tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28621995392193902412024-02-20T22:46:33.332-05:00the making of The PrinceA blog following the creation of The Prince, a KickStarter campaign to print an independent children's story book. Story by Phu T. Van, illustrations by Annie Lu.Phu T. Vanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387116338244255104noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862199539219390241.post-20134549762866146092014-06-25T14:06:00.000-04:002014-06-25T14:33:37.711-04:00"… and the Prince understood, and the Prince was happy."Very few of you know this, but these are the last words in "The Prince".
As you read them, copies of the book (and bag/card) are on their way to our KickStarter supporters. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our state-of-the-art distribution center, <i>aka</i> Phu's floor.</td></tr>
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We apologize again for the delay, just as the Prince's clothes
became tattered and he grew weary during his journey (*spoiler*!) ,
Annie and I encountered some setbacks bringing our story to you. But
just as the story ends happily (*more spoiler!!*), we are so thrilled to
have had support from all of you. We thank you, and wish you all the
happiness in the world.<br />
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Best regards,<br />
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--Phu & Annie<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lsxZSwhuXZLWOd5vNCJFS1GXWL0uFhTzlmCehv-kcnLG9SWIfRk3i3ypLAugEq7dBEFSIRL-73RFWg_k2oP65cXLFZhYZ-WdQqWRYUXcz0xRpChpyXyIGwio11NYcRzpHQpMavFUrm0/s1600/prince_preview0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lsxZSwhuXZLWOd5vNCJFS1GXWL0uFhTzlmCehv-kcnLG9SWIfRk3i3ypLAugEq7dBEFSIRL-73RFWg_k2oP65cXLFZhYZ-WdQqWRYUXcz0xRpChpyXyIGwio11NYcRzpHQpMavFUrm0/s1600/prince_preview0.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At last !!!</td></tr>
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PS: Many people have requested to buy the book after we have finished the KickStarter, so we have put it on Etsy, the same place where The Courtyard Kitchen was sold: <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/phuvan" target="_blank">https://www.etsy.com/shop/phuvan</a> Phu T. Vanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387116338244255104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862199539219390241.post-11490631066864369422014-06-03T12:39:00.000-04:002014-06-03T12:39:42.594-04:00The Prince and The Kickstarter: WE DID IT!!!So... <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1823550875/the-prince-an-illustrated-childrens-book">the KickStarter</a> exceeded all of our expectations. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Me reacting to our KickStarter passing $1000: goggles and helmet protected me from the shock. I'm told Annie responded similarly.</i></td></tr>
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People we know corralled their spouses, family and friends to support us (the Thorson and Lear families were particularly well-represented). You have our many thanks: 1,299 to be exact:<br />
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I'm told at this moment an army of dedicated craftsmen are putting the final touches on boxes of freshly-printed copies of The Prince to be rushed to your doors.<br />
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Speaking of printing, we researched about half a dozen printing companies for The Prince. While we could print very cheaply through comic book presses, we felt that The Prince should be well-made with thick archival paper, full-bleeds and decent binding, even if our small printing run made the book a bit more expensive. So we decided to stay with <a href="http://www.pikto.ca/">Pikto</a>, the Toronto-based press who did a consistently outstanding job with my previous photobooks and cookbook.<br />
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Now that our successful Kickstarter campaign has ended, and we've finished all the illustrations, we'll be working on fulfilling the orders that you've made! Some previews of what's coming to your doorstep in the near future...<br />
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Please stay tuned in the next few days as we ship out copies of The Prince. And again, thank you !<br />
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--Phu & AnniePhu T. Vanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387116338244255104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862199539219390241.post-46528552521009580922014-05-16T02:32:00.002-04:002014-05-16T13:17:28.115-04:00Colouring The PrinceFirst of all, Phu and I want to thank you for all your generous support! It has only been 3 days, and <b>we have already reached our <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1823550875/the-prince-an-illustrated-childrens-book">Kickstarter</a> goal</b>! We've been working hard on this book for a long time, and it's awesome to know people interested and eager to have a copy! ...seriously, Phu has been so excited that he was sending me hour-by-hour text message updates every time another person pledged to our campaign. We are super excited :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yay!</td></tr>
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Secondly, I wanted to do another process post. This project has been a learning experience with many firsts. So far, I've written about <a href="http://makingtheprince.blogspot.ca/2013/11/from-sketch-to-final-product.html">the pencil drawings and inking</a>, and I wanted to update this blog with some more detail about the digital side of these illustrations. This will get a bit technical, so if you don't care for the details, don't feel guilty about just scrolling through the pictures.<br />
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A quick tour of steps before colouring:<br />
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<b>1. Pencil drawing</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfVtre8LMtZU6De6ZDl5_AHq7YNN2pw0VcXxnJi3t879laVumzlLuDU3fownesf2o_hPB6OyIhIJGk7X_kvkFndDDfhKKedw8JokHSXUpYn-pEu3r3mSGrvh9hu4McTQOjrVYfpwZ667s/s1600/IMG_6144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfVtre8LMtZU6De6ZDl5_AHq7YNN2pw0VcXxnJi3t879laVumzlLuDU3fownesf2o_hPB6OyIhIJGk7X_kvkFndDDfhKKedw8JokHSXUpYn-pEu3r3mSGrvh9hu4McTQOjrVYfpwZ667s/s1600/IMG_6144.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">I knew I wanted to eventually colour the leaves different shades of green to give the foliage some depth. I don't usually paint over the pencil sketches, but for this page, I used paint to define each patch of leaves to plan ahead and make things less confusing during the next stages.</span></td></tr>
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<b>2. Scan pencils, print pencils in blue, ink</b><br />
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<b>3. Scan inks, digitally colour</b><br />
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I should start by touching on one of my most important goals for colouring - I needed to figure out how to avoid a case of the "white halos." Anyone who has attempted basic editing in Photoshop or Paint probably knows what I'm talking about - the unsightly blurry white outline that appears when you're trying to colour in an area next to a line:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNK2nrXQoCydhLs8lZxocX-gm2cSv830eRt1ad4a59gPftTvGTdZySoay_Al4uOVTEzJbX8_OMkWBenkbBIGqcVQFaaxKxP2BWNvyBSoJL3HcEnIU0VdG10KJT7czplwkJ0oq7ewPpShI/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNK2nrXQoCydhLs8lZxocX-gm2cSv830eRt1ad4a59gPftTvGTdZySoay_Al4uOVTEzJbX8_OMkWBenkbBIGqcVQFaaxKxP2BWNvyBSoJL3HcEnIU0VdG10KJT7czplwkJ0oq7ewPpShI/s1600/5.jpg" height="550" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Grayscale</b> image</td></tr>
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When you try to fill this with colour, this happens...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmE0X7e0LI5x8mkUVJvQ4nqXijNHFl_dGXLgjJSf-d6qHyRZLyXSpbJyK3HC1jnDw5pIk8lJHrSILq-HC-4K6o4b5YwWxzAn9ZXvgK7Lpf0uPZnFlanKShwcE5w5i_blP5hofriBtTe5Z/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmE0X7e0LI5x8mkUVJvQ4nqXijNHFl_dGXLgjJSf-d6qHyRZLyXSpbJyK3HC1jnDw5pIk8lJHrSILq-HC-4K6o4b5YwWxzAn9ZXvgK7Lpf0uPZnFlanKShwcE5w5i_blP5hofriBtTe5Z/s1600/6.jpg" height="548" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Using paint bucket on a grayscale image... ew fuzzy edges...</td></tr>
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I don't know the fancy computer graphics lingo to describe this, but in layman's terms, this happens when the line art is not purely black and white. If you look closely above, you can see pixels at the very edge of the black outlines that contain different shades of gray, which do not get filled with the paint bucket tool.<br />
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To avoid this, the line art needs be converted to purely black and white pixels, with no gray. This can be done in 2 main ways. (1) Scan line art with scanner software set to "black and white" mode, or (2) scan line art in grayscale, then apply "threshold" adjustment to the image in Photoshop. I used the 2nd method. "Threshold" can be found under Image > Adjustments > Threshold. After applying this to a grayscale image, you get this:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUQ8iJVx8EZoJy4rdz3l4hB2LjFS2v-uJIpXadkyygEymRgvyRPuB2LUk9TG6fDLJ55rc7rOdZyt4CZqQ3eeMkMRtMdNBnRWk3ThLd5a0jXwKxL0a6Rl_nM5SQ0wxE5XcFjCG1wlU4V7a6/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUQ8iJVx8EZoJy4rdz3l4hB2LjFS2v-uJIpXadkyygEymRgvyRPuB2LUk9TG6fDLJ55rc7rOdZyt4CZqQ3eeMkMRtMdNBnRWk3ThLd5a0jXwKxL0a6Rl_nM5SQ0wxE5XcFjCG1wlU4V7a6/s1600/7.jpg" height="550" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After applying "threshold" adjustment - <b>black and white </b>image, with no gray pixels</td></tr>
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Now when you fill with colour...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpSuNZlTULeYPRNg8cG2OcoNSSq4RRwkZg9QBfCVgcmhiBybzn0VGQY2pi_SakLpNQ4UAftzUii8alPY7enxykuumjeJJd9mMzcsUoMkHhJ93c451d4QYtRG5rDmqXuUprIgJOS3Z0LLft/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpSuNZlTULeYPRNg8cG2OcoNSSq4RRwkZg9QBfCVgcmhiBybzn0VGQY2pi_SakLpNQ4UAftzUii8alPY7enxykuumjeJJd9mMzcsUoMkHhJ93c451d4QYtRG5rDmqXuUprIgJOS3Z0LLft/s1600/8.jpg" height="550" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Using paint bucket on a black and white image</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDO9hDUzybqzh4Tp0r7YDVfNaFy9FlA4p6Ep0RoBI0KI6476L5lSSYzKYSlnyYfIfwkwpZdXbGMN5-J6iaEdkYqE9yC2_tJTRkZX7xIwug6QItZFHhR8lanokG7uzxmrcuPhVKnmTDqei/s1600/Untitled-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDO9hDUzybqzh4Tp0r7YDVfNaFy9FlA4p6Ep0RoBI0KI6476L5lSSYzKYSlnyYfIfwkwpZdXbGMN5-J6iaEdkYqE9yC2_tJTRkZX7xIwug6QItZFHhR8lanokG7uzxmrcuPhVKnmTDqei/s1600/Untitled-2.jpg" height="290" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close-up comparison of filling a grayscale image (left) vs. filling a black and white image (right)</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZBJIAVPuq6tgX8eAD4Xb_la3U-ntpa3o6fx6yvBBn-QepJ-fhLW-WC4jc4x5CwYV_bJhn7py01ElHce0F_iPSHfXECsl4C4IKq_WRIJM3A54XqOW5cY9Sviek-ObLotVoVHRrwO2vriP/s1600/photoshop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZBJIAVPuq6tgX8eAD4Xb_la3U-ntpa3o6fx6yvBBn-QepJ-fhLW-WC4jc4x5CwYV_bJhn7py01ElHce0F_iPSHfXECsl4C4IKq_WRIJM3A54XqOW5cY9Sviek-ObLotVoVHRrwO2vriP/s1600/photoshop.jpg" height="384" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
After making sure all the line art is in black and white, I created a document in Photoshop with at least 2 basic layers: (1) line art, and (2) flats.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbwpk4Pi1p6__izoY20xuX-bPQO9RtLrLlPoTREqKJeBrplbFfkcD80RJBfSjx9oqtPOGmE66YsvjA0gRyGGOp_A120Nm-X-oQ5ULJ1scFsjPIRQZpzm_dWOZZDBi8uZBRGzyf93M2DOB-/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbwpk4Pi1p6__izoY20xuX-bPQO9RtLrLlPoTREqKJeBrplbFfkcD80RJBfSjx9oqtPOGmE66YsvjA0gRyGGOp_A120Nm-X-oQ5ULJ1scFsjPIRQZpzm_dWOZZDBi8uZBRGzyf93M2DOB-/s1600/2.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Layer 1: Line art</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
"<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatter">Flats</a>" are areas of colour that are typically outlined by hand using the selection tools, and save to a layer beneath the line art layer (described very clearly in "<a href="http://designinstruct.com/drawing-illustration/how-to-color-inked-line-art-in-photoshop/">How to Colour Inked Line Art in Photoshop</a>" by Matt Fox, and <a href="http://boltcity.com/workshop/amulet/flatting/">this flatting tutorial</a> from Bolt City). Manual flatting may be how the pros do it, but for my purposes, I found this <span style="text-align: start;">too labour-intensive and cheated a bit - I just duplicated the line art layer, and used the paint bucket to fill in outlined areas, filling in details and missed spots with the pencil tool. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitkMsuIX657zy6u3jC0Kd4V_RznlzsYNkqL_6dAqY_78dWZAo2t_O8OejKTZxPn1XATFdInuP1-ywyhHBpt1IeN7xIsH5mdmrKiToGcvkZ0LEvYCdCV9CEoNkwjTCtNKlfTeNd-KekCg3R/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitkMsuIX657zy6u3jC0Kd4V_RznlzsYNkqL_6dAqY_78dWZAo2t_O8OejKTZxPn1XATFdInuP1-ywyhHBpt1IeN7xIsH5mdmrKiToGcvkZ0LEvYCdCV9CEoNkwjTCtNKlfTeNd-KekCg3R/s1600/3.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Layer 2: Colour "flats"</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Some other tips for maintaining non-blurry line art can be filled with colour without encountering "white halos:"</i><br />
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Set the <b>Brush</b> tool to "<u>Pencil</u>" mode</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Set the <b>Eraser</b> tool to "<u>Pencil</u>" mode</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">When using the <b>Paint Bucket</b> tool, and any <b>selection tools</b> (marquee, lasso, magic wand), <u>UNCHECK the "anti-alias" option</u>. (Anti-alias is a software technique that smooths jagged, step-like lines - in our case, we want to maintain the crisp step-like lines for colouring purposes. As long as the line art was scanned at a high-resolution, you won't see the step-like lines when zoomed out, in the final print.)</li>
</ul>
<br />I also have a couple of additional layers, for the background (below) and shading (not shown).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudonsdK89IGuLP1Myi75Zolu5mGSXL1SnP2zSVyIaSKk4VXLU35pTh0atrY9nn6kJHcCF_CVDNwD9R7LrHijmZuMHgzxiQ6b3ISpscheFIem6tXxBKI9awzdaLlXswDC7OvBgWdEn-Fc6/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudonsdK89IGuLP1Myi75Zolu5mGSXL1SnP2zSVyIaSKk4VXLU35pTh0atrY9nn6kJHcCF_CVDNwD9R7LrHijmZuMHgzxiQ6b3ISpscheFIem6tXxBKI9awzdaLlXswDC7OvBgWdEn-Fc6/s1600/4.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Layer 3: Background</td></tr>
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When all these layers are combined, you get this:</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjza2fbmUPUpQ314Q0pq-8cSi_GeJ_oTajIKtebVtCTS3lpNyYnyM6Xu9f7zpwvz8vuq8iy8ku-9QBMS3_sKCUkaiGe4ckeLNwTqIrD5aFAtPq7Twxq7FCCTZGjQflnr0BkqUX9k5mDpL9n/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjza2fbmUPUpQ314Q0pq-8cSi_GeJ_oTajIKtebVtCTS3lpNyYnyM6Xu9f7zpwvz8vuq8iy8ku-9QBMS3_sKCUkaiGe4ckeLNwTqIrD5aFAtPq7Twxq7FCCTZGjQflnr0BkqUX9k5mDpL9n/s1600/1.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: justify;">Still need to work on the shading before this page is fully done...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
There you have it! My system is a mish-mash of things I learned on the internet - there are so many helpful resources out there, from web tutorials to youtube videos. Although I have spent this post describing my preferred way of doing things, I'm sure there are many different ways to approach each step in the process. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Thanks again for all your support for this book! Phu and I have started sending out images to printers to look at samples, and I'll be picking up a preview copy from the printer tomorrow to make sure the quality meets our standards. We'll continue to keep you updated as we complete the final stages of this project!</div>
</div>
anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13902715050755057236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862199539219390241.post-44297154264513662512014-05-12T16:57:00.000-04:002014-05-16T09:33:27.940-04:00KickStarted !Hi everyone,<br />
<br />
After more than a year's worth of hard work (Annie sketching, inking and coloring and me making snarky blogposts), we are finally ready to pitch The Prince to family, friends, and strangers on the Internet !<br />
<br />
Without further ado, please come check out our KickStarter page:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1823550875/the-prince-an-illustrated-childrens-book">https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1823550875/the-prince-an-illustrated-childrens-book</a><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTRCcLPUPUNJ2dlRX9hdq_Z93dic0_85zyBe4jjqxueJLeEl9_9XKqtgjfZsLqtpzVwTIFuf0vNSxj15c69CanODXhKusg_gq59bk5gPGTfCjaOnsetCT1Pa_dTIsBJUQxhqxKcJQOSdI/s1600/prince_preview3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTRCcLPUPUNJ2dlRX9hdq_Z93dic0_85zyBe4jjqxueJLeEl9_9XKqtgjfZsLqtpzVwTIFuf0vNSxj15c69CanODXhKusg_gq59bk5gPGTfCjaOnsetCT1Pa_dTIsBJUQxhqxKcJQOSdI/s1600/prince_preview3.jpg" height="320" width="220" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Our KickStarter goodies. Unfortunately, you can't get our cat, <a href="http://makingtheprince.blogspot.com/2013/12/winning-cat-name.html">Schrodinger</a>. It's against the rules :( </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTg_OBBxhul23gfKqpwwRqqwepTkNkqdhajJTz9wZmZjFm5HhAOWb7v7ZLN66WZU_hfixXd-PNo6tRzApuSWzRgvlBWBudHHokpijB1NCk5C4biC9Fu-KY2hqeAAHvhof5FlHOoD-ZeUs/s1600/prince_preview0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTg_OBBxhul23gfKqpwwRqqwepTkNkqdhajJTz9wZmZjFm5HhAOWb7v7ZLN66WZU_hfixXd-PNo6tRzApuSWzRgvlBWBudHHokpijB1NCk5C4biC9Fu-KY2hqeAAHvhof5FlHOoD-ZeUs/s1600/prince_preview0.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The cover, featuring our iconic castle at night. </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5NQdsf5bU1Ovqc_kqqDexiUNxE2MeM4gdX0S7sEQqUYIVghfDsDuPx2gTbuno0SilE_3dYatO1yegFA6F8kWNcloB9Qp6nXe4rET79teIDUFz-zpdIvp4F9Wb1oUYNRVXBikwmaHpO4Y/s1600/prince_preview1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5NQdsf5bU1Ovqc_kqqDexiUNxE2MeM4gdX0S7sEQqUYIVghfDsDuPx2gTbuno0SilE_3dYatO1yegFA6F8kWNcloB9Qp6nXe4rET79teIDUFz-zpdIvp4F9Wb1oUYNRVXBikwmaHpO4Y/s1600/prince_preview1.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The first few pages.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPvLSNtnnd2XN2mcqDpz6ADKJ6Jw6jWyM15speN7_bOkEYsVp5Z2Rxt4gcjkh0OSXioc61Yx8eoYEsH9tQ072_V_xBYGIqWb1tRg2ZBhtNMu_OGUelg4ndK5d4l3kn3ZOf9CRE3KvoxkQ/s1600/prince_preview2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPvLSNtnnd2XN2mcqDpz6ADKJ6Jw6jWyM15speN7_bOkEYsVp5Z2Rxt4gcjkh0OSXioc61Yx8eoYEsH9tQ072_V_xBYGIqWb1tRg2ZBhtNMu_OGUelg4ndK5d4l3kn3ZOf9CRE3KvoxkQ/s1600/prince_preview2.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I love the <strike>color</strike> colour scheme, but I'm somewhat biased :)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Thank you, everyone. It's been a wonderful journey thus far, and we hope to be able to give you a copy of our book. So, please, tell your family and friends, and help send our Prince on his journey !<br />
<br />
<br />
--Phu & AnniePhu T. Vanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387116338244255104noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862199539219390241.post-26798293356038331872014-04-20T08:44:00.000-04:002014-05-16T09:33:54.004-04:00And the winner is...Thank you for everyone who voted in our mug contest, including apparently, two members of the Toronto Maple Leafs :P<br />
<br />
We apologize for the delay. Originally the contest was only supposed to take 1 week, but ended up taking a bit longer than that. Mostly I've been writing my PhD thesis while horribly sick with what people tell me is the flu. It actually felt like this:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3V8ys9DzpZ_oVJ7LFO-25eEsZc-nq6vpmGb_7wzawlkeGpNvsdwJDc8C7fCC3GgslxxT5sDUpRM9fiDEfwiCxs6ONNJOMqxuzGXrihN7tM4UAe-LZjjPHWoHkcr1dbSXk2Yg0Msn75ZY/s1600/john_hurt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3V8ys9DzpZ_oVJ7LFO-25eEsZc-nq6vpmGb_7wzawlkeGpNvsdwJDc8C7fCC3GgslxxT5sDUpRM9fiDEfwiCxs6ONNJOMqxuzGXrihN7tM4UAe-LZjjPHWoHkcr1dbSXk2Yg0Msn75ZY/s1600/john_hurt.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A common problem with writing theses while sick.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a name='more'></a>Despite the silence on this blog, we are making great progress on The Prince. In fact, impressively, Annie has been coloring the pages at a very brisk pace while getting ready for her residency in pediatrics.<br />
<br />
Without further ado, after <strike>a rigorous vote counting, selection and certification process</strike> 45 seconds using Excel's random number generator, we are glad to announce that the winner is...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJl9l5a9eQ84ajq7pJ4WWEe_jPNW6v190KWTqirbbi54wOMWRBhKHl61FfbRjU9QurCDf4zA7-GCfpn07vBKE6VdAr1mznRP4sLiUtgvMIN8-LuUQW_P_kEZYIuY6FDIVtN6FKX3Qr7M/s1600/mug+winner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJl9l5a9eQ84ajq7pJ4WWEe_jPNW6v190KWTqirbbi54wOMWRBhKHl61FfbRjU9QurCDf4zA7-GCfpn07vBKE6VdAr1mznRP4sLiUtgvMIN8-LuUQW_P_kEZYIuY6FDIVtN6FKX3Qr7M/s1600/mug+winner.jpg" height="241" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Jess Tsang ! </b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Jess: we will be sending the mug out to you soon. Congratulations, and thank you for everyone who voted !</div>
Phu T. Vanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387116338244255104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862199539219390241.post-34308120020530041522014-03-23T19:24:00.000-04:002014-05-16T09:34:13.096-04:00The Prince mug giveaway, and Friends of the PrinceHi everyone,<br />
<br />
As Annie works hard to finish inking The Prince, I circulated an early draft of the illustrations among our friends and the response was overwhelmingly positive. A big thanks to everyone who proofread this early copy, especially while I took some stalker-like photos for our upcoming KickStarter videos:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA7qC2ppfSjj_6Web82yGjhroBFzvxuOoMd-plKYVC9CRe8hCNRl90Njskq2moUAmG5DL02wuqGHGizXcaaHzMyO0Gp9PI0jllhd26EUvmHKhq_lQmU4fjoOvDtWBfqQrboVSB2R-fZiU/s1600/friends_reading_thePrince.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA7qC2ppfSjj_6Web82yGjhroBFzvxuOoMd-plKYVC9CRe8hCNRl90Njskq2moUAmG5DL02wuqGHGizXcaaHzMyO0Gp9PI0jllhd26EUvmHKhq_lQmU4fjoOvDtWBfqQrboVSB2R-fZiU/s1600/friends_reading_thePrince.jpg" height="230" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>While Olivia, Travis, Suchitra and Ritika took the figurative spotlight, there are so many other people who have supported us behind the scenes, by spreading the word, suggesting ideas, pledging to buy the books, and checking in with our progress.<br />
<br />
To show our appreciation of your support, we're giving away a soon-to-be-highly-sought-after The Prince mug ! As you may have seen from <a href="http://makingtheprince.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-short-meeting-of-minds.html">a previous post</a>, we have been playing around with mug designs, and now they are finally ready !<br />
<br />
All you have to do is choose one of our two mug designs during the next week. We will then randomly pick one name amongst people who voted for the winning design and send the mug to the winner ! And I hope when the time comes, you will support our KickStarter, where the mug will be among the reward tiers.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuxVAohKM9jgnPScu2BW3g4b-IoHL27-7fJ3v73-M_kTKEWeqOgh4TihMMuHArEjgQtMpDK6pSsLj0vO8gRi_qKM7qD6nmkcZNmUNxXC56Ez_dlP2Lx-LUldwGdCm4uGzLhOeu0aUZtmg/s1600/mug+mockup+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuxVAohKM9jgnPScu2BW3g4b-IoHL27-7fJ3v73-M_kTKEWeqOgh4TihMMuHArEjgQtMpDK6pSsLj0vO8gRi_qKM7qD6nmkcZNmUNxXC56Ez_dlP2Lx-LUldwGdCm4uGzLhOeu0aUZtmg/s1600/mug+mockup+2.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Castle and Clouds</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9dD0FJj5kY1PEeJ09hmLuoj6TzJEjPgKPMPhfBUUir11ExD-iAPyeovkNwhazIYeG_hfUnl4SpbE5SquRBu8oVInAPV7EyJapC5hLtSdT-sbzGAIqLIFU2yTIb18l7L0Y6upL4R_8Sok/s1600/mug+mockup+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9dD0FJj5kY1PEeJ09hmLuoj6TzJEjPgKPMPhfBUUir11ExD-iAPyeovkNwhazIYeG_hfUnl4SpbE5SquRBu8oVInAPV7EyJapC5hLtSdT-sbzGAIqLIFU2yTIb18l7L0Y6upL4R_8Sok/s1600/mug+mockup+1.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Prince's Feast</td></tr>
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="500" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1dkDAU8tyOokt13HEZvzKOBAZ_aD8_IzMIOS-S3rc8XA/viewform?embedded=true" width="760">Loading...</iframe>Phu T. Vanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387116338244255104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862199539219390241.post-61486401531624764262014-03-02T13:47:00.001-05:002014-05-16T09:01:40.964-04:00Completing the inking phase!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This weekend, I officially finished inking and scanning in all 20 pages of <i>The Prince. </i>In celebration of this, Phu threw a small dinner party with friends. We feasted like princes and princesses.</div>
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I've already done <a href="http://makingtheprince.blogspot.com/2013/11/from-sketch-to-final-product.html">a couple of pages in full colour</a>, and in the coming weeks, I'll be working on finishing up the rest. Look for an upcoming post/tutorial on how to go from inks to digitally-coloured pages in Photoshop!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5nhSzED4StdDGRqoWuRKBk1ycT9SvAbVREMZBXhi_a6cKGsh2GbxVac4jNwiwpiQZgMAVqXyn5SYoaoM67BNgeLI5yMAOlXyb8jrX8zXx6m5V5f1GIVIPK0d9u-vYQwk6uUtv4kCXKsZZ/s1600/inking+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5nhSzED4StdDGRqoWuRKBk1ycT9SvAbVREMZBXhi_a6cKGsh2GbxVac4jNwiwpiQZgMAVqXyn5SYoaoM67BNgeLI5yMAOlXyb8jrX8zXx6m5V5f1GIVIPK0d9u-vYQwk6uUtv4kCXKsZZ/s1600/inking+(2).jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Too blurry to see what's going on? <br />Stay tuned for actual pages in glorious 1200dpi!</i></td></tr>
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<br />anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13902715050755057236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862199539219390241.post-43977451189142301832014-02-10T09:34:00.000-05:002014-05-16T09:40:41.332-04:00Tools of an amateur illustrator<span style="font-family: inherit;">First of all, I want to say thanks to everyone who came out to the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1450829175136944/?source=1"><span id="goog_117897244"></span>auction last weekend<span id="goog_117897245"></span></a> to raise money for the <a href="http://www.dom.pitt.edu/dgim/phcup/clinics.html">Birmingham Free Clinic</a> and <a href="http://www.wcspittsburgh.org/page.aspx?pid=361">Women's Center Clinic</a>! We participated in the silent auction and had a number of bids on our print.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAGTSURtqdDy3ZR1jJnToyRVdoeiRzFh20COwVSbXcc-0QOrOE04eqzfhk_dEmTEgytmVtTJE7ZWKox2dZod68Qn-XMeiYVM9xOlTWf9GscQOJzKghWRkKb2e4-5FOiQhbH5NSkXnm7sLu/s1600/IMG_0725.JPG" height="476" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Before the bidding began</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAGTSURtqdDy3ZR1jJnToyRVdoeiRzFh20COwVSbXcc-0QOrOE04eqzfhk_dEmTEgytmVtTJE7ZWKox2dZod68Qn-XMeiYVM9xOlTWf9GscQOJzKghWRkKb2e4-5FOiQhbH5NSkXnm7sLu/s1600/IMG_0725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Phu plays this down, but I think it's worth sharing - when he started making and selling his photo and recipe books, he wanted to donate the profits to a local cause in the community. He got in touch with the director of the Birmingham Free Clinic, Mary Herbert, and for the past 3 years, he's been an enthusiastic supporter, forwarding proceeds from his book sales and donating items for their annual fundraising auction.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I got the print earlier this week, and will be shipping it out to the winning bidder as soon as we cut the matboard to frame her and make her look all nice 'n purdy.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNBCWCAyXTjxt2Sxv1Ui7qmyNlW8vvK090cPQGq_U8ecNJjSGm1benQiUUg1V_yPPu3alZldCboqVkwIR5bul-y1y1zwsTY8mq62KOZLiXoZo4sKMw5_m2OLao-06U-vsBGJuPDORn6vkn/s1600/IMG_7414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNBCWCAyXTjxt2Sxv1Ui7qmyNlW8vvK090cPQGq_U8ecNJjSGm1benQiUUg1V_yPPu3alZldCboqVkwIR5bul-y1y1zwsTY8mq62KOZLiXoZo4sKMw5_m2OLao-06U-vsBGJuPDORn6vkn/s1600/IMG_7414.jpg" height="640" width="476" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">When we're done with the matboard she's gonna look even purdier</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Aside from preparing the print, I've been working on inking all the pages. I'm halfway done and would update with some photos... but we don't want to give away too much of the book before it's done!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So I thought I'd do a post on what kind of tools I've been using in this drawing process. Like a celebrity "<i>What's in her purse?</i>" thing... except that I'm not famous... and it's a pencil case... and there's no cuticle salve to be found.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi86Ntcw9gwCm9Np3toYc_UZdVWWRhPRdXXoLwhSQeM2VPsmbEKbLW5b633P2sFVmPv38XoQyNM1SJK8M0zfwcYvQGx3brMuZD9VfGo2J9yCtu4r-B8aBzjZ_X0AwAbQz_6ykR1AdH8V0IY/s1600/process+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi86Ntcw9gwCm9Np3toYc_UZdVWWRhPRdXXoLwhSQeM2VPsmbEKbLW5b633P2sFVmPv38XoQyNM1SJK8M0zfwcYvQGx3brMuZD9VfGo2J9yCtu4r-B8aBzjZ_X0AwAbQz_6ykR1AdH8V0IY/s1600/process+2.jpg" height="489" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">No salvation for dry cuticles here</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">From left to right, that is a Uni-ball Signo gel pen (you know it's Japanese because they crafted that baby with a tip whose diameter is precise to <i>two</i> significant digits), a Pentel Pocket Brush pen, an old mechanical pencil, an old regular pencil, an old white eraser, and a box of ink cartridges for the brush pen. In the background is a<i> très chic </i>designer pencil case that <i>mon amour</i> got me from the runways of... Taiwan. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>Ok yes I know, it's pretty normal stuff... hey, I'm no professional, and I ain't got the fancy stuff. <span style="font-family: inherit;">Probably the fanciest thing I have is the brush pen. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBs2R4dObs8d0IpJHebvZawL2koYZnp9xjAyDD2iGGz40Cj7V5t2u50HnTyPT_-Q2Kop20BUPXRSsQm9yONrB2JK3U_gUckozsiTVG5Jo_vejBJH6fp1LwaxB1ZTNiz-P3kcFbNgYpR5d7/s1600/process+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBs2R4dObs8d0IpJHebvZawL2koYZnp9xjAyDD2iGGz40Cj7V5t2u50HnTyPT_-Q2Kop20BUPXRSsQm9yONrB2JK3U_gUckozsiTVG5Jo_vejBJH6fp1LwaxB1ZTNiz-P3kcFbNgYpR5d7/s1600/process+3.jpg" height="507" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I like it because it's refillable, the tip is durable and just the right firmness for what I'm drawing, and it's portable. It's the main tool I've been using to ink the book pages. You can get a pretty fine line with it, until you're pretty much limited by how steady you can keep your hand while using a brush. For the really fine lines, I use a pen (yes, that 0.28mm marvel of a pen).</span><br />
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<tr><td><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9jLaMCQAQvUmmO5RBjn9cOMCc0TTVIdO5mXpLUgIlEtMT2YUd7nAAs_EBBh1QvrvTs8ip46rK1AXxjeEyJrVb29-d_EhiTBF-o715fx_kfEhgP0wuTeFDovKSYP4WRfeKN7n5xUIVt_TR/s1600/process+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9jLaMCQAQvUmmO5RBjn9cOMCc0TTVIdO5mXpLUgIlEtMT2YUd7nAAs_EBBh1QvrvTs8ip46rK1AXxjeEyJrVb29-d_EhiTBF-o715fx_kfEhgP0wuTeFDovKSYP4WRfeKN7n5xUIVt_TR/s1600/process+4.jpg" height="640" width="403" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Can you guess which one I've had since junior high?</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I also have kneaded erasers in my pencil case... to be fair, I think the
older almost-black one was darker than the new one even when I first got it.
The old one smells kinda weird now, but I keep it due to my irrational
sentimental attachment to it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The other main tool I've been using lately is my printer. Like I
described in a <a href="http://makingtheprince.blogspot.com/2013/11/from-sketch-to-final-product.html"><span style="color: blue;">previous post</span></a>, I scan in my pencils, turn them
blue, then print them out and ink over them. I've been using an inkjet and
printing onto bristol board, because I'm trying to fancy about it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6fd5ZLMcYMKm4Jh72-q-9gqLVHUkUUvz7ltV4rQm5GzZYu59pUxDoxh-dwYI607O_LDYkeFCKdkdEM8Ux7oXlBK8qzG9Ti-wYlW74EElta1BRgHXF_CCoIlYQbL5QeLqOtlz_6NEJZz6h/s1600/process+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6fd5ZLMcYMKm4Jh72-q-9gqLVHUkUUvz7ltV4rQm5GzZYu59pUxDoxh-dwYI607O_LDYkeFCKdkdEM8Ux7oXlBK8qzG9Ti-wYlW74EElta1BRgHXF_CCoIlYQbL5QeLqOtlz_6NEJZz6h/s1600/process+5.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">No exaggeration, it's really smooth</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The price of trying to be fancy when you're really not is that you don't have a lot of resources. I have a home office-grade colour printer, which I doesn't take thick paper (like bristol board) very well. If I had done my research online, I would have found the disgruntled reviews by people who were unable to print onto cardstock earlier. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrlsAZcIkI4oU0xw22sqLefK4Iafznx9fH74eCERqaOYaEue9HV7uSOKVppQZcTGC2Vm19iMjkfAD31rkvWVwifb8keykFAtjFo2ZAzMKzweH3chxyAGtmvc2J65Iqr1otcuNxFmwgPi5j/s1600/process+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrlsAZcIkI4oU0xw22sqLefK4Iafznx9fH74eCERqaOYaEue9HV7uSOKVppQZcTGC2Vm19iMjkfAD31rkvWVwifb8keykFAtjFo2ZAzMKzweH3chxyAGtmvc2J65Iqr1otcuNxFmwgPi5j/s1600/process+6.jpg" height="640" width="476" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">So innocent-looking... until...</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My first attempts at feeding bristol board through this thing resulted in failure and passive-aggressive printer prompts.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZKQeeVAhoyQlxxbbJGTRonklar3LlCPCId5kNwsCTck5k67LmQN-a15ygmdI01yvSBoo0UGhHoAd1pVfYPiR8c_j2gGcVaupwGZYu07o2cLhTxMfycfUaGpubpMqf-mDJmaCP0CQdxuS3/s1600/process+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZKQeeVAhoyQlxxbbJGTRonklar3LlCPCId5kNwsCTck5k67LmQN-a15ygmdI01yvSBoo0UGhHoAd1pVfYPiR8c_j2gGcVaupwGZYu07o2cLhTxMfycfUaGpubpMqf-mDJmaCP0CQdxuS3/s1600/process+7.jpg" height="625" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">You started it</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">While I'm not fancy enough to buy a new printer with the ability to print on thick paper, I did come up with a solution for this.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfTZrIVrhGrcHjEkkuf5HnAliiJe39cd_bdPIcuj0tEg5QMnf5SBwWZv2YIzHWNZYcw9iJa6XDZ0KpUgBx9Y92wS7nk7-1h1QvJ4LtXLZPZRqAD5H-0-jFNdCjH-Ku12xW86O9m_i59BHH/s1600/process+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfTZrIVrhGrcHjEkkuf5HnAliiJe39cd_bdPIcuj0tEg5QMnf5SBwWZv2YIzHWNZYcw9iJa6XDZ0KpUgBx9Y92wS7nk7-1h1QvJ4LtXLZPZRqAD5H-0-jFNdCjH-Ku12xW86O9m_i59BHH/s1600/process+9.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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Attention all you <i>Epson Expression Home XP-400 Small-in-One™</i> printer owners out there. You can get it to print onto thick paper if you trick it into thinking it's taking regular paper. I taped a thin strip of scrap regular paper to the edge of the bristol board, and made sure it was flush with the bristol board when the paper feeder caught it. Works on the first try every time I use this method. <i>V<span style="text-align: center;">oilà.</span></i><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqkYmWu0WuFUiIF01K1r0yEHqkNmN7Mr1YFHH552SVZ5wV1vsjiZ81yXNd2tnbOkGE-VTes_YJVnaCbYCeQEny52texUVOMGC2BfDFXVBJhKJXd3S3tkfMtgi4cxI0QFUtjewQRxqjLfR/s1600/process+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqkYmWu0WuFUiIF01K1r0yEHqkNmN7Mr1YFHH552SVZ5wV1vsjiZ81yXNd2tnbOkGE-VTes_YJVnaCbYCeQEny52texUVOMGC2BfDFXVBJhKJXd3S3tkfMtgi4cxI0QFUtjewQRxqjLfR/s1600/process+10.jpg" height="476" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">This still doesn't mean we're friends</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">That's it for this post! If you're still reading this, hopefully you gained some valuable niche knowledge about printer troubleshooting... if that's not the reason you're still reading, thanks for being an awesome friend or acquaintance or stranger with enough interest to make it to the end :)</span></div>
anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13902715050755057236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862199539219390241.post-2783956441814567312014-01-26T19:53:00.000-05:002014-05-16T09:18:22.966-04:00Print auction for Pittsburgh's Birmingham Clinic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIgaIprbthuEcicPoj5cL2SJhUQaulYoEWdLi5kSqBKtBreuerS3vHHtc9xgBHzTb2zGlz9qRELSohwO9ae2Cf_bU5JIvw70ytmRL0xDBWP_4cTTag6AU0r37Jyjx6zym_XPG5rMnjcqw/s1600/print+auction+poster.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIgaIprbthuEcicPoj5cL2SJhUQaulYoEWdLi5kSqBKtBreuerS3vHHtc9xgBHzTb2zGlz9qRELSohwO9ae2Cf_bU5JIvw70ytmRL0xDBWP_4cTTag6AU0r37Jyjx6zym_XPG5rMnjcqw/s1600/print+auction+poster.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Through my good friend Sara (the topic of <a href="http://makingtheprince.blogspot.com/2013/10/meet-illustrator.html">a previous post</a>) a few years ago I learned of the <a href="http://www.dom.pitt.edu/dgim/phcup/clinics.html">Birmingham Free Clinic</a> in Pittsburgh and their great work with providing health care to underserved populations. I've donated a few small things in the past for their annual auction. This year, Annie wanted to donate a full-sized print of a page from The Prince for the auction.<br />
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If you're in Pittsburgh, the auction is in <b>LR6 of Scaife Hall on the University of Pittsburgh campus</b>, at <b>6:30PM on Saturday February 1st, 2013. </b>Come bid on Penguins tickets, an iPad Mini, and other good stuff to support a good cause !<br />
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<br />Phu T. Vanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387116338244255104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862199539219390241.post-15188905776028282542014-01-11T21:42:00.000-05:002014-05-16T09:17:48.234-04:00Before The Prince, there was CrusoeThe Prince is not my first attempt at publishing a story. No, it seemed I had wanted to tell stories since I was a kid, and I wasn't slowed down by physical plausibility, logical consistency or conventionally-accepted grammar.<br />
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And thanks to my Mom's meticulous memento-keeping habits, I have proof from the fabled days of middle school: <br />
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The whole book was done in pencil, then inked in red, blue and a bit of green. Apparently this would be the first of many thrilling adventures. I can't recall exactly how long it took, but it was many weeks. If there was a mistake in the inked version, I would rewrite the whole page.<br />
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Ah, the classic "Once upon a time" opener. You can see the corrections I made using Wite-Out correction fluid, and my teacher's corrections in pencil.<br />
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The story moves quickly. By the second paragraph our protagonist Crusoe (any relation to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinson_Crusoe">a much better-known character</a> ?) already received his task of slaying the dragon of Black Mountain. Ten-year-olds do not have time to lose. Don't let the fact that his horse is named "Jolly" fool you, this story is not a peaceful one. The action picked up quickly:<br />
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<i>Then he said, "You are a very dangerous monster, I must kill you !!!"</i> <i>Crusoe
drew his sword and fought bravely. But the Fire Dragon was very big and
strong. Crusoe's strength was giving out and he fell to the ground.</i><br />
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As you can see, Crusoe was a man of action, a heroic figure who conveniently announces his intentions. Though perhaps he could have benefited from a bit more aerobic training, falling to the ground from exhaustion during a fight is a little embarrassing !<br />
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Black Mountain was clearly a metaphorical name, since the mountain is not colored in. (<span style="color: red;">CORRECTION-- my Mom tells me I didn't want to color in the mountain, afraid that the page will bleed though and I will get ink all over myself</span>). <br />
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More illustration. For a proudly talkative man, Crusoe had no visible mouth. Maybe he was doing a stoic stiff-upper-lip thing. It's also a bit odd that Crusoe faced *away* from the castle even though he had just arrived there. Maybe he was checking the surroundings to make sure he wouldn't be ambushed ?<br />
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A twist !!! The Fire Dragon turns out to be a prince who had been transformed by an evil wizard-prime minister Crome who usurped the throne after the prince's father died. Crusoe traveled to confront Crome at Richmon (not to be confused with the more conventional
RichmonD!).<br />
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<i>"But Crome was transformed [into] an owl and flew away. Crusoe took a bow, an arrow, and shot it. The owl fell down and it transformed into an egg. Crusoe broke the egg and it was transformed [into] a needle. Crusoe broke the needle and Crome was dead."</i><br />
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I'm sure this scene would have the budget of a small city if this was adapted into a JJ Abrams movie. If it was a Peter Jackson movie, it would be a small country.<br />
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An early attempt at cartography. I think I was getting impatient with the third act and needed to explain how Crusoe could get between places so quickly. Perhaps he had learned his lesson and built up aerobic capacity? He seemed to be walking everywhere, environmentally-friendly, but slow. I'm sure it's so he can keep his horse Jolly, well... jolly and just left him/her in the stable (<span style="color: red;">CORRECTION-- Mom: "It's because you couldn't draw a horse !"</span>). There were also an angel, more transformations, and well... more violence.<br />
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After his adventure predictably ends happily, Crusoe was invited to administer the country he had just saved.
I'm sure my parents were relieved that my career aspirations included
civil service and not just vigilantism and poor transportation choices.<br />
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So there you have it. Thankfully I have since left illustration in Annie's much more capable hands, and my narrative skills have improved over the years.<br />
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See you next week, when Annie will write a post that will likely *not* involve dragons.Phu T. Vanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387116338244255104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862199539219390241.post-37530173736139631292014-01-06T21:40:00.001-05:002014-05-16T09:35:29.426-04:00Completing the pencilling phase!Happy new year, everyone! The end of 2013 marks the completion of the first phase of our book - the pencils for every page of The Prince are now all finished! Yay!<br />
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When Phu and I met up this weekend to discuss the book, we shared stories about our holidays. He went back to Seattle, I went back to Toronto, and we both met up with friends and family who asked how the book was coming along.<br />
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<i>Flying out of Toronto, back to the Burgh</i></div>
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It sounds like Phu has already taken a number of pre-pre-orders from friends for "deluxe" editions of our book. And my awesome friend Jess, a true <a href="http://scaffoldingandpostcards.wordpress.com/">connaisseuse of cards</a>, put in a big order for some of our holiday greeting cards. We're really so lucky to have such supportive friends to share our excitement with us!<br />
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<i>On the right, the final page of our book!!</i></div>
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What does 2014 bring? Now that all the pencils are complete, I'll be inking and digitally colouring the pages. <a href="http://whatshouldwecallmedschool.tumblr.com/post/51376410778/when-4th-years-talk-about-all-the-free-time-they-have">The luxuries of 4th year med school</a> will likely allow me to finish this at a faster pace than I finished the pencils over the past year. Phu will be working on finding a suitable printing company to produce our final product. And finally, as complete these steps, we'll be lauching our Kickstarter campaign to fund our project... Keep following our blog for more updates!anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13902715050755057236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862199539219390241.post-86116515323824764752013-12-22T19:05:00.001-05:002014-05-16T09:35:43.638-04:00A short meeting of the minds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This week I made a short trip to Toronto to see Annie, who had gone home to take a well-deserved break, and to see Pikto, a well-regarded printing press in Toronto's Distillery District. Pikto had printed several of my photobooks and my cookbook in the past, and we were considering using them to print the final version of The Prince.<br />
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Pictured is Travis, my good friend who perhaps against better judgement agreed to drive me 350 miles in sleet, snow and rain only to be attacked by a tripod from H.G. Wells' "War of The Worlds". Thankfully, instead of death and destruction, the tripod only delivered messages of welcome and Pikto's production quality.<br />
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The Courtyard Kitchen on display in the Pikto gallery.<br />
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Annie
served as our enthusiastic tour guide through Toronto's
many neighborhoods, including Kensington, where we encountered a
possible future business partner. That is, if we ever decided to found a
restaurant instead of publishing books.<br />
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As our Director of Merchandising, Annie also made a soon-to-be-highly-sought-after The Prince mug. <br />
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After a year's worth of work, we're almost to our goal of seeing The Prince in print. I hope your year had been full of adventures, with many more to come in 2014 !<br />
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Warmest season's wishes,<br />
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--Phu, Annie and TravisPhu T. Vanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387116338244255104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862199539219390241.post-54853887985093363232013-12-12T17:44:00.001-05:002014-05-16T09:18:22.970-04:00How to get your holiday cardsIn other news, Phu has been working hard to make our holiday cards available for sale!! If you're interested in having your own <i>The Prince</i>-themed cards to send to your friends and family this holiday season, please check them out at <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/phuvan">www.etsy.com/shop/phuvan</a>. We have 4 designs, all printed on sturdy cardstock, and blank on the inside for you to personalize.<br /><br /><i>2 of our 4 holiday card designs, featuring the prince and his newly-named buddy, Schrödinger the cat:</i><br />
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Thanks to all our friends and family for your support! :)</div>
anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13902715050755057236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862199539219390241.post-51763867483315370462013-12-11T21:38:00.000-05:002014-05-16T09:36:17.983-04:00Winning cat name<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Thanks to everyone for voting a name for The Prince's cat friend! We now have a name for the little guy. </div>
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<i>Now presenting...</i></div>
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<a name='more'></a>Congrats to all our science nerd friends who voted for Schrödinger! Expect to hear from us and watch for your holiday cards in the mail. (To all our less nerdy friends out there, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOYyCHGWJq4">here's a brief summary</a> of all this Schrödinger fuss)<br />
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To everyone else (including the 4 NBA basketball players and the current Prime Minister of the UK) who submitted votes, thanks. And thanks for trying Jimmy and Travis... but sorry. Here are the final poll results:<br />
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<i>Whiskers - 1</i></div>
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<i>Billy - 3</i></div>
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<i>Schrödinger - 7</i></div>
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<i>Milo - 2</i></div>
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<i>Betz - 2<br />Scampers - 3</i></div>
anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13902715050755057236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862199539219390241.post-6265579373459596922013-12-04T11:19:00.000-05:002014-05-16T09:36:33.750-04:00Cat naming contest!<i>Annie wanted me to post this week since it's my turn. Since she had not only done amazing work drawing the cards, but also started writing the post, I didn't want to steal her thunder. </i><br />
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<i>So... I've decided instead to just post what she had written below:</i><br />
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<i>--Phu</i><br />
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Though he has been the Prince's companion throughout the book and you have seen him on the holiday cards, we have yet to give him a name. Surely he wouldn't just want to be known as "honey" or "darling" or "cute thing," so it's about time we name him. We recently asked you for name suggestions, and we've compiled some of them below - we'd love to hear from you about what name you think best fits our cat friend!<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The most popular name, based on votes over the next week, will be the winner. To add to the excitement, we'll be sending out a prize to everyone who voted for the winning name! Be sure to leave your name in the poll below for the chance to win an autographed holiday card !</div>
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anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13902715050755057236noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862199539219390241.post-82923143478507666642013-12-01T15:55:00.000-05:002014-05-16T09:36:52.228-04:00Holiday cards<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Although we'll be releasing The Prince in 2014, we prepared some goodies in time for this holiday season! In addition to finishing up pencils for the last few pages of the book, we've been working on some festive greeting cards featuring our main character and his feline companion.</div>
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Who is that cool cat you ask? Felines (such as well known inspirations such as <a href="http://ourutahlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/sled8001.gif">this guy</a>) are well known for their ability to provide moral support and act as philosophical sounding boards for the humans whose company they keep. What is this cat's name? That's for another post...</div>
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Look for our greetings in your mail, arriving soon!<br />
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<i>Want to send off some of your own The Prince-themed holiday cards, and support our early efforts? Watch for details about how to do this in an upcoming post :)</i></div>
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anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13902715050755057236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862199539219390241.post-19116392657225468132013-11-16T23:14:00.004-05:002014-05-16T09:37:06.571-04:00The origins of The PrinceThe Prince had a rather long journey before he ever came alive under Annie's pencil (pen ? quill ? charcoal nib ?).<br />
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<i>(cue water-ripple flashback movie effect)</i></div>
The year was 2004. I was in college at the University of Washington, which is in Seattle, and <b>not</b> St. Louis. The other common misconception is that typical UW students looked like this:<br />
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This is completely untrue. These would be students of The Evergreen State College, 70 miles to the south. Actually, I lied. These are what you get if you typed "hippies" into Google Image Search and take the 3rd result. In any case, UW students looked like this:<br />
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The other person in this photo is Jason, a then-coworker. Jason has since gone on to become incredibly successful, so this is both shameless name-dropping and an attempt to embarrass people using old photos without context. It <b>is</b> true, however, that UW students are prepared for any emergency if it involves indoor carpentry and ill-fitting labcoats.<br />
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In any case, between practicing lab safety and not wearing tie-dyed Tshirts or getting sensible haircuts, I was talking to my father about what I wanted to do with my life. I was typically very ... spirited (to put it very mildly) in these conversations, while my father was characteristically calm, erudite and understanding. He emphasized that whatever advice he may give me, it's important for me to find my own path and not to be caught in anyone's shadow, even if it was his.<br />
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As is often the case in life, I didn't realize the importance of these conversations until later. And when I did, I thought they would make for a good story, since they were both personal and universal. After the words came together, the quest was on for an illustrator !<br />
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<b>Attempt 1</b>: My first stop was my friend Ben, who was an illustrator for our highschool newspaper. We knew each other well and actually made a short movie together in highschool. Ben was backpacking around the world but had his sketchbook with him and regular access to Internet cafes. He had time to do a quick fun sketch for me unrelated to the project:<br />
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However, as he got to more remote areas he felt he needed more time on his trip. I began a semester of unusually intense classes and we fell out of touch. <b>Lesson learned: traveling around the world makes collaboration very, very difficult.</b><br />
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<b>Attempt 2</b>: a classmate who doodled a lot. She made several backgrounds before saying that she didn't really like the story. <b>Lesson learned: make sure the story resonate with the artist.</b><br />
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<b>Attempt 3</b>: a friend of a friend who was a commercial illustrator. She was working on so many projects that ultimately things didn't work out.<b> Lesson learned: make sure the artist has enough time.</b><br />
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I think there were one or two others, but things never got past the initial meeting. I believed in the story, so I didn't care how long I had to look, I wanted someone who was as passionate about making The Prince as I was. I learned a lot about publishing books (a topic for a future post?), and after a few tries, I also developed a sense for whether the project would take off. On our first meeting, Annie had organized her portfolio, questions for the story and asked for a timeline. My sense didn't fail me and a year later, here we are !<br />
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--Phu<br />
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PS: As shocking as it may seem, the "Phu 2.0" sketch had some basis in fact: I neither have a cape nor that much upper body strength, but I <b>was</b> a member of the UW Kendo Club and <b>did</b> wear glasses at one point. I think Ben was trying to be flattering by implying I was good at many things, I actually find it a little alarming that I would hold a sword while reading, even if it was only a wooden one. Phu T. Vanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387116338244255104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862199539219390241.post-50865817514867298062013-11-10T14:38:00.002-05:002014-05-16T09:37:17.413-04:00From sketch to final product<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Some of you have asked me about my illustration process, so I thought I'd do a post on it. The following is a step-by-step description of my process, which I mostly figured out by doing what amateurs do best - looking things up on the internet.<br />
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You may have gotten a glimpse of some pages from the book - like the page with the castle - in the video from <a href="http://makingtheprince.blogspot.com/2013/10/welcome-to-the-prince.html">our first post</a>. Here is how it was made:</div>
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<b>1) The pencil sketch</b><br />
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When we first started, Phu sent me the text of his story along with ideas for the illustrations. This page is about halfway through the book, and represents a turning point in the story. I wanted to draw a castle under a foreboding sky with dramatic clouds. When drawing things that I have a hard time imagining, I turn to the the same resource I use for <a href="http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=google+scholar+better+than+pub+med%3F&btnG=&as_sdt=1%2C39&as_sdtp=">literature searches</a> and advice on whether <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=garlic+shoot+safe+to+eat%3F&oq=garlic+shoot+safe+to+eat%3F&aqs=chrome..69i57.3188j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8">garlic cloves are safe to eat</a> after they've been in my fridge for so long they start sprouting: Google. </div>
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<i><span style="text-align: left;">Google, please google "</span><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=clouds+perspective&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=g-B-UqH_BrT64APOsIDADA&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=899" style="text-align: left;">clouds perspective</a><span style="text-align: left;">."</span></i></div>
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<a name='more'></a><b>2) Scan in pencils</b><br />
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I scan the pencil into my computer, then make the sketch blue in Photoshop. I do this so that when I ink the pencils and rescan them, the blue lines should theoretically disappear more easily than grey/black pencil lines. I learned there are a few ways to do this in Photoshop. Here is is <a href="http://burningmonster.blogspot.com/2013/02/pencil-drawing-to-non-photo-blue.html">one</a> way, here is <a href="http://jesseacosta.deviantart.com/journal/A-quick-tip-about-scanning-non-photo-blue-223893949">another</a>.</div>
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<i>One could also ink directly over the pencils. However, I'm (a) afraid I'll mess </i><i>up </i></div>
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<i>with inking and ruin the original sketch, and (b) can't be bothered to erase pencil lines.</i></div>
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<b>3) Ink</b><br />
Next, I print out the blue copy onto bristol board, and ink over it with a brush pen. This is my favourite part. It's the kind of activity that is relaxing because it's a thoughtless motor task. I usually do this while listening to Jian Ghomeshi ask pop culture icons leading questions.<br />
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I did these clouds in a style inspired by a beautifully intricate drawing I saw at the <a href="http://www.societyillustrators.org/Mocca.aspx?id=8560">Museum of Comic and Cartoon Ar</a>t in NYC. It was so awesome, I took a photo of it:<br />
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<b>4) Scan in ink drawing</b><br />
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With some tweaking of the contrast in Photoshop, the blue lines disappear faster than a fart in a fan factory.<br />
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<b>5) Digital colouring</b></div>
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I thought this step would be easy, but I was quickly humbled. I won't bore you with the details, but basically, I inverted the black and white drawing and added colour and shadows in Photoshop. (If you're interested in the details, I learned from <a href="http://designinstruct.com/drawing-illustration/how-to-color-inked-line-art-in-photoshop/">this excellent tutorial</a>.)</div>
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And there you have it! That's the basic process for each page. Before starting this project, I don't think I quite appreciated how much time goes into each step. For example, I thought I was slow when I spent 2-3 hours inking this page, but then I watched <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KdMUQVQcig&feature=share&list=UUYa4etm-VJfPAgMC_07WFgw">this guy</a> explain how it usually takes him about 24 hours to ink one page of his comic book, and realized how much more time and care goes into doing really top notch job.<br />
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Anyway, thanks for reading! Send us your comments/questions/suggestions and we'll compile some for a future post!<br />
<br />anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13902715050755057236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862199539219390241.post-45235410405476502082013-11-02T20:25:00.000-04:002014-05-16T09:37:34.861-04:00Meet the author !I realized I haven't properly introduced myself in my first post. Who is this stranger writing a children's story book ?<br />
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Well, I'm a PhD student at CarnegieMellon in Pittsburgh. My lab is in the department of Biological Sciences, and I spend a lot of time building things, so some people call me an engineer.<br />
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"That has nothing to do with writing children's books !!!", you say. You're right ! I guess it's more informative to say I like trying new things.<br />
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My first love is photography. The photo below was taken at my 3rd birthday party, in Saigon. My attempt at photographing my friends was quickly abandoned when the cake arrived, and the party was a quiet, sedate affair. At least that's the version my parents told. Since my report cards from this period regularly included the phrase "Phu is sociable but also incorrigibly disruptive", I feel the reality may have been a bit different. <br />
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<i>I'm not sure what camera I'm looking at here, </i></div>
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<i>but my Dad took this photo with his Canonet. </i></div>
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<i>No fruit or child-friendly beverage was harmed during this production.</i></div>
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<a name='more'></a>Fortunately, I eventually extended my subject range to more animated subjects, later in life in Seattle:</div>
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I came to college to study Wildlife Science, and did a brief internship at the US Forest Service,</div>
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<i>Everyone was smiling since they knew I would be the first in the group </i></div>
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<i>to be eaten by wild animals when we go into the field</i></div>
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then another internship at the Institute for Systems Biology (notice the famously grey Seattle skies):</div>
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<i>The most color-coordinated lab in western United States</i></div>
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Around this time I became interested in publishing. Since I have accumulated a large collection of photographs, I wanted to publish photobooks. I printed the books myself since I was young and impatient (incorrigibly impatient ? College transcripts did not include professor comments). Shortly afterwards, the University of Washington School of Art limited the number of pages students could print in their computer labs on a single day, though that could have been a coincidence. In any case, the next few books were printed by commercial presses:</div>
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My second love is food, brought on by chronic Oliver Twist-like hunger during college. A while back I collected recipes from friends, made 51 recipes in 90 days, and compiled a book from the photographs. My neighbors were convinced I was running an underground restaurant, and the local Giant Eagle grocery store regretted ever creating their frequent shoppers rewards program. After 20-odd years, I once again photographed food.</div>
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<i>"'Return from a successful goose hunt' is a perfectly acceptable first step in a recipe!"</i></div>
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<i>--Chris (wearing blue t-shirt in Forest Service photo above)</i></div>
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<i>"Does this have a name ? If not you should call it 'The Panty Dropper' !" --Sara*</i></div>
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<i>"Don't your friends resent you for making them fat ?" --Mom**</i></div>
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I hope this post gives you and impression of who I am and what I do. "The Prince" is another adventure that I'm very excited about, and I hope you will support us ! Until next time,</div>
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--Phu</div>
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*You're probably wondering what recipe could elicit such a comment from an otherwise poised and delicately eloquent future physician. "Love's Triumph Tiramisu", and all recipes from the cookbook is available at the <a href="http://courtyardkitchen.blogspot.com/p/introduction.html">Courtyard Kitchen companion blog</a>.</div>
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** Yes, but since I'm incorrigibly social my friends tend to forgive me quickly.</div>
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Phu T. Vanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387116338244255104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862199539219390241.post-26893188649052050692013-10-30T21:07:00.001-04:002014-05-16T09:17:48.238-04:00This will go for millions on e-bay somedayI told my mom about this project and she found some old drawings to demonstrate how far my fine motor skills have come. My grade 1 teacher had our class write and draw stories that she compiled each month into a newsletter for our parents to display on the fridge with pride (or with concern, depending on spelling ability, subject matter, etc). She also had us make books which she published like an O.H.* using a dot matrix printer, laminating machine, and staples.<br />
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I think this one was about a girl who went rollerblading down a big hill, got in trouble with her mom, cried, and then she woke up because it was all a dream, obviously. I am still awaiting congratulatory call from the Newbery Medal award committee...<br />
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*original hipsteranniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13902715050755057236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862199539219390241.post-70248491548665189622013-10-26T23:10:00.001-04:002014-05-16T09:38:11.773-04:00Meet the illustrator!Greetings! This is Annie, I'm doing the illustrations for <i>The Prince</i>. I first met Phu through our mutual friend and my classmate, Sara (look out for her in a future video!). When he first approached me about this project, I was a bit nervous. My drawing CV up until that point included such prestigious publications as: my journal; margins of lecture notes; thank-you cards. I've always liked to draw on my own, but this sounded like a much bigger project than I'd ever done before.<br />
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<b>Some pre-<i>The Prince</i> drawings</b></div>
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<i>Riding the subway</i><br />
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<i style="text-align: center;">Doing "art" under the pretense of studying</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzyJ3ZLvDEt6r3EnAEcJ8Nesjd6EnrpVEK5kodj-Yk5k2_rPxnqQQ_o8vU1YUZJyVp763aqWy7I7oz3KSoajT__Yp1e-3cskmt-yA5sRtOxIwJ5W6I5S-NPVCpTUVq1BiYzCAxQcm-KT6e/s1600/sara.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzyJ3ZLvDEt6r3EnAEcJ8Nesjd6EnrpVEK5kodj-Yk5k2_rPxnqQQ_o8vU1YUZJyVp763aqWy7I7oz3KSoajT__Yp1e-3cskmt-yA5sRtOxIwJ5W6I5S-NPVCpTUVq1BiYzCAxQcm-KT6e/s320/sara.jpg" height="210" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>My drawing of Sara that inspired her to </i><i>bring </i><i>me </i><br />
<i>and Phu together to work on this project</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTCbbyBPtLKH-dW9jhRTvi_rga3iWYRQSkQAf1aoxKb4cCoQ9kD5HYfpxPQClYjYeqXy6zFnyYkadh7iYjcUp-ly_jM79H_Tti5ygBCK-iq8JfOg6pmFqQtfsyQfCVuQzIUbWh66mtnXg1/s1600/sara+as+simba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTCbbyBPtLKH-dW9jhRTvi_rga3iWYRQSkQAf1aoxKb4cCoQ9kD5HYfpxPQClYjYeqXy6zFnyYkadh7iYjcUp-ly_jM79H_Tti5ygBCK-iq8JfOg6pmFqQtfsyQfCVuQzIUbWh66mtnXg1/s320/sara+as+simba.jpg" height="320" width="179" /></a></div>
<i>My preferred rendition of Sara, as </i><i>Simba on Pride Rock</i><br />
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I was hesitant at first, but when I met Phu, read his story, and heard his plans, I really loved the message he wanted to convey through this book, and his vision and heartfelt enthusiasm for this project. We started working together in January, and it's been a wonderful creative adventure ever since!<br />
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And through this blog, you're invited to come on this magic carpet ride with us. We'll be documenting our process here, from first pencil sketches to colouring in Photoshop, from story development to our forthcoming Kickstarter campaign.<br />
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We'd also love to hear from you! Please comment or e-mail us with any questions or comments you have (about the book, project, who we are, where do babies come from, etc) and we'll respond to them in upcoming Q&A posts.<br />
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--Annieanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13902715050755057236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2862199539219390241.post-34396753817537899912013-10-22T09:56:00.002-04:002013-10-25T17:20:14.037-04:00Welcome to The Prince !Hi everyone,<br />
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Welcome to the blog for "The Prince" ! This is a children's book I wrote with illustrations by my good friend Annie. We will start a KickStarter campaign to print our book, you can see our video announcement below:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/zLkCvl-nZk0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div>
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To give you some ideas of the book, we will post the story of how the book comes to be, new art as Annie
creates them, and photos of
KickStarter goodies as they are made. Stay tuned ! <br />
<br />Phu T. Vanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387116338244255104noreply@blogger.com0