Some Wednesday Figures and Other News

Kickstarter a Success! 

The biggest news is that my Kickstarter for my new picture book, (MOSTLY) WORDLESS was a success! 295 backers and $10,343 raised in just 30 days! thanks everyone for your support and encouragement! The books should be printed by late March of 2014! We're also adding 6 more pages, making the book a total of 52 pages instead of 46!

I'm exhausted. So now I'm putting everything I need together to get this thing to press!

Thanks to everyone for the overwhelming support and generous contributions!

Pyragraph!

Soon my essays will be appearing on the art professional site, pyragraph.com. Believe it or not, I am actually getting paid to write for the internet! I never knew such a thing was possible, but there it is. So less of my essays will be appearing here, more will be appearing there, but I'll let you know as soon as they do and provide all the appropriate links.

Some Wednesday Figures

As promised, here are a couple of sketches from the local Davis Wednesday figure sessions. They're a bit rough, but it's been a while. I hope to attend more often so I can get back into the groove.

Just 2 Days Left!

Just 2 Days Left to get my new book (MOSTLY) WORDLESS on Kickstarter!

First: I'd like to thank everyone for their generous contributions! It's been gratifying to get so much positive feedback and support!

So What Can We Achieve in 2 Days?

What I want out of this campaign more than anything is what I think most authors want: readers. An audience. Each one of you represents one more person with whom I'm able to share my book and my work. Even a small pledge represents one more potential reader.

If you can't afford to get this book, maybe you'll be able to get my next book, or the next one, or check it out from the library, or borrow it from a friend. But for these books to be discovered, they have to be out in the world.

This is why reaching our goal is more important than ever.

Off-Set Printing Is Still In Reach!

Even if we do not reach the $14,000 goal, I've gotten some great printing quotes, and am currently looking into some distribution opportunities that might still allow us to go off-set if we reach our $10,000 goal.

So what I'm asking is that you share the link, post the link, and tell people why you like the book and why you think they should know about it. And if you don't use Facebook or Twitter, send a friend an e-mail. Because ultimately, you are the ones who are going to get the word out. And there's not much time left to do it. So once again, here's the link to cut and paste:

http://tinyurl.com/kymzhsu

Thanks again, and below is a little more behind the scenes art!

Hear Me Talk About My New Book, (MOSTLY) WORDLESS on Davisville on 95.7FM KDRT!

About a week ago I recorded an interview with Bill Buchanan on the Davis CA local public radio show, Davisville. The show aired Monday night. Then shortly afterward something happened, and I'm not sure if the two events are related, but someone made a $1000 pledge to the Kickstarter campaign for my new book, (MOSTLY) WORDLESS. I'm speechless!

You can hear the show on the player below. I'm at the 15 minute mark or about halfway through the broadcast.



Or you can listen to it on KDRT,

 here.

 The $1000 winner, among other goodies, will be getting original art, and one of the very few in existence hand bound copies of ELLA AND THE PIRATES, the main story in (MOSTLY) WORDLESS. The Kickstarter campaign is still going strong with just three days left, so if you haven't checked it out, you can do so,

here.

Behind the Scenes For the Companion Book to Mostly Wordless: Lettering

I've very particular about title lettering, and recently have been doing my lettering in dry brush. My typical method is to draw each character over and over until I get them right, then assemble them in Photoshop. There was quite a bit of lettering for THE DRY BRUSH BOOK, so I filled pages and pages!

If you haven't checked out my book, (MOSTLY) WORDLESS and it's companion, THE DRY BRUSH BOOK, there's still a few days left in the Kickstarter campaign to get your copy at the link,

here.

Here's a sample of the lettering as I assembled it on Photoshop:



And here's how it looks in the book:

Thanks again to everyone who has helped me promote the books and to everyone who has pledged!

More behind the scenes art for (MOSTLY) WORDLESS, and Update!

So we reached out $7000 goal! My Kickstarter for my new book, (MOSTLY) WORDLESS has reached full funding, and we're not looking at the stretch goal of moving to off-set printing! I'm currently getting printing quotes from a number of overseas printers so that we can get the highest quality and most reasonably priced book we can, so I might be making our stretch goal a little more modest if the price is right.

If you haven't checked out my book yet, please do, here.

And please help spread the word by cutting and pasting this link on your Facebook page or Twitter feed:

http://tinyurl.com/kymzhsu

Thanks! And here's some more behind the scenes art:

More Behind The Scenes Art From Mostly Wordless!

So below are some sketches from ELLA AND THE PIRATES the lead story in (MOSTLY) WORDLESS my new book on Kickstarter! If you haven't already, you can check out the book,

Here.

We're Almost There! Bookmarks, and How to Win an Elephant Poster!

Hello everyone! So we're very very close to our goal! Less than $400 away, and 11 days to go! You can get my new book (MOSTLY) WORDLESS, T-shirts and other goodies, and help us meet our goal at the link below: (MOSTLY) WORDLESS Kickstarter Campaign! The support has been phenomenal, and I've been really enjoying the e-mails and comments I've been getting! Keep them coming! When we're this close with still 11 days left, I think it's time to seriously start talking about our stretch goal of $14,000. If we meet our stretch goal, as I've mentioned before, we can go from digital printing to off-set, but I'll talk more about that soon. But first, Bookmarks! So from now on everyone who cuts and pastes this link: http://tinyurl.com/kymzhsu and posts it on Facebook or Twitter, gets the RED FOX RACER BOOKMARK designed by me and pictured below. All you have to do is let me know by sending me an email at jedstuff@gmail.com with the header, "bookmark." But it gets better. You can retweet and repost as many times as you like, but let me know each time you do, because when I receive my  hudredth e-mail with the header, "bookmark," the sender will get the signed limited edition 18 x 24" ELEPHANT POSTER on heavy high quality 80# stock. Help Us Get Into Bookstores and Libraries! Now more about off-set printing. Off-set printing or traditional printing allows us a lot more options than digital. Among other things, we can get the best possible color, the best possible paper, more pages and color endpapers. More importantly, we can go from a limited quantity of 200 to 300 books, to 1000 to 2000 books. We've been looking into possible distributors, and once the book is distributed more widely it will go into bookstores and ever better, libraries, like the library where I discovered my favorite book, IN THE NIGHT KITCHEN. So spread the word, send me those e-mails, and lets go for off-set! Thanks again, Jed

DJ Grandpa Backed and Approved!

I was recently featured on the DJ Grandpa podcast, the unofficial podcast of Kickstarter! DJ Grandpa liked the book so much, he got a copy himself! You can hear the podcast on djgrandpa.com.

Listen to me here just after the 7 minute mark:

I was also recently interviewed on Bill Buchanan's Davisville on my home town Davis California's own public station, KDRT. The interview will air next monday, and will also be available online as a podcast, and I'll be sure to let you know when you can listen to it!

If you haven't already checked out (MOSTLY) WORDLESS on Kickstarter, you can, here.

Our Stretch Goal!

While we're getting very close to our goal of $7000, we're still some way off from our stretch goal of $14,000. If we reach our stretch goal, as I've said before, we'll be able to print off-set instead of digital. This not only means more pages and better quality printing, but that we'll be able to print more books! That means that it will go from a book that only a few of you can own through the Kickstarter campaign, to a book that will go into bookstores and libraries!

Spread the Word!

So if you're as excited about (MOSTLY) WORDLESS as I am, spread the word so we can go off-set! The best way to do this is to post on Facebook or Twitter, and here's a short link you can cut and paste to make it a little easier:

http://tinyurl.com/kymzhsu

Thanks again, and below is a behind the scenes peak at the pencil composition for part of one of the stories in (MOSTLY) WORDLESS:

Some Behind The Scenes Art, and Going Off-Set!

Hi Everyone!

For some reason I keep forgetting to mention our Facebook page for (MOSTLY) WORDLESS:

You can find it here.  On the Facebook page there's more art from both books and more behind the scenes stuff.

So we're getting very close to the our goal ammount, and there's still 15 days left! There's been some wonderful support and its been great to get your e-mails, especially from those of you who have shared that you have young children and new babies on the way and are getting the book for them. That is very cool to hear!

So as close as we are to our goal of $7,000, I'd love for us to make our stretch goal of $14,000, because if we make our stretch goal we can go from digital printing to off-set. And the difference between digital printing and off-set printing is huge.

First, the quality of the printing will be better and I'll have more control over the color. We can add extras like spot lamination, full color end papers and more content. It could go from 46 to as many as 52 pages, while the average picture book is 32.

But even better, we'll get to make more books! One problem with more books is where the books are going to go. I don't want to get stuck with a garage full of unsold books. So I've been talking to an old friend who is a publisher who has offered to help me find a distributor for the book. Which means it will get into bookstores and libraries!

So if you'd like to see us go off-set, help us get the word out with reposts and retweets so we can reach our stretch goal!

And at the very end of this post I've added, as promised, another behind the scenes image, an inked picture, before color, from a short vignette about a dancing girl from (MOSTLY) WORDLESS.

And thanks again to everyone!

New DUCK ISLAND Art, Just 16 Days Left!

hi everyone!

Just 16 Days left in my Kickstarter campaign for (MOSTLY) WORDLESS! We've had some great support, and already are very close to our initial goal, and I'm happy in general with how its been going.  If you'd like to learn more about it, and haven't already, check out the Kickstarter page by clicking on the link at the bottom of this post!

So to mix it up a little, here's a pencil drawing from a recent revision of DUCK ISLAND in progress. With the Kickstarter for (MOSTLY) WORDLESS in full swing, I haven't had much time to work on DUCK ISLAND. My Mac's been in the shop for nearly a week, so I haven't had access to photoshop. And that's my last excuse!

New reward added to my Kickstarter campaign for (MOSTLY) WORDLESS!

I just added a new reward to my Kickstarter campaign! The ELEPHANT POSTER is 18" x 24" on the same heavy 80# stock as the SPRING SPIRIT poster. It's available on its own for $15 and has been added to orders over $200. Click on the link at the bottom of this post to get the poster or check out the Kickstarter campaign for my new book, (MOSTLY) WORDLESS!   

What Artist's Love to Hear, And Only 19 Days Left To Get My New Book, (MOSTLY) WORDLESS!

Hi Everyone,

So last night we reached a big milestone in our Kickstarter campaign. But before I get into that, I want to give everyone a very big and very grateful thank you. I think the highest compliment you can pay an artist is to tell them that you like their work. And I think the best way to repay that compliment is to be gracious. And as grateful as I am to everyone who has contributed to my Kickstarter campaign, I’m grateful to all of you who have simply said that you liked my stuff. That something about it resonates with you, or makes you happy, or reminds you of something that made you happy, or that you just enjoy looking at it.

And I am also grateful that those of you that could afford to, liked the books enough to want to own them. Or T-shirts. Or postcards or posters.  Because of this we have reached over half our goal. And that's a lot to be grateful for. And there's still 19 days left. And though I’ll be happy enough if we reach our $7000 goal, if we reach our stretch goal of $14,000, this book goes from a book that only a few of you can own, to a book that will be in bookstores and in libraries. But that’s a little ambitious at this point, and I’ll be grateful enough if we can just get the thing in print.

 I am further grateful and anxious and excited for what’s going to happen when these books are printed and you get your copy in the mail. You might get mustard on the pages, or stick them in the bathroom reading rack, or read them in bed under the covers. I have no say in the matter. Because when all’s said and done, they belong to you. And as far as I’m concerned, that’s as it should be. Because books aren’t books unless they are read, and to me this means that they aren't what they’re meant to be until you’ve added a little bit of yourselves to the pages. And the more they are read, the richer they become for all the different perspectives the reader has brought to them.

 And of course the mustard. Mustard can add a savory and mildly spicy flavor. I’ve known my share of book eaters (most of them under two) who probably wouldn’t mind a little mustard.

 Thanks again, keep spreading the word, and if you haven't already, click on the link at the bottom of the page to check out my new picture book, (MOSTLY) WORDLESS. Only 19 days to go and if we don't reach our stretch goal, this might be your only opportunity to get the book!

Below are a few more inked drawings that were later incorporated into ELLA AND THE PIRATES. I hope you enjoy them.