Happy New January

Well, here we are, January again, another new year and good news is afoot. The second proof of Wally & Bert arrived this morning, proving that my new printer is really on the ball. The first one arrived a couple of days before Christmas and some very kind friends proof read for me and pointed out all my crazy errors! Like writing PolyWallythene instead of Existentialism. Bah! easy mistake to make.

I'm having tingly ideas about Wally & Bert #2 and but think I might first tackle Flossie Bonce, the story about a fairy who helps out Father Christmas when he comes down with the colly wobbles on Christmas Eve. I have a bit of a soft spot for fairies as I think I know where some live. 

I'm also half way through another of the 'Red Wellington' stories for my chum Darrin, so intend to have all ten finished by summer so they can get animated and put onto YouTube. Here's one from  'The Snowmen'. By all accounts, this might be relevant in the next few weeks!!

Wally & Bert BFFs front cover

Contrary to a previous post, I have completely reworked the front cover of Wally and Bert, BFFs. Here is the updated version, which I feel tells the story much better.

I'm currently waiting for the book proof to come from the new printer's in Exeter. This is potentially great news, as people often ask in astonishment why I have been printing in the USA. The answer to that question was that it was more cost effective, even with the shipping costs to get the books printed in the US. However, I have been put onto another printer which the same price, but in Blighty. If only we could do it on the Island, we could even cut out the postage!! 

Hope you like the cover. Look out for his arrival in the New Year.

Merry Winter Holidaynessmass

So much has been happening at Chateau Scarlett Inc that I barely know where to start! Mr M has all but finished the new studio and last week I moved most of my workstuff in. Next week we are due to have some electricity put in, so then we can also have some heat - as it's FREEEEEZING there at the moment. He has very cleverly put big skylights in the roof, so we actually don't need any artificial lighting at all. Natural light is much better for painting too.

The second exciting piece of news is that Wally and Bert has gone to the printers and I'm hoping to see a proof before Christmas - although that might be pushing it a bit. The children in Year 4 at Barton have done a cracking job of drawing some animals for the back endpage and we have some quotes from them in the front about being best friends. I can't wait to see it in print.

Next jobs for me will include finishing off the Wellington Boot stories for YouTube and then having a good think about the next Wally & Bert story. I already have an idea. A very silly idea. You'll have to wait and see if its a good idea!!

Hoping you all have a lovely Christmas, eat lots of minky pies and if you don't like them, send them to me and eat some chocolate instead. And if you don't like chocolate either, What is Wrong With You????

Giant Arrives Next Door

Our two dogs, Wally and Maisie were shocked to discover a giant had moved in next door. It started with a bit of deep woofing at very close proximity one dark and windy evening and led to them unexpectantly coming nose to nose over the wall.

 We discovered that the giant (known as Coco) can jump the wall and get through our otherwise small-dog proof enclosures in the garden. This has left Wally with permanent sticky up fur on the back of his neck and a nervous twitch. 

Maisie on the other hand, has previously been scratching her ear fluff and now has considerably less on the left hand side. It looks ridiculous and no matter how much I tell her, she doesn't seem to take any notice.

It turns out that Coco isn't the scary colossus that Wally has taken her for, but a lovely chocolately coloured big ball of fun. Now that she has been rescued and lives in a loving home, it won't be long before the three of them are chasing each other over in the park.

Reading to Bram

Last weekend I found myself reading Vincent and the Vampires to the Great Great Great Grandsons of  Bram Stoker! That truly was a 'Wowsers' moment! I was at the first Isle of Wight Literary Festival, which was a thing of wonder! May there be many more.

This week I have been focussing on cracking on with Wally and Bert and waking up at night thinking about my next exhibition, which starts in a month at the Apollo Theatre. I shall have some new work up on the theme of Shakespeare Quotes as well as some artwork from my two books. I'll be there in the intervals for any questions or book signings. 

Happy Halloween!

Wildlife Day

Tomorrow (22 Sept) I shall be at the Wildlife Day at The Riverside Centre in Newport from 10am. I'll be on hand for signing books (only 88 sleeps 'til Father Christmas comes) along with all manner of Wildlife types! RSPCA, WSPA, IoW Bat Hospital & more arranged by the League Against Cruel Sports. Brian May from Queen is coming to speak on behalf of his Badger conservation group.
See you there! Wear your Badger Hat!

Tutorial part 2 - the making of a Wally cover

In the first part of this tutorial, I painted the little dawg. This next bit is the scary bit. The first time I decided to do this, I did think I was about to ruin a perfectly good painting that had taken me some time to do. I can't even remember what made me do it, but I found myself, scalpel in hand, cutting around a character. Happily, it all ended well, and I have been working like this ever since.

Take your sharp scalpel, with a new blade in it (I use a 10A) and cut! I left a few mm around the dog.

 

Scan in and Edit - Place on your photoshop document. 

If you look in the Layer menu, you will see there is a 'levels' option. You can move the arrows up and down to bring your character into focus with the background easier to erase. (Thanks @BeckaMoor, I was listening!)

 Then choose the 'magic eraser' tool from the side bar on the left. You will probably be flashed up with a warning sign that Smart Objects need to be Rasterized, but just press ok.

You can see here on the pic above and below that with the magic eraser, it doesn't get everything. But I use that to my advantage as I like it to look like a layer, not an element of a whole picture. It gives the image a more 3d appearance. The leg I've circled in blue I need to erase a bit more as it looks a bit scruffy, but the red circle I left almost as it was.

 I already had worked on the front cover graphic elements, so I just used Edit - Place to put him in the right spot. As you can see, his legs are sticking out the bottom of the circle, so making sure I chose the right layer, I carefully erased them.

 Here's the finished piece.

Thanks for looking at my blog. 

For further details of my other work, you can visit

www.scarlettinc.co.uk