My earlier talk of records and album cover artwork has inspired me crack open an old book that I’ve not looked at in some time. Upon opening it, I immediately saw that it was more influential than I realized.

I purchased Roger and Martyn Dean’s Magnetic Storm back in 1984 when I was 15 years old. I was blown away the dynamic, colorful dragons that adorned the book jacket (and the then-popular band, Asia’s album cover).

Now that I look at it, their designs most definitely influenced my creature designs in Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide, especially the colorful patterning.

More importantly though, I remember copying their totally cool hand-drawn-lettering. This element has become an integral part of my book-making philosophy to this day.

In our digital world of “Anything can become a font”, I have relished the fact that most of my books have hand-drawn titling - something I seriously first took notice of while copying images out of my copy of Magnetic Storm. Seriously, why wouldn’t the titling to a piece of art not come from the same mind-space, the same vision, the same hand, as the image it is meant to compliment?

Roger and Martyn have done many tomes on their various contributions to books, albums, conceptual art, and architecture. Give their site a look-see, and by all means check out one of their titles - I guarantee it will inspire you.

Some serious Spiderwicky goodness arrived in my mailbox this week. Check out these gems:

These are just AWESOME guys (and gals)! Keep’em comin…

This ran in today’s Publisher’s Weekly:

A Tasty Promotion for Spiderwick
By Karen Raugust — Publishers Weekly, 1/17/2008

Simon and Schuster has partnered with General Mills for a 10 million-box, five-brand cereal promotion tied to the Spiderwick Chronicles. Running from January 1 to March 1, the promotion’s timing is tied to the Spiderwick film being released in February. But its focus is entirely on the books. In fact, when the two companies started talking about the partnership, the film was optioned but didn’t have a green light, so it wasn’t a factor in the deal, according to Laura Ferguson, S&S director of premiums, CDP and corporate sales.

Specially marked boxes of Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs, Reese’s Puffs, Cookie Crisps and Honey Nut Cheerios will include one of three collectible books based on the second title in the Spiderwick series, The Seeing Stone. The three will be evenly distributed among the 10 million boxes, with each store receiving some of each title. The cover is visible through a clear window in each box.

Each book features a third of the original story with a special introduction and conclusion, followed by a brand-new prequel story and illustrations created by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black in conjunction with GM and S&S. The new material, which comprises about 10 to 15 of the 64 pages in each book, is available only through the GM promotion.

This project has taken almost 2 years to complete. But, having VERY fond memories of getting a cool prize in a cereal box as a kid, I do think it was worth it. Holly and I created “Lost Chapters” (with new art) for the Spiderwick universe.

One lost chapter is about Thimbletack becoming a boggart, another is how the troll’s bridge was destroyed, and the last one was how Hogsqueal (or Hoggy, as I call him) was captured by the goblins.

Hopefully, if you are already a fan of the books, you’ll enjoy these little sidetracks. The cool thing is that the boxes have a window showing you what book is inside, so you won’t have to eat your weight in Lucky Charms only to find a duplicate prize…man, I hated when that happened as a kid.

Angela came across a writing contest, “The Ultimate Fantasy Fan”, that was being run by Spiderwick studio Paramount Pictures and Harry Potter fan club, Mugglenet. The winner of which will be able to interview folks attending the Los Angeles premiere! A 13-year old gal, Amanda, won and here is her killer essay.

I can’t begin to describe what it feels like to have created a world which has inspired so many young (and old) imaginations. I feel so honored to be part of this fantastic culture; yet, I usually work at home with only my public events (like book-signings) to receive the praise from fans. So seeing others exhibit their creativity, like in this clever essay, truly touches me and, in turn, inspires me to create more.

Rock on Amanda! I’ll be looking for you on the red carpet and in bookstores in the future.

Boy, they’ve come a long way since Atari’s Adventure, and Legend of Zelda! Here are some screen-shots of the Spiderwick video game which will have more characters and settings than what is in the movie, check out these Xbox shots:

…and here are some from the Playstation:

(*btw, the platform system links take you to pages with many more shots)

The game designers were up on set when Holly and I were there and we were able to brainstorm a bit and offer some ideas. I know you will be able to play Jared, Simon, Mallory and Thimbletack! SO COOL! Can’t wait to fence as Mal on the Wii!

7 year-old Jake is a big Spiderwick fan and sent us this killer drawing of a goblin running through the woods!

What’s awesome in this piece is his sense of background AND perspective. I’ve seen college student work that don’t tackle this sort of thing – only focusing on the character design and missing the environment to house it. So KUDOS to you Jake! Keep on drawin!

Found at the local supermarket today: