HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE CREW OF SLEIGH BAY 4

I found this while rummaging through some old art. When I travel by plane, I prefer to sketch rather than read. Sleigh Bay 4 was done sometime in the mid-90s on a flight to Los Angeles. I hope you enjoy it.

Happy Holidays from the roach

Be sure to have the cookies and milk out for Santa. That way Undercover Cockroach can have a bite, first.
Happy Holidays.
ME

Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to add my Holiday wishes to everyone. Thanks to Bucky, Mike, Paul and Cedric for their multiple contributions to the NCC blog, and I hope to hear from more members in the New Year.

Here is my group of students from the 2008 Lux Art Center Cartoon Class. All middle school (what we use to call Junior High) students. We finished the last class last Saturday. Thanks gang. You were GREAT!
- ME

Merry Christmas!

Warmest Christmas wishes to all NCC members and their families.

The truth about reindeer...

Reindeer can't fly. Luckily pigs can.

THE CARTOONIST is here

Got my copy yesterday and the TOONFEST story is on page 16-17.
Enjoy...

Orphan Work Amendment explained...

I found this website the other day about the Orphan Work Amendment. The conversation is between author Steve Heller and illustrator Brad Holland. If you have any questions about the O.W.A. and what it means to copyright and the protection of our work, this conversation should answer many, if not all, of those questions. It sure turned on the light for me.

NCC Memebers at TOON Exhibit

This spring and early summer several NCC members are taking part in an exhibition of cartoon art done by young, aspiring cartoonists. Organized by former NCC chairman Ken Alvine, The TOON-Ed organization will be hanging an exhibition of student cartooning artwork for consideration for the Annual TOON Award at the Pearson Lakes Art Center in Okoboji, IA. Toon-Ed is dedicated to educating the student of cartooning and provides a chance to showcase students cartoon art that are enrolled in post-secondary schools, colleges, art schools, and universities. Cartoon art students are invited to participate in the annual TOON Award.

College students and artists 18 years of age and older are welcome to submit up to 3 pieces of their original works of cartoon art to the Pearson center by March 15th, 2009. There is a $10.00 entree fee. More details here.

The work will be judged by a panel of professional cartoonists on April 24th, 2009. The panel includes:

• Chris Browne of "Hagar the Horrible" website


• Tom Richmond of "Mad Magazine" (Hey... that's me!)


• Oliver Christenson (Revilo) of Hallmark Cards website


• Buck Jones - Humorous Illustrator website


• Paul Fell- Editorial Cartoonist website


• Ed Baker -Emmy award winning storyboard animator

Categories include magazine cartoons, greeting cards, comic books, political cartoons, illustrations, manga and anime, comic strips and animation. You can download the registration form here.

On Saturday there will be several workshops on cartooning by professional cartoonists:

• Dave Carpenter, Magazine cartooning


• Jim Allen, Dissecting a Cartoon


• Ken Alvine, Cartoon Ingredients

NCS- Landstuhl Germany USO Trip

I just got back a few days ago from a trip with 7 other NCS members to visit wounded soldiers and military hospital staff in Washington D.C. and in Landstuhl, Germany. It was a very inspirational trip. You can read about our time with the troops on my blog.... links above via the location names.

Bringing Drawings to Life

Here's a great few pages about improving the figures in your drawings. I have no idea what book this comes from -- if anyone does know, please comment. I'd like to read more by this author.

I know, it looks like a lot to read and you're busy today. But at least glance through the remarks beside the examples for Stage 1 and Stage 2. I've never heard the term "twinning" before, but I'm guilty of it.

Bringing Drawings to Life

What's Mike doing...?

Development of a character for a pitch....

My complaint

Why does every photo of me make me look like some wino who just wandered by? Who can I complain to about this? I think it's about time photos of me started looking handsome and intelligent. Someone has really dropped the ball on this.

more Toonfest photos to thumb through

Hey guys got some more photos from Toonfest here...
Had a great time! :)

more Toonfest photos

Disney Toonfest 2008

All the fun of the Toonfest and a few of the unsung heroes working behind the scenes.
Thanks guys and gals.

Toonfest 2008 Chapter Meeting

We had a small but enthusiastic group of NCC members show up in Marceline during Toonfest for our fall meeting.

North Central Chapter members (L to R): Mike Edholm, Me, Cedric Honstadt, Ted Goff, Paul Fell, Eric Scott, Scott Holmes

Our meeting was very productive. We raised the following issues and voted on each:

• Our annual meeting will be switched to March of each year to accommodate voting on the division we are assigned for the Reubens
• This year's meeting will be in Lincoln, NE
• A new officer post was created "Executive Vice Chairman"
• The Executive is responsible for providing all alcohol for future meetings
  
• Bucky Jones was voted into permanent office as Executive Vice Chairman

The Toonfest folks were very hospitable as usual. All the NCC members were invited to the private parties and functions where we were fed and watered until we could eat no more. What a great time. Special thanks to Mike, Paul and Bill (who couldn't make it) for helping organize the whole thing.

I have published a blog post detailing the Toonfest event and our participation in it. Check it out.

Toonfest 08

I enjoyed meeting and visiting with everyone there.
Look forward to the next meeting.

Eric

Photos from Toonfest 2008

It was great seeing everyone at the Toonfest this year. I've posted the photos I took for everyone to see at:

Toonfest photos

The photos for the online gallery are reduced to 800x600, so they aren't print resolution. If you'd like the full size photos (3264x2448) I'll be glad to put them in a zip file and send it to you.

Ted Goff

Getting Ready for Toonfest...

... and our concurrent fall chapter meeting. I'll be arriving on Thursday evening, and am now emceeing the speaker events and speaking myself (!). I hope we'll see a good NCC turnout. remember all NCC members are welcome to the Dalton party on Friday, the private party at the Walt Disney home on Saturday and we may also me in the parade. Members attending please look up myself, Paul or Mike on arriving so we can get you the details.

Our meeting will be very informal, held on Saturday over lunch either in the park or in the Toonfest meeting rooms. We'll let the weather decide that one.

Hope to see everyone there!

Looking for stuff to show....

Remember gang — we're looking for CARTOONS to show at the Disney Toonfest. We want the North Central Chapter to have a terrific presence at the Toonfest and we need your help (and art) to accomplish that goal. So pack up a couple of pieces (Fell told me to remind you to matte you work — it looks better that way) and throw it in the mail. Don't send you comic book collection, laundry, or other bits of junk you're trying to get rid of... (No Buck. I'm not talking about you. Well, not just you.) The Toonfest is just 19 days away. Artwork is due (there) by the 15th, I think.

From 2D to 3D

This summer I've been working with a 3D animator/rendering in developing a project for one of my clients. We took a 2D character and turned it into a 3D model. The character, named PHOTON (watch out, he's copyrighted), is rigged for computer animation. The 2D rendering is mine. From there I handed it over to Andrew along with some character development sketches. He took it from there. The two other images are his. This has been a terrific learning experience for me. I want to thank my friend and render buddy, Andrew Frye. Andy, you rock!

... Now I'm just trying to find the time to start "playing" with the software program that we used to create the 3D model of PHOTON. Heck! I'm still trying to find time to build my website from the UNDER CONSTRUCTION page. (www.mikedholm.com)

Toonfest Meeting Schedule and Headcount

The official schedule for our fall meeting is shaping up. The Toonfest folks are very happy the NCC is coming to the event and have invited NCC members to several special private events and gatherings over the weekend.

Fees for attending the chapter meeting are a measly $20.00, and includes our chapter lunch and admission to the following:

• Thurs. eve., Sept. 18: Farmsite outdoor buffet reception for Toonfest headliners and NCC meeting attendees.
• Fri. eve., Sept. 19th: Vehicle caravan to Johnson-Malins river cabin/lodge home for buffet dinner party.
• Sat. noon, Sept. 20th: NCC chapter meeting and lunch in Marceline.
• Sat. eve: Outdoor event Malins’ former Disney family home and farmsite. Dreaming Tree ceremony, cartoonists autograph Disney barn, headliners tree plantings, outdoor barbecue - buffet dinner.
  

The rest of the weekend we are of course free to enjoy all Toonfest activities including the speaker presentations at the Uptown Theater both on Student day (Fri) and Saturday afternoon, the parade on Saturday Morning, the cartoon art exhibt, etc.

All the money collected for chapter meeting fees will go to the Toonfest folks to help offset their generosity in inviting us to all their special events.

What we need ASAP is a head count of all who intend to attend the meeting. Fees can be paid at the event... we just need your "yea" or "nay", especially for planning the private chapter lunch. Email me at tom@tomrichmond.com ASAP with your response.

Fall Meeting Schedule

Thanks to our Treasurer Paul Fell for putting this schedule together:

NCC Fall Chapter Meeting:
Saturday, September 20

10am-5pm Toonfest Cartoon exhibit open- Masonic Hall

10-11am Toonfest Parade on Main St.

11-12:30 N. Central chapter members meeting and lunch.

12:30-5pm Guest Cartoonists do their presentations at the Uptown Theatre on Main St.
This event is free and open to the public.

Following the Uptown Theatre program, NCS N. Central members are invited to a special tree planting ceremony featuring past and present guest cartoonists at the arboretum at the former Disney family farm. Following the tree planting, guests are invited to sign their names inside the recreated Disney barn. These activities will be followed by a post-Toonfest party and entertainment with plenty of food and drink at the former Disney home.

For N. Central members who might be arriving on Friday, Sept. 19, you are invited to attend a pre-Toonfest party at the river cabin of Wally and Kaye Malins, Toonfest organizers. This private party includes Toonfest volunteers and this year's cartoonist Headliners. Plan to meet between 4:30 and 5 pm at the Toonfest office, 207 N. Main St. so we can carpool out to the cabin.

We will need a head count ASAP of chapter members who plan to be at the Friday event and those who plan to attend on Saturday. Please contact Tom or Paul directly.

NCC Fall Meeting at Toonfest in Marceline

After plans for a fall meeting later in the fall in Des Moines were scuttled, your North Central Chapter board has elected to plan our annual fall meeting to coincide with the Walt Disney Hometown Toonfest on Saturday, September 20th in Marceline, MO. Several NCC members are helping to organize the Toonfest events and art show, and many members are already planning on attending Toonfest with it's great lineup of guest speakers and other activities. This year's speakers include "Speedbump" creator Dave Coverly, "Stone Soup" cartoonist Jan Eliot, "Luanne" writer/artist Greg Evans and "The Norm" creator Michael Jantze. NCC members will be welcomed with open arms by the Toonfest organizers.

An exact schedule of events will be forthcoming, but the actual meeting will likely take place over a chapter lunch on Saturday the 2oth, possibly catered at some nearby location. Costs to attend will be low, probably in the $10.00 range which includes the lunch. Other activities will be incorporated within the events of Toonfest. Details will be posted here as soon as they are set.

Make your plans to attend ASAP, as the event is only a little over a month away. The preference is to book a room at the following hotel in nearby Chillicothe:

The Grand River Inn
Highway 36 & 65
Chillicothe, Missouri 64601
660-646-6590

Room rates for double occupancy are about $70 per night base. The hotel is 37 miles from Marceline. You can get more info about the hotel online but you must call the hotel directly for reservations. A Friday arrival and Sunday departure is recommended.

Look for more details here as they become available.

The Disney Hometown ToonFest needs YOUR cartoons!

As a number of you know, I am a volunteer with the annual Walt Disney Hometown ToonFest in Marceline, Missouri. Part of my duties involve helping round up cartoon art for the annual cartoon exhibit that runs during the Toonfest weekend of September 19-20.

The focal point of the weekend is always the presentations by cartoonists we bring in as guest speakers. In past years we have had many NCS members as headliners, including Jim Borgman, Ann Telnaes, Glenn and Gary McCoy, Mike Peters, and Chris Browne, just to mention a few.

I am personally contacting you to participate by sending one or two cartoons for the ToonFest weekend exhibit. If you prefer, you can send prints of your work, especially in the case of those of us who now work in color. Cartoons need to be matted or mounted on mat board with a 2” or 3” border. We would need your work in the Toonfest office no later than Monday, September 15. Following the Toonfest weekend, event organizers will ship your cartoons back to you at their expense.

This is the 10th Anniversary Walt Disney Hometown ToonFest, so I am hoping to make this year’s cartoon exhibit the best yet. You can visit the Toonfest web site at www.toonfest.net.

Please let me know via email if you will be able to take time to send one or two cartoons to this exhibit. If you can be a part of our cartoon exhibit, I will contact you with information as to where and when to send in your work.

Send your matted cartoons to the ToonFest office and they will not only handle it with EXTREME CARE, but they will be sure to CAREFULLY ship your artwork back to you, at no charge. So join in the fun of the Disney ToonFest, be seen by hundreds, if not thousands of adoring fans (and celebrities; we're still trying to get John Lassiter to come to the ToonFest) and be an inspiration to all the kids who see this stuff and say, "That's what I wanna do when I grow up."

You Write The Caption

This photo was taken by a friend of mine at a recent event in Minneapolis. Over at my blog I've got a "You Write The Caption" contest going. No prizes, it's just for fun. Let's see what you cartoonists can come up with.

NCS - Frank Frazetta tribute

In late August members of the NCS will be sponsoring a tribute to comic book and illustration legend Frank Frazetta, which will include a visit to see Frank at his private museum. The following was forwarded to all chapter chairpersons in regards to the event by Jack Pittman:

Hope your summer is going well.

In preparing for our NCS tribute to Frank Frazetta in late August, we will be presenting him with a scrapbook of original art and well wishes. If you would like to contribute to this endeavor, whether or not you are able to attend, please send your drawing/note to Jack Pittman at (email Tom privately for the address). Art should fit on an 8.5 by 11 sheet. It would be helpful to receive these no later than August 1 to allow for assembling the book.

This will be a memoir the whole Frazetta family will cherish and a wonderful addition from the National Cartoonists Society to the Frazetta Museum.

And, as a reminder, if you do plan to join us for this event, please email me with the total number of people attending, including yourself as soon as possible to help expedite the preparations. The celebration is tentatively planned for a Saturday, most likely August 23 or 30, from 12 to 5 at the Frazetta Museum in East Stroudsburg, PA. Costs per person are not finalized as of this writing, but will be somewhere in the neighborhood of a modest $40-50 per person, which will include a light lunch and admission to the museum. If you plan to spend the weekend in New York City, the drive to East Stroudsburg, PA is about 1-1/2 to 2 hours. There are also accommodations in or near East Stroudsburg--Quality Inn, Hampton Inn, Shannon Inn, Budget Inn & Suites, and Best Western Pocono, to name a few. Further details are coming soon.

Thank you for your generous assistance with this tribute to one of our most esteemed colleagues.

Fraternally,

Jack Pittman

I hope some of our esteemed chapter members will be able to send in some art for the album. I know I will. Please e-mail me privately for the address to send your contribution.

Happy Birthday Bucky Jones!!

Since it just looks to be you and I on this NCC blog, I guess we can post birthday wishes to each other... that's a minimum of 2 posts a year!

Happy Birthday!

Reubens Report

The NCC was well represented at this year's Reubens awards, with new member and first time attendee David Mowder taking home a divisional award for Greeting Cards, and myself batting .500 by winning for Advertising Illustration. Several other NCC members were in attendence and I think we all had a great time... although my sunburn from the Habitat for Humanity project on Friday is still killing me.

See my blog for an overview of the event, with lots of incriminating pictures!

Double Your Fun!

After an exhaustive poll, the verdict is in... NCC members want to stage two meetings a year. One for fun, one for voting on the Reuben Division awards and other chapter business.

Vice Chairman Bucky Jones and I will collaborate on a fall meeting sometime in September/Oct. This will be mainly a social function although we will have at least one speaker and see if we can stage one activity of some kind. No art shows, no plethora of speakers, no expensive dinners or hotels. This is the budget plan for us all to just get together for part of a weekend. We are tentatively planning on Des Moines as our destination. Perhaps every other year we can just meet in Marcelene at Toonfest, thereby reducing the need for a lot of extra planning.

Our next chapter event after this fall will be in March to vote on the division Reuben category we get assigned. This will be a bit more of a real meeting where we will organize a fundraiser (auction?), have some speakers and probably a dinner.

Thanks for the input from everybody.

Fall or Winter Meeting?

For a number of years now the North Central Chapter has been meeting in the fall for our annual chapter get together. I am not sure why this time of year was chosen, but suspect it was because winter is a precarious and ugly travel time for us tundra dwellers.

The odd thing is that March is the only time of year we have any official duty to perform for the NCS... our Reuben divisional voting. Doesn't it make sense to plan a late March meeting to do our divisional jury and also have our annual meeting? Does beer taste better in September or October than it does in March? Do we plan on camping outdoors?

What do you as members think about this? Should we switch to late March for our meeting time?

NEWS- New NCC Vice Chairman

Current North Central Chapter vice-chairman and beloved pal Oliver Christianson has stepped down from his highly paid position due to reasons not pertaining to leaked memos or misappropriated campaign funds. Oliver is in fact stepping away from the NCS and our little chapter due to a busy life and the demands of a daughter in college. We'll miss Oliver greatly.

Our own Bucky Jones has stupidly agreed to step in as vice-chairman for the remainder of Oliver's term at half pay ( zero x .5= zero) and double workload. Thanks for stepping up, sucker... uh..., I mean Bucky!

Plans have not been set for this fall's annual chapter meeting, but there are discussions about moving said meeting to March so we can also use the get together to do our jury voting for whatever divisional Reuben category we are given. Anyone with thoughts on that idea feel free to comment here or e-mail them to myself or Bucky... preferably Bucky.

I miss Oliver Christianson

What ever became of Oliver Christianson? He seemed like such a nice man.
Sigh.....

Disney Legend Ollie Johnston Passes Away

Animation legend Ollie Johnston, the last surviving member of Walt Disney’s famous “Nine Old Men”, passed away yesterday (April 14, 2008). He was 95.

Johnston was a phenomenal artist and widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest animators. In 1935 he was hired to work at the Disney studio alongside his pal Frank Thomas. They rose to become two of Disney’s top animators and remained lifelong best friends. They co-wrote several books on animation including Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life (Amazon.com link), which is still considered a classic textbook on animation. In 1995 they were the subject of a wonderful documentary film, Frank and Ollie (which you can buy on DVD). Their love for animation was contagious.

Johnston animated such classic characters as Pinocchio, Bambi, Thumper, Alice in Wonderland, and Winnie the Pooh. He and Frank also animated large portions of The Jungle Book. It's been said that over half the film is Frank and Ollie's work.

Animators are sometimes referred to as actors with pencils. Frank and Ollie didn't just fit this definition, they defined it. They were superb draftsmen and their characters gave Oscar-worthy performances.

Franklin Roosevelt referred to the Supreme Court as his “Nine Old Men”. As a joke, Walt Disney borrowed the term to describe his nine top animators. Though they were young men at the time, the name stuck. All nine went on to become legends at the studio. Frank and Ollie were the last surviving members of the group. Frank passed away in 2004.

It's hard to overstate the influence Frank and Ollie have had on the animation industry. Besides being animation pioneers and writing classic books on the subject, after Walt Disney's death they helped train a new generation of Disney animators. Brad Bird (The Iron Giant, The Incredibles) was a huge fan of their work and gave the pair animated cameos in both of his films.

Here's a few samples of Ollie's work. His passing truly marks the end of an era for animation fans, and he will be dearly missed.







(Artwork copyright © Disney. All rights reserved.)

Win A Free Book On Digital Coloring

I'm currently running a fun little contest over at my blog. I've been posting a lot about character design and mascots lately, so today I posted pics of twelve product mascots. If you can name all twelve products, I'll enter you in a drawing to win a free copy of the new book Hi-Fi Color For Comics: Digital Techniques For Professional Results.

This is not a scheme to get you onto a mailing list or anything. It's purely for fun.

The contest ends at midnight on Friday, April 11. To find out more and to enter, visit my blog.

Tom Richmond Ending His Blog?

Word is that over at Tom Richmond's blog he announces that he is ending his informative and often entertaining blog.
I recommend visiting it today and checking it out before it's gone. Personally, I can't stand Tom and find even his appearance distasteful and his artwork mediocre at best.__ April Fools.__:-)

2008 Reuben Nominees Announced

The nominees for this year's divisional Reuben awards have been announced:

Book Illustration
Nancy Beiman - “Prepare to Board”
Sandra Boynton - “Blue Moo”
Jay Stephens - “Robots!”

TV Animation
Sandra Equihua and Jorge Gutierrez - Creators - “El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera” Stephen Silver - Character Design - “Kim Possible”
Richard Webber - Creator - “Purple and Brown”

Greeting Card
Gary McCoy
Glenn McCoy
Dave Mowder

Newspaper Comic Strip
Paul Gilligan – “Pooch Café”
Jim Meddick – “Monty”
Richard Thompson – “Cul De Sac”

Editorial Cartoon
Gary Brookins
Michael Ramirez
Bill Schorr

Magazine Illustration
Daryll Collins
John Klossner
Tom Richmond

Newspaper Illustration
Drew Friedman
Sean Kelly
Ed Murawinski

Feature Animation
Brad Bird – Director – “Ratatouille”
Sylvan De Boissy – Character Design – “Surf’s Up”
David Silverman – Director – “The Simpson’s Movie”

Gag Cartoon
Benita Epstein
Mort Gerberg
Glenn McCoy

Comic Book
Nick Abadzis – “Laika”
Bryan Lee O’Malley – “Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together”
Shaun Tan – “The Arrival”

Advertising Illustration
Jack Pittman
Tom Richmond
Tom Stiglich

Newspaper Panel
Chad Carpenter – “Tundra”
Glenn & Gary McCoy – “The Flying McCoys”
Kieran Meehan – “Meehan”

Congratulations to all of the nominees. The winner will be announced at the 62nd Annual NCS Reuben Awards banquet on May 24, 2008.

Beware Contracts & Agreements

Just another reminder to ALWAYS read any contracts you're asked to sign. Last week I had a client, one I have worked with for over a year now, tell me, "We need you to sign a NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT." Meaning, basically, that I do not discuss the project with anyone. Because of the nature of the project I had no problem with agreeing to this.___But once I got home and looked at the contract I first realized it was five pages long, which in my experience is awfully long for a NON-DISCLOSURE. This sent up a warning flag. I read through the contract and had my suspicions justified when in the VERY LAST section I discovered the lovely old WORK FOR HIRE buried deep within all the legal mumbo-jumbo. I contacted the client and told them, politely but in no uncertain terms, first, what they had given me was not a NON-DISCLOSURE as they had made clear that it was and if signing a WORK FOR HIRE was the only way we could work together, then I would not be able to work with them. Surprisingly, the client did not deny the WORK FOR HIRE but said, "Yeah, I thought that was excessive, too."___ They sent me a NON-DISCLOSURE form that afternoon.___I am glad I will still be working for this client but it is obvious to me that if I had not caught that WORK FOR HIRE buried in that first contract, they would not have shared that on their own.___ So just be careful what you sign

Sunshine Week Cartoons

Members of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists participate every year in National Sunshine Week, celebrating the public's right to know. Given the increasing secrecy of government (both national and local) it is more important than ever to have an informed, involved citizenry.

I have posted the Sunshine Week web site so that you can take a look at some of the cartoons that have been sent in. More will be coming in the next few days

http://www.sunshineweek.org/sunshineweek/cartoons08

Minnesota Division Judging

Just a reminder that the second and last stage of our chapter divisional judging will take place tomorrow, Saturday the 8th, at my place at 4:00 pm. Come earlier or later if it suits your schedule. We have 17 total applicants and most have only one book, so it's not going to be a massive, time consuming process. I do want to know who will be here and when so please email me at tom@tomrichmond.com and let me know you are coming. For those who need it I will give you directions to get here.

Division Award Judging Underway

Kansas City chapter members had first whack at the book illustration division entries this year. Those of us who could gathered at the glamorous Harvey House Diner in Union Station to review the entries and cast our votes.














Eric Scott, Oliver Christianson, Bill Brewer, Kevin Ahern, Bill Whitehead, and Ted Goff shared an afternoon repast before debating the merits of the many entries.

















We gave serious consideration to every entry. Even Bucky's. (Actually, I think Bucky's entry deserves an award and division all it's own.)

The votes were recorded, and the entries were boxed up to be shipped to Tom Richmond for another group of chapter members to review and judge in Minnesota. Some very fine work!

Geez, I knew this would happen...

For Tom and Paul. Enjoy guys. (And no, Tom, the pipe-smoking Mystery Writer isn't your mom.)

MN Judging Meeting Date Change

Due to scheduling conflicts, the date for the MN meeting to judge our Reuben divisional awards is changing from Saturday, March 3rd to Saturday, March 8th at 4:00 pm. I hope this will allo a few more area members to make it to the judging.

The Kansas City meeting may take place first as a result. Please check back here or look for an announcement via e-mail soon.

At 221B Baker Street

I see that Sherlock Holmes is appearing on the Chapter blog with a degree of frequency these days. That said, I thought, as a member of the Nebraska/Iowa chapter of the Baker Street Irregulars, I would throw my hat into this "Red Circle". The game is afoot. - Edholm

Book Division Judging

The NCS North Central Chapter will conduct it's 2008 divisional Reuben judging for the "Book Illustration" category in two separate get-togethers in the next few weeks. We have received a fair number of entries already with two days to go before the deadline. No doubt there will be a flood of last minute entries, as we all know how prompt and ahead of schedule cartoonists are...

Judging meeting 1: Held at my house, Saturday March 1st starting at 1:00 pm. Refreshments will be served. All current members of the NCC are welcome to attend and participate in the judging. Please e-mail me for more details and for directions.

Judging meeting 2: Held in Kansas City area, date, time and location TBA.

The details and procedures of the judging will be explained at the individual meetings. The KC results will be sent to me and combined with the earlier meeting's results to give us the final verdict of the chapter. Then the top four finalists and their books will be sent to the NCS national rep for ratification and it will all be official.

Please contact me ASAP if you will be attending here in Burnsville for the first meeting. If you can find way to attend please do... this is one of the most important functions a chapter has with respect to the NCS and our profession as a whole. I hope to see a good turn out.... Anna is baking cookies.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to all in The North Central Chapter!!

Something Fun...

I posted about this on my blog today, but I thought I'd share it here as it's kind of unusual. I did this piece of art for an audiobook company for their collection of Sherlock Holmes audiobooks:


and a loosely associated company asked permission to produce a sculpted resin pen based on the art:


It's interesting to see a sculptor's 3-d interpretation of a strictly 2-d piece of art. I thought it turned out pretty good.