In the days of 4G wireless networks and Twitter, when virtually every moment of a person’s life can be tracked online and many people offer up that information freely, it’s a rare thing to come across a public figure who not only doesn’t buy into the idea of constant communication but takes themselves in the opposite direction — completely out of the spotlight. The term “recluse” seems like a dirty word, a slur — “private” or “introverted” seem much fairer ways to describe someone than a word that suggests agoraphobia — but that’s how many would describe artists ranging from Emily Dickinson to Marcel Proust, Harper Lee to J.D. Salinger.Some say that the “recluse” is an endangered species, but to my knowledge, there’s still one artist who is keeping the idea of the private public figure alive: Bill Watterson, writer and illustrator of the beloved comic strip “Calvin and Hobbes.”Continue Reading… … Read More
How to work with an illustrator
Dear Cary,
I want to write a book with a comedic slant about my experiences with a very difficult life situation. I want my experiences to be conveyed at least partly in the form of a comic strip.
The problem is, I can’t draw. My stick figures are even bad. So I’ve been stuck for a long time on how to go about finding an illustrator, how much to pay, should there be a contract and what would that look like, etc. Then there is the problem of formatting the book, which I suppose is tricky if it is illustrated. Black-and-white or color? And should it be a printed book, and if so, how to go about publishing a printed book nowadays? Or should it be an e-book, and how does that work?
This project is so important to me that it feels like something that I not only want to do, but have to do. But I’m bogged down with all the procedural and detail stuff. The more I research and learn, the more overwhelmed I feel, and then I just shut down.
I would be very appreciative if you could help me!
Looking for an Illustrator
Dear Looking,
“Harry Potter” series to get new cover art for 15 year anniversary
In honor of its 15-year publication anniversary in the U.S., Scholastic has released the first illustration in a series of new cover art for the “Harry Potter” series, due out in September. All seven illustrations have been created by graphic novel author and illustrator Kazu Kibuishi, of the “Amulet” series, with the first one pictured below:
Kibuishi was hesitant to take on the project at first, however; GrandPré’s original pastel covers ”are so fantastic and iconic,” he said, that “when I was asked to submit samples, I initially hesitated because I didn’t want to see them reinterpreted.”
Adobe offering Creative Suite 2 for free, but they didn’t mean to
Earlier this week Adobe made a surprise move by putting its Creative Suite 2 software, as well as individual programs like Photoshop CS2 and Illustrator CS2, up for download on its website along the corresponding serial numbers. Initially it was believed the company got tired of keeping the activation servers… … Read More
Maurice Sendak on publishing: “Outrageously stupid”
Maurice Sendak was known not just as a literary icon, but as a larger-than-life curmudgeon who refused “to cater to the bullshit of innocence.” The Believer has published a contemplative but hilarious interview with the “where the Wild Things Are” writer and illustrator, who died last May, in which he opens up about childhood, literature, old age and more.Sendak on why publishing has become “an outrageously stupid profession”:MS: Well, nobody knows what they’re doing. I wonder if that’s always been true. I think being old is very fortunate right now. I want to get out of this as soon as possible. It’s terrible. And the great days in the 1950s and after the war, when publishing children’s books was youthful and fun… it really was. It’s not just looking back and pretending that it was good. It was good. And now it’s just stupid.
BLVR: Why?
MS: Because of Rupert Murdoch. His name should be what everything is called now.
BLVR: But he publishes you!
MS: Yes! HarperCollins. He owns Harpers. I guess the rest of the world, too. He represents how bad things have become.Continue Reading… … Read More
Sign Painters Get Their Close-Ups as Masters of Hand-Brushed Design
In the modern age of Adobe Illustrator and vinyl printers, it’s easy to forget that not too long ago, most storefronts, banners and billboards were painstakingly hand-lettered, one at a time, by artisans armed only with brush, paint and centuries-old principals of information design.
The Craziest Things People Have Proposed Putting on the Moon
A gallery featuring some of the most outlandish, irrational, and downright insane proposals that people have had for things to do on the moon. We’ve got our list. Think you can come up with something better? Write it in our comments and we’ll get Wired illustrator Simon Lutrin to conjure it up and publish it on Wired Science.
