A Very Small Wizard

By Justin Gerard

A Very Small Wizard

Whom I offended when I met him on a path in the old forest. 

I kicked a stone at him and yelled, "stay out of my way! I'm a very important person with no time for little people who run about in their pajamas."

He ducked the stone and mumbled a wild curse. Then disappeared among the leaves.  

When I got home I had a terrible case of poison ivy. 

The Palencar Project

Introducing the Palencar Project

By DAVID HARTWELL

One day I was walking down the hall past the Tor Books art department and noticed, not for the first time, a fine painting by John Jude Palencar in the hallway. On that day, my curiosity got the better of me and I asked Irene Gallo what it was to be used for, or if it had been used and I had missed it.



She said that in fact it was unassigned, and she needed to find a book for which it would be appropriate.

And without missing a step I said, “I could commission stories based on it.” You see, writers of a certain age and experience know what that means.



Long ago in the time of the pulp fiction magazines the cover artists often got paid more than the writers for their work. A good cover, after all, could really sell a lot of magazines. For the less prosperous magazines, sometimes a good cover was bought before the fiction was even written. This gave an ironic and ambiguous meaning to the phrase “the cover story” — which was sometimes, actually fairly often, written to fit the art.



Canny editors would invite a hungry writer up to the office to see the art, and tell them they would get their name on the cover if they could write a salable story using the cover image in a short amount of time. Occasionally, an editor would invite several such hungry writers, and tell them all to write a story for that cover, and buy the first or best, and maybe one or two others. Only the first bought would get the cover credit — the author’s name in display type on the cover.



This kind of thing went on for decades, and even into the 1960s and early 1970s in the digest magazines. And for all I know may still be going on today.



And that’s what gave me the idea. I could ask a bunch of really first-rate writers to write stories, knowing that each would be different, and make a kind of event of it. I asked fewer than ten writers, and five of them did it. And the rest declined only because they had too much work committed already for this past summer and fall.



Those writers and stories are:



"New World Blues" by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

Appearing now on Tor.com



“Dormanna” by Gene Wolfe

Appearing on Tor.com on March 7



“Thanatos Beach” by James Morrow

Appearing on Tor.com on March 14



“The Woman Who Shook the World-Tree” by Michael Swanwick

Appearing on Tor.com on March 21



“The Sigma Structure Symphony” by Gregory Benford

Appearing on Tor.com on March 28



Personally, I am delighted with the results. And I hope to do it again.



The stories inspired by John Jude Palencar’s art will appear on Tor.com every Wednesday in March, starting off today with L. E. Modesitt, Jr.’s “New World Blues.” Can’t wait until the end of March? You can purchase all five Palencar Project stories as a $2.99 ebook.

I-Tunes

Nook Reader, Barnes & Noble

Amazon.com - Kindle Edition

Thank you David, Irene and the Tor.com folks!

JJP

Spectrum 19 Award Nominees

And the nominees are...

***EDIT***

For those of you in countries where the video doesn't work, the complete list is as follows:



Advertising:

Jutin Coro Kaufman: Mothead

Android Jones: Boom Festival

Tyler Jacobson: Talon of Umberlee

Tyler Jacobson: Daask Crime Lord

Lucas Graciano: Temple Guardian



Book:

John Jude Palencar: Bared Blade

Edward Kinsella: Wooden Bones

Petar Meseldzija: Eowyn and the Lord of the Nazgul

Dragan Bibin: Vid the Vampire

Jean-Babtiste Monge: Ragnarok



Comics:

Jim Murray: DOTA 2: Tales from the Secret Shop

Sonny Liew: Malinky Robot

Andy Brase: DarkSun II

Phroilan Gardner: The Destroyer

Alex Alice: Sigfried III



Concept Art:

Justin Sweet: Jack the Giant Killer

Brian Matyas: Spartan Victory

Robh Ruppel: Yemen

Daniel Dociu: Hangar

Allen Williams: Unknown One



Dimensional:

Jonathan L. Matthews: Batman, Black and White

Thomas S. Kuebler: I am Providence

Virginie Ropars: Jack

Allan Carrasco: Rhinatuar

Michael Defeo: Octopus



Editorial:

Chris Buzelli: Strength in Numbers

Jean-Baptiste Monge: Mic Mac Cormac

Bobby Chiu: Early Bloom

Ture Ekroos: Beneath

James Gurney: Kosmocertatops



Institutional:

Android Jones: Water Dragon 2012

Petar Meseldzija: The Rescuer

Bill Carman: Three Wishes

Raoul Vitale: Turin and the Glaurung

Omar Rayyan: Crow and the Picture



Unpublished:

Eric Fortune: Last Embrace

Andrew Theophilopoulos: Princess of the Pleia Dians

Justin Gerard: Portrait of a Monster #3

Kei Acedera: morning Chill

Michael Whelan: CK Unmasked

Ralph McQuarrie, 1929–2012

Via CNN-



Ralph McQuarrie, the man credited with bringing director George Lucas' vision for "Star Wars" to the big screen, has died at the age of 82.



McQuarrie's conceptual designs were the basis for some of the trilogy's iconic characters such as Darth Vader, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3PO.



A statement on McQuarrie's official website, posted after his death Saturday, said his influence on design will be felt forever.



"There's no doubt in our hearts that centuries from now amazing spaceships will soar, future cities will rise and someone, somewhere will say... that looks like something Ralph McQuarrie painted," it read.



Lucas said he was saddened by McQuarrie's passing, calling him a visionary artist and a humble man.



"Ralph McQuarrie was the first person I hired to help me envision Star Wars," Lucas said. "His genial contribution, in the form of unequaled production paintings, propelled and inspired all of the cast and crew of the original Star Wars trilogy.



"When words could not convey my ideas, I could always point to one of Ralph's fabulous illustrations and say, 'Do it like this.'"



McQuarrie also helped to create concept designs for the original Battlestar Galactica TV show, along with the movies "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."



McQuarrie's conceptual work on the 1985 film, "Cocoon," won him the Academy Award for Visual Effects.

www.ralphmcquarrie.com

Naama Kates Wins Best Lead Actress at IndieFest

(Official IndieFest press release):

-------------------

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Lena Connoly
info@1wayoranother.net

NAAMA KATES WINS BEST ACTRESS AT INDIE FEST

New York, NY - February 26, 2012 - Naama Kates of 10 Commandments of Chloe, has won the prestigious Award of Merit from The Indie Fest. The award was given for Naama's performance as Chloe in the award-winning feature film 10 Commandments of Chloe, which is gearing up for release this summer.

Responding to the announcement the film's director Princeton Holt simply said, "Thank you!"

The Indie Fest recognizes film professionals who demonstrate exceptional achievement in craft and creativity, and those who produce standout entertainment or contribute to profound social change. Entries are judged by highly qualified professionals in the film industry. Information about The Indie Fest and a list of recent winners can be found at www.theindiefest.com.

In winning an Indie, One Way or Another Productions joins the ranks of other high profile winners of this internationally respected award. Thomas Baker, PH.D., who chairs the Indie Fest, had this to say about the latest winners, "'The Indie' is not an easy award to win. Entries are received from around the world. 'The Indie' helps set the standard for craft and creativity. The judges were pleased with the exceptionally high quality of entries. The goal of 'The Indie' is to help winners receive the recognition they deserve."

For more information email Lena at info@1wayoranother.net or visit One Way or Another Production's website.
---------------

On behalf of One Way or Another Productions we'd like to congratulate Naama Kates, The 10 Commandments of Chloe, and it's director Princeton Holt for this award!

- Lena

Student Interviews

by Eric Fortune



I get emails from students every now and then with art related questions. I've recently been getting more than normal and a request for a phone interview as well. I try to answer as many as I have time for. Unfortunately, my time has been quite limited. So besides sharing a few sketches I'm struggling with I thought I'd also share another Q & A.

Thanks, for such a quick response. I actually saw some of your work in an illustration annual. I'm doing a presentation on an illustrator that I feel is influential, for my introduction to illustration class. I compiled a couple questions below. Thank you so much!



1. It looks like your work involves a great deal of layering. What are some of your choice materials to use?



Yes, I paint in very thin, watered down washes of acrylics on watercolor paper. Nothing special but it does require a lot of time. Sometimes more than I wish to give.



2. How do you deal with limitations in projects, when you feel like you can't insert your own artistic voice into the work?



You always do the best you can. Not every job has the potential to be something great. Sometimes clients know what they want ahead of time or have certain criteria that must be adhered to. That being said, they called you for a reason. They like your artistic vision. So you should try your best to make it your own. A good illustrator can make a great piece of art out of a mundane idea. That's our job. I think that's part of what separates great illustrators from the crowd, the ability to consistently do great work regardless of the assignment.



3. Illustration students often hear about the importance of developing a style that defines their work. How do you think you arrived at having the style you have today?



No one lives in a vacuum. We all have our influences. I think we should all be looking at other great artists and be open to all sorts of other creative venues. Try to be aware if you’re being too influenced by one artist in particular. If so put them on the shelf for a while and surround yourself with different artists in different fields. Constantly expanding our range of influences can be helpful, especially since it can be easy to get into a cycle of predictable solutions for problems. I try to do what appeals to me the most and make art that I like as opposed to what might seem like a trendy style. I’ve never really considered myself as having a very notable "style". Although, over time it kept developing further and eventually became more distinct. However, this was something that happened naturally over time and for me was less about forcing myself to find and stick with a style.



4. What sort of illustrations would you say viewers tend to be the most responsive to?



The paintings that I really enjoy working on also seem to resonate with the viewers. These are often the paintings where I have just enough art direction and freedom to make good art. For example, the pieces that have been accepted into Society of Illustrators or Spectrum also tend to be some of my own favorites.



5. What do you think are important things to consider, when a student is putting together a portfolio?



1. This sounds obvious. But good art work! Be honest with yourselves and your peers. You help each other more when you’re honest and constructive. Compare your work to the people you admire and other professionals or even the best at school. Are you up to par? It's a very competitive world out there.

2. Presentation. Whether it’s your website or your physical portfolio it should be clean and user friendly. The images should be consistently sized with similar borders. Everything should feel cohesive. In a physical portfolio it’s best to have the strongest image first, 2nd strongest last, and the 3rd strongest should be your second page etc with your weaker pieces in the middle.

If you’re at a convention or meeting an art director in person be sure to have a business card or postcards to leave behind after a portfolio review.



You may have heard this before “an Art Dir. may judge you on your weakest piece”. Because if they hire you that's what you may deliver. You're weakest piece should still be up to a certain standard. If you have a boring assignment it’s up to you to develop an engaging visual. See each assignment as an opportunity to push out the current weakest piece in your portfolio.



6. Students that work traditionally sometimes feel pressured by the growing presence of digital work in the market. Would you say that there is still just as great a demand for traditional work as there is for digital work?



Ultimately, I think if it’s a good image it’s a good image regardless of the medium. That said, I’ve heard art directors say that they sometimes miss getting a great painting in the mail that would then be shared around the office. Personally, I’ve been to some illustration openings where I was hoping to see some originals only to be let down by small prints. I guess it depends on the context. But overall I think it’s become less of an issue.



7. What do you feel is the most challenging thing about working as an illustrator?



Besides trying to have a consistently outstanding body of work promoting yourself is a challenge. Getting that first opportunity to prove your self can be frustrating. Constantly trying to expand your network and clientele is very time consuming in the beginning. Hopefully, at a certain point people will begin to recognize your name and work. But one can't be complacent. Have a website, start a blog, do whatever you can and keep people updated on what you’re doing.

Krampus

-Dan dos Santos



Anyone who has been keeping up with Brom's work has likely noticed that he has moved away from commercial illustration, and instead has been producing his own illustrated novels. Not just picture books, but full blown novels. 'Plucker', and 'The Devil's Rose' are both both recent, and fantastic examples of his current work.



Yesterday, io9 posted an exclusive sneak peek of Brom's upcoming book "Krampus: the Yule Lord"...

Santa Claus...



How vile your name upon my tongue. Like acid, hard to utter without spitting. Yet I find myself capable of speaking little else. It has become my malediction, my profane mantra.



Santa Claus... Santa Claus... Santa Claus.



That name, like you, like your Christmas and all its perversions, is a lie. But then you have always lived in a house of lies, and now that house has become a castle, a fortress. So many lies that you have forgotten the truth, forgotten who you are...forgotten your true name.



I have not forgotten.



I will always be here to remind you that it is not Santa Claus, nor is it Kris Kringle, or Father Christmas, or Sinterklaas, and it certainly is not Saint Nicholas. Santa Claus is but one more of your masquerades, one more brick in your fortress.



I will not speak your true name. No, not here. Not so long as I sit rotting in this black pit. To hear your name echo off the dead walls of this prison, why that...that would be a sound to drive one into true madness. That name must wait until I again see the wolves chase Sol and Mani across the heavens. A day that draws near; a fortnight perhaps, and your sorcery will at long last be broken, your chains will fall away and the winds of freedom will lead me to you.



I did not eat my own flesh as you had so merrily suggested. Madness did not take me, not even after sitting in this tomb for half a millennium. I did not perish, did not become food for the worms as you foretold. You should have known me better than that. You should have known I would never let that happen, not so long as I could remember your name, not so long as I had vengeance for company.



Santa Claus, my dear old friend, you are a thief, a traitor, a slanderer, a murderer, a liar, but worst of all you are a mockery of everything for which I stood.



You have sung your last ho, ho, ho, for I am coming for your head. For Odin, Loki, and all the fallen gods, for your treachery, for chaining me in this pit for five hundred years. But most of all I am coming to take back what is mine, to take back Yuletide. And with my foot upon your throat, I shall speak your name, your true name, and with death staring back at you, you will no longer be able to hide from your dark deeds, from the faces of all those you betrayed.



I Krampus, Lord of Yule, son of Hel, bloodline of the great Loki, swear to cut your lying tongue from your mouth, your thieving hands from your wrist, and your jolly head from your neck.