It's a busy season...I don't know why it's always that way for me...more work over the Holidays than in the summer. But that's alright. Here's what's been going on.
I received my advance author copies of "Dear Cinderella" from Scholastic. I illustrated this cute girly book and it'll be out in February 2012. It is always fun to see the finished result of months of hard work. And they even added glitter...
Creating an eBook
Text and Images for "Princesses, Princesses, Princesses" are copyrighted by Julie Olson 2011
I am working on an eBook for Nook and Kindle and downloadable pdf. I decided to take this approach with a personal project of mine and see how it goes. Tell me what you think so far. Keep in mind this pdf viewer has compressed and pixelated the images greatly. But you'll get the general idea. Honest critiques are welcomed. Now is the time to make changes. ...
Working on a few projects
So my summer was fairly slow in the illustration arena but very full with adventure and fun on the home front. And then school started and my baby boy began to walk. I think things were turned upside down for me then. HE GETS INTO EVERYTHING now. So even though he takes a lot more of my time and attention right now (and for the next few years of mayhem) I'll enjoy the sweet moments and get what I...
Little Penguin: Emperor of Antarctica
My book "Little Penguin: Emperor of Antarctica" just released. You can check for it at your local bookstore on get it here. It's so fun to see your books actually printed. They even got the color matched really nicely on my illustrations. (That's always a concer...
"Lazy" days of Summer
I had grand plans at the beginning of this summer. I'm in between contracts right now so I thought, "PERFECT! I can work on my own projects." I thought with the kids out of school and no homework or school obligations to worry about, I could just let them run free and get some personal illustration projects done. I did finish my "Doggy Day" picture book dummy and have my agent shopping that around....
All for Nothing
I've never had it happen before, but a publisher has decided not to publish a book I illustrated. They killed the job. Fortunately it was a "Flat Fee" project meaning there were no royalties in the contract. Instead, it was a large up-front flat fee. So if a project had to be killed before going to print, this would be the one because I'm not out any potential money by it never going to print....
Little Penguin coming this Fall
Marshall Cavendish just put a link up to their Fall 2011 Catalog. The book I finished illustrating last summer about this time, "Little Penguin: The Emperor of Antarctica" written by Jonathan London (author of the well-known Froggy books), can be seen on page 18. I can't wait to actually see the book itself. If you click on the "Portfolio" tab under the title bar above, you can see some of the interior...
XBox Birthday Cake - Illustrator's Creation
So I think if I weren't an illustrator, I could definitely get into cake decorating...especially with all the fun things you can do with Fondant these days. I thought I'd just post a little ditty about how I made my son's birthday cake this year. I had a blast doing it.
First I researched on YouTube videos on how to make homemade marshmallow fondant. Here and Here are the videos I followed, but I...
Doggy Day- Pages 12-13
This is a sample of how I'd finish off the illustrations. Copyright 20...
Doggy Day Dummy Book Finished - Pages 2-3
copyright 2011
I finally finished a dummy book I've been working on for a few years (in between paid work).
For the next couple of weeks, I'm going to post a spread a day until it's all out there. So stay tuned. Today you get the cover and the dedication/copyright pages. Feel free to comment and suggest.
copyright 20...
I'm So Proud
My adorable 7 year old daughter says she wants to be an illustrator when she grows up just like me. She had to do this worksheet at school I'd say she's well on her way...
Here's the portion of the original page from the book she was referencing. I don't know if she had it in front of her at school or not. This was from the first retail market picture book I illustrated, "Hip, Hip Hooray for...
Bank Street Book list 2011
I just received notification, that the chapter book I illustrated, "The Chihuahua Chase" by the talented Ann Cannon, made the 2011 Bank Street Book List. See the complete list HERE.
From their website, the Bank Street Book list is "One of the most comprehensive annotated book lists for children, aged infant-16. The Committee reviews over 6000 titles each year for accuracy and literary quality and considers their emotional impact on children. It chooses the best 600 books, both fiction...
Finished the Princesses
Sorry for the delay in posting, we've had a lot of stuff going on in my family the past three weeks. To make a long story short, my husband had to have 1/3 of his lungs removed because of a rare tumor. Thankfully it wasn't cancerous and he is on the road to recovery after a brutal 9 hour surgery. But, I must say the blog has taken a back seat.
On a happier note, I just thought I'd share some snapshots...
Retreat
Sometimes I need someplace quiet, pleaceful, clean and serene to retreat to...get away. I wish it could always be here...(ahh that was a nice trip 4 years ago)...
But most of the time, it's just my bedroom. My Husband and I redid the room a couple years ago. We put in Bamboo Flooring, painted the walls a calm grey, and got new furniture, lamps, and bedding. New Paint, lighting and cement counter...
Picture Book Marathon- Day 28 - THE FINISH!
So here I am...at the finish line. I took my final day off yesterday and geared up for the big final push. I didn't have it left in me to do a full color comp for you today, but that's what happens....sometimes we limp to the finish line. BUT I MADE IT!
I visited my 95 year old grandmother today. And she inspired today's post. She's an amazing woman and still hanging in there. My dad and my baby...
Picture Book Marathon- Day 26
Today's idea plays back to the simple in illustration style (I'm not feeling 100% today). But we're almost near the end. This book is about a giraffe who wonder's why she looks different than the other giraffes. She's embarrassed to be seen at first but by the end loves herself for who she is. (really, it all just started because I drew a giraffe head)...
Picture Book Marathon- Day 25
We're closing in on the end of the marathon. I must say, it got me thinking and drawing and being more creative on a daily basis than I have been in a long long time. So, THANK YOU, PB Marathon.
I decided to go a bit retro with today's illustration style. This book idea is about a little boy who would deliver groceries to his elderly neighbor every week...
Picture Book Marathon- Day 24
I see how much my baby boy loves his binkie right now and I dread the day we'll have to wean him from it. However, it's much easier to wean a kid from a binkie than a thumb. I'll tell you my trick, I cut off the tip of the binkie nipple when the child isn't looking and leave it out for him/her (at about 2 years old). When the child puts it in, they don't like it. they bring it to me and...
Picture Book Marathon- Day 23 & illustration Friday
As per the previous post, I used my own kids as inspiration for today's picture book as well as Illustration Friday. Illustration Friday's theme is "Layer."So how many of you parents out there can relate to this...It has just snowed...A LOT! Your kids are elated. They can't wait to get out and play in it. So they start getting out all the gear (while in a T-shirt and shorts). You remind them to go...
Cutest Inspiration EVER!
So I have to put in here that I am sooooo proud to be a mom to 4 beautiful kids. They literally have become my inspiration in so much of my illustrating. Because of them, I draw better, I think like a kid better, and I have many experiences to pull from. I don't know how illustrators do it who don't have children in their lives somewhere. So THANKS to my cuti...
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- Julie Olson
- I'm a freelance illustrator working in the children's book industry. I love kids and raising my own 4 children. They are the inspiration and the passion behind all I do in art and in life. See my website at JulieOlsonbooks.com