Highlights High Five September Cover Art.

September 2013 issue.

Catalog art: Family theme

 My illustration for my art rep, MB Artists, catalog. The theme for this latest one is "Family".

 Pencil sketch (with my daughter and 2 dogs, a westie and a golden retriever puppy,  as references).

 The painting process with with photo references.

Final art.

 You can view the full catalog of MB Artists illustrations here.

SF Giants "Night Before Baseball" book giveaway at AT&T Park

 The San Francisco Giants gave away copies of Night Before Baseball at the Park by the Bay (what a name, huh?) to the first 15,000 fans during the Giants vs. LA Dodgers game last July 6.

It was a long process and quit an exciting one for me, a long time SF Giants fan and former SF resident. I know The City well.

The book cover. Written by David Schnell.

 

  My book. On the jumbotron. You've got to be kidding me.

 Free books at the gate.

Hope he enjoyed the book.

  A young fan and his dad.

The book is available at the Giants Dugout Stores.

Visit the book facebook page here.

Creating a Children's Picture Book.

Every illustrator has their own unique way in making a picture book. Using my latest book "Down at the Dino Wash Deluxe" as an example, here is a short summary of my own art process.

1. Thumbnail sketches.

After reading the author's manuscript, I put together very rough thumbnail sketches of how I envision the book to look. The sketches all very loosely drawn for ideas, the kind that's not really meant to be shown to anyone.
 

2. Research.

Photo references are a very important part of my art process. For this book, I use my nephew, Tyler, as the story's main character. 

The pictures are not for me to draw exact depictions, but to get the "feel" of the character. I also collected dinosaur references for this book which was a lot of fun.

3. Sketches. 

At this stage, there is usually a bit of a back and forth between me and the art director. Ideas are exchanged and revisions are made before the final sketches are approved before I can finally paint them.

 

4. Final Art. 

Below is the book's opening spread with thumbnail and pencil sketch. I make sure to leave space for type. This way, kids can enjoy reading the book and look at the pictures easily.

 

5. Bonus: Cover Art

And here's another example with the Cover art. You can see two sketch versions on the upper left. The book designer and I also toyed with the idea of having a 1950's design for the word "Deluxe," but we later ditched the idea.

 I hope you enjoyed the tour!
"Down at the Dino Wash Deluxe" written by Tim Myers is now available online and in stores. 

Down at the Dino Wash Deluxe.

My latest picture book "Down at the Dino Wash Deluxe" is out today. A good one for kids who enjoy a sprinkle of dinosaurs in their stories.

I was also pleased to find out that the normally picky Kirkus gave it a great review.

“Pamintuan's artwork ably matches the text, each brilliantly colored dinosaur a distinct individual. Perspective, size, body language and facial expression all play a role in capturing the story's moods . . . A romping-stomping choice for dinosaur lovers and those similarly afraid of soap in their eyes." - Kirkus Reviews

Written by Tim Myers.

Now available in stores and online.  

Upset Neighbors

A rejected sketch for a proposed children's picture book.

Might as well play with it.

 (watercolor, pencil and ink).

The Uninvited Guest.

Pencil sketch:

Final Art:

*Unpublished promotional artwork

Ribbit

A glimpse of what's to come in the future (sort of).

It's been busy couple of months

Three months into the year, and this is my first post. Work deadlines from multiple books & publishers are coming in fast & feisty, hence the lack of updates.

March will probably have a similar hectic sked, but so will a long awaited out of country vacation. Expect to read something about that here. More to come.

a few of the sketches I did for various titles in 2011.

I have become what I --

I was recently interviewed by the very capable Nikki G. Tan for the Philippine publication, Zee Lifestyle. Those who know me may get a good laugh or two after reading that last sentence. I'm not sure I want to know what they did after seeing these posted pictures.

Yes, there was a photo shoot. Shoot me now.

leaning against wall? gotta go with the bent knee.

I'm in a lifestyle magazine.

The Annual Men's Issue.

In the Philippines.

Where I don't really have a market for my books.

And I follow a puff piece on (quote) the glamorous (unquote) Imelda Marcos.

There's also an article on skin whitening tips for men.

Did I mention it was the Men's Issue?

On the plus side, it was nice to see published pictures of me & my daughter, Alison (around 2 months old then). My mom gets a kick out of this (and thereby boosting Zee mag's sales all by herself). It does feel good getting a bit of notice from the motherland especially since my work is mostly based in the US. And the writing was fun & well done.

sneak peek: my next picture book

i mentioned earlier about finding a preview of the book cover for my next picture book. it's still a long wait until the release (spring 2010) and i've written a few times about this book already (here & here), but i can now show you a peek into one of the interior spreads.

the above image is a low res preview of the page spread with type on it. below is a clearer look at the spread. this is a baseball themed alphabet book and this particular spread is an illustration for the letters S ("shortstop") and T (i honestly can't remember).

mira! mira!

well, lookee here.

on a recent visit to a favorite bookstore here in san miguel de allende, i found two of my picture books, "bedtime at the swamp" & "i saw an ant on the railroad track", on the display shelves.

the two books (top shelf).

it's always fun to discover any of my books in their natural habitat. whenever i would visit a borders or barnes & noble store, i usually first go to the children's book section to see if they have my books in display.

you know, i've been in the illustration biz for quite a few years now, but it's still always a treat seeing my books in store -- & i don't think i'll ever get used to it.

still, i now kind of expect my books in those popular bookstores.

but a privately owned bookstore in our quaint little mexican town? not really.

the bookstore. libros el tecolote.

a few years back i remember seeing one of my chapter books in a mall in my hometown davao, philippines. i must confess to thinking about grabbing the nearest saleslady or security guard to show them. look! my book! in davao!

nope, i'm never going to get used to this. and that's certainly a good thing.

spring (abc) training

above is an early look at the cover of my next picture book "baseball from a to z". i recently found this image on the author's website .

it's a book using baseball as a enjoyable introduction to learning the alphabet. lots of fun illustrations in here (ok, maybe i'm a bit biased, but i liked them).

i've written about working on this particular picture book in the past (here & here) & i've been looking forward to seeing what the final product will look like.

spring 2010 can't come soon enough.

finally.

finally, finally, finally.

my latest picture book a.k.a the "book that could never be finished" is, well, finished. it won't be released until probably mid-2010, but i am quite pleased with the illustrations. it is by far, the most detailed picture book that i have done. i also painted this book while juggling multiple projects at the same time. mul-ti-ple.

harpercollins was more than gracious in accommodating my schedule. they had so much patience in me & my unbelievably slow painting hand.

one interesting thing about this 32 page book is that i drew inspiration from san miguel de allende, the mexican town that i live in. the town's colors, stones & the texture are quite visible in the book, in my opinion.

as usual, i had a ball hiding personal mementos in the pages. a few of them celtic related, of course. i cannot wait to see this book out in print.

*as always, i am showing only cropped images until the book begins it's ad campaign. i am also skipping the book title until then (it may be a tentative title at the moment).

i'm now in my 20's.

when i first started working on this series, i had no idea that i would still be at it 3 years later (or was it 4? it seems so long ago). it's amazing to think that i accepted this project when i was just about to leave for an extended european vacation. the first book, in fact, was sketched flying over the atlantic & painted in a US air force base in rural England using a dinky 13" laptop.

time surely flies. i am now working on book 24 & 25 and quickly nearing the end of the run. it is safe to say that i have learned much about my craft, the publishing biz ... and pre-teen fashion. it's still early, but i am humbled & grateful for this.

*update: it was 4 years ago! wow.

flat stanley books website

hoping not to flood the blog with flat stanley news, i've held off posting about the new flat stanley website set up by harpercollins. it's a fun little website.

no, really.

there are downloadable games & activities for kids. you can also print out your own flat stanley for vacations or mail him out around the globe, which he's kinda used to by now (he's been around since '64). there's also more. so, feel free to check it out.

of course, since it is flat stanley, there has to be a picture gallery so readers can post their stanley pics.

* i just found this while writing this post. how often does a book illustrator see their own characters made into a video game? yay.

stanley repackages

more flat stanley tidbits.

i'm also also working on repackaged titles of the flat stanley series, which was first published in 1964 and now on it's 45th year.

my new version 

i'm basically re-imagining the character from previously published stories. shown here is an example of my version of the 2nd book "flat stanley: flat again!" as well as the previous adaptation of the same story. 

previous adaptation (2003)

*aside from the worldwide adventure series (mentioned below) and these repackages, i am also working on yet another flat stanley series geared for the beginning readers. more on that in the future.

a flat new world

presenting two cover illustrations for the new flat stanley chapter book series. i can now show them since the they are now available on amazon.com. 

i've been working on this new updated version of the flat stanley character since last year & hopefully i can show more once i am able to. as always, i'll wait till after the artwork is shown on book sites like amazon or on the publisher's (harper-collins) website.

these 2 books are from the "flat stanley's worldwide adventure" series. as you can gather from the series title, it has an international theme. i have already completed the third book (a fun japan adventure) and currently working on the fourth book of this series.

i am also illustrating repackages for previously published stanley stories as well as an "i can read" series for beginning readers.  inside each book are numerous pencil illustrations that help follow the story. 

this is a fun series to work on. i get to design some interesting characters including the series lead who is well, flat (and even becomes invisible).  i get to bend & play with the character and even transform him into different objects (i.e. a sail, kite, snowboard and even a ninja!). i'm essentially  drawing a kid that technically has superpowers!

safe!

it's official. final. done. terminado. after much revisions, a childbirth (not mine), holiday breaks (sadly, not mine either) & a careful lesson in baseball science (looong story). i can now safely say that my 7th picture book is officially completed.

it is an alphabet book with a baseball theme (my second book with the sport). i find it interesting that i've accumulated a number of baseball related projects -- i also did a baseball themed greeting card & a "sing-a-long" baseball picture book a few years back. i'm guessing it was all because of one early baseball image from my portfolio soon after art school.

maybe someday i get to do a basketball book. then again, i may have to write that one.

** a small note: the two images in this post are cropped from that book. i hesitate showing any full images until the book is officially advertised by the publisher, so please don't share the image. just to be careful, i've also decided not to mention the book title.

tv adds 10 pounds to the ears

here's an interview i did last october for a US based filipino tv show that is televised globally. it was also their halloween special so i agreed to throw in a few monster sketches for them.

i planned to show 2 books, "bedtime at the swamp" & "the twelve days of christmas". unfortunately, like always, i probably talked too much & the show had to cut the segment for the christmas book (and a huge chunk of my answer to the last question).

by the way, it was about 4pm and i hadn't yet had a meal that day. not a great idea for a tv show rookie. i think i may have worried the staff a bit with my low key demeanor/hunger. someone behind the camera yelled out "remember macky, ENERGY!" complete with a fist pump. uh, yeah, that helped perk me up.

on the flip side, my mom called & said i looked great! 

but really, i certainly appreciate the opportunity to be on the show. it was a rare treat for a book illustrator like me. it was a lot of fun too & i wouldn't mind doing it again.

my brother, chris, wrote it best in an email:
"they left out the best parts: the bisaya slip (macky doesn't know what's bisaya and what's tagalog) and the 'yeah, maybe lapu lapu. he's the only filipino hero that didn't lose'."

*by the way, chris told everyone he was my manager & everyone believed it. even demanding more make up for me. so i get serious cake on my face... right before the cameras rolled. sweet.