith in 1978 in Laconia, New Hampshire. Shortly thereafter, she discovered her love of crayons. As an only child, they provided countless hours of entertainment and imagination. She also discovered that her pets, much to their dismay, were also a wonderful source of entertainment--especially when dressed in doll clothes.

Unlike her friends, Hannah did not want to start kindergarten at age five. She wanted to stay home and play for another year. She did not realize that she would have no one to play with, since they would all be at school. So Hannah filled her time with more drawing, imagining, and harassing of animals.

When Hannah finally started kindergarten at the ripe-old age of six, she was promptly moved from her kindergarten art class to the fifth grade art class by her wonderful art teacher, Marlene Witham. They called it “Special Art”. She soon mastered the media of egg-crate, popsicle stick, and colored macaroni.

While at Woodland Heights Elementary, Hannah discovered her passion for writing children’s books when she won the “Young Author Book Award” in 2nd and 3rd grade. The Lost Tooth, and The Bunny Ball were a huge hit in many social circles (mostly the circles that had her parents in them). It was then that Hannah decided she would like to one day have a career writing and illustrating children‘s books.

Hannah continued to excel in art at Memorial Middle School and Laconia High School, under the careful guidance and encouragement of Linda Danielovich. She also began taking art lessons from Larry Frates. And as a Senior in High School, the Boston Globe Scholastic Art Awards, deemed her portfolio one of the 100 best in the nation.

Graduating as a “smart cookie,” and the top female in her high school class, Hannah was fortunate to further her education at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. While there, she continued to follow her dream of becoming a children’s book author and illustrator by majoring in Art, and minoring in Creative Writing. She studied under Bevin Engman, Gail Spaien, Scott Reed, Susan Kenney, Monica Wood, and James (Jennie) Boylan. She created her own independent study in Children’s book writing. She also interned with famed children’s book illustrator Kevin Hawkes. She helped him on his book Handel: Who Knew What He Liked. Mostly, she did research, but she learned a heck of a lot from him, too--including how to illustrate with acrylics. Hannah was touched to discover that he later dedicated the book to her “with much gratitude”. She also went on to become a Senior Scholar in painting , and in 2001 had a show in the museum titled Drawing From Words. Her paintings were inspired by the short stories she had written as a Creative Writing minor, and included such subjects as enormous babies and pirates.

Since graduating from Colby, Hannah has become a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), and a Signature Member of the Cider Painters of America and The Hilliard Society. She was also one of the charter members of The Village Artist’s & Gallery, an artist’s co-operative. She has donated her artwork to fundraising auctions for humane societies, and has collected donations for animal shelters at two of her solo exhibitions. She has won twenty awards for her paintings, including five Best in Shows, two Judge’s Choice awards, three Popular Votes and the Presidential Award. She has painted portraits, signs, murals, theatre sets, fine art, children's books, and, since moving to Oklahoma in 2006--even tombstones!  She paints with oils and acrylics, and does a little pen and ink, too. Her hobbies include crocheting, embroidering, and dancing. She is what is often referred to as “artsy-fartsy”.

Hannah’s paintings are a reflection of her life so far. They’re of animals dressed up in clothes, and of people she knows. They’re nostalgic and whimsical, and a reflection of a childhood filled with light and imagination. They’re a combination of childish innocence and adult sarcasm. They’re fine art paintings masquerading as illustrations. But mostly, they’re just fun.

Visit Hannah's website!

Day 269: Drawing PiBoIdMo's Logo with Tara Lazar and Troy Cummings

Street magic performer. Hog-calling champion. Award-winning ice sculptor. These are all things Tara Lazar has never been. Instead, she writes quirky, humorous picture books featuring magical places that everyone will want to visit.

Her picture books available now are:

• THE MONSTORE (Aladdin/S&S, 2013)
• I THOUGHT THIS WAS A BEAR BOOK(Aladdin/S&S, 2015)
• LITTLE RED GLIDING HOOD (Random House Children’s, Oct 2015)

These titles are coming soon:

• NORMAL NORMAN (Sterling, March 2016)
• WAY PAST  BEDTIME (Aladdin/S&S, Fall 2016)
• 7 ATE 9: THE UNTOLD STORY (Disney*Hyperion, 2017)

Tara is represented by Ammi-Joan Paquette of the Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

Her last name rhymes with “bazaar”—you can listen to Tara pronounce her name on TeachingBooks.net. She’s not Tara Laser-beam (although that would be awesome).

5 Unusual Facts About Tara:

And the not so unusual stuff…

Tara at 3 years old

Tara loves children’s books. Her goal is to create books that children love.

She writes picture books and middle grade novels. She’s written short stories for Abe’s Peanut and is featured in Break These Rules, a book of life-lesson essays for teens, edited by author Luke Reynolds.

Tara created PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) as the picture book writer’s answer to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). PiBoIdMo is held on this blog every November. In 2014, PiBoIdMo featured over 1,300 participants from around the world.

Tara was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2010 and has permanently lost feeling in her feet and legs. She has an inspirational story to share about overcoming a chronic illness to achieve your goals and dreams. Tara can speak to groups big and small, young and old—just contact her for more information.

Tara was recently named a council member of theRutgers University Council on Children’s Literature. She’s belongs to SCBWI and speaks at conferences and events regarding picture books, brainstorming techniques, and social media for authors (backed by 20 years experience in internet marketing). Her former career was in high-tech marketing and PR.

She also teaches for The Writer’s Circle Workshops.

Tara is a life-long New Jersey resident. She lives in Somerset County with her husband and two young daughters. If they had a dog, it would be a small white fluffy thing named Schluffy.

HOW TO CONTACT TARA:

• Email: tarakidlit (at) gmail (dot) com
• Twitter: @taralazar
• Pinterest: pinterest.com/taralazar
• Facebook: facebook.com/authortara

Troy Cummings has been writing and illustrating since he was a little kid. Among other things, he's the creator of  GIDDY-UP, DADDY!, the tale of a man mistaken for a horse, and THE NOTEBOOK OF DOOM, an early-reader chapter book series about a kid who moves to a town full of monsters.

In addition to books, Troy's illustrations have appeared on:

Animated backdrops for an opera
a package of fish sticks
Jigsaw puzzles
iPad pop-up books
A poster warning people about germs
A poster warning people about a film festival
A cookbook for dogs
A thing for the humane society
A card game about hiking
Newspapers, magazines and greeting cards
Troy Cummings lives in Greencastle, Indiana with his nice family and mean cat.

Remember to visit Tara and Troy's websites!

Day 268: Drawing a Skeleton with Steve Metzger and Aaron Zenz

Steve Metzger's bio, in his own words:
I grew up in Queens, New York. It was a quieter time…when kids could enjoy hours of unsupervised outdoor play with their friends.

I was fortunate to have supportive parents and a wonderful younger sister, Lois (now a writer of amazing young-adult books – check out her website: loismetzger.com). Mutti, my remarkable grandmother, was a source of unconditional love, something every child needs.

I had a variety of jobs – dishwasher, taxi driver, hotel room clerk, and import manager – before finding my true calling, working with children. I went to graduate school and received my teaching degree from “Bank Street College of Education.”

I spent 15 happy years as a classroom teacher. Afterward, I worked at Scholastic, where I received the opportunity to write children’s books. Seventy books later, I’m still writing…and loving it!

I live with my wife, Nancy; daughter, Julia; and Biscuit, a talkative cat, in New York City.

Aaron Zenz is the author and illustrator of The Hiccupotamus. He is the illustrator of 9 additional children's books as well.
Aaron lives in West Michigan. In addition to writing and illustrating, he also frequently visits schools and libraries where he inspires kids to read and write through fun, interactive programs."

Visit Steve and Aaron's websites!

Day 267: Drawing Boo-La-La Witch Spa with Samantha Bergar and Isabel Roxas

Samantha Berger writes and writes and writes (she even wrote *this*). 

She has written picture books like CRANKENSTEIN! illustrated by Dan Santat (Little, Brown, 2013), A CRANKENSTEIN VALENTINE (Little, Brown December, 2014), WITCH SPA illustrated by Isabel Roxas (Dial, August 2015), and SNOOZEFEST illustrated by Kristyna Litten (Dial, January 2015).

She also has written picture books like SANTA'S REINDEER GAMES illustrated by John Manders (Cartwheel, 2011), MARTHA DOESN'T SHARE, and MARTHA DOESN'T SAY SORRY illustrated by Bruce Whatley (Little, Brown 2010, 2009), which won a Parent's Choice Award Honor. 

She has written cartoons and promos for Nickelodeon and other networks. She has written comic books and commercials. 
She has written movie trailers, theme songs, slogans, magazine articles, poems, TV-books, sticker books and professional books.
You name it, Sam writes it. 

And when she ISN'T WRITING.... She's doing voice-overs, traveling the world, and helping rescue dogs. 

THEN... 
she writes about that, too! 

Samantha splits her time between New York City and sunny California. 

These days, she's in New York City, living in a dee-luxe apartment in the sky with her dingo-chihuahua dog, Polly Pocket.

Isabel's bio, in her own words:
My name is Isabel, I illustrate books for children, paint pictures and design stuff for grown-ups.

I have two new books fresh from the press. One is called Boo La La Witch Spa (written by the fabulously wicked Samantha Berger). It was published by DIAL book for Young Readers, in time for Halloween 2015. The other is called Mang Andoy’s Signs (written by Mailing Paterno), published by Tahanan Books for Young Readers, Fall 2015.

I am currently putting finishing touches on a book called Let Me Finish (words by Minh Le) with a super duper team at Disney Hyperion (Summer 2016).

In 2013 I had the good fortune to create a spread (and cover) for the NY Times best-seller Goodnight Songs (Sterling, 2014), a collection of lullabies from Margaret Wise Brown (YES, THAT Margaret Wise Brown!).

I was born in Manila, the cacophonous, idiosyncratic capital of the Philippine Islands. I was raised on luscious mangoes, old wives’ tales, handcrafted mats, and woven toys, as well as a healthy dose of American encyclopedias, Sesame Street, Japanese animation and British children’s stories. I have a taste for the slightly odd and uncommon, and for tales that go awry.

Today I work in a small studio in Brooklyn, in a former Pencil Factory full of other illustrators and small-business owners. I share the space with my husband and we co-manage a contemporary art gallery that is a showcase for the interweaving histories of America, Asia and Europe, with a special focus on Southeast Asia.

Remember to visit Samantha and Isabel's websites!

Day 266: Drawing a Hamster Princess with Ursula Vernon

Ursula Vernon is the author and illustrator of "Nurk," "Digger," and a number of other projects. The daughter of an artist, she spent her youth attempting to rebel and become a scientist, but eventually succumbed to the siren song of paint (although not before getting a degree in anthropology, because life isn't complete without student loans, right?). Her work has been nominated for an Eisner award, "Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition" and a number of Webcomics Choice Awards.

Ursula grew up in Oregon and Arizona, went to college at Macalester College in Minnesota, and stayed there for ten years, until she finally learned to drive in deep snow and was obligated to leave the state.

In addition to writing and making art, Ms. Vernon is "an avid birdwatcher, occasional neophyte practitioner of the sword art of iaido, and an amateur thrower of pots." She is active in her local webcomics community, and can occasionally be found at local science fiction conventions, looking vaguely baffled by the crowd and signing anything put in front of her.

Having moved across the country several times, she eventually settled in Pittsboro, North Carolina, where she works full-time as an artist and creator of oddities. She lives with her boyfriend, a spastic Beagle, a (fairly) mellow Border Collie, a small collection of cats, and a large collection of Indonesian demon masks, which generally manage to keep her out of trouble.

Don't forget to visit Ursula's website!