Fan Art Results!

That was my response every time someone sent me a piece of fan art. I was totally floored by the effort you guys put into your pieces and I think I am now addicted to getting "presents" in my email. So, THANK-YOU! It was so freaking difficult picking "winners". But here they are:



Jeremy Sorese, the creator of this particularly hilarious piece (I've dubbed it "Window of Indecision (in Grey)", will get Skim, some buttons, and a Gilded Lilies book.



Annie Wu (above) will receive Skim, buttons, and a small print, as will Thomas Pitilli:



Oof, it was so hard to choose. Please view ALL the entries here. Thank-you to all participats. If you'd like to contribute fan art, even if it's sans prizes, I'd love to add it to the gallery.

Wow!

I am getting some AMAZING entries to the Skim Fan Art contest! Details a few posts down.

I am now throwing in some additional prizes. Top three will get the Skim book and Skim buttons. One will get a Gilded Lilies book, and the other two will get a small giclée print.

Tomorrow is the last day to enter.

WIN SKIM!

So I have three copies of Skim to give away. We couldn't sell them at MoCCA due to a tiny bit of cover scuffing, the odd bent cover, or other minor imperfection. So let's have a little contest!

I'm ripping off Hope Larson's Fan Art contest she held a few weeks ago for her new book. Send you SKIM-INSPIRED art in to me by Wednesday and I will post the winners (plus a link to your site) on Thursday. I'll make a little section in the "Books" area of my site where I'll post ALL entries. I hope you send me something! Email me at jill (AT) jilliantamaki.com .... please?

Here is a preview link, for character reference.

P.S. Everyone's welcome to send me stuff, but unfortunately I can only send books to North Americans. There IS a recession on, y'all.

Comics, Comics, Everywhere!

If you are even a tiny bit interested in alternative comics and are anywhere near New York City this weekend, you must check out MoCCA Festival in Soho. Mariko and I will be there selling our book Skim plus some other goodies. Come and say hi to us! We will be on the Skylight room, table S8.

Here's all the info, including a list of exhibitors.

Would Skim have blogged?

Here is a Slate slideshow about the idea of technology in children's books. Most of it concerns technology depicted through illustration. Personally I kind of hate drawing computers and cell phones (I find laptops the least obnoxious). I think it probably comes down to simple nostalgia, but I also think that there's a weird "micro-dating" thing that goes on with the newer technology... in my mind a clunky cell with an antenna looks more dated than a rotary dial telephone.

P.S. Sorry for the occasional crappy grammar on this blog.

Skim Originals

There is a mini-show of original Skim art at The Beguiling in Toronto. There are sketches, pencils, inked pages, and even stuff from the pre-Skim Skim (Part 1 of the story existed as a stand-alone comic book; all art was redone for the new version).

Info, including address, here. Thank-you to Chris and Peter for asking and organizing!

Toronto Rules

The above pic is from the Skim Launch last week... a full house at the Gladstone! THANK-YOU everyone who came to that event and the OCAD talk.

(P.S. The girl in green? My sister, Lauren.)

++++

A few leftover Skim links, before I resume regular posting:

-National Post feature (which hilariously featured the subhead "Nepotism at Work" in the print version)

-FFWD (Calgary weekly) Interview

- A CBC podcast inteview of Mariko and me on "Q"!!

- If you are interested in viewing ORIGINAL Skim art, visit The Beguiling on Markham St (around the corner from Honest Ed's). A small collection of original sketches, pencils, and inked work will be on view of a few weeks.

SKIM BONANZA

Hey guys,

This will be last post for about a week. I will be up in Toronto promoting our book. I thought this would be a good time to do a megapost about the latest and future goings-ons in Skimland.

First: an excerpt! This is a little cut from Part 1 of Skim. You can also download a .pdf version if it's too big for your browser or you'd like to zoom in on the art.



If you are in Toronto, come to The Launch. Mariko and I will be doing a small presentation where I will be showing sketches and other process stuff. And, of course, yammering about our experience. And partying. Details:

This Is Not A Reading Series, Skim Launch
Wednesday, March 26, 2008 - 7:30pm
Gladstone Hotel
1214 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON


Also on Wednesday, you can listen to Mariko and I on CBC's entertainment radio show "Q". I think that comes on around midday. Check local listings. I was actually on Q once before with the lovely Hope Larson. But that time we had a guest interviewer... this time I will actually meet celebu-host Jian Ghomeshi. I am terrified.



If you are an OCAD student, you can also come to a talk next Friday. It will be more in-depth and illustration-focussed. Mariko will also be there to talk about Skim. We'll probably bring some copies to hawk.

Friday, March 28, 2008
10am-12pm
Ontario College of Art & Design
Auditorium (room 190)
100 McCaul St



Lastly, I thought I'd post some media tidbits, including a review from last weekend's Globe & Mail and this month's BUST Magazine. Read a small online article about my comics-making soundtrack at Drawn (thanks, Matt!). And, lastly, a feature in the National Post is due to run on Wednesday. I archive all this stuff on my website under the "books" section.




THAT. IS. IT!

Thank-you for your patience. I thought I'd blast all this info at you at once, instead of stringing it along over multiple posts. Maybe I'll meet some of you in Toronto!

-J

Skim Social Networking!

One of the things that was cool about doing Skim, which is set in 1993, is that I didn't have to draw computers, computer mice, chat rooms, cellphones, and so on. So it amuses me to announce that Skim has a Facebook page! Be her friend (or is it fan?). She could use a few.

Skim Redux!

A fun piece of Skim Fan Art from Simon Häußle! It is wonderful (and really really weird) to see little ol' Skim re-imagined.

Some press is starting to trickle in, including this Quill and Quire starred review. (pdf)

I will have more information about Skim and promotional events in Toronto within the next few weeks. So stay tuned.

Photographic Evidence

... that Skim is now available (in Toronto, at The Beguiling, at least)! As far as availability elsewhere, I have no idea... all I know is that it's on sale soon (if not now?).

[As far as the Beguiling post about it not being widely available in The States, I'm not sure that'll be the case. As far as I know, it will have reasonable US distribution. We shall see...]

P.S. You should also check out "Paul Goes Fishing" (also pictured). I love Michel Rabagliati.

Skim News!

There is some new stuff to report about Skim, our graphic novel due out (next?) month.

-First off, a review from Publisher's Weekly! Scroll up from the bottom of the page and you'll hit it faster.

-An audio/podcast review from the Friends of Lulu. Thank you to Marion Vitus and Valerie D'Orazio. By the way, not sure why this gross hyper-saturated version of the cover is circulating on the internet. My heart breaks a little bit each time I see it.

-Some initial information about the Launch Party in Toronto has been released! It will be at the Gladstone Hotel on March 26. It'll be a This Is Not A Reading Series event, sponsored by Pages Books. I'll post more info/the official invite when it becomes available.

-Skim is available for pre-order at Amazon.

-Mariko and I will be at MoCCA, APE, and SPX this year. If you are too, please come visit us. 

I got the hardcover copy of the book in the mail the other day. I'm a bit nervous, but I can't wait to share it with the world (and hear what you think!). Remember, I cross-post newsy bits on my illustration website, under the "news" section.

Skim Advance Reader Copy

Got my Skim ARC today! It's really bizarre seeing it as a book. I'm too used to seeing it at 500% onscreen. The book will be available in the Spring.