I had the opportunity of re-imagining and re-illustrating the first Pern book, Dragonflight, in 2002. And, though it met with mixed reviews with Anne’s diehard fans (including her editor at Delrey Books), I was honored to be a part of the Pern legacy. I still have my dog-eared paperback, with Michael Whelan’s classic 80′s cover, from my middle school days.

I never met Anne, and honestly I don’t know if she saw my interpretation of her world. Regardless, her words did inspire me greatly and I believe they will continue to do so for many generations of readers who dare to imagine.

Here’s a desktop image I’ve made for my fellow Pern fans. Simply click the image for a hi-res file.

This collection of fairy tales from around the world was a favorite in the DiTerlizzi household when I was a kid. We could pick any color book we wanted (there was The Red Fairy Book, The Green Fairy Book, The Lilac Fairy Book…you get the idea) and my mom would read stories from them to us at bedtime. In later years, I would attempt to copy Ford’s intricate linework and design. His sense of composition and iconic illustration style certainly had an impact on me, especially on the Spiderwick chapter book illustrations.

Never heard of H.J. Ford? Most probably have not. Its odd how his legacy is eclipsed by contemporaries of his time such as Arthur Rackham or Ernest Shepard – both of whom I am sure were looking at his work. However, in Ford’s art you can see the influence of the Pre-Raphealites more so than say, Rackham’s, and I like that. Its as if he were the illustrator equivalent to John Everett Millais or Edward Burne-Jones. His black & white imagery is of danger and drama, mixed with beauty and youth, against that lush English landscape.

There is no question that Ford’s art inspired illustrators working today. Michael Hague cites him as an influence and has collected first editions of all the colored fairy books (so jealous). I would even venture a bet that up-and-comer, Jeremy Bastian, has Ford’s blood pumping through ink-filled veins of awesomeness, especially in his comic, Cursed Pirate Girl.

In addition to the fairy books, Ford also teamed up with Lang on other collections such as The Arabian Nights Entertaiments and The Red Book of Animal Stories -both favorites of mine. In Animal Stories, there are tales of unicorns, basilisks, and even a re-telling of Beowulf.

There is so much art in these tomes (about 40-50 illus in each), and they came out in such a short period (the fairy books came out from 1889-1910), that I am amazed Ford was able to keep up the quality during the workload. Every illustration is a polished gem. I suppose not having Facebook, Bluray movies or a Wii as a distraction has its merits.

These scans are from the few first editions I have collected over the years and are at actual size. Click’em, download’em and prepare to be amazed.

Now THAT is a Fire Giant…

…and THAT is how you draw a wizard…

…and a witch…

…looks like someone failed their saving throw…

…we even reproduced Ford’s version of a hob in Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You. Above is the version as it appeared in The Pink Fairy Book back in 1897.

Are you frothing for more Ford? Head on over to books by Dover and grab your copies of these classics at an affordable price.

Back in August of 2003, as I began work for the fourth Spiderwick book, I started thinking about re-illustrating a classic text after the Spiderwick series was complete. I spoke with my editor at the time, Kevin, and he thought it a good idea – especially given how well my rendition of The Spider & The Fly was received.

We discussed lesser-known classics that might be enjoyed by readers of today and arrived at Edgar Rice Burroughs’ A Princess of Mars. Like his other classic, Tarzan of the Apes, Burroughs’ sci-fi adventure was action packed with lots of fighting, rescuing and all around swashbuckling. I loved it when I first read it in middle school and I still love it today.

Aside from the coveted Frank Frazetta Doubleday editions, which came out in the 1970′s, no one had really tackled publishing a re-illustrated edition since Frank Schoonover painted the illustrations for the 1917 first edition. Excited, I began to re-read A Princess of Mars with sketchbook at my side.

I soon theorized that to bring in a new audience of young readers I would initially shift my focus away from the human characters – like the hero, John Carter, or the martian princess, Dejah Thoris – and spend time on the unique alien life forms. More specifically: the unusual four-armed Tharks, the tribal aliens that John battles throughout most of the story. It was in their redesign that I focused most of my creativity.

As I worked through the variations of Burroughs’ martians, I thought of my own story centered around the wandering alien. I revisited (what would become) Rovender’s design during the Princess of Mars sketch session. As I do so, I infused some of my Thark designs and felt like I had made some serious headway on his general appearance, which in turn, began to inform his personality.

In the end, Spiderwick‘s success and hectic schedule did not allow me the time to illustrate A Princess of Mars. I did continue with my “new take on a classic” idea and it evolved into Kenny & The Dragon. The energy for designing the characters for Burroughs’ world went into designing characters for my own world. But, as a nod, we designed the WondLa logo to harken back to those old John Carter books that I cherished.

Over the years, I wondered if I’d made the right move in letting A Princess of Mars slip away. I remember having a chat with Brian Selznick about this very thing: spending time and energy illustrating a classic versus your own material and he concurred that, despite the allure, my choice to focus on my own stories was the best decision. After all, the original text will always have its original illustrator – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has Sir John Tenniel, Winnie-the-Pooh has Ernest Shepard and so on. Perhaps, one day, my name will become synonymous with certain texts. I suppose only time will tell.

PS – Last year, I was approached by my WondLa editor, David, about illustrating the first three Mars books by Burroughs – Yes! A second chance! To say that I was over the martian moons would be an understatement.

But reality set in and I realized my workload had changed very little since 2003 (a good problem to have for sure). Even though I already handed in a cover sketch (seen above), I had to pass once again. In turning down the offer, I did send over a dream-list of illustrators who I thought could really bring Mars to life. I included established names as well as up-and-coming talent. Simon & Schuster is set to publish two books (the first three Mars stories in one volume and a new anthology – both illustrated), which will be released in February of next year. They hired many of the names on my dream-list including friend (and fellow Magic the Gathering artist) Mark Zug for the marvelous painted covers. I’ve had a sneak-peek at some of the interior art and it is awesome!

In Part 3: As WondLa becomes a reality for me, I refine Rovender’s design while trying to keep from becoming too Star Warsy.

Its a certain style of illustration, that which entices little ones to color while allowing freedom to be creative while doing so. As the father of a four-year old, I’ve been reminded how relaxing coloring can be. Perhaps its because I can shut off my mind and fill in-between the lines of a completed image while basking in the scent of waxy crayons or inky felt-tipped markers.

I remember I colored A LOT when I was young. My mom actually made a deal with us DiTerlizzi kids that, “if you complete a coloring book, I’ll buy you a new one.” That was a pretty awesome deal and I took great pride in my colorized masterpieces. I’m excited to share with you a few of my favorites, thanks to a recent discovery exhumed from the strata of my parent’s old storage unit.

Like many grade-school boys, dinosaurs were alive and well in my bedroom. From the Aurora Prehistoric Scenes models on my book shelf to posters of Charles Knight’s lush paintings taped to my wall, you stepped back into the Mesozoic when you stepped through my door. Lying on the shag carpet, among the Hot Wheels cars and Marx dinosaur playset, you would have found the above gem published in 1975 by Whitman. The scenes inside were begging for you enter them with a box full of Crayola ammunition.

…hmmm, I’m not sure why Gorgosaurus is labeled as a horned dinosaur here…but then again, scientists didn’t know as much back in the 70′s as they know today.

Some years later my parents bought me this one beautifully drawn by Anthony Rao and published by Dover.

I loved the art in here so much I didn’t dare mar it with my sub-par coloring ability. It remains pristine to this day (spare for the colored pteranodon, a personal fav). Here’s a page for you to enjoy Anthony’s line-work (click the image for a larger file):

As I said, my Hot Wheels collection was right in this prehistoric mix, and the official coloring book (also published by Whitman in 1978) allowed you to dream about owning a tiny garage full of the Hot Wheels classics like “Poison Pinto”, “Spoiler Sport” and “Super Van” painted any way you like. A little over half of my copy was colored, and I think my rule then was only to color the cars that I actually owned. Too bad my parents didn’t find those bad boys in their storage unit…sigh.

Vrooom! Here’s a little 1970′s Hot Wheels action for you to color up (click the image for a larger file):

But the golden-tinted memory of coloring, for me, was in 5th grade. Now I know what you’re thinking, “That’s a little old for coloring books, isn’t it, Tony?” Not when it was one of Troubador Press’ cherished coloring albums.

The Troubador coloring albums debuted in the 1970′s and covered a wide variety of subjects, however, their main focus was wildlife – from North American Sea Life to Bird Life and even Ice Age animals. They were large in size (11×14″) and contained detailed descriptions to accompany the flowing line-work of artist, Gompers Saijo, who illustrated many of the books in the series.

They were available in the nicer indie bookstores and art supply shops where I grew up. I even saw them in the early 1990′s at the local The Nature Company store. Sadly, like The Nature Company, Troubador Press went the way of the dinosaur in the 90′s, but the memory of these beautifully designed albums still lingers. Here, give one page a try and see what I mean (click the image for a larger file):

Today, the Troubador coloring albums are available in the used and secondhand market, some with hefty price tags. As I poked around searching for my old favorites, I came across a 1979 coloring album for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons(!) How could 10-year old Tony have missed this?

Do you feel robbed too? Below is one of the pages for your enjoyment (just click the image for a larger file) . There are lots of images from this 70′s gem out there if you do a search (I even found a pdf of the entire book). Time to bust out my pack of rainbow markers!

I’m a bit swept away by the response from last week’s homage to Tolkien’s masterpiece about his miniature hero. Between here, Rivendell and facebook I’ve realized that there are many elves, dwarves and orcs who love Middle Earth as much as I.

So, as a reprise, I thought I’d dig into my Mines of Moria (aka my Art Archive on My External HD) and see what scraps and bits I had floating around in the digital ether from my brief stint as an “Official Cover Painter for Hobbitses”.

What I found right away, (that I’d completely forgotten) was a decent sketch of the great hero, Tuor, as a possible alternative to cover for Unfinished Tales. Clearly, this would have projected a much more epic image for the book jacket, but the coziness of Tolkien’s own hobbit-hole won out. Below is the color study for that.

After the sketch was approved, I donned my fanciest hobbit-made attire and struck a quick pose. As with any photographic reference, no one photo captures all the elements you need, and so several photos were utilized to create a final sketch of Mr. Baggins.

You can check out how it all came together in the final painting posted last week.

Also in my Illustration Mines of Moria, I discovered some pen & ink drawings of D&D (ahem) “halflings” that were done for player-character sheets that I sold back in my gaming-art days. As mentioned before, my halfings were inspired by the hobbits of my childhood, though I also realized there was a bit of Frank Frazetta in there, especially from his “Lord of the Rings” portfolio released in 1975.

Click the image below to marvel at Fraz’ fabulous inkwork.

Have a wondrous weekend My Preciouses and DON’T LEAVE THE PATH.

Like most of the literate world, I adored J.R.R. Tolkien’s first foray into Middle-Earth when I read The Hobbit back in middle school. To me, it was an epic tale that I devoured like a hungry troll in between my games of Dungeons & Dragons and Adventure on my Atari 2600. My reality as a pimply lollipop-headed geek disappeared each time I slipped on the ring, opened my dog-eared tome, and plunged into the wilderwood of hobbits, elves, dwarves and dragons.

What I didn’t grasp then, is that the copy I read contained drawings by that Gandalf of great storytelling himself. I adored Tolkien’s decorative, almost Kay Nielsen-esque, images of Hobbiton, the Trolls and the mighty Smaug.

Tolkien’s images were further brought to life in the 1977 made-for-TV animated film adaptation done by none other than the holiday-celebrated-stop-motion messiahs, Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass.

The Rankin & Bass rendition of The Hobbit not only galvanized my neverending storybook love of all of Middle Earth, it took it to new heights with its Arthur Rackhamy watercolor backgrounds, somewhat-grotesque character designs and sinister songs.

Here’s a couple of scans from the book adaptation of the film. (Click for a larger view)

Yes, to some this version may not hold up, but I feel that this adaptation of the story lured in a new generation of young hobbits ready for more adventures. And the nostalgia for the Rankin & Bass film absolutely affected my drawing style as can be seen by this 1997 cover to Dragon magazine.

After I graduated art school, I came across Michael Kaluta’s outstanding work done for the 1994 Tolkien Calendar. A calendar!? This phenomenal work should have been put in a leather bound re-illustrated book of its own! Sigh…someday.

I still fondly remember spending a rainy afternoon in Michael’s cramped-n-cozy toy-filled studio in the Upper West Side and begging him to pull out the originals for this which he reluctantly obliged. As I looked through these ink-and-watercolor masterpieces I was quickly overwhelmed with a wave of inspiration and a caustic dose of artistic ineptitude. To this day, Kaluta’s passionate visions of Middle Earth are the work of true wizardry.

A few years later, I actually got to add a little to the Tolkien universe myself(!) when the art director for Del Rey books rang me up to ask if I’d be interested illustrating a new cover for Tolkien’s Unfinished Tales. (Actually when he called, It was one of the few times in my life where I thought I would pass out on the other end of the telephone).

Needless to say, I put my best hairy hobbit foot forward and strove for a unique pic of Bilbo Baggins reading through Tolkien’s handwritten manuscripts. I am pretty sure the Tolkien estate approved this image, so it was a nice day at the DiTerlizzi shire when copies of this gem arrived on my hobbit hole doorstep.

The impact of Tolkien’s magic world still reverberates with me to this day as I am sure it does with many. I re-read The Hobbit last spring in between drafts of The Search for WondLa to see how he handled the passage of time during the journey. (In fact, the camping scene in Chapter 19 was added after the reading). Lastly, I saw how Tolkien was credited on the title page and borrowed the same wording for mine. Though I have penned several picture books a chapter book, and helped plot Spiderwick, WondLa was the first time I truly felt like an author.

Thanks, John, may you continue to inspire and entertain as you journey to the Undying Lands of the West.

Here is a photo of Tolkien’s original artwork done for the first edition. It is rendered in pencil, black ink, watercolor and white gouache. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children still offers a facsimile edition of this. (Click for a larger view)

Update: This blog feeds into my facebook page where there has also been some great reminisces going on as well. As I mentioned there, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Michael Hague’s rendition or the Brother’s Hildebrandt. In fact, those calendars the Hildebrandt’s did were right up there with the original Star Wars poster in epic awesomeness.

Lastly, I found this wonderful sketch from a proposal by Maurice Sendak done back in 1967. As far as I can gather, he was to meet with Tolkien to discuss an illustrated edition, but suffered a heart attack(!) and the project never came to be…sigh.

1. It is packed with an amazing cross section of the best books in print created for children.

2. It also carries a serious amount of out-of-print and antiquarian books.

3. There’s a cupcake bakery inside the store. You read that right.

I’ve known the owner, Peter, since I started making kid’s books and he’s always been supportive of my work. He and I enjoy a good banter on Golden Age illustrators and some of their lesser known books. One treasure that I was very happy to find on this visit was a second edition of Arthur B. Frost’s Stuff & Nonsense from 1888.

If you don’t know Frost’s work, you should. He was an illustrator, painter and cartoonist. He illustrated for Lewis Carroll and Joel Chandler Harris’ Uncle Remus stories. His action packed images, matched with captions paves the way for sequential art (like comic strips and comic books). And he was an awesome ink master. Check this out:

This is from a short comic in the book called “the Fatal mistake” about a poor cat that eats rat poison. I discovered this sequence back in high school in a library book. I photocopied the images and taped them into my sketchbooks – that’s how far back my love of Frost goes.

I think it is his ability to freeze action, like looking at an animated cel, and caricature at the same time, that blows my mind. There are not many that could, or can, do this (though Peter DeSeve does come to mind).

Though I dedicated the Spiderwick books to Rackham – and he certainly was my main influence, I also looked at a lot of Frost. I like the frenetic ink style and the bony blocky form of the figures. Rackham’s line was calligraphic, elegant even when he was drawing gnarled old oak trees. Frost looked like he was painting with the line…on a half-dozen cups of coffee. Trust me, that’s hard to do.

Here are some larger jpegs to check out – just click them for a bigger view:

Also, it looks like Fanta-Graphic Books might have brought Stuff and Nonsense back in print in 2003. Pick up and copy and be ready to weep – this work is untouchable.

PS – I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that though Frost rocks it, he was active during a not-so-politically correct period of American history. That said, his caricatures of minorities are typical of the period and not nice. There were only a couple images in the entire original edition of Stuff & Nonsense (and I am not sure if the Fanta-Graphics edition pulls them), but I just thought this was worth mentioning. Of course, I don’t endorse such imagery in any way.