Illustration Friday

Selected pages from Penny the Rude Penguin, published in 2012.

Page 10: Peter forgives Penny

I submitted page 10 from Penny the Rude Penguin, published in 2012. Next, my publisher will be animating Penny and her offended friends. This page shows the repentant Penny getting rescued by her longtime friend, Peter - who ultimately forgives her for being such a mean girl.

Illustration Friday

SILA Illustration 51 opening night at Gallery Nucleus!

My painting of Penelope in was accepted along with other amazing artists into The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles’ Illustration West 51, which will be showing at Gallery Nucleus starting this evening at 7:00.

Come join me for refreshments and check out of some of the artwork from the show and the Awards Ceremony which will take place at 8:00 pm.
External Link: SILA Illustration 51 opening night at Gallery Nucleus
Location: Gallery Nucleus
210 East Main Street, CA, 91801

Illustration Friday: Snow

Illustration Friday:

I thought this would be just the right illustration for Illustration Friday. Brrrrrr!!!

Media: Pen and ink, digital watercolor (Corel Painter) and Adobe Photoshop.
Penny, the Rude Penguin slaps her friend Peter into a snowbank and thinks it's hilarious, that mean girl.

Illustration Friday

Illustration Friday

I couldn't resist submitting this artwork for Illustration Friday, for this week's theme, which is "Zoom!" Who knew wienie dogs could zoom?

Daschund Race

I just found out - to my delight - that California State University Fullerton (CSUF) has decided to acquire my painting "Dachshund Race" for the university's permanent art collection.

Dachshund Race by Laura Hoffman, Mixed Media

Dachshund Race was inspired by an assignment to create a painting that is full of action. So I decided to challenge myself by painting a point of view one seldom sees. Dachshunds (also known as wiener dogs) are hilarious dogs - so low to the ground. So why not show a point of view that is even lower than a doxie's?

For the main character, I picked the dog I grew up with - my first exposure to the lure of the dachshund. Since then my sister Karen and I have fallen in love with the breed. The dog on the left is my current muse, Penny. Next dog is Ari, who was my 2nd doxie and the focal point is Jupi, my first dachshund ever. I loved that guy. He was also my first loss; when I was 13, he was hit by a car and we grieved as if we lost a sibling. The Dackels (German word for dachshunds) on the right are future dachshunds that will most likely come into my life - that is why they're painted with less detail - I just don't know them yet.

They all have the same goal, to hit the finish line and land in the arms of the one person they are loyal to. That is the thing with dachshunds; they pick one person to love and that one person becomes their absolute focus.

This painting has made the rounds; has been exhibited at two juried exhibits this year: The Brea MFA show and the OC Fair. Now it has found a permanent home after making its debut at CSUF in a three woman MFA art exhibit in December 2011 alongside Barbara Malley and Wendy Grieb, my colleagues at CSUF. So now the painting has gone full circle.

I am especially excited because CSUF is my alma mater - I earned my Bachelors of Art in Art there (go, Titans!) and now I'm back - earning my MFA - with a concentration in illustration, graduating in 2014.  Currently, I have the honor of teaching 2D design at the university.

To know this painting will hang there long after I'm gone makes me very happy.

Laura Hoffman « Illustration Friday

I had to take part in this week's Illustration Friday. The theme is Water.
Just so happens I'm painting watery scenes for the next three weeks for another book.
And it rained today.

Laura Hoffman « Illustration Friday

SCBWI Conference: Physical Book vs e-Book

One of the hot topics at the SCBWI Summer conference was that inevitable question: “Is the physical printed book, as we know it - dead?” The subtext of the question is asking if the advent of e-books is taking over print and if bookstores may be relegated to the dustbin of history. What does the future really hold for those of us who write, publish and illustrate books?

On August 4^th, a panel of world-class editors, including Neal Porter, Tamar Brazis, Jordan Brown, Laura Godwin, Elise Howard and Farrin Jacobs all weighed in on the subject, and their answers surprised me – pleasantly.

Here is what was said:

In this climate of changes in technology, recessionary times and the demise of bookstores, children’s book publishing is trying to find equilibrium; but overall, the manufacturing of books is experiencing a general downgrade of quality.

• Print books are becoming more archival, more collectible and more of a durable good. A book is an appreciated, treasured object that can be passed on to new generations of readers.

• A book on an iPad is generally still pretty boring; sold as an app for 99 cents, but can cost $40,000.00 to make.

Be careful not to freak ourselves out. 80% of children’s book publishing is in print. There is always going to be a place for physical books.

“Digital” opens up possibilities and opportunities for more work, particularly for illustrators. With “digital” we have yet another venue that gets kids reading.

Practically, you are not going to give a kid an $800.00 iPad (although I have witnessed this numerous times to the contrary), but a book that costs $2.95 is pretty safe for a kid to chew, eat on, and splash stuff on. Expensive tablets will get lost, damaged and drowned in bathtubs. It’s much more practical to give a little kid an inexpensive physical book.

Y.A. (Young Adult) publishing is experiencing the greatest growth in e-book sales; now it’s about 50/50 paperbacks vs. e-books.

One editor said she is absolutely not engaged with digital; she loves the paper and format of a real physical book (applause rang out from the audience here).

In this digital landscape, the shift from physical book to e-book transforms what a book really is. E-Readers encourage the purchase of books. This is actually very exciting for us, as this encourages literacy, opens up more opportunities for those of us who work in the publishing industry – and many of us who are daunted by thick books with small print prefer the convenience of e-books.

The editor panel agreed that print books will strengthen as technology evolves, while e-books will also improve. Right now, the consensus is that e-books for children are just copies of print books that sometimes try to be “lame video games,” but some innovator is going to come out with e-book delivery that will knock the medium out of the park.

Kids are now “digital natives,” knowing a life only with all kinds of digital technology at their tiny fingertips. Any e-reader has to compete with the onslaught of diversions surrounding us. Books compete with movies, video games, social media and other things that move and blast the senses.  Creators of e-books for children must bear this in mind: a kid may go for a live action movie or game in favor of a weakly animated little picture book on an e-reader.

Finally, remember this: a book is a self-paced entertainment source. An animated thing is not. It’s up to the reader to turn the page.