"Puppy Princess" -a new picture book title from Little Golden Books/Random House

…posted here is my cover illustration for the new picture book title, Puppy Princess -written by Sue Fliess & illustrated by Steven Salerno. (publication release date: July 2016, Little Golden Books/Random House) 

cover of Puppy Princess -Little Golden Books- illustrated by Steven Salerno

Puppy Princess was my 24th illustrated picture book to date, with three more picture books slated for release in 2017 and 2018. 

When editor Diane Muldrow at Random House offered me this project, I jumped at the chance to illustrate the charming Sue Fliess story for very young readers and to become a part of the “A Little Golden Book” legacy. The illustrations for the book were created with crayon, charcoal, gouache with added digital composing and coloring. Even though the text does not describe the breed of the puppy in the story, when I first received the manuscript the author had noted that the puppy was a King Charles Spaniel, so that is how I depicted the puppy. (And it seems that there are many, many King Charles Spaniels where I live in Manhattan, so every time I was out for a walk I could always see one as additional visual reference in conjunction with the photo reference I had complied during my preliminary sketch stage.)

FYI: Little Golden Books were first published by Simon & Schuster in 1942 (they opened with the simultaneous publication of 12 titles) and since then have published over 200 additional Little Golden Book titles, which have been owned and produced by Random House since 2001. Within those first 12 titles published back in 1942 was the popular book The Poky Little Puppy -which was so popular in fact, that it went on to sell over 15 million copies to date, making it one of the, if not not highest selling individual picture book in history. So needless to say, I am hoping that Puppy Princess will have some of that very same puppy success!

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new Polar Bear story... doodles & sketches

Thus far in my career I've illustrated 24 picture books. (#23 is "The Kid from Diamond Street" written by Audrey Vernick/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and #24 is "Puppy Princess" written by Sue Fliess/Little Golden Books Random House -are both being released this year.

In 2017 I will have picture books #25 and #26 published... one of them being "Goldenlocks and the Three Pirates" written by April Jones Prince/Farrar Straus & Giroux) 

But of all these published picture books, only four of the titles am I also the author: "Coco the Carrot"  "Little Tumbo"  "Harry Hungry"  and  most recently in 2015 for Abrams Books, "Wild Child."

So I am always writing new picture book stories. Right now I'm writing one about a Polar Bear who travels from his home at the North Pole to try and find out why all the ice is melting and the days are getting warmer. Because I'm an illustrator, the great advantage is that as I am writing the story, even when it's still in a very rough preliminary draft stage, at the same time I can also be doodling and sketching the characters of the story, which sometimes can help me figure out how to shape the narrative. Posted here are a few sketches which are developing the look and feel of the bear character. They are all created with ink and digital color.

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polar bear story sketch. visit stevensalerno.com

polar bear story sketch. visit stevensalerno.com

polar bear story sketch. visit stevensalerno.com

Wild Child -first review from Publishers Weekly

cover art for WILD CHILD, written & illustrated by Steven Salerno
(Abrams Books for Young Readers, August 2015)

WILD CHILD
written & illustrated by Steven Salerno
Abrams Books for Young Readers, $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4197-1662-1
release date: Aug. 4, 2015/ available now online at Barnes & Noble, and Amazon

Publishers Weekly 
picture book review (May 25, 2015)

“The jungle can be a scary place,” begins Salerno, and his battle royale of an opening scene proves it, as an elephant and rhino point sharp tusks at each other, a gorilla swats at a vulture, snakes and leopards hiss, and a lion and crocodile leap into the fray. But the arrival of a “wild child” who is “Constantly grabbing, pinching, and pooping!” and “Forever pulling, kicking, and crying!” has these kings and queens of the jungle desperate to soothe the ill-tempered babe. Working in mixed-media, Salerno uses slashes of black crayon to outline his characters—it’s perhaps the perfect medium for conveying unadulterated rage, either human or animal. With fierce frowning eyebrows, a scribble of hair, and not a stitch of clothing, the wild child looks like a feral cousin to the star of Salerno’s Harry Hungry!; the animals’ attempts to sooth the child with bugs (the anteater) or roaring (the lion) only fuel its anger. Forceful writing and the improbable gracefulness Salerno bestows on this kicking, biting, punching machine make this a furiously fun read. 
Ages 4–8. (Abrams Books, Aug. 2015)

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Behind the Scenes of a Greek Tragedy

Sneak peek: 
This past weekend I worked on a preliminary sketch for an assignment for The New York Times. It's for an upcoming book review to appear in the Sunday NY Times Book Review section on 4/29/12 (art director: Nicholas Blechman) on a new novel, The Song of Achilles (by Madeline Miller, published by Ecco/Haper Collins) which is a retelling of the Greek myth of Achilles and additionally about his relationship with Patroclus. After a bit of back and forth with Nicholas to resolve the sketch concept and get it approved, I had one day to complete the final art image. Having a few days to complete a sketch and the final art was actually a luxury. Because there have been many times in the past when I have only one day and sometimes only a matter of hours to complete the sketch & final art stages for an art director at a daily newspaper publication. It is just the nature of the beast. And having to work very quickly is sometimes an asset, because it does not allow any time for second-guessing or overworking an image. 

Note: I first began my working relationship with the NY Times way back in 1980 when my illustrations appeared numerous times over the next handful of years on the OpEd Pages and Letters to the Editor Pages. Over the ensuing years I have also created illustrations for other sections of the newspaper too: The Sunday Magazine, The Real Estate section, The Business Section, The Living Section, etc... as well as for the Book Review.  Click here to read more about my work with The NY Times. But it has been many years since I worked for the Book Review section... and I was more than thrilled to get the opportunity to do so again now.

If you visit the new stuff portfolio section my web site, stevensalerno.com you will see that I have been forging ahead with a new direction with my illustration style... one that is more realistic and far moodier than the lightweight "whimsical" style I am best known for with most art directors, especially with all my picture books for children. But actually this "new" style of mine is actually revisiting my own style from very early in my career which was realistic and moody looking (click on "old is new" on my web site to read more). Recently I had sent some sample images from my new stuff portfolio section to Nicholas at the Times which he apparently liked, because very soon afterwards he offered this current Book Review assignment. 

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The first stage of the sketch (show above) was done with brush and blue gouache on paper... and the next stage (below) shows the additional tones I added with Photoshop. This is the completed sketch version which was submitted to the art director Nicholas Blechman and to the editor(s).
 

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The comment came back that my sketch concept was actually too editorial... and that I had based my visual concept on the reviewer's critical comments about the book (which was that instead of being a feast, was more like "fast food") rather than creating my image to representation of the book itself. But the portion of my sketch which commented on the relationship between the two characters Achilles and Patroclus was well received, so it was then just a matter of altering the "fast food" concept aspect of the Trojan Horse in the background... which I did. See final revised sketch below.

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The final art image was created using pen and ink on paper... drawing the two characters together, and the horse separately, then merging them in layers in Photoshop. The background is comprised of painted brushwork using gouache on a rough textured paper, then layering it in behind the drawing of the characters and the horse. Additional colors were added digitally, then all the elements were manipulated in Photoshop...such as the opacity, the saturation, light & dark, etc...  Really it was quite a simple production in terms of arriving at the final image, because it is fairly monochromatic and has relatively few character elements. You can see that the only compositional difference between the final approved sketch and the final art image is that I shifted the position of the Trojan Horse to the right so that is is cropped off. I did this because I felt the composition in the sketch was just too static. Initially I was going to use the same muted colors as seen in the sketch for the final art image, but I wanted to highlight the dying Patroclus even more so decided to use the brighter yellow to accentuate and highlight his form, which in turn then caused me to brighten the blues in Achilles to be in better balance with the yellow. In the end though, I still prefer the colors in the sketch. 

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(above) This is the final art image as it will appear in The Sunday NY Times Book Review section on 4/29/12. Note the perimeter of the image has slightly rough edges, which was the last subtle touch I decided upon. Below are additional detailed views of the final art.

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...more new illustration images

I still continue to create illustrations in the same light, whimsical manner that art directors have come to know me by -when the assignment calls for such an approach. And still certainly I take a whimsical approach for most all the children's picture books I illustrate.... However lately I added a new portfolio section on my web site called "new stuff" specifically for showcasing a different stylistic approach for myself, which actually is kind of a nod back to my own illustration style I had back when I first started illustrating many years ago. (see earlier post on this same subject)

My new approach to making images is less polished, more obviously drawn rather than rendered. And is psychologically darker in mood as well as more realistically structured. Posted here are a few more new images of mine... take a look. 

All three of these images happen to be kind of unplanned doodles done with either ball point pen or a fine marker. As I am drawing the image I wet the surface of the paper with my fingers to get the ink to bleed and smudge to get a shaded/wash effect. Then I scan them into Photoshop and add a minimal tone, or wash, or add in a texture from a previous image.

If you visit my web site and look in the new stuff portfolio, you can see the recent cover illustration assignment I did for Harper's magazine which I executed in this new style approach of mine. You can also see an earlier post on the making of the cover assignment illustration image.

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The Circus Family   -visit stevensalerno.com

The Room   -visit stevensalerno.com

The Writer   -visit stevensalerno.com

Keeping Pace

"city walkers"   visit stevensalerno.com

Even though I have lived in Manhattan for so many years now I've lost count, I am still always impressed with seeing and experiencing the energy and rhythm of all the people walking through the city.

Posted here is a simple graphic image I had created a while ago as part of a series of advertising images for the sock company GoldToe, for their "All Walks of Life" print ad campaign featuring my various silhouetted characters bustling about the streets heading to their unknown destinations, seen against a deep peach colored skyline. (Though, this particular image posted here never made it past the comp stage and therefore did not end up being one of the actual final printed ads.) The characters were executed with black gouache, then embellished in Photoshop. The background consists of a photo I shot of a custom hand-made paper with embedded leaves that I had bought, melded with another photo I shot of wood paneling from a construction site.

I enjoy making images of silhouetted characters, and have done so in many of my illustration assignments in the past. I can actually remember being 8 years old and making similar such silhouetted drawings and thinking to myself what a great method it was of supplying very specific visual information about a figure's character, but without having to actually show any detail.... I thought then that it was a fun, cool way to make images, and now here I am 40-something(!) years later still using the same technique.

See all my illustration samples at stevensalerno.com

Alien Dating: "...but he has such a great personality!"

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What do I do when I am not working on illustration projects, or children's picture books, or my personal golf art images?  -generally I am also incessantly doodling on any scraps of paper at hand. I think the best time to doodle is when on the phone or watching TV, so that you are distracted from actually thinking about what you are drawing... it allows the imagination more freedom. And for some unknown reason, I like to doodle images of fantasy alien creatures that I conjure up from my imagination. I have a portfolio section on my illustration web site called "other world sketches" where you can see a number of these alien doodles. Posted here are a handful of them.

These images, generally created with pen or crayon, are executed directly on paper without any pre-planning, under-drawing, or concept of what I am about to draw. I just start with a single gestural line or odd shape, and then build from there, allowing the image to grow and take itself to a logical conclusion. Sometimes I add a simple tone of color or wash. I am actually thinking of presenting them to the film or game industry, with an eye on setting myself up as a designer of other world creatures! I know I could do a terrific job of creating very memorable creatures with soul!

Visit stevensalerno.com to see all my illustration portfolios, or visit SASgolf.com to see my limited edition golf art prints available for purchase.

Limited Edition Prints available from illustrator Steven Salerno

© Steven Salerno  "East Village Cafe"    -visit stevensalerno.com

© Steven Salerno  DETAIL "East Village Cafe"    -visit stevensalerno.com

© Steven Salerno  endpapers from HARRY HUNGRY!    -visit stevensalerno.com

© Steven Salerno  "nature,man,wine,food"    -visit stevensalerno.com

© Steven Salerno  "Late Night NYC"    -visit stevensalerno.com

© Steven Salerno  "O Petit Bar"    -visit stevensalerno.com

I finally stopped procrastinating and completed the section on my illustration web site, stevensalerno.com, where viewers can now purchase limited edition prints of some of the illustrations and drawings I have done over the years.

(navigation: Use the pop-down illustration portfolio menu at the top of the homepage and click on the LIMITED EDITION PRINTS section to view the available art prints. And the site's bottom menu bar will have the "image info," the "pricing," and the "add to cart" scroll-overs and link...)

Currently there are 14 various art images available as a limited edition print, ranging from whimsical illustrations I created for children's picture books, to food art, and all the way across the content spectrum to much earlier drawings I did of the punk scene in NYC in the early 1980's... with more of my art images becoming available as prints soon. 

To create these art prints, my original artwork is digitally scanned then superbly printed on acid-free 100% cotton rag fine art paper with brilliant permanent pigment inks. Using advanced inkjet printing technology which sprays millions of continuous microscopic ink droplets with unsurpassed precision, the quality of these high resolution Giclee art prints is exquisite, resulting in rich, vibrant images that accurately capture the colors and tones of the original art. This is the same ultra-fine inkjet reproduction process museums use to make precision replicas of art in their collections. I hand number & sign each print within the limited edition. Most of the editions are a total of just 100 prints. You receive the unframed print and a Certificate of Authenticty registered to the buyer. (gift wrapping is not available)

These prints are truly of terrific quality, and are rated (in terms of retaining their color pigmentation level) to last up to 200 years without any significant fading... but this is contingent upon the print being properly framed and sealed behind 98% UV protected glass or acryic (plexi-glass) as well as not being displayed on a wall receiving any strong direct sunlight or in an area of high humidity. 

The secure on-line purchase transaction is conducted through PayPal -but if there is anyone still adverse to making purchases through the web... contact me at steven@stevensalerno.com and we can certainly do it the old school way and work out a payment via check through the mail.

I am thrilled and honored that there are people out there who want to own one of my prints for their personal home collections! 

WORKBOOK illustration directory #33 for 2011 (new smaller size format)

Steven Salerno's latest ad page in the WORKBOOK illustration director

I have been advertising my illustration work in the WORKBOOK illustration directory every year since about 1992 (I missed just one year in 2010). WB had always been a full sized directory book... I think in earlier years it was a 9"x12" format... then eventually went down to 8.5"x11", then more recently down in size again to 8"x10". For 2011 the new page size is a compact 7"x9"! 

Posted here is a view of my ad page in the new directory. Originally this image was created for an ad agency in Dallas, and the image contained just the fountains. I modified the image for use as my promo in WB#33 by adding the characters walking about. You can see an earlier post on that ad agency assignment by clicking here. 

I was skeptical at first when I first heard from long time sales rep Robert Pastore of this proposed new compact size slated for 2011. Despite my concerns, I committed to advertise with WB again in 2011 because I liked their other new change too -that this smaller directory book will come out 2 times: a spring release book and then another book again in the fall. In the past I would pay about $2,600 and have one ad page in their one large format book which came out every February distributed to about 18,000 art directors, art buyers, etc.. across the country.  With this 2011 book, for the same cost of $2,600, I will have an ad image in their spring book, then another different ad image in their fall book. A double punch for the same price. Plus this smaller size book is so much easier to handle... their previous books weighed about 5 pounds! Maybe WB found that two smaller books were more profitable for them due to less paper costs, or maybe because of rising paper costs they needed to reduce the books format size just to stay in the black. And possibly shipping two smaller, lighter books is less costly compared to shipping one very heavy book.  

I just received my copy in the mail of the 2011 WORKBOOK #33 directory, and feel it does indeed work well at this new "7x9" size. It is still large enough to present an image with a big graphic impact and now an art director does not need to be a body builder to carry it with them across the room, or take it home one weekend! Sure, it would be great to still have a large size ad page... but if compromises needed to be made from a business standpoint by WB, this new format works well and the added second book bonus is terrific. So now it is up to the art directors to respond well to the book, too! 

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Illustration Safety Lesson

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Don't worry, the baby depicted in this illustration was a paid actor, and the "poisons" in the bottles under the sink were all fake props. In other words, no one was harmed during the making of this illustration. It was created for a magazine article which emphasized the very important point of child-proofing the home. 

Each month I create a spot illustration, or two, for Metro Creative Graphics (in NYC)... a supplier to newspaper clients of editorial images of all sorts. Metro's service is to have commissioned artists create relevant topic images which their subscriber clients can then obtain in a monthly package for reproduction use in their newspaper publications. This particular illustration posted here was indeed to illuminate the issue of dangers in the home for a small child. It was created simply... a gouache brush drawing with added color wash effects in Photoshop.

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Nine Lives? (not this time)

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Many advertising assignments sometimes require the illustrator to jump through a couple preliminary hoops before actually attaining the final portion of the project... A large budget project usually entails the client needing to see several different kinds of visual approaches before they can decide on which one is best for their company or product. So, if the agency handling the account decides upon an illustration approach for the project, they may engage a few different illustrators with very different styles to create preliminary sketch or test stage images to present to their client. These preliminary test stage images may also even be evaluated by focus groups, in order for the client to get real consumer feedback as part of the total data in making the final decision.

It is best to initially get ballpark approval on a fee for the total project, in case you are indeed chosen to be the illustrator to create the final images used by the company or product... then just backtrack and determine the smaller fee for the test stage preliminary images only. There is no point in only negotiating the test stage images without also knowing what your total fee will be, should you get the full project.  In this instance I had gotten tentative approval for $X amount for the full project, and approximately 11% of $X just to do the preliminary test stage images.

I recently did just this... created many preliminary "test" stage images for a preliminary client presentation, and in this case it was images of cats. I am definitely a "dog" person, but drawing cats are fun, too. (see the cat character I created for the children's picture book, "Mathematickles.")

Posted here are a handful of my whimsical cat graphics from about thirty "test" images I had created specifically for the perimeters set forth by this particular advertising assignment. Unfortunately though, I was not chosen to proceed to do the full final project. It would have been fun... but as every illustrator knows, you don't get every big project that comes your way. I was hired specifically to create my whimsical, light, images... but apparently the client ultimately determined this was not the right approach they needed. I cannot say who the client is though, because that project is still ongoing for them, and I signed a confidentiality agreement...

These images were all created in Adobe Illustrator, then brought into Photoshop for a bit of additional color embellishments. 

What Do Witches Wear?

see portfolio samples at stevensalerno.com

Well... one must assume witches also want to look their very best when attending a Halloween Ball. So, a witch will fork over the big bucks and wear something special, no doubt from her favorite Halloween designer: Diane von Frankenberg, Alexander McScream, Calvin Crime, or maybe Jean Paul Guillotine.

This little painting of a witch I did a while ago was a sample image for a children's book project that never saw the light of day. It  was done in inks, gouache and pastel. 

Even Clowns Get Depressed... who knew?

I recently launched my updated web site look, and in so doing dropped some older sample images out and added in some never seen before samples.

The image posted above is of a book cover design employing my simple ink drawing of a depressed circus clown sitting on the edge of the Big Top circus ring. It really is nothing more than a minimal pen doodle with a couple dots of pink watercolor on the cheeks. (I cannot find the info on which publishing client it was originally created for) I remember it was a final stage comp using my art, but the project was terminated because it was decided in the final hour that the title was not going to be published... So, I am sure the author of circus blues became quite blue, too.

Quick, What Color is the Elephant? (answer below)

A: The elephant is blue. 

A while ago I had completed another project for Mudpuppy, the terrific-stuff-for-kids web site, for everything from books to puzzles, games, and more. The project I worked with them on was a First Puzzle item, and then this most recent project was Flash Cards for helping tots learn colors and shapes.

I finally received my complimentary shipment of the designed, boxed product... and as usual with Mudpuppy, it looks great. See an earlier post about this same project here.