Thank you to all members of the Kooky Pets Team for taking the time to fill in the inquisitive form to create your characters. You’ve done a wonderful job!

So the Kooky Pets team is now completed and I have to say that we have a really nice collection of curious characters here. If you are one of them please check out that you’re not missing.

It’s possible that there were some issues when filling up and submitting your forms and images. If you have filled in the form and you’re not on this list, please let me know as soon as possible so we can do something about it.

MEMBERS OF THE KOOKY PETS TEAM

• Prof. Ahmad, Amna. Anthropologist.
• Dr. Arravy, Nasus. Physician.
• Prof. Avena, Leigh. Biologist.
• Lady Crook, Amy. Collector.
• Prof. Diggins, Jane. Archaeologist.
• Lady Hawk, Anastasia Elizabeth. Duchess.
• Dr. Hazelnut, Vegalina. Zoologist.
• Gen. Karkovski, Ambrosius. Explorer.
• Madame Kuhn, Cyn. Medium.
• Dr. Lynn, Nana. Psychologist.
• Prof. Lynn, Smabes. Historian.
• Mr. Martz, Steven. Sailor.
• Col.Muffins, Elizabeth. Animal Tamer.
• Prof. New, Llasday. Treasure Hunter.
• Gen. Russell, Jody. Explorer.
• Prof. Strangeway, Jessamyn. Naturalist.
• Lady Tackle, Tinker. Explorer.
• Dr. Vile, Portia. Parapsychologist.
• Prof. Welter, La Donna. Naturalist.
• Lady Winters, Raven Girl. Shaman.
• Sir Zackelton, Arne. Explorer.
• Prof. Zoe. Magician

There’s a bunch of people who contributed on this project who didn’t show up at all. Regretfully, their comments won’t be used in the content of the book since, in the first place, I need their legal agreement to do so. Also this will imply a few alterations on the original Kooky Pets characters but I can guarantee that at the end of the day everything is going to look terrific.

In my next post you’ll be able to see a sample of a portrait of one of the members of the team, just so you have a glimpse. And I can guarantee this is going to be such a surprise for most of you. The rest of character’s drawings will only be seen in the final book. Now excuse me, I have a meeting with your characters…

Dear Kooky Pets collaborators,

This is a reminder for the people who still haven’t submitted the information and a valid photo for the Kooky Pets book. I need you to do it asap in order to credit you in the book and to help me create your Kooky Pets team character.

If you haven’t received a Newsletter on this subject from me on this subject, please let me know about it.

The deadline to submit the information is next Monday, 8th of March.

If I don’t receive your submission on the deadline it will be understood that you don’t want to be credited and featured in the book. In such case, you won’t be receiving any more emails and newsletters from me.

Please understand that, in order that I can use your former collaborations in the book, I need you to grant me the rights to use them by filling the form. On the contrary, much to my regret, your collaboration will be removed from the book’s content.

The Making of Kooky Pets book. Chapter 8

Here we go with another step in the making of the book: the storyboard. This book features a chapter which content is basically a set of drawings accompanied by comments, in a sort of comics dialog. So I needed a storyboard.

A storyboard is a series of preview sketches and texts that show how the content of the final pages will look and how they will be featured and developed. As you know, they are essential in movies and comics. For the Kooky Pets chapter, I needed to know before hand how much stuff I was able to feature on each page and how it would be featured.

Each Kooky Pet has a 4 page chapter. This includes:

• One page for the character’s introduction -which is mainly text-.
• Two pages for the characters illustration, comments and descriptions.
• A fourth page that I’m not unveiling so soon. You’ll have to wait…

Here is a sample of one the storyboard sketches for a couple of pages that I’ve produced for the book. As you can see, they are very fast and simple sketch drawings. This way, I can decide how many elements will be featured and how I’m setting up the comments and descriptions.

Considering there are 13 Kooky Pets, it looks like an awful lot of sketches to do! But things are a lot faster and smooth when you can relay on a storyboard. It’s a guarantee that later you won’t need change your final work back and forth with bad surprises.

Now, that is the question: would you like to be able to have a storyboard of your next week of life?

The Making of Kooky Pets book. Chapter 7

Last week, all members of the Kooky Pets Team got a message from me asking for their collaboration to create their characters for the book. This is getting pretty fun…

For those who are not familiarized with the project, the Kooky Pets Team is a group of explorers, scientists and erudite who researched the Kooky Pets for many years. All the people who helped me to create the Kooky Pets by commenting at this blog with their priceless ideas are now the members of the team. Each of them will be credited in the book. And, what is the most important, they will have their own fictitious character featured as part of the book. So this is why I’ve been contacting all members of the Kooky Pets Team: to help create their characters.

The members of the Kooky Pets Team will be featured in a especial chapter as well as in the Kooky Pets characters pages. Each member will have their own portrait logo and also a selection of their comments of the Pets will be featured. Here is a little preview about how it will show up in the book.

Apart from this, all members of the team will be credited for their collaboration at the Credits page of the book.

Some members of the team are asking me when are they going to see their characters. This is going to be a surprise that I’m going to keep until the book is released. I will be showing just one of the resulting characters at this blog, just so you can see how it will looks. But the rest of characters will remain unveiled until the book is released so, dear ones, be patient…

IMPORTANT: If you collaborated in this project by commenting on the making of the Kooky Pets you should have received a Newsletter from me inviting you to submit your information by filling up a form. If you haven’t received my Newsletter and you want to be featured in the book please contact me as soon as possible so I can send you to the form.

The deadline to submit the form is 8th of March. If you don’t submit the form before the deadline, your contributions and your name won’t be published in the book and you won’t be featured at all.

The Making of Kooky Pets book. Chapter 6

One of the most important elements of consideration in picture books design are colors. Working with a color palette beforehand is one of the most practical things to do in any project where design is involved. On the contrary, half-way through the process, you might find a thread of annoying color clashes that will make your work inconsistent.

In this particular project, I already had a color range for all the main drawings since they were produced before I started working on the book. So I needed to set a concrete color palette for the pages and visual elements in a compromise with the work that was already produced.

When it comes to create color palettes the most important is always this: GO TO THE BASICS. Don’t add unnecessary color ranges and use what you have. I always start up by using the basic elements and materials that I already have in my hands in order to build up a chromatic range from there. In this particular case, the basic elements are paper and ink. As simple as that.

The background cream color that I’m using comes from the background paper texture that I’m using for all the pages of the book. I scanned this paper texture from old books of mine that I did myself many years ago when I learned how to make paper and bind books. Today, 20 years later, they have acquired a really nice color, kind of old, which kind of reminds me that I might be getting older too…

Anyway, as I have said in former posts, I don’t use visual elements from other people in my works. I like to produce all the elements myself and to use things that surround me in my personal life. Sometimes, I use objects that I pick up from my walks in the woods and photographs of textures that I take. This makes my work a real extension of my life and I’m sure that you can tell the difference when you see it. Some people has told me at seeing my work: “This smells just like Koldo”. And I wonder if I should be wearing a better deodorant…

The black ink color is the one that I’m using for all of the ornaments and text of the book. Now, there’s something important that I want to say about the use of black: There’s no such thing as “black”. It’s an illusion. BLACK DOESN’T EXIST.

Black is nothing but lack of light. It’s not possible for human people to perceive “total darkness” or “total black”. Hopefully! So, ever since I started oil painting as a kid, the Ivory Black tube was always unopened. I always had the feeling artificial black color adds an unnatural color vibration to the human eye just because we can’t find it in nature. In this case, the black color that I’m using for the book it’s a sample from the mixtures of the graphite pencil lines and colors in my Kooky Pets drawings. It was already there.

Now, you might think this sounds a little exaggerated but, from my experience, THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS. I’m not talking about little elements that you can hardly see, such as drawings and details. I’m talking about slight nuances that people may not spot but they’re definitely there and they change our perception of things. Important nuances can make things feel natural. When things look natural, it rolls. There is a friendly harmony in there, a feeling of authenticity. So when it comes to show yourself, don’t be afraid of giving out your true self and “avoid imitations”.

Now that we have the main colors, cream and black, I use a color scheme manager software to find complementary colors. Basically, I expand the palette range with harmonies. I usually play around with different suggestions from the software, then I build up my palette from there. Later, I always do some adjustments with the bare eye because I don’t like to work with 100% harmony. And here is the trick…

Just like Schönberg pioneered in music and Kandinsky did in art, working with dissonances is a way to tune in with the universe. It’s the same about symmetry. All the ornaments that I’m producing for the book look symmetric, don’t they? Well, they’re not. Complete symmetry feels awful and unnatural to me. I feel sick to my stomach when I see full symmetry. So I don’t mirror my geometric images so they look symmetrical. They’re all slightly different. When you look at it you might not notice it, but something inside of you does because it’s natural to your senses. And you just can’t fool your feelings, can you?

This week, the members of the Kooky Pets Team will receive a surprise from me. It has to do with an important step on the making of the book, so I’ll keep you all updated.

The Making of Kooky Pets book. Chapter 5

When people thinks of books they’re not usually aware about how fonts are as important as any other visual elements. Picking the right fonts and placing them correctly is a decisive step when it comes to make your book work. Fonts affect the harmony in the overall layout and can change the feeling of the whole book. And what is the most important: they can help the reader to feel comfortable in order to read fluently.

In the case of the Kooky Pets book, to keep the balance between aesthetic and practicality is a main goal. Publicity and packaging design from Victorian letterpress is really attractive. But, after all, reading a book is not the same as reading corn flake boxes and circus posters, right?

Here is a sample of the 5 different fonts that will be featured in the book and a little explanation about my choices.

1- Lightfoot. This font has been part of the whole Kooky Pets Workshop project from the very 1st day. It will be featured in the book cover and some chapter headers.

2- Phaeton. I looked at many decorative fonts with no luck and my wife Naomi pointed me in the direction of this beautiful font. It was designed by designer Andy Jones in collaboration with Kevin Cornell, an illustrator who I admire. The font will be featured in headers as well as inside the labels with the comments from the Kooky Pet team.

3- LTC Cloister Bold Swash. This is another wonderful sample of beautiful Letterpress design. The original font was designed circa 1913 by American typeface designer Morris Fuller Benton. It will be only featured in the text balloons of the characters texts.

4- Edwardian Script. This beautiful font was designed by Ed Benguiat inspired in the Victorian era. It will be only used to feature the page numbering but not in regular text.

5- Goudy Old Style. I’ve chosen this pretty common font for the main text of the book. It was created by Frederic W. Goundry for American Type Founders in 1916. Apart from being a very good exponent of this particular design period, it works really good in terms readability. It’s clean, easy to read, elegant, and classic at the same time. And it also looks right for the age range of the book readers and the type of texts that the book will feature. What else can you ask for?

Next day I will talk about color palettes. Yes, same as a painter in front of a white canvas but in this case… it’s a book!

The Making of Kooky Pets book. Chapter 4

Alice -in Wonderland- used to wonder what’s the use of a book without pictures or conversations. And now I say: “what’s the use of a book with no ornaments?”. Yes, I miss the golden days of illustration when masters like Arthur Rackham and John Bauer used to put as much care in the ornaments designs as in the illustrations.

So that is precisely what I’m doing with this book. After all, I started working as a designer 24 years ago, so it would make no sense for me to not pay attention on design. And I LOVE to design. Especially when design is another vehicle to illustrate my own inner world. In this case, that’s what the ornaments are about: an extension of the drawings and text to create a concrete atmosphere.

Here is a sample of some of the ornament designs that I am producing for the character pages of the book. As I’ve told in former posts, I’ve been inspired by Victorian letterpress design. Although all of these designs started as mere Victorian ornaments, they have been meticulously developed and shaped by adding my personal signature. I’ve put special detail on the different kinds of shapes that can remind faces of beasts, so they change depending what you’re looking at. It’s all about making the experience of reading the book fun and adventurous. I hope that every time that you open this book you find different things!

Here are three different design elements for the book. This book is not including any pre-designed art clips or anything like that. They’ve all been designed from scratch and everything you will see is custom made for this particular project.

The elements in the sample include:

• Tags to feature the description comments from the collaborators in this project about the Kooky Pets.
• A hand that will go with the labels, pointing at the Kooky Pet features.
• The numbering ornament for all the book pages.

In my next post, I’ll talk about the fonts that I have selected for the book and how important they are in design.

As you know, last week Apple presented the new iPad with a froth of anticipation in the media. How is this going to affect the publishing industry and our careers as authors and illustrators?

One of the most interesting features of the iPad is that you can read books with color pictures and it looks to me like a very friendly alternative to paper books. It’s true that this is not the first computer tablet computer and eBook reader on the market. But, considering Apple’s marketing powers, this will probably mark the beginning of a new “tablet” era. It’s very clear that nothing is going to stop it now, as there are other models from different manufacturers coming out this year.

To be frank with you, I’m not necessarily the target of these kind of devices so I’m not here to tell you to go get one. But I do want to share my reflections about how this new creatures are going to affect the lives and careers of book authors, illustrators and book readers.

Filling the living-room gap

During the last few days, there’s been a lot of talk about how cool or uncool the iPad is. To me, the real point is being missed here. I’m talking about how a new generation of devices is going to affect our lives and the whole publishing industry. If you think I’m going too far, just think of the way personal computers, mobile phones and iPods have already changed the way we live, socialize, buy and produce. No kidding!

Speaking of devices changing our everyday life, do you ever wonder about how they evolved during the last two decades? It’s strange! I can’t quite understand why the world of personal computers jumped from the work environment to the streets with mobile phones and iPods. I’m not a mobile phone user myself. My wife and I work at home and that’s where we spend most of the time so we don’t really need one, but I can perfectly understand how useful mobile phones are for many other people. It’s just that I can’t get the way music, movies, games and the Internet took over street life. It could be said that our civilization spends their entire lives out in the street. Definitely, there has to be something missing here…

The living room is the gap. At some point, the companies decided that money would come easier and faster by first introducing the computer world on portable devices. Probably because many people still associate computers with work and hard-to-handle technology and we all know that fun is usually a better selling point. Obviously, the next chapter in this race for the new technological way of life is to fill the living room gap. It’s been relegated for too many years to heavy laptops with battery limitations which usually get really hot and you can’t actually keep on “your lap”. Not quite a technology dream! So that’s exactly what the new tablets are all about and I bet you that in 5 years there will be one of these devices sitting at the couch of every middle class family. We will wonder about how could we live without them before!

Very soon, tablets and personal computers will be connected wireless to our huge TV screens and there you go: you have the Internet, movies, games, music and books controlled right from your living room couch. No remote controls, iPods, iPhones, Kindles, etc. Everything will be controlled right from a single tablet. One that it’s easy to use for all kinds of people, because what many detractors of the iPad don’t get is that they’re not even the main target of this new generation of devices. The main target is not just teenagers and computer workers who are used to new technologies like you and I are. The new “living room eCrew” are people of all ages who are probably scared of computers and don’t know what the hell a blog is. But they’ll be happy to control their whole leisure time from a little flat tablet just because that way it will be easier, better and funnier. In short: it’s going change the way the people listen to music, watch movies and TV, play video games, and read books.

So if you’re asking yourself what all this has to do with art, illustration and books, this is the picture: millions of people reading eBooks on their living room couch, in their favorite sofa and in bed. Think about it.

Analog Vs. digital

Ever since the Kindle was out, I’ve seen many people discussing this. To me, this argument makes no sense. Who says that we need to pick between apples and oranges? Let me give you an example: the MP3 has been out there for than a decade now. There was a lot of buzz about the loss of quality in MP3s. Many people predicted that vinyls would disappear, but they’re still around. I can tell you this because I’m a vinyl user myself. As a big music fan, I have a pretty large quantity of MP3s but I still keep a big collection of vinyls too. I know that I’m not the only one who loves listening to his favorite albums on the turntable and going out vinyl hunting. Well, it’s exactly the same with books. Paper books and eBooks are not supposed to kill each other, the will co-exist and grow together. But the most important: they will support each other.

Paper books are unique to establish a special relationship between the artist/author and the reader. They’re more expensive and slow to produce and deliver. They also need a lot of middle people in the chain until they reach the audience. But they have the quality of uniqueness because they are in material form, so there you have a plus. On the other hand, eBooks are not much of a personal item. They don’t have a material and sentimental value, but they don’t take any room to store. And here is the real good deal about them: they’re easier and cheaper to acquire and to produce.

Self-publishing is the future

The key about the eBook world is not in the coolness of the item itself. After all, a book is just a book. It’s in the new capabilities for authors to produce and distribute our own work without having to completely depend on third parties, such as agents, art directors and publishers. This is a wonderful opportunity for a real change in the relationship between authors/artists and readers. A real alternative to produce books in an affordable way and sell them directly to the readers. Looking at the state of the book industry today, God knows how important alternatives are! Especially for new authors who see every agent’s and publisher’s doors closed. So, who’s interested in this alternative becoming a reality? I’m 100% in.

This is the opportunity to take advantage of electronic formats and the Internet to reach our audience through web sites, social media, blogs and personal stores. There are millions of people out there who are just waiting to have the opportunity to enjoy our work. They don’t want anybody to tell them what they need to buy and what they like. We have the opportunity of taking the reins of our careers and create a relationship based in trust and authenticity. So if we open the right channels to reach our real audience there’s plenty of room for all of us. It’s an audience that may not be massive in all cases but will be willing to support us to do what we love to do. what we do at our best, which is after all to make them feel happy and alive.

Note: My forthcoming Kooky Pets book will be given away in eBook format on this web site. I’m open to finding other channels of free distribution.

The Making of Kooky Pets book. Chapter 3

Do you remember being a kid and scattering a bunch of toys all around the bedroom floor? That was cool, wasn’t it? This has to be one of the most intense feelings of creative freedom that you’ll ever know!

As a kid, I used to keep an army of little plastic figurines of cartoon characters, soldiers, Indians and cow boys inside a laundry soap bin. It was huge and it had a promotion of Walt Disney’s Aristocats on the label. Yes, I used to love hearing the sound of this mountain of plastic creatures crumbling down on the floor. My mom didn’t. Well, today, I still keep many of my original plastic figures. Unfortunately, I don’t keep my precious laundry soap bin. But I have my mood board!

I can’t think of starting any creative project without a mood board. No matter if it’s hanging on the wall or it’s digital, be a personal book project or a project for my design firm, I need to put all the inspirational stuff in front of me and scatter all around to start out with a good dose of inspiration. I’m sure it’s the same for you.

Here is a little sample of some of the images that have influenced my forthcoming design and art direction for the Kooky Pets book. What I’m basically doing is to use them as a reference to create my own personal version of the styles and aesthetics that I’m going to follow.

When I first thought of making the Kooky Pets Book, my original idea was to put together a children’s book with the illustrations from the Kooky Pets Workshop. I had something very colorful in mind and wanted to paint some cheerful backgrounds for the drawings. Probably something in the style of gouache and pastel illustrations from the 60’s, such as Mary Blair. Later, I started thinking of the people who collaborated on this project and I felt I was trying to babysit the wrong people…

What I want to say here is that, OK, this was never supposed to be a project for young kids. Most of the people involved in this project are adults, except for Aiyana, who is already 10. I’m sure that 6 year old kids will enjoy reading this book with their parents. But first and foremost, this is a book for young adults and adults who believe in the magic and mystery of the world. So that’s what it’s gonna be: Magic and Mystery. With a drop or two of wacky nonsense.

What you can see on the first mood board sample has a lot to do with the main design style for the book: American Letter Press design from the Turn of the Century. My web site has already a similar flavor. With this project, I want to go one step further. I can see this style fitting perfectly with the Kooky Pets world. Besides that, don’t ask why but I find myself very comfortable about that particular Victorian era. Although I live even better in this one…

The second moodboard shows my preliminary idea to present the book as a Field Notebook. You know, these cute notebooks from scientists and zoologists from the 1800’s? I wanted to present a collection of creatures with descriptions from the scientists. On second thought, I realized that just presenting a series of pencil drawings with handwritten notes could be a little boring. And let me tell you: yawning is contagious. So I dropped that idea.

Here’s something that I’m sure many of you love as much as I do. Yes, they’re some drawings from one of the my favorite artists, Brian Froud. In some of his amazing works, such as “Goblins of the Labyrinth”, he used a similar ‘notebook’ concept. I believe he was also inspired from different series of Medieval and Renaissance period drawings, like the one I’m showing in the bottom of the mood board.

Arthur Rackham and Audrey Beardsley have always been some of my biggest influences. Here you can see some very inspirational book designs. Working with flat tints, high contrast and silhouettes, this book is going to have a slight remembrance to this particular period of design. Did I I say “flat” and “silhouette”? Geez, I start talking like a dietitian. I’m getting hungry.

To recognize your influences is one of the most important ways to find your own artistic voice. Remember to always embrace your influences, honor them, make them yours and let them evolve into something that’s yours and truly unique. After all, we are all connected to the same life source but each one of us has the gift of being unique.

Don’t forget to scatter your toys on the floor!

The Making of Kooky Pets book. Chapter 2

If you followed the Kooky Pets project since it’s beginnings in June 2009, you might remember that my original idea was to produce a set of trading cards with the illustrations. It was a fun idea but, to be honest, I’ve been alway been more of a book person rather than a gambler… So after the project was completed, I realized I had material enough to go for a very special book if I just produce some extra stuff.

So far, you just know the original 12 character illustrations of Kooky Pets that were posted in this blog. You might be wondering about what the hell are you going to find in more than 60 full color pages!

I’m not going to unveil all the secrets throughout this ‘Making Of’ experiment but here is a summary of the content of the book. In forthcomings blog posts I will share with you the making each of these chapters at it’s different stages of production. But for now, let’s fantasize about what’s coming next!

KOOKY PETS – CONTENT SUMMARY

• Cover
• Endpaper
• Intro pages & credits
• Index
• Preface
• Chapter 1- History. An introduction about research information and historical precedents of the Kooky Pets. Includes text and illustrations.
• Chapter 2- The Kooky Pet Team. A presentation of all 34 members of the Kooky Pet Team of scientist and explorers. Includes a portrait and description of each member. If you are a Kooky Pet collaborator, this will be your spot!
• Chapter 3- The Kooky Pets. The collection of 12 Kooky Pets. Each character will be featured in 4 pages. Includes a text introduction of the character, drawings, notes from the author, notes from the members of the Kooky Pet team, and other extra stuff.
• Appendix. This section will include extra information and illustrations about the Kooky Pets.
• Bonus material. This will come only in the 1st Limited Edition and… it’s a surprise!