Ring Flash Cards... Mudpuppy project completed!

To see all my illustration portfolio samples, visit my web site. 

My recent project with the on-line gift store for young kids, Mudpuppy.com was completed recently and all went smoothly working with art director Cynthia Matthews. It consisted of 26 images for flash cards divided between colors and shapes (called "ring" flash cards because they are all held together by a ring). The child must identify the specific color or specific shape depicted in the image. Posted here are four of the final cards: TRIANGLE (mountain), PINK (pig), BLUE (elephant), OCTAGON (spider web) 

The images were all done with black gouache and brush, scanned into Photoshop, then all the color was applied digitally with various brush and erase tools. It's refreshing to do simple images like this, though they take far more time than what it may look! (See the post below showing some of the sketches from this same project.)

Q: What color is this recession?

"Going Out of Print"... for a book, this is like forced retirement

To see all my illustration portfolio samples, visit stevensalerno.com

Unfortunately, two of my children's picture books, as both author & illustrator, will be going out of print soon with publisher Marshall Cavendish. It's very sad, as both these picture books are very solid stories with, I must say, excellent illustration... but of course, as the creator of the words and images, I am bias! (posted above are the covers)

Hopefully another publisher will want to pick up Coco the Carrot. It's a fanciful story about a carrot who discovers she has talent for designing and making hats, takes an ocean cruise adventure, tumbles overboard, becomes friends with a monkey named Anton on a tropical island, is rescued, ends up in Paris, and becomes a famous hat designer. I won't tell you how it ends... you'll just have to buy one and read it yourself. I think someday, this imaginative story with the spunky main character will be in print again, or maybe even made into a musical play!

Girls really love this story. When I did a book signing a couple years ago at Books of Wonder in New York City (the best children's book store in the city or maybe anywhere) they were having me sign the book and their sneakers, too!

You can still get a copy from Barnes & Noble or Amazon, but not for long.

Little Tumbo is a tale about a little elephant who cannot yet trumpet loudly... he is still leaning. His curiosity gets him kidnapped, and his captors plan on selling him to the circus.... but an old boatsman and his grandson help Tumbo escape...and alone he makes the long journey back toward home. But the kidnappers track him down and just as Tumbo sees his whole family in the distance.... they nab him again! You can guess what happens next! Let's just say Tumbo finally is able to trumpet loudly at a very crucial moment!

You can see inside illustrations from these books on my web site in the Children's Book portfolio section, as well some sketches, too.

Onward and upward!