roccoart

The Flint Heart gets THREE STARRED REVIEWS!

2011-09-01T08:08:00.007-04:00

I am very excited about the latest illustrated book I did with Katherine and John Paterson. It's not often that you get to illustrate a book for the National Ambassador of Children's Literature. I ended up doing about 60 paintings for this book.

I am happy to say that it has received starred reviews from Kirkus, School Library Journal and Publishers Weekly. . It goes on sale September 27.

Also, another middle grade novel I have illustrated, The Hunter Chronicles: Return to Exile, will hit stores on September 5. There is a website for the book. If you like Rick Riordan or Eoin Colfer, you will like E.J. Patten. He has written a really fun, scary book about teenage kids who fight incredible inventive monsters with weapons that they make from garbage.

There is also a very nice interview I did over at 7imps which has a ton of never before seen artwork and detailed discussions about my process.

and my daughter Alaya wanted to type something too. Here it is:

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"A SPECIAL SUMMER NIGHT"-Great review in BookPage!

2011-05-19T12:29:00.008-04:00

John Rocco takes a child’s-eye view of one special summer night in Blackout. At first glance, this captivating picture book seems to offer a straightforward view of a night when a family is forced to move away from their electronic life to a simpler time, a time when families played board games and enjoyed each other’s company. Taking a closer look at the illustrations does for the reader just what the blackout does for the family in the story, allowing us to slow down and appreciate the moment all the more.

Let’s start with the very first image—even before the title page. Here is the main character, a little girl with a screen flickering behind her. Given her dour expression, it appears that the screen isn’t bringing her much joy. Moving to the first pages of the book, we see a busy street in Brooklyn, beneath the bridge. Careful observers will recognize that same girl again in a brownstone window. In other tiny windows, we spot four of the main characters, busy with their work and too busy for the little girl, who wants to play a board game.

In a beautiful moment, the lights of the city slowly dim, prompting the startled child to summon help with a cry of “MOM!” The family adjourns to the roof for a joyous time with neighbors under the starry night (which looks a lot like the Van Gogh painting of the same name). Then it’s back to the street for free ice cream from the ice cream vendor. As the story unfolds, astute readers will note slight changes in perspective and light that let the reader observe the passage of time, but in a slowed-down world without electricity.

Adults know that a power outage can be a pain in the neck, but to a child, it is just another adventure. In Rocco’s beautifully told story, a blackout brings one family together and allows a child to see her city in a whole new light . . . a flashlight

-Robin Smith

Here is the link

INDIE NEXT LIST!- Blackout

2011-04-29T10:23:00.002-04:00

Blackout, my new picture book with Disney•Hyperion is getting some nice attention! Starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Kirkus as well as being selected for the Indiebound Kids Next List for Summer 2011. I am very thrilled.

I will be signing copies of Blackout at 3pm at Book Expo America, and we also had some nifty posters made. Also, at 10pm Katherine Paterson will be signing galleys of our book, The Flint Heart, so check that out too!

I have a bunch of book signings in N.J. and Brooklyn coming up and you can check out the dates and times in the calendar section of my website.

The latest covers

2011-01-24T14:59:00.002-05:00

Here are some jpgs of more final covers for "Return to Exile" and "The Throne of Fire".

New image available on Imagekind

2010-12-17T09:08:00.003-05:00

I have just made this image, from Rick Riordan's Bestselling book "The Lost Hero" available for purchase on Imagekind.com

Imagekind is a great service that allows you to choose the size, frame and material that it will be printed on. The quality is outstanding.

If you order by December 19th you can still get it in time for Christmas!

New Jackets

2010-11-09T10:01:00.004-05:00

Here are a couple new jacket paintings. One is the third jacket in a series called the Century Books and should be coming out soon (The purple one). The other is for a book I can't talk about yet. I am still working on this one, but very excited on how it is coming out.

I have been extremely busy lately, getting ready for a couple of art exhibitions, and finishing up a couple of books, as well as working on the cover for the new Kane Chronicles book, by Rick Riordan.

Things should slow down for me around April of next year. Then I think I might work on my next picture book using traditional media (watercolor) and put the computer away for a while.

John Rocco Art Exhibition- Sparkhouse Studio, Nov 14th

2010-11-03T15:20:00.006-04:00

On Sunday November 14th there will be an art exhibition and reception at Sparkhouse Studio in South Orange, NJ from 7-9pm

Limited edition prints from all the Percy Jackson books, as well as The Kane Chronicles and Heroes of Olympus will be available.

Here is all the information from the fine folks at Sparkhouse:

Please join us as we welcome John Rocco to Sparkhouse Studio.

Mr. Rocco is the illustrator of the Percy Jackson, Kane Chronicles & The Heroes of Olympus series as well as the illustrator & author of several other books for children. He lives in Brooklyn & his will be the inaugural show at Sparkhouse Studio.

Please note that this is an adult event and wine will be served. There are two child friendly events earlier in the day with Mr. Rocco

You can RSVP to the event here: http://www.pingg.com/rsvp/cc4z7zhqvm86mj8rj

Dark Horse Gelaskins

2010-10-26T09:19:00.003-04:00

Dark Horse comics have recently licensed some of my artwork to go on their new Gelaskins for laptops and phones and ipads and all that other cool technology that you want to protect from drops and spills and four year old children who have a tendency to knock your stuff on the ground. (Yes, I am talking to you, Alaya)

Illustrators Day Festival

2010-10-15T10:21:00.006-04:00

Please join me and a whole plethora of illustrators tomorrow from 10:30 till 3pm at the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza for a day of family fun. Illustrators will be doing readings, workshops, book signings, and generally running around looking for coffee and pencils. This is in conjunction with the Drawn in Brooklyn art exhibition at the Library.

Now, with that out of the way, I can apologize for not posting in a while. I have been busy.

Here is what I have been up to:

Working on the illustrations (45 in all!) for a middle grade novel with John and Katherine Paterson called The Flint Heart. It is an amazing story that has children, fairies, talking animals and even a hot water bottle from Germany named Bismark.

Here is one of the paintings....

I also just finished up a new picture book called BLACKOUT which will be out in May of 2011.

Here is a finished illustration for that:

In other news, FU FINDS THE WAY, was selected for the Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators. The reception is on Thursday October 21. If you are there, please say hi!

Here is the piece that will be hanging in the show. I chose to frame both the pencil version and a print of the digital painting so that people could see my process.

I have also been working on my house in the country. We have started to paint the outside a nice green color called Autumn Sage. Doesn't it just sound peaceful? I built some benches for my daughters classroom, which was a lot of fun. I will have to get some pictures of those. They were made from an old oak tree that was in my wife's yard when she was a child, and when it fell over her dad had the wood milled and shipped it over from Belgium. So those benches have some history!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

-Meet the Illustrator, Central Library Brooklyn Dweck Center, Nov 4th at 10:00 am

-Reading at The Red Hook Public Library in Brooklyn Wednesday November 10 at 10:00 am

-Workshop, The Art of the Bookjacket, Central Library, Brooklyn (Grand Army Plaza) 2:30 PM

-Art Exhibition, SparkHouse Studios, reception Nov 14th 7pm

-Art Exhibition and panel discussion with the Book Maker's Dozen at Powerhouse Arena December 2, 7-9pm

Hope to see you at one of these events.

The Lost Hero

2010-06-24T08:32:00.003-04:00

There has been a lot of buzz in the news lately about Rick Riordan's newest series, The Heroes of Olympus, and once again, I am thrilled to be a part of it. Here is the cover painting I did for the first book, The Lost Hero.

World's End

2010-06-04T10:03:00.004-04:00

Here is the latest jacket art for World's End. It's a wraparound jacket in which the art is even carried onto the inside jacket flaps. World's End is the second book in the DORMIA series by Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski.
This was a fun one, and you can see my inspiration from these two paintings by Howard Pyle.

Launch of The Kane Chronicles

2010-05-04T09:39:00.004-04:00

Last night I went to a media launch event for Rick Riordan's newest series, The Kane Chronicles. (Jacket art by yours truly). The event was in the large atrium of the Brooklyn Museum and there was quite a turnout. Here are some pictures:

Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Borough President, made Rick an honorary Brooklyn Citizen. (A good part of The Kane Chronicles takes place in Brooklyn, about five blocks from my house!)
The wonderful voice over artists, who read for the audio version of the book were on hand to give everyone a sample of there talents. They were great!
And, as always, Rick got everyone excited about Egyptian mythology...and his new series of course. He mentioned that the Brooklyn Museum has the largest collection of ancient Egyptian spell books in the world. Pretty dangerous!?!?My art director, Joann Hill, and I were both giddy about how well the cover came out. Not so sure what the heck I am doing with my hand...casting a spell perhaps?

April Showers...

2010-04-27T10:26:00.003-04:00

I haven't blogged in a while, and that means I am busy. I recently joined fellow illustrators David Gordon and Dave Horowitz at the Bridgewater Young Authors Conference which was a lot of fun. I also spoke at the New Jersey Reading Councils recent conference and signed books with Marc Brown.
In my studio I am busy working on a couple of book jackets. One for the new book in the DORMIA series, and a jacket for Rick Riordan's newest book The Lost Hero, which is the first book in Rick's Percy Jackson spinoff series about demi-gods at camp half-blood.
In other news, Rick Riordan's latest series, The Kane Chronicles, hits bookstores on May 4 with its first book The Red Pyramid. Cool!
I am also spending my time working on THE FLINT HEART, by John and Katherine Patterson. It is a middle grade fantasy novel originally created by Edin Phillpotts in 1910. It was just announced that it will be made into a movie by the team that put together the film Bridge to Terabithia. The book will have about 45 paintings in it, so I think I will be having a busy summer. More to come on that as the summer progresses.

Okay, so when I am not busy on all of that...I am working on my picture book called BLACKOUT. It is an almost wordless book, (it has about 100 words, which is almost wordless for me!) about a family in Brooklyn that comes together through the magic of a blackout. Here are some of the drawings to give you a taste.

The rejected sketches...

2010-03-02T09:49:00.003-05:00

I thought it would be fun to post some rejected sketches from a bunch of different book jackets that I've illustrated. These were the ideas that didn't make it...

Thank you Mr. Wyeth

2010-02-25T10:28:00.002-05:00

Recently I finished a painting for a new book jacket. I was very inspired by the work of N.C. on this one.

Percy Jackson Art Show

2010-02-01T11:28:00.004-05:00

(pictured here; Jennifer Besser (Editor, Disney•Hyperion), me, Peter Glassman (Owner, Books of Wonder)

This past Saturday we had a very nice opening at Books of Wonder in NYC displaying all the artwork from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. There was a huge turnout and lots of great questions from the audience. Thanks to everyone who showed up and made the event so special. It was a real thrill for me to see all the art framed and on the wall, and to meet all the fans of the series. It was a super cold saturday, and it was even cold inside (that's why I am still wearing my scarf!) so I was thrilled that people braved the elements and came out.
The artwork will stay up for a while, so if you are in the neighborhood be sure to check it out. A small limited edition signed set of prints have been made and you can purchase them through Books of Wonder while they last. You can preview them all here.

Latest Artwork and News January 2010

2010-01-26T09:25:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year! Here are some of the latest paintings I have completed for some middle grade novels. The first two are for a series called THE CENTURY BOOKS by P.D. Baccalario. The final painting is for the paperback version of a book called THE MIDNIGHT CHARTER by David Whitley. (I loved this book! It's like Jonathan Stroud's The Bartimeous Trilogy meets Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. I can't wait to read the next one in this trilogy, which I am supposed to get in a couple days.

In the meantime, I am very excited to announce that I will be illustrating a middle grade fairy tale written by our new Ambassador of Children's Literature, the one and only...Katherine Paterson. The book is called The Flint Heart, originally written by Eden Phillpotts in 1910. Katherine and her husband John have brought new life to this wonderful story which feels to me like a wonderful combination of Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland. The Publisher, Candlewick Press will be creating a highly illustrated version of this wonderful tale, which I have the honor of illustrating.

The Kane Chronicles

2010-01-15T12:53:00.003-05:00

Well the word is out, and so is the new art. Here is the painting that I recently did for Rick Riordan's latest series; The Kane Chronicles. There is some more info on the Wall Street Journal Blog, and a website.

PERCY JACKSON ART SHOW

2010-01-08T10:26:00.003-05:00

Come on out and join me for a cool art exhibition hosted by my favorite NYC bookstore, Books of Wonder.
When: January 30th 12-2pm
The super awesome editor of the Percy Books, Jennifer Besser will be there as well to answer any of your questions. Should be fun!

Percy Jackson Deluxe...continued

2009-12-14T20:07:00.002-05:00

Here is another painting from the Lightning Thief Deluxe Edition. It depicts Percy leaving Mount Olympus towards the end of the book. You'll notice the design on the elevator doors is based on the end pages I designed for "The Last Olympian".
I recently took my three year old daughter to the top of the Empire State Building and when we got out on the roof, she kept saying "But I want to go ALL the way up to the tippy top." I can only assume she meant climbing the needle like King Kong, but maybe she meant even further...to the 600th floor!

Percy Jackson THE LIGHTNING THIEF Deluxe Edition

2009-12-04T09:54:00.002-05:00

I am pleased to announce that the Lightning Thief Deluxe Illustrated Edition is now available. I just went over to Books of Wonder in NYC where both Rick Riordan and I have signed copies. Very cool!

Books of Wonder Event

2009-11-30T09:25:00.003-05:00

Had a great time at the recent Books of Wonder event this past weekend. Here are some pics.

Left to right: Jerry Pinkney, me and Art Spiegleman.

Left to right: Jerry Pinkney, Art Spiegleman, Francoise Mouly, Charles Santore, Laura Cornell and Brett Helquist.

Left to Right: Charles Santore, Laura Cornell, Brett Helquist, Holly Hobbie and me grinning profusely.

The Kane Chronicles

2009-11-05T17:23:00.003-05:00

Well, now...I can talk about it.
I am currently working on the artwork for Rick Riordan's new book, The Red Pyramid (Book one of the Kane Chronicles). I am very excited about this because not only do I get to create the jacket art, but I was able to design the logo which was revealed this week in Publishers Weekly as well as Rick's own unveiling at the Texas Book Festival where he took home the prestigious Bookend award for his contributions to literature by a Texas author.
Now, I am sure I won't be able to post anything about the artwork for a long time to come, but the excitement is building. His last series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which I did all the cover art for, has sold over 7 million copies in the U.S. alone!
Needless to say, I am thrilled and honored to be part of his next series, The Kane Chronicles.

Percy Jackson Boxed Set

2009-10-03T11:12:00.003-04:00

November 3, 2009 is going to be a Percy day! First there is the release of this cool Boxed set of Hardcover books, and also is the release of the Deluxe Edition of the Lightning Thief with eight new color illustrations I did for the interior. Pretty cool!

Boxed Set
Deluxe Lightning Thief

Today is the Day to find the Way

2009-09-30T16:18:00.003-04:00

Today, September 30th officially marks the launch of my latest picture book, Fu Finds the Way. I am at my desk listening for cries of joy, fireworks and sounds of celebration, but alas it is quiet outside my window.
I will be doing several signings in the NYC area in November.

In other news I had the pleasure of meeting David Small as he was signing his new graphic novel "Stitches" at Powerhouse Arena last night. I also met his lovely wife, Sarah Stewart (Author of "The Librarian", "The Gardener", "The Money Tree" and several others) It was a great night, and I was lucky to get our very used copy of "The Librarian" signed by both David and Sarah.

Keplers review of Fu Finds the Way

2009-09-26T19:22:00.002-04:00

My new book was recently reviewed by Keplers. Did I mention that Keplers happens to be one of my Dad's favorite bookstores?

Fu Finds the Way - Kepler's Staff Review
This is an awe-inspiringly beautiful book that will beckon you to hold it tenderly in your hands and give it your full attention. Indeed, before the first
word is read you will be well on your way to "the way."

Young Fu is out in the rice fields quite distracted by his fantastic daydream when he accidentally flings a clod of mud onto the face of a fearsome warrior
named Chang. Incensed, Chang challenges young Fu to a duel. Terrified Fu grabs his father's sword and runs to seek training by the Master. But all the
Master has him do is pour tea! And then he orders Fu to pour tea again "with purpose," and again "with flow" and again "with patience." When the hour
of his assignation with Chang arrives, Fu, quite exhausted by his sleepless night pouring tea, forgets his sword but finds himself still holding the teapot.

What will he do? Pour Tea of course! Fu's loving tea ceremony has such intense focus and beauty that all else becomes irrelevant, including Chang's ire.
In our often frenetically multi-tasked lives, reading this book provides a peaceful and centering experience that explains the concept of single-focused
attention to the moment-a concept that is beyond the grasp or experience of so many of our children given the relentlessly wired, hyper-texted, multi-
calendar lives our families navigate every day.

Kentucky Conference

2009-09-21T12:12:00.003-04:00

I recently got back from Louisville where I was a guest speaker at the Kentucky Reading Association Annual Conference. They held another great conference this year and I was happy to be part of it. I met some wonderful teachers who were really passionate about getting their students to read. I also had time to talk with Floyd Cooper about his work, as well as having drinks with fellow SCBWI'er Candie Moonshower.

New Studio!!!!

2009-09-14T11:42:00.005-04:00

I am very excited about the new studio that my wife and I built at our country house. It used to be a commercial kitchen and a bedroom, and before that it was a dining room (back in the late 1800's). We had to hire contractors to put a new roof on because the old one was leaking, but the rest of the work we did ourselves. I even made my own moulding with some old pine boards and a router. The bookshelf in the library is a simple pine box, and I added sheets of stained beadboard to the back and some old oak moulding I found to dress up the front. It still needs some work, like a new floor and moulding and some other things, but we couldn't be happier.
We also had time to finish work on a library. I still can't believe I have a library now! Here are some pictures, and a nice shot of my daughter helping with the painting.

The Books have arrived!

2009-09-07T16:39:00.003-04:00

I just got my hands on a few copies of my latest book, Fu Finds the Way, (Disney•Hyperion Sept 30) and I am thrilled. The printing was spectacular and check out what it looks like when you take the dust jacket off! Its a red silk cover with a gold stamp that I designed in the center.
Getting advance copies of my books always gives me a thrill. It's like Christmas!

PERCY JACKSON

2009-07-22T15:59:00.008-04:00

Lately I have been pretty busy. As you may know, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Lightning Thief movie is in production (see the trailer here) and the final book in the series "The Last Olympian" has recently come out, so the folks over at Barnes and Noble have been doing a slew of promotion using the artwork from the covers.
Check out this cool "Last Olympian Gift Card"
They have also created some cool trivia cards.
As well as this nifty journal.

But one of the most exciting things for me was the opportunity to illustrate a Deluxe Gift Edition of "The Lightning Thief". I had to put all my other projects on hold to work on it, but in the end it was totally worth it.
The book will have eight full color paintings of scenes from the book and will be cloth bound and come with a handsome slipcase. The best part is that I am told it will be available this November, just in time for that perfect holiday gift for the Percy fans!
I plan to do some promotional videos, but here is a small taste of what is to come... stay tuned.

Obama gives out "The Lightning Thief"

2009-06-30T08:24:00.002-04:00

I came across this article yesterday. The first family was at Fort McNair on June 25th to stuff 15,000 backpacks with books for children of military personnel. The two books given out were "The Penderwicks" by Jeanne Birdsall, and "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan (with cover art by John Rocco!!!!). Pretty cool.

New jacket painting

2009-05-20T13:06:00.003-04:00

This one is for the follow up to Jake Ransom and the Skull King. Don't know if I can tell you the title yet, but it has something to do with a sphinx. The painting hasn't been approved yet, but the art director liked it, and that's good enough for me.

Working on a picture book right now, and it's a wordless one. Still in the book dummy stage and I can't wait to start working on the final art. Just got notes back from my editor and, as expected, they were good ones. Now back to the drawing board.

IRA-Minneapolis

2009-05-07T10:35:00.002-04:00

I just returned from Minneapolis where I had a fabulous time signing books and giving presentations. I saw some old friends and met many new ones. The folks from Disney•Hyperion were there in force and had a great booth set up for us. I forgot my camera, sorry no pictures. Signed books in the Anderson Bookshop booth with Patrick Carmen and Judy Schachner and they were fun table mates. We had quite a slew of folks come by to have books signed and they sold every last copy of Wolf! Wolf! and Moonpowder.
The last night we had terrific dinner at the COSMOS restaurant and I enjoyed talking, eating and drinking with Ally Carter, LeUyen Pham, Alan Sitomer, Gordon Korman and Jaime Adoff.

Now back to reality...time to get my butt in my chair and get some work done.
Hope to see you at BEA at the end of the month!

April-May news

2009-05-01T09:50:00.004-04:00

It has been a while since I've blogged, facebooked, twittered (no, I don't twitter)...whatever, so I figured it was about time I let you know what I've been up to. Since I last blogged, I have been working on a new picture book that I hope to complete this summer. I will post some things when it's done. Also I have been gearing up for the release of my newest picture book, Fu Finds the Way, which releases in September. My publisher (Disney•Hyperion) and I have created a very cool poster which is a whopping 18"x24".

I will be signing posters at the upcoming International Reading Association Conference next week in Minneapolis. I will also be giving a talk with the legendary children's book creator, Gerald McDermott, and I am very excited to meet him.

Besides the poster for "Fu" we have created this very cool postcard, actually 4 postcards in one. Be sure to stop by the Disney•Hyperion booth at Book Expo America in NYC on March 29th as I will be there signing galley copies of "Fu Finds the Way".
Here is the postcard:

Percy Jackson Merchandise

2009-03-02T13:39:00.002-05:00

make custom gifts at Zazzle

Happy New Year...new jacket

2009-01-08T09:41:00.002-05:00

Here is a new young adult jacket painting that I did for a book called Jake Ransom and the Skull Kings Shadow. I had fun with the Mayan theme, as it is a book about time travel, archeology and adventure. Like a young Indiana Jones.

Giant Slayer

2008-11-24T16:40:00.004-05:00

Lot's of news...Here is the latest book jacket I have illustrated. It's called the Giant Slayer, and it is a wonderful story/fairytale. I am happy with the final art and I can't wait to see the finished book.

In other news...drum roll please...I have finished my newest picture book, Fu Finds the Way. It will come out in the fall of 2009 (not sure of the exact date yet) but I am very excited about it. Disney•Hyperion (the Publisher) went all out with the production. It is being printed on beautiful paper, with a cloth (yes, real cloth!) interior jacket. I started this book in 2001, shelved it, started sending it out in 2005 and got a few nice rejections, and now finally after seven years it is complete. Here is a mockup of the dust jacket...
And lastly, I was thrilled to find out that my art from Moonpowder, that was in the Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators was chosen to go on a traveling exhibition throughout the US along with 39 other pieces.

I am now hard at work on the artwork for the final installment of Rick Riordan's bestselling series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It is called "The Last Olympian" but I am pretty sure I won't be able to post anything on that until the book comes out in May. I read it though, and Percy fans will not be dissapointed.

Good Morning

2008-11-05T09:22:00.001-05:00

Original Art Show and September News

2008-09-23T08:38:00.006-04:00

I am happy to say that Moonpowder has been accepted into the Society of Illustrators "Original Art Show". Stop by the gallery between October 18th-Nov 26th at Society of Illustrators, 128 East 23rd st. (between Park and Lex.) NYC. There should be a plethora of great art to inspire us all.

In other news, my newest book "Boy Were We Wrong about the Solar System" written by Kathleen Kudlinski got a starred review from Kirkus. (Starred) Boy, Were We Wrong About the Solar System! Kathleen D.
Kudlinski. Illustrated by John Rocco. (Dutton 9780525469797)

The author of Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs! (2005) returns with
the story of humankind's changing understanding of outer space.
Beginning with the premise that the Earth was flat, Kudlinski shows how
early Greek astronomers came to realize it was round. But they thought
Earth was suspended in the sky-until the invention of telescopes showed
that it revolved around the Sun. Each new discovery seemed to prove old
beliefs wrong, right up to Pluto's recent demotion. Science marches
forward, with new information superseding the old-and the book ends with
the thrilling conclusion that one of its readers may someday disprove
the information it contains. Eschewing such potentially confusing
details as names and dates (both provided in a timeline in the
backmatter), the narrative provides just enough information to keep
young readers and listeners engaged. Rocco's illustrations grow more
colorful and realistic as the story moves into the modern age, matching
the text's smooth flow and sense of progress. A super introduction not
only to the solar system, but to the scientific method in action.
(further reading, bibliography) (Informational picture book. 6-9)

Right now I am busy trying to finish the paintings for my latest book "Fu Finds the Way" coming out in the Fall 2009 by Disney•Hyperion.
Needless to say, I am way behind, but hope to have it finished before the holidays kick in.
I will be heading to Louisville this weekend to speak at the Kentucky Reading Association Annual conference. Brian Selznick will also be speaking, so that should be fun.
And lastly, here is a very nice article in SCBWI magazine that Sam Wasson wrote about me. Thanks Sam!

Every Picture Tells A Story

2008-08-26T07:17:00.003-04:00

Here is a couple pictures taken by Chris Swain of my reading at Every Picture in Los Angeles. Sitting with his lovely wife and daughter during the signing.

Final Dormia and New Fu Paintings

2008-08-20T08:39:00.002-04:00

Here is the final art for the Dormia cover I painted. I am really happy with the way it came out. Also, here are two of the latest paintings for "Fu finds the Way".

Busy Month

2008-08-18T08:49:00.004-04:00

I know the month is only half over but I have been busy. On July 31st I had the amazing opportunity to read both Moonpowder and Wolf! Wolf! in the Sculpture Garden of the Museum of Modern Art. Right after the event, I jumped on a plane to Los Angeles to speak at the SCBWI summer conference. I saw lots of old friends and met a bunch of new ones. Had a great time hanging out with, Yuyi Morales, Jim Averbeck, Adam Rex, Dan Santat, Christian Hill, Pat Cummings, Namrata Tripathi (my fabulous editor) and many others.
During the conference I snuck out to go do a reading and sign books at Every Picture Tells A Story. It was a dual show of my art along with the great Greg Hildebrandt. Sort of an odd pairing, but he was a swell guy and we had a great time. A lot of my LA friends were there and that made it extra special.
Highlights of the conference:
-Yuyi Morales's acceptance speach. It was poetic, heartfelt and she received a well deserved standing ovation.
-Trying to scalp drink tickets with Dan Santat. enough said.
-Bruce Coville gave an amazing talk. Go see him speak if you can!
-I really enjoyed doing the portfolio and manuscript reviews.
-Signing books between Adam Rex and Mark Teague. (also a lowlight when my line dwindled and there's seem to be endless. I was like Moses parting the Red Sea.)
-Meeting Dilys Evans and discussing the art of children's books with her. She was very enthusiastic and supportive of my art and gave me some terrific advice that was well camouflaged in a compliment. Thanks Dilys! I will make sure my books have room to breathe!

After the conference I flew home to do a signing at Barnes and Noble in Union Square. It was fun because some folks from my writers group were there, as well as my Dad.
Now, back to work...

Building a Dining Room Table...

2008-07-24T15:46:00.006-04:00

Recently my wife and daughter went on a trip for 2 weeks leaving me by myself in our old country house. I had plenty of art to do for my next book, but I was aching to build something with wood. It felt like a manly thing to do. And I desperately needed to do something manly. With tools! So here is how I built our new dining table. The dimensions are 8ft long by 42" wide and 31" high. If I were to do it again I would make it 30" high.
First I found some great old oak baseboards that were stashed away in the attic of our house. they were slightly warped and filled with nail holes and covered with stain. I would have guessed them to be over 100 years old.I used a belt sander ($60.00 at Home Depot) and gave all the boards a rough sanding to remove the old stain and grime.
Next, using pony clamps, I glued the boards together one at a time. Allowing 6 hours for them to dry between boards. It was important to alternate the clamps (one above and one below) to keep the boards straight. I know, I know it's not that way in this picture, but I was trying to straighten out a warp that was already in the boards.
once all seven boards were glued together, I filled in all the cracks and nail holes with stainable wood putty.
Then I started some serious sanding. First with 80 grit, then 120 grit and finally 150 grit sand paper.

The next thing was to add end caps to both ends of the table top. Not only was this for aesthetic reasons, but it also helps strengthen the table and allows for all the boards to swell and contract without cracking or warping as much. First I cut a straight edge along the ends of my glued boards. Then I drilled 1/4" holes in the end of each board...
and using a little metal point shoved into the hole I could make a mark on the end cap where I needed to drill the matching hole. Once the holes were drilled on both sides I glued in the dowels to connect the boards. then the entire end cap fit into the dowels and was glued and clamped for six hours. I repeated this process with the other side.
Next I finished the end caps with some nifty oak plugs to give it a nice look. You can buy the oak plugs already made. Drill the hole, hammer them in, and sand them down. Presto!
Next I started to build the legs. I used pine for the legs because I wanted the legs to be a slightly different color than the top or the apron that goes under the top.

Once I had the legs glued and doweled to the apron sides, I fitted the whole base together. This was a dry fitting though (no glue) because I needed to take it apart to bring it to my loft in Brooklyn. It never would have fit in the door otherwise.
Here is the table assembled. I put three oak buttons in the side to represent my wife, my daughter and me.
Then I started staining. I used Minwax combination stain and urathane. This would give it color and protection.

In between each layer of stain and urathane (sp?) I rubbed the surface down with a very fine steel wool. This made it smooth like butter! Although my arms felt like they were going to fall off!
here is the finished table in my loft. A proud moment for me as I have not built anything from wood since I was about 12 years old.

Dormia Sketch

2008-07-13T08:16:00.002-04:00

A sketch for a new book jacket for Houghton Mifflin called Dormia. This is a wraparound jacket. I should have the final painting up in a couple weeks. In the meantime I will post some more "Fu" paintings as I get them done.

Latest Fu Paintings

2008-07-08T09:48:00.002-04:00

Here are a couple of nearly finished paintings for my next book. Can you tell what it's about?

Melrose School...Jamestown RI

2008-06-18T12:52:00.003-04:00

I had a great visit to the Melrose School in Jamestown RI a couple weeks back. The kids were great and had fantastic questions. We discussed bookmaking, making theme parks and what it might be like to ride in a rocket! Just today, in the mail, I received this fabulous poster signed by all the kids. I have to share a poem that one student named Lily wrote:

Moonpowder is magical,
Moonpowder is the best,
Helping and pleasing little kids
When they lie down to rest.

Thanks Lily! And a big thanks to the fabulous Librarian, Lisa Casey, and all the students of Melrose School!

Robin Williams Reads Moonpowder

2008-06-10T10:33:00.002-04:00

I heard through the grapevine that Robin Williams had read "Moonpowder" at the recent "Time For Heroes" Celebrity fund raiser in LA. After scouring the internet for actual proof of this momentous news, I found some photos.

Moonpowder has Arrived!!

2008-06-04T07:23:00.002-04:00

My latest book, Moonpowder is in stores now! So put your computer to sleep and go out and smack down $15.99 for 48 pages of fun! That's 50% more book for the same price as your average 32 pager. And the pages are nice and thick, giving it a hefty weight of 1.5 lbs! Compared to your average 15 oz picture book, Moonpowder is a heavyweight.
Here is a recent review from Booklist,

"...Eli's foray to the factory in his helio-rocket-copter provides ample opportunity for Rocco's fabulous artwork. His inventive paintings, done in deep, rich colors of night and tinged with gold, are used in spreads, panels, and full pages. The mechanical "gizbots" inside the factory, adjusting valves and dials, along with the intricate hand drawings of the factory's inner workings, will keep children, especially the mechanically inclined, totally fascinated. Although the story may not have quite as much magic as the artwork, the ending, which brings Eli's soldier father home, is sweet and satisfying. This will sustain many readings." -Ilene Cooper, Booklist

Cleveland Trip, Books of Wonder and other things

2008-05-20T08:36:00.002-04:00

Last weekend was a trip to Cleveland to speak at the Margaret Skiff Literature conference. There were about 200 librarians and teachers in attendance. The speakers were, Pat Cummings, William Low, Denise Fleming and myself. Pat had some hysterical stories about her childhood and showed some work from her books "Talking with Artists". William Low also gave a great presentation on his process for working digitally. I have always been a fan of William's work, so it was a treat to spend the weekend with him. My talk was about how I got into the business and how I made "Wolf! Wolf!". It is always hard to tell how your own talk went, but I think it went well. Finally Denise Fleming brought the house down with her zaniness, and gave a fantastic demonstration of her paper-making technique.
When I came back from Cleveland I did my first in-store signing for Moonpowder at the Books of Wonder in NYC. There was a decent size crowd, but to be honest I think doing a signing with Lane Smith and Etienne Delessert didn't hurt! I also had the pleasure of meeting Dave Horowitz, the maker of some very funny books including "Five Little Gefiltes". It turns out he and I share a mutual friend, Tylor Durand, of the band "The Hornrims".

Bryant Park

2008-05-11T09:44:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I had the extreme pleasure of doing a book reading in Bryant Park. It was part of the Children's Book Week celebration hosted by the Children's Book Council. I was thrilled to be introduced by one of my favorite authors...the Ambassador of Children's books, Jon Scieszka.
Greg Foley read from his "Thank You Bear" and "Don't Worry Bear" books, and Jack Lechner read from his very funny "Mary Had a Little Lamp" illustrated by the talented Bob Staake.
It was a fun day in the park and I was joined by my wife and daughter and a bunch of friends. My daughter was excited to hang out with Curious George and Clifford the Big Red Dog, but she was really enthralled with the man in the Lion costume. (I don't know what book he was from) After we all went to the Oyster Bar in Grand Central station to celebrate the Day before Mother's Day!

FIT judging

2008-04-23T09:54:00.002-04:00

I had the pleasure of judging the senior illustration exhibit last week at the Fashion Institute of Technology. There were some incredible illustrations to choose from. There were about eight of us judging and most were faculty from FIT. In the end I think we chose some very well executed illustrations as the winners. One of the illustrations that I liked very much was a digital painting that looked like something from the production design of an animated film. It was beautiful, and yet had the unfinished look of production art that is so common. In judging the show, I had to ask myself "would I hire this person to illustrate_______(insert job here) ie: children's book, editorial, advertising etc. It was a great day of looking at art, meeting new illustrators and eating bags of bagels!

On another note, here is a picture of me and my editor, Namrata Tripathi (left) and my art director, Christine Kettner, at the Border Concept store in Ann Arbor, MI. I wish every Borders had that many copies of my book!

Borders OV awards

2008-04-16T16:54:00.002-04:00

I just got back from Ann Arbor MI where I received my Original Voices Award from the fine people at Borders bookstores. The event was really great, and it took place at one of their new "concept" stores which had all the bells and whistles of a theme park for books! My editor, Nami, and my art director, Christine, where there with me which was great because it was a whirlwind day. First stop was the Borders headquarters where I had lunch with the ten committee members who chose my book as this years winner. Next we got a tour of the concept store, then in the back of the store there was a little stage along with giant posters of the four winning book jackets. (Fiction, Non-Fiction, YA/independent reader, and Picture Book). Around 5 o'clock the crowd started building and the award ceremony began. I was up first and here is the speech I read:

When I was 7 years old I won a coloring contest at a toy store in my hometown. I found out when I received an envelope in the mail with my name on it. Inside was a note of congratulations AND a gift certificate for $15 to use in the store. My math might be suspect but in 1974 that was equivalent to about $1 million dollars. I was bouncing of the walls. It was two agonizing days before my mother actually drove me to the store so that I could clean out their stock of super-balls, bat kites and balsa wood gliders.

When we arrived at the store, I jumped out of the car and ran towards the door, ready to set their cash registers ablaze, but I stopped dead in my tracks. There, hanging in the window of the Ben Franklin 5 and Dime was my Art. First prize…John Rocco…7 years old.
I stood there staring at it, filling up with pride till I was about to burst, knees shaking, eyes starting to burn. My mother stood smiling, holding the door open for me. I calmly walked in and bought $15 dollars worth of crayons and construction paper.

33 years later, I walk in to a Borders in Los Angeles, about to give one of my first public readings of the first book I had ever written. There was a sign announcing my arrival, as well as a borders employee standing just inside the door holding a copy of Wolf! Wolf! and telling everyone who walked in the door about the reading. He was about to tell me about the reading, then a look of recognition came over his face. “Welcome to Borders Mr. Rocco, were so glad you could come read your book today. We all love it.” I felt 7 years old again, but in a good way. Overcome with the kind of pride and joy that Seven year olds can only express by bouncing around as if they have to pee real bad.

First off, I would like to thank my fantastic teammates at Hyperion. Namrata Tripathi, my fabulous editor, for helping me find my voice. Christine Kettner, my savvy Art Director, for gently guiding my vision. And everyone else at Hyperion who make creating books for children such a joy.

I would also like to thank Borders, not only for this incredible honor, but for making me feel seven years old again…in a good way.
Thank You.

I was presented with the award which is actually a copy of my book encased in glass, which I thought was really cool. I will always have a pristine copy of my book in it's own little time capsule. I will try to post pictures soon. (My camera broke...so...)

PS 58 photos

2008-04-09T10:46:00.004-04:00

Here are some photos of my recent visit to PS 58 in Brooklyn...

This is me and Giselle Gault, the principal of PS 58. The last time I was this close to a principal I was getting detention! She was super enthusiastic and I did NOT get detention.

I even got to try out their 1950's intercom system. Still in working order, no less.

PS 58 School Visit

2008-04-07T13:21:00.003-04:00

I had a great time speaking to about 90 kids at the Carroll School (PS 58) last week. Their teachers had been prepping them all week, so when I arrived these guys and gals knew their stuff! I was especially thrilled with the audible gasps of excitement when I pulled out Moonpowder to read to them. I hadn't realized that the teachers had galley copies of the book (which doesn't come out until May 27th) and had been reading to the kids. I signed about 120 copies of Wolf! Wolf! and I think everyone had a good time. I know I did! Thanks PS 58!

Children's Literature Conference in WA

2008-04-07T13:01:00.002-04:00

At the beginning of March I was a speaker at the Bond Children's literature conference in Bellingham Washington. It was a fantastic event and about 400 wonderfully enthusiastic teachers and librarians and fans of children's books attended. The other speakers were, Chris Crutcher, Christopher Paul Curtis and Eric Rohmann. Needless to say I was in some pretty decorated company. Between them they have a Caldecott Medal (ER), a Newbery Medal(CPC), Coretta Scott King Award (CPC) and the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement (CC). At first I was slightly intimidated, but these guys were great and made me feel right at home. One of the highlights for me was having a quiet breakfast Sunday morning with Eric while we discussed my next book projects. He had some terrific ideas and we had a great time discussing the art of the picture book. I look forward to meeting up with these guys again in the near future!

SCBWI Winter Conference

2008-02-12T10:20:00.000-05:00

I was told I need to start blogging more. Yes I admit, I have been really, really bad about it. I recently attended my 5th SCBWI conference, and again, I learned some new things. There were some terrific and inspiring keynotes; Richard Peck( A Year Down Yonder), Susan Patron (Higher Power of Lucky) and David Weisner (Tuesday, Flotsam) stood out for me. It was terrific to see David's process on how he created Flotsam.

One of the things I found interesting at this conference was all the talk about what Publishers are looking for. I could feel the audience, including myself, going over all the manuscripts in their heads, asking "do I have something that is like that?" "Perhaps I can adjust that ms to meet that need?" "Maybe I should write a biography piece?" "Maybe my art should be more like that?". This bothered me, because I know, deep down, that not of it matters. If you are working from your soul, writing and illustrating the things that you love to write and illustrate, good things will happen. Do you really think David Weisner asks himself "I wonder what kind of book will sell well?" Do you think Brian Selznick made Hugo Cabret because he saw a niche that needed to be filled? Do you think Susan Patron used the word "scrotum" because she thought the publicity would sell more books? NO. You have to write and illustrate the things you love. Don't worry about the rest. Get lost in your process, worry about the rest when your done. Otherwise your chasing a moving, and fickle target.

On another note, I was really happy for a fellow SCBWI'er, Jim Carol, who won the Portfolio Award. His work is beautiful, AND he is a great guy. I wish him the best of luck getting published.

painting not blogging....Moonpowder

2007-07-13T09:50:00.001-04:00

Well, I just turned 40 and I have decided that it is better to paint (and meet my deadlines) than to spend my time blogging, updating my website and returning emails. So I apologize for the long delay between entries. Here are a few more paintings for my next book, Moonpowder. I have 2 more paintings to finish, and then I will re-visit each one to color correct, and tweak. After that, the book will be put together and a galley will be created which will be sent out to book buyers and reviewers. Once I see the finished galley (which is basically the finished unbound book) I will have one more chance to do some color correcting, and then I will wait for the finished book to come out in stores sometime next May. In the meantime I will be working on two more books. One is a science book (non-fiction) for Penguin, and the other is a book I am writing for Hyperion. I should also be receiving the manuscript for the next Percy Jackson book soon, so that I can illustrate the cover. That will be exciting. There are over a million copies in print right now! Lots to do, so if you don't here from me until the fall...enjoy the rest of the summer!

Howl's Moving Castle

2007-06-11T10:04:00.000-04:00

I recently finished this painting for a re-packaging of Diana Wynne Jones's Howl's Moving Castle. I will also be doing a new jacket for her book Castle in the Air, as well as the latest in the series, which I cannot reveal the title. (But I read it, and it is good!) I am new to reading Diana's work, and I am already a fan. I saw the movie "Howl..." and it was hard to get those images out of my head when I was working on this cover. The first image is the initial sketch. The publisher liked the general direction, but wanted it to be a bright, sunny day in a lush green hillside. They also wanted me to place Sophie inside the castle. I gave in to the bright sunny day part, I think that will "pop" more. But I had to stick to my guns on keeping Sophie outside the Castle. If you have read the book, you know that Sophie is the tough one. She is the one who enters Howl's castle and reaks havoc, so I wanted her to look like she was in control of the situation somehow. As if she was the lone person standing in front of the tanks in Tiananmen Square. The middle image is the final painting, and the last image is a detail.

Finally back to Painting

2007-05-05T11:26:00.000-04:00

Well, I have finally gotten back to painting pictures for Moonpowder. This one takes place right after little Eli Treebuckle accidentally opens a Tornado Dispenser inside Mother Natures Closet. You know how that can be... I still have about 18 paintings to go for this book (including spots) and at last count there are going to be 44 paintings in this 40 pager. I have to finish the rest by July 24th, for it to be a spring 08 release.
On another note, I am headed up to Bank Street Books in NYC today to see Oliver Jeffers. (Author of Lost and Found, and The Incredible Book Eating Boy) I love his work, and this should be fun.

Book Reading in Brooklyn Sunday May 6th

2007-05-01T11:22:00.000-04:00

I will signing at BookCourt on Sunday May 6th at Noon. BookCourt is at 163 Court St. between Pacific and Dean. BookCourt is a great neighborhood store in Cobble Hill and is surrounded by great places to eat, so if your around please stop by.

West Coast Book Tour

2007-05-01T11:07:00.000-04:00

I just returned from a whirlwind trip to the West Coast, where I signed books, did some readings and met some great Librarians and Booksellers. One of the highlights was speaking at the Los Angeles Central Library to almost one hundred Children's Book Librarians about my work. Another highlight was visiting Hicklebees Bookstore in San Jose, CA. If you are excited about children's books, this place is your new mecca. They have fantastic artifacts from well known books tucked away in every obscure corner of the store. The back walls (near the offices and bathrooms) are covered with drawings and signatures of some of the most famous authors and illustrators of all time. I did a little doodle on the wall myself! Here are some photos from the events.

West Coast Tour 4/16/07 thru 4/27/07

2007-04-15T10:47:00.000-04:00

I will be heading out to the West coast to do some promotional events for the next couple weeks. Please check my homepage for locations and times. www.roccoart.com
If you are in the area, please stop by and say hello! With these type of events, the more the merrier.

Alex and the Ironic Gentlemen

2007-04-01T10:09:00.000-04:00

This is the latest YA book jacket I have completed for the newly formed Weinstein Books.

Gollywhopper Jacket-final Painting

2007-04-01T10:08:00.000-04:00

Sorry it took me so long to post this. I am catching up on things now...

Another painting for Moonpowder...

2007-04-01T10:07:00.000-04:00

Barnes and Noble Signing

2007-04-01T10:04:00.000-04:00

I had a great time at Barnes and Noble in Staten Island this past Sunday. Here are a couple of pics. You can see my daughter Alaya wanting to crawl up into my lap during the reading. She is obviously trying her best to distract me, but the show must go on!

new Moonpowder painting and detail

2007-02-23T09:20:00.000-05:00

Here is the latest Moonpowder painting. It was fun creating this room for my little hero. The lighting is something that is important to the mood of the scene, and it took me a bit of time to get it right. I am not sure it totally works just yet, but it is close, and I will adjust the colors of all the paintings once they are all complete.
On another exciting note, I have been invited as a special guest to speak at the April meeting of the Children's Book Librarians of Los Angeles. I will have twenty minutes to speak about my work and I am thrilled about this opportunity. I moved from L.A. to NYC with the intention of creating children's books, and now I get to return to L.A. as a published author!
I have also been invited to do a book signing at the infamous children's bookstore, Hicklebees, in San Jose on April 25th.

Wolf! Wolf! in the Bookstores!

2007-02-22T19:33:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I had a big thrill. I walked into Books of Wonder in NYC and saw copies of my book on the shelves. My heart even skipped a beat when I looked down the isle and saw someone holding a copy of Wolf! Wolf! It took me another second to realize it was a close friend who was buying a copy. I signed the book for her daughter and went home with a silly grin.
I will be doing a book signing at Books of Wonder on March 17th from noon to 2pm, so if anyone is interested, please stop by and say hi.

Happy Birthday Eli!!!

2007-02-18T19:59:00.000-05:00

My nephew, Elijah, turns 2 years old tommorow and because the main character in my next picture book is named after him, I wanted to post the latest painting from that book.
Happy Birthday (and happy President's Day) Eli!

Moonpowder painting takes Grand Prize at SCBWI event

2007-02-14T11:02:00.000-05:00

Every year for the last four years I have attended the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators conference in New York City. This year was no exception. The conference is a great way to meet new people in the industry, hear inspiring talks, and stay in touch with what is going on in the business. The hilights for me this year were, Brian Selznick talking about his latest book, Susan Cooper's Keynote, and Katherine Paterson's Keynote. I also attended two exceptional breakout sessions. One given by Chad Beckerman, on the art of jacket design, was a fantastic insight into the marketplace of YA jackets, as well as giving everyone some great tips on what makes a "striking" jacket. Mac Mcool gave an equally engaging talk on graphic novels. It was a very interactive breakout session as there were a few people in the audience who were also in the business of publishing graphic novels. And let's face it, the line between picture books and graphic novels is getting blurred every day.
Saturday night was the annual New York Showcase, where illustrators can submit a piece of children's book art for display, and industry proffessionals come and check it out. This year I entered one of the paintings from my next book, "Moonpowder" and was pleasantly suprised to win the Grand Prize for the second time! (I won it in 2004 as well) Thank you SCBWI !!

Wolf! Wolf! Book Party!!!

2007-02-14T10:55:00.000-05:00

The day is finally here! The first book I have authored and illustrated, "Wolf! Wolf!" is about to be distibuted to bookstores across the country. (March 01,2007 release). And to celebrate this long awaited event. I am having a party/reading/signing/gallery show at a children's store called Pomme in the heart of DUMBO (near Brooklyn Heights). The party is on friday, March 2nd from 5pm-8pm and is open to the public. So if you are in the area, please come by and say hello.

Roccoart.com updated

2007-02-02T09:35:00.000-05:00

I have finally updated my website! It has an expanded Wolf! Wolf! section for the release of my book on March 1.
Any comments are welcome.

Gollywhopper Games Book Jacket

2007-01-18T16:33:00.000-05:00

I just got a recent book jacket sketch approved. And here it is. It is another book for Greenwillow. It is a fun, adventurous story that has a Willy Wonka feel to it. A bunch of kids compete in a game/contest inside a giant, fantasy filled toy store.
I put a lot of time into the color sketch because I wanted a pretty detailed road map for the final painting. I should be able to post the final in a couple weeks.
In the meantime, I am putting the final tweaks on another exciting book jacket for a book called Alex and the Ironic Gentleman.

On a lighter note, my 9 month old daughter saw her first snowfall today. The wonder in her eyes made my day. Time to starting waxing the sled!

Review from School Library Journal

2007-01-13T10:39:00.000-05:00

Here is a recent review that will be in the February issue of School Library Journal.
Hyperion Reviews in School Library Journal, February, 2007
ROCCO, John. Wolf! Wolf! illus. by author. unpaged. Hyperion. Mar. 2007. RTE $15.99. ISBN 1-4231-0012-3. LC number unavailable.

K-Gr 3–This twisted treatment of Aesop’s fable flips everything readers know about the boy who cried wolf on its head and ends up where they never would have expected. From the brushstrokes of the hand-lettered title to the pink cherry blossoms featured with the wolf and the boy on the cover, ancient China unfolds as the stage and setting for this story. In this variant, children get a little insight into the wolf’s point of view: When the boy cries “WOLF! WOLF!” the slightly deaf animal believes he is being summoned. He feels tricked by the youngster when the angry villagers arrive looking for a menacing creature. The poor animal is only looking for a tasty meal, possibly one of the boy’s goats since his garden has fallen into disarray. In the end, the boy gives the old wolf a goat; instead of making him a one-time-only meal, the wolf puts him to work in his garden, and the two become friends. The wolf is a fully anthropomorphized character, complete with red silk jacket and shade umbrella. The purposeful use of frames, unusual setting, and visual humor makes this an excellent addition to any collection and a particularly interesting launching point for many discussions and investigations into fractured tales.–Genevieve Gallagher, Murray Elementary School, Charlottesville, VA

Moonpowder- halfway there!

2006-12-09T10:34:00.000-05:00

These last two paintings represent the halfway point for my picture book 'Moonpowder'. It always feels good to get over the hump and start to see the book come together. I plan to have all the paintings finished by end of February...fingers crossed.
Then, March 01, my book 'Wolf! Wolf!' will be in bookstores. I found out that Barnes and Noble is going to have it "face out" in there children's book section, and Borders has selected me as one of their "Original Voices". I don't know which month yet, but hopefully March or April. This will be my last post this year, but I will plan to post more paintings from Moonpowder as they get finished.
Happy Holidays!

Dragon's Eggs for Thanksgiving

2006-11-21T15:54:00.000-05:00

Well, I just finished the final painting for the cover of the YA novel, "Dragon's Egg", written by Sarah L. Thomson. I am happy with the final result. Not much changed from the sketch, except for the hairstyle of the boy. (a bit more contemporary here.) I also went to the "Original Art" show at the Society of Illustrators. There were lots of surprises, and some very beautiful children's book illustrations. I was introduced to Jerry Pinkney and Mo Willems, as well as running into my former teacher from RISD. As you may know the 10 best illustrated books from New York Times review came out. Lane Smith's "John, Paul, George and Ben" made the list which was nice to see.
Have a happy Turkey Day!

Two new Moonpowder paintings

2006-11-05T10:14:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of new paintings I have just completed for Moonpowder.
Not much to say, except that it takes me about a week to do a finish painting. Normally they would come quicker but with a 7 month old baby in the house, things have slowed down. I just have to get used to this pace for a while.
In other news, I have now posted images to a site called imagekind. They make and distribute beautiful prints of artwork and photographs. There is a link to my gallery on my website. or you can just click here (I think). http://www.imagekind.com/GalleryProfile.aspx?GID=1febf59e-2b1c-48ad-a01b-363bd0b6871f&P=1

Dragon's Egg

2006-10-10T09:03:00.000-04:00

I know I have not posted in a while, but that doesn't mean I haven't been working. Lately I have been revising my book dummy for Moonpowder, and it is coming along nicely thanks to the input from my Editor and Art director. In the meantime, here are some sketches for a bookjacket that I am doing for the Harper Collins imprint, Greenwillow. It is a middle reader book by Sarah L. Thomson, and it was a fun read. I am hoping the sketch is approved, because I think this will be a fun painting. Any comments or suggestions are welcome. Oh, and I recently went to Books of Wonder where David Weisner was signing his new picture book, FLOTSAM. He had one of his paintings with him, and I was suprised at how meticulous his watercolors actually were. The book is quite beautiful, and once again he managed to capture my imagination with a wordless picture book.

September duldrums

2006-09-28T09:02:00.000-04:00

Well, I have just returned from a two week trip to visit relatives and freinds in Belgium, and between the jet lag, the flu and a mild case of food poisoning, I didn't get much new work done. I usually have pretty high expectations of myself, so I am a little bummed that I couldn't paint or draw much over the last three weeks. I did get some writing done so I am pleased with that, and I have been asked to create a book jacket for a fantasy novel for Greenwillow books (an imprint of Harper Collins).
I read in the trades that Chris Van Allsburg and David Weisner are both coming out with new books! Chris's book looks like a return to his more softly rendered work (like Jumanji). David's book is called FLOTSAM and looks pretty interesting.
That's all for now...

Moonpowder-the dream

2006-09-06T17:10:00.000-04:00

Here is my latest "Moonpowder" painting. I am pretty happy with the way it came out. When I get all the paintings completed, I will go back and do some color balancing and make sure the levels are consistent. I am still working out how the text will be laid in, but luckily, this page has only one line of text. I think if these wings worked, I would definitely want a pair.

Moonpowder-the arrival

2006-08-31T09:53:00.000-04:00

Well, here is my last post for August. This is a painting I just finished for my picture book "Moonpowder".
Only 18 paintings to go! I am hoping to finish it by the end of the year, and I will continue to post the paintings as I complete them.
I also saw that Jon Muth will be speaking at Books of Wonder on Thursday September 7th from 4-6. I am hoping to go to that. I am a big fan of his work. If you don't know his work, he is a former graphic novelist who does amazing watercolors. He has created some beautiful picture books including; Come On Rain, Stone Soup, The Three Questions, and Zen Shorts. He will be signing his new book, wherein he illustrated poems edited by Caroline Kennedy.

Moonpowder-inside factory

2006-08-28T09:23:00.000-04:00

Here is the latest painting for my picture book, "Moonpowder". After meeting with my editor and art director at Hyperion, we have decided to make it a 40 page book as opposed to the standard 32. It means a lot more paintings and I hope to still complete it by the end of the year. I will continue to post the paintings as I complete them.

Graphic Novels...yes or no?

2006-08-21T09:16:00.000-04:00

I am just beginning to enjoy graphic novels. Don't get me wrong, I have always appreciated them. Let's be honest, it takes not only talent, but passion and a whole lot of stamina to create one. I have been drawn to the European graphic novels since I first discovered them about 10 years ago, and lately I have been thinking it might be a lot of fun to do one. But then I realize how much work goes into making one. Luckily the market is changing and more and more publishers are starting to become interested in this genre. They are turning them into big budget films (V is for Vendetta, Sin City), and more importantly, the big chain bookstores are starting to have a place for them in there stores. If I were to do a graphic novel, I think it would be a black and white, film noir type of book. I have posted some drawings I did a few years ago that would be similar to the approach I would take. Inspired by old gangster films from the 40's with my own little twist. I often think that characters take on animal traits, so I make those characters into the animals they resemble. I think that might stem from my interest in native american animal spirits. I am hoping that there will be room on the bookshelves for this kind of work in the near future, because I think it would be a lot of fun to create. To all those who create art in the graphic novel form, keep up the good work!

Percy #3 Approved

2006-08-18T10:09:00.000-04:00

Sorry it took me a while to post this. Well, here it is. The third jacket was approved, and the response from Hyperion was really positive. Rick Riordan likes it too, which is great. I posted a picture of all three together so you can see them as a series. I don't know what the next one will be about yet, but I have some hunches.
Thanks to all the Percy fans who came to my blog and left comments. There will be two more Percy books to come and I look forward to making the jackets as much as I look forward to reading them.

The Tale of the Genji

2006-08-16T10:09:00.000-04:00

I was in one of my favorite bookstores last night, Forbidden Planet on Broadway and 12th, and I picked up a copy of this incredible book/graphic novel. It is the artwork of Yoshitaka Amano. Beautiful watercolors, with incredible loose linework and spectacular colors. After doing some research, I discovered that he had done character design for a lot of the Final Fantasy games. I love coming across artists that I have never heard of and getting inspired. Some others that I have come across lately are; James Jean and Robert Mackenzie. You can see Robert's work in the new graphic novel compilation "Out of Picture". Eleven short stories by the production artists from Blue Sky (creators of Ice Age and Robots). If you know of artists that knock your socks off, please share!

Stylus or Mouse?

2006-08-16T08:39:00.000-04:00

This is a response to Sansceo who asked " Do you use a stylus in Photoshop while painting? I tend to get mouse-hand when doing a lot of detail work."
When I first started painting in Photoshop I used the mouse. I did a number of paintings that way, and yes, my hand would also get sore. I also found that I had no control over the width of my brushstroke unless I changed brushes. About a year ago I bought a 6x8 Wacom tablet, and it has really made the difference. There are a ton of settings that you can adjust (which can also be mind numbing). In the end I am glad I bought it. It was about $350 and has been a steady workhorse. I still use a mouse for all other applications though. I am not a total convert.
Thanks for the question.

Wolf! Wolf!-how I paint a cover

2006-08-15T09:17:00.000-04:00

Today I wanted to talk a bit about my process for painting. These images are from the cover for my upcoming book "Wolf! Wolf!". It is my version of the boy who cried wolf. Once I have done all the sketches, research and designing, I begin the final art with a very tight drawing that is usually the same size as the finished print. In this case the book is about 9"x11" and because I am doing the front and the back of the jacket as one painting, my final drawing was 10x23 giving a 1/2" extra for bleed. The drawing was done with an hb pencil on strathmore cold press bristol. Then I scan the drawing in (or my publisher does that. They have a much better scanner than me.) Then I start to paint in photoshop. Using layers in photoshop, I multiply the drawing on my painting layers. I wanted this painting to have a bit of an old fashioned feel so using color balance, I tinted the drawing to become more sepia. I also multiplied the layer twice, and with the second layer of drawing at 20% I used a gaussian blur of 4 pixels. This gave the linework a slight bleed which I like. You can see in the detail of the underpainting, that it is fairly simple. I let the drawing do most of the work. I am also more comfortable with a pencil than a paintbrush, even with command z! I was very pleased with the final painting. Then my Art Director, the fabulous Christine Kettner, and I designed out the final jacket. I wanted the title to have a real sumi brush Asian feel, and yet still be very readable. She got Leah Palmer Priess to do the final lettering, and I was really thrilled how it came out. Look for this jacket on bookshelves in March 07 (hopefully facing out!)

Moonpowder-Layout process

2006-08-13T10:19:00.000-04:00

Although all the sketches are not final, I had to plow ahead and do one of the layouts. This is a double page spread, when little Eli Treebuckle arrives at the Moonpowder factory with Mr. Moon. This is done in pencil, and then I will scan it in and paint in photoshop. That allows me the most flexibility when making color choices, and also helps me stay consistent throughout the book. The other image is a quick lighting pass that I do with the layout. This allows me to plan how the final piece will look with all the shadows and lighting in place. I probably will not post the final painting until later in the year, as right now I want to focus on getting the rest of the images figured out. For the front door of the Moonpowder factory, I drew visual inspiration from the train station in Antwerp, and the Celestial Clock in Prague. They are both beautiful pieces of design and I highly recomend seeing them in person if you ever get a chance. On another visual note, when I wrote the first draft of the manuscript, this scene had a long visual description of what was happening and what things looked like. And after I did the layout, I found that I didn't need any of that. Now it just says "Welcome to the Moonpowder Factory" Mr. Moon beamed.

By the way, to all those posting comments. Thank you. I hope that this can become an open forum for discussing the art of children's books. best, John

Aahh kids

2006-08-09T11:59:00.000-04:00

My daughter, Alaya Marzipan, is determined to keep me busy making her laugh. I look forward to the day I can read her one of my own books, or one of my wife's. http://www.aleijten.com

Sketch process....Percy Cover

2006-08-04T13:26:00.000-04:00

As promised, I have posted the sketches that were created for the Percy Jackson cover (see post from July 31st, 2006).
You can see that the Editor, Art director and I went through a number of designs. Sketch one, although I still like it, did not have the ominous feeling that the first two covers had. You can see them on my website http://www.roccoart.com.
So sketch two incorporated one of the monsters from the book. Although a successful design, the editor felt it was too similar to some of the Narnia imagery. The third sketch shows three of the main characters in a snowy wood. Both the AD and the Editor liked this cover but we wanted to pull back a bit and seperate the kids. That led us to sketch four which we all liked alot. They took this sketch to sales and we were all hopeful, but alas, this book is coming out in spring and the snow was a bit of a turn off. I was starting to lose hope that I would nail this cover like the first two which were exepted after one or two sketches. So the AD and Editor suggested a scene when Percy and his Pegasus are on top of the Chrysler building in Manhattan. I came up with sketch five. Success! The only comments were to make it more blue, less purple and have Percy's face fall more into the shadow. The whole sketch process took a couple of weeks of going back and forth, but I think in the end it was worth it. I will know next week if the final painting is approved by all the powers that be. stay tuned.

Phantom Isle Book Jacket

2006-08-03T09:07:00.000-04:00

Recently, I did this cover for a book called "The Phantom Isle". It is a suspenseful YA novel about three kids who stumble across some books in the library that have ghosts trapped inside them. The Publisher wanted to depict a scene from the book with the three main kids and give it a slightly spooky (but not scary) feel. Once the painting was complete, we wanted to tie in the Polynesian feel, so I created this woodcut-like border. It matched up with the interior black and white woodcuts they already designed and gave them the look they were after. It was a fun project and it had a tight deadline. The challenge for me was reading the manuscript and coming up with the design in three days. In the end both the client (Bloomsbury) and the artist (me) were pleased with the result.
I really enjoy doing these book jackets. They give me an excuse to stop what I am doing and read for a couple days, and in the end I will have another piece of art out there on the book shelves! Not a bad deal.
Thanks Bloomsbury!

Moonpowder under way

2006-08-01T11:07:00.000-04:00

After quite a few drafts of the manuscript, my second book, Moonpowder, is well under way. Here is a version of the cover that I painted a while back. It really sets the tone for the piece. I am currently working on the book dummy (sketches) for the entire book, and my intention is to give it a slight graphic novel feel. It will be a 32 page picture book published by Hyperion Books for Children. The expected release date is spring 08', which means I will need to complete the paintings by the end of the year. I will post sketches, layouts and paintings as I complete them.
Meanwhile, I will continue to plod along and try not to melt in this NYC heat!

Finished Percy Cover #3

2006-07-31T11:12:00.000-04:00

I have just finished the third cover painting for the Percy Jackson series, written by Rick Riordan. I went through a number of different sketches for this one. I will post some of them once this painting is approved. Fingers crossed. The title of this book is called "The Titan's Curse", and in my opinion is the best of the three books so far. There are two more to come, and I am thrilled to be doing the paintings for these books.
Once I figured out the sketch the painting went pretty quickly. About 3 days. It was done with pencil, and then digitally painted in photoshop. I used google earth with 3d buildings turned on to get a nice reference shot of the Manhattan Skyline from the POV of the Chrysler Building. That helped a lot...Thanks google!

Welcome to my blog....

2006-07-31T10:32:00.000-04:00

Well, I have entered the world of blogdom. I plan to post examples of current projects, paintings, drawings and other stuff that makes me smile. I would love to hear feedback, and suggestions.
Thanks,
John