Archive for the ‘Musings’ Category
Wednesday, March 27th, 2013
(Please click on the images if you have trouble reading the dialog.)
There have been quite a few children’s books about dogs. Lovable, people loving dogs. I’m writing a book about my dog, but he’s a bit different. My boy needs personal space. Strangers are to be seen from a distance and they’re definitely NOT supposed to come up and manhandle his butt. Even if they do it while saying “Who’s a good boy then?”
I can’t really blame him. If someone came up and manhandled my butt and said, “Who’s a good girl then?” I would be VERY upset and prone to physical violence.
Sometimes I wonder if he ‘s seen one to many Public Service Announcements about strangers.
And let’s face it, there is nothing stranger than some children.
When I say children that includes babies. As I’ve said before, in my Christmas story ( http://zuill.us/andreablog/2012/12/06/a-christmas-dog/ ), my dog can’t stand babies but he does like their toys. He’d never hurt a child but stealing from them is not a moral issue for him.
There is a type of child my dog likes. My furry guy likes to be treated like just another kid.
He may not know what is going on but he gives it his all.
There is only one problem with gaining my dogs trust. . .
Tags: andrea zuill, ants, babies, baby, badbird, boy, cartoon, children, dog, dog story, etsy, flickr, funny, play, SCBWI, society of children's book writers and illustrators, story, storybook, stranger danger, zuill
Posted in General Stuff, Musings | No Comments »
Monday, March 4th, 2013
I have no idea why I chose the above image for this post. But I’m lazy, and I don’t feel like changing it now.
I’ve just gotten home from the Golden Gate Conference for the SCBWI San Francisco at Asilomar. For those of you that have gone to just the large LA or New York conferences I want to tell you that smaller events have some great benefits. There were only about 140 to 150 people at this conference. Like all SCBWI gatherings the people there were a real mix. There were all levels of writers and illustrators there, from those living- the- dream to total newbies. I believe that I got to have face time with literally everyone.
I have some new BFF’s (Hi, Suzanne, Joyce, Matt, Kat, Tiffany, Kathrine, and Tamara . Sorry if I missed anyone. I’m trying to be better at remembering names but I’m pretty sure I missed of few there) . My agent, Erzsi Deak, was there and she was one of the speakers. I also got to meet Jon Agee, Ed Briant, Patti Ann Harris, Lisa Jahn-Clough, Daniel Handler and Greg Pincus. And I finally got to really meet Lin Oliver. I’ve seen her a dozen times but I’d never actually had a chance to talk to her.
But my favorite part of the conference, because of my ego, was winning the Golden Gate Portfolio award! I remained humble after winning and waited until I got back to my room to do my victory strut (I’ve been told my victory strut is very disturbing). Emily Jiang won the Golden Gate Writer’s Award. (www.emilyjaing.com) She is a truly awesome person!
Oh, and I forgot to say, Asilomar is a state park in Pacific Grove near Monterey. It’s right on the beach and has beautiful historic buildings. It’s the perfect place to meet friends and discuss children’s books!
Tags: andrea zuill, asilomar state conference grounds, asilomar state park, beach, daniel handler, deer, ed briant, emellia zamani, erzsi deak, Golden Gate Conference, golden gate portfolio award, greg pincus, hen and ink literary agency, humor, illustrator, Jon Agee, kat brozozowski, lemony snicket, Lin oliver, lisa brown, lisa jahn-clough, monterey, pacific grove, pam gruber, patti ann harris, sand, sarah ketchersid, SCBWI, SCBWI San Francisco, society of children's book writers and illustrators, squirrel, zuill
Posted in Art, Musings, travel | 7 Comments »
Thursday, January 31st, 2013
I got my flu shot!
I don’t know if this happens to you, but when I get my flu shot I have feelings of invincibility. I feel like I can do crazy things! It’s like no matter what happens at least I won’t catch the flu. Or, at least, there is only a 3% chance of getting the flu. And those are my kind of odds.
But still, I hold back, I’m no fool.
This time, after I got my shot, I went on the web and read up on what the flu shot was all about. That’s when I was horrified to learn that it takes two weeks to get the full effect from the inoculation. I was still fair game for the flu bug.
Well, that sure put a damper on my euphoria.
So, I’ll soldier on with my tradition flu vigil.
But in two weeks, watch out! I’ll be 3% more dangerous than I am now.
Tags: alligator, andrea zuill, Art, badbird, cartoon, dog, etsy, fight, flu shot, funny, illustration, pen and ink, SCBWI, silly, society of children's book writers and illustrators, story, zuill
Posted in Musings | 3 Comments »
Monday, January 14th, 2013
Well, it’s time for a new postcard.
I had an idea that I wanted to go with, which is of a cat-loving little girl with an annoyed cat. I wanted the girl to be totally ecstatic. I wanted the cat to look like that if given the chance he would murder the little girl, and for fun, everyone else in the world.
Now, there is nothing wrong with this sample postcard above but it wasn’t extreme enough. My drawing style is very controlled in this image. (Oh, and thanks Charles for letting me know that whatnot is one word.)
So, I tried to relax. I still knew I wanted the girl in particular to be much muchier, and chubby. As I drew I started to see a character developing that enjoyed.
In the final image I opened her mouth to add to her ecstasy in having a kitty. Instead of inking in the drawing I scanned in the pencil sketch. I tried to not clean it up too much. I think it works.
I would like to thank my sister and my daughter, former love-that-cat-to-death children, for their inspiration. Not to fear though, my adult sister and daughter are now loved by cats far and wide.
Tags: andrea zuill, Art, artist, badbird, cat, children's book, children's illustration, etsy, girl, illustration, illustrator, pet, postcard, print, promotion, SCBWI, Society of children's book writers and illustatos, tabby, tutorial
Posted in General Stuff, Making Art, Musings, Tutorials | 8 Comments »
Thursday, December 6th, 2012
Our dog is a Christmas dog. We try to hold off letting him know that it’s holiday time because he can get intense.
Every year he gets the same three presents. A large hard plastic ball w/ holes cut into it to reveal yet another ball inside, a small throwing ball, and a hedgehog that snorts and squeaks.
He has acquired the knowledge that during the holiday season people buy presents that they carry in shopping bags decorated for Christmas. He also believes that the odds are in his favor that the shopping bags carried by strangers might contain a present for him . It’s a number’s thing.
Unfortunately, one of our favorite parks to walk in is next to a mall. There was a “incident” with my dog and some teens carrying home their Christmas shopping. Luckily they got off with just a Nose mugging. (major sniffing)
My dog thinks that babies are boring. He has no interest in them until Christmas because, let’s face it, stealing a present from a baby is like stealing candy from a baby.
And babies don’t know how to play with a Busy Box properly. (I got him a Simon Game from a thrift store one year. He loved it until it broke in about 10 minutes.)
On Christmas morning we have to make sure that our furry boy gets one of his presents first. Otherwise we have a lot of whining and nose pushing. His technique for opening a present is almost surgical. He really would rather not tear the paper. I’d like to believe that he appreciates the effort we took to wrap him a pretty package.
Since he doesn’t like destroying the wrapping paper, if a present is too difficult to open he will whine until we start it for him.
Once his presents are open he is in doggy heaven with the same 3 toys we have gotten him almost every year. We have tried other toys and snacks too, but apparently they were yucky.
For at least an hour on Christmas morning we have this (see below).
Like I said, he’s in doggy heaven.
Tags: andrea zuill, Art, artist, badbird, bog, bow, busy box, cartoon, christmas, dog, drawing, etsy, gifts, holiday, illustration, ink, ink drawing, park, presents, print, puppy, santa, santa claus, season, story, whine, zuill
Posted in General Stuff, Musings | 4 Comments »
Monday, October 22nd, 2012
(The illustration above has nothing to do with this blog entry. I just hate posting without having some kind of artwork in it somewhere .)
10 Things you should never do.
1. Never tell anyone that you never really cared for the band U2. (I found this out the hard way.)
2. Same about Oprah.
3. Never confess, with the possible exception to the authorities, that you had accidently killed a Bald Eagle*. If you do make this confession it may lead to nervous laughter from your Daughter and Grand Daughter, and the statement, “You’re gross.” from your wife.
4. If you do confess to killing a Bald eagle by accident and your wife says, “You’re gross”, do not follow that statement by saying, “At least it wasn’t a Panda!”
5. Never eat an entire bag, roll, or box of sugar free candy all at one time. Your family and toilet will thank you.
6. If you’re ever at a zoo where there are 2 adult elephants and one baby elephant on display and you over hear a mother tell her child that the elephants are a mommy, daddy and baby, NEVER butt in and tell them that in fact the father elephants don’t stay with the mommy and babies and the other adult elephant is a female. Just let them live in their false reality of lies.
7. This one is for the older folks. Whenever you need to add the words, “I’m not a racist but…” to something you are about to say I will guarantee that your next words will be racist.
8. Never try to share the movie Shaun of the Dead with your aging father. At the beginning he will not notice the zombies in the background and he will think that you are just showing him an artsy film of a guy walking around.
9. Never intently watch a swollen dead squirrel in the middle of the road. It will eventually be run over by a car, which may lead to its head exploding off with a loud pop. This will leave you laughing and scarred.
10. Lastly, never ask for double butter on your movie theater popcorn. You will never emotionally or physically recover. The smell of any theater lobby still makes me a bit nauseous.
*The eagle thing happen a long time ago, so nothing can be done now, and it wasn’t me.
Tags: Art, badbird, bald eagle, bat, butter, car, elephant, girl, house, illustration, lies, movie, movie theater, night, Oprah, panda, shaun of the dead, squirrel, sugar free candy, U2, zombies, zuill
Posted in General Stuff, Musings | 2 Comments »
Friday, August 31st, 2012
Some of you might wonder what I do in real life. Well, currently I am putting my natural born snark abilities to work. I was contacted by two cutely evil fellow snarkist. Their dream was starting a greeting card line for people that find that making rude comments actually make them feel better when the world has gone all wonky. They needed someone to design two little girls to express their crankiness. And, for some reason, they hired me as their artist.
You know, you go for years with people telling you that your jokes are too rude, too acerbic, too snarky. So you question yourself and the life you’ve been living. But, one day, Lori and Kym (Snark Haus founders) contact you and tell you that everything is going to be okay. They support your snarkiness and tell you to get working on creating some very naughty little girls. Everything you felt about the world has now been validated.
So, for all those cutsey pie people out there that thought I was too much for their taste, boogers to you! That’s right, BOOGERS!
Check out Snark Hause at: http://www.snarkhaus.com/
And, if you feel like being part of this project check out Snark Haus’s Kickstart page:http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/248671527/snark-haus-greetings-for-the-wicked-truth/posts
Tags: Art, badbird, cartoon, evil, evil little girls, funny, girls, greeting cards, illustration, kym vross DeGenaro, Lori Putnam, silly, snark haus, zuill
Posted in Art, General Stuff, Musings | 2 Comments »
Monday, July 9th, 2012
I have convinced my dog to tell you about our latest camping trip. Since most people don’t speak Corgidor I have translated his words for you.
We went camping again, but I am a much changed dog from the one that was scared at every noise on our first trip (http://zuill.us/andreablog/2011/05/13/three-things-that-freak-out-my-dog/). I still hate how long it takes to get to our camp site, but Mom tries to make the long car ride fun by pointing out things along the road that I might find interesting.
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I made quick business of securing our camp site.
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Since wolves don’t eat Miss Daisy’s Nutritional Kibble for the Precocious Senior Pooch in the wild I refused it too. But Mom, being very smart, brought a jar of caribou scrapings and mixed it in with my food. This was a good compromise.
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We hiked a lot! One thing I like about being in the wild is you can pee on anything and nobody gets mad!
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As much as I liked being way up in the mountains, it was also fun to go into town and check out the local action. I met a couple ladies that were just my type.
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We did all kinds of really fun things on our camping trip.
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But I also got a little worn out having so much fun so it was good to get home.
Tags: badbird, bear, camping, cartoon, corgi, dog, etsy, flickr, funny, hiking, lee vining, mountians, sierra, squirrel, tent, tree, yosemite, zuill
Posted in General Stuff, Musings, travel | 19 Comments »
