Onward. Upward.

I want to begin by thanking everyone from the bottom of my heart for all the warm and sincere comments, emails, and Facebook comments from my last post. I'm sorry I couldn't reply to everyone but I want you all to know that I do truly appreciate your kind words of encouragement. If there's anything I learned after my venting last week is that I think we all share a common badge of honor when it comes to freelancing. There's a certain pride in terms of being able to live on your own terms that has been lost in this society (especially in these hard times) that money can't replace and I tip my hat to all of you who are trying to do the same. 

With that said I wanted to make one other comment that recently popped into my head when I was thinking about the decision I made...

Back in art school, one of my art teachers asked me what type of artist I wanted to be. He was a fine artist who did very well by his own means, but it was something he had to work hard to earn. He didn't find much validation in working for a large company, but he admitted that each persons choice in life was their own. One time in class a girl had mentioned that she wanted to be a background artist in animation and his response was along the lines of, "You spend all this money to get this degree and all you want to do in life is paint backgrounds?" The point he was getting at was if you get an art degree and you are given this enormous set of skills, isn't it more worthwhile to do your own thing and cultivate your own body of work rather than to work yourself to the bone to bring honor and glory to a place like Disney or Activision all in the name of a paycheck?

I thought about that question and it made sense to me. It's not to say that I don't think it's worthwhile to contribute to a great project and be recognized as part of a team that developed the end product, but there was something about taking the lonely road that really inspired and excited me. Regardless of whether I have a hundred people read my books or a million, the fact that the end product is out there and exists is the real reward and getting paid to do what you love really just keeps the ball rolling. Not to say that getting a job at a place at Pixar is easy, but being able to sustain yourself by expressing your own thoughts and ideas is the much tougher route to go in life. To be able to live on just enough to keep that ball rolling and not be tempted to quit is the satisfaction that you get and that's the road less travelled.

I simply chose time over money.   

Anyway. With that said, I put this discussion to rest.

Now, on to other news....

Today is a big day for me. My graphic novel is done. I mean DONE DONE. No more changes. For the last few weeks I've been busy making changes to the book, like creating a brand new title page such as this....

to replace this...

I now find that I have a huge stock of unused art that will never see the light of day and I'm considering making a "cutting room floor/how to make graphic novels" book to distribute as a promotional plan for the upcoming release in June...July? They keep changing the dates on me. I'll keep you all posted.

So what's next?

I have a new graphic novel proposal that my agent is sending out hopefully soon along with two new picture book ideas. I'm pretty excited about all of them, but it's a little discouraging to be thrust into this market where it's harder than ever to sell a manuscript. We'll see.

Meanwhile, I'm working on the sequel to Chicken Dance called Bawk and Roll.... Here's your first look at a finished piece....

I've also been doing some book covers which I have been pretty proud of. I feel as if my book covers have never been the strongest, but that I'm getting better with each one I do. Note to art directors out there in the world, I LOVE doing book covers...

Here is one I just completed for Lisa Harkrader with Houghton Mifflin....

Here's one I did for the very talented David Yoo for Balzer and Bray....

Well that's all the time I have for now.

 

Onward. Upward.

 

Comments

[Samantha Berger]

Love the new SIDEKICKS cover.
It's a game-changer.
Brilliant.
Can't wait for Bawk & Roll.
In fact, not to mix metaphors, but it's a Bawk & Roll DANtasy.
Ha! Ha! cough...ahem...yeah.

Onward & Upward INDEED.

Keep being you.
It's inspirational.
S

[Marilyn]

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

[Erik Brooks]

Nice stuff Dan, and congrats on putting the GN to bed. Trying get myself some time to attend the SCBWI WWA conference in April. Would look forward to hearing what you have to say and it would be nice to say hello again. We'll see...

[Russ Cox]

Hi Dan,

You are right on the mark with your comments. I am trying to move towards the children's book market with my illustrations while cutting back on the commercial projects. But it is hard with bills to pay and mouths to feed. I've been at this for 13 years with another 14 as a designer/art director. It was a big step to walk away from that part of the industry and trying to survive as an illustrator. I have always felt lucky and have been thankful for what it has given me. After attending the New York SCBWI conference, NOW is time for the next step.

Love your work and hope to meet you some day.
All the best.
Russ

[Nike Shox Clearance]

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