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Tomorrow’s the big day.ÌýAw, Nuts! will be in bookstores everywhere!

I hope you will go out and pick up your very own copy or order directly from

a big shout out goes to Amy ofÌýÌýfor her awesome work on the trailer.

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Welcome everyone. Before we get started I want to introduce myself. I’m Rob your illustrative tour guide. Please no flash photography during our outing. I would like to give a big thank you for including me in the blog tour. At the end of my postÌýI will have a link to two illustrator friends of mine that will be continuing the blog expeditionÌýnext week.

What am I working on right now? There are severalÌýprojects I am super excited about. My first children’s book is scheduled to be released on Aug 26th. I am busy getting some things ready for the big day. I am working on a sticker design, bookmarks, and coloring pages. Come back soon, and I will have more details on these items as they become available. Aw, Nuts! is available for pre-order through and .

The otherÌýproject, is a book I just illustrated for Simon SpotlightÌýcalled . ÌýIt’sÌýpart of the series History of Fun Stuff. ÌýThe book comes out in OctoberÌýand is a fun way to learn about something we all love on a cold winters day.ÌýHot Chocolate.

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For the past year I have been working on the . It is an interactive Bible that has been downloaded overÌý3 million times.ÌýNo, I am not independently wealthy now. This app is a free and there are no ads, so go download itÌýand enjoy these fun interactive Bible stories.

This sketch is from the story of Moses.

My part in this project isÌýsketching out the characters and scenes. When I have completed the tight sketches for a story, they move to a color artistÌýandÌýanimators. This project takes a team. It’s been rewarding being a part of this big production.

Why do I illustrate what I do?ÌýI am a big kid at heart and love doing illustrations that kids enjoy whether it’s picture books, puzzle pages, toys and games, or educational work.ÌýFun project like these keep me energized.

How is my work different from others in my genre?ÌýI don’t drink coffee so all my illustrations are caffeine free.

How does my illustration/writing process work?ÌýMost of the time my work is created entirely in Adobe Illustrator. There are times when I want to bring some more texture to a scene so I will take my illustrator document into photoshop.

Step 1 â€� To Begin I open the AdobeÌýIllustrator file in photoshop.

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Step 2 � I usually build my textures up by using several layers. The background texture layers are usually set on multiply so I can see how each layer affects the other in getting the result I want. An exception to this is the ground layer that was not set to multiply.

Step 3 � In this illustration, I wanted to give the idea of a large crowd behind our main characters, so I used a sponge brush and painted lightly colored spots under the existing texture layers. The subtle colors under the textured layers make the background interesting without distracting from the main characters.

Step 4 â€� To add more interest in the background, and even the idea of flash photography, I added a light white sponge brush onÌýa newÌýlayer and fun shapes in different colors. I completed the piece by using the brush tool to add a little shading and texture to the dog, and adding the curly area of the blue ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by my site for the grand tour. I’ve enjoyed our time together Next up are two friends of mine that are both incredible illustrators. They have been a continual source of inspiration to me and I look forward to hearing from them this time next week.

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Keith Frawley (happyidiot.co) lives on Long Island, NY. His happily-every-after made possible by his wife Michelle and three daughters: Genevieve, Rachel, Kaelin and studio mate/boston terrier, Lily. Keith illustrates for the children’s market and for national agencies. His work appears in children’s books, apps and character design. Previous clients include: Dreamworks, Little Brown, Simon & Schuster, Albert Whitman Publishing, Little Bahalia & Hooked On Phonics.

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ÌýLuke lives with his family in Colorado Springs.

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I was recently interviewed for Kathy Temean’s blog called ÌýThe interview touched on my early career as a graphic designer and myÌýmove in children’s illustration. The interview also includes some of my illustration process and tips on how I promote my work.

Kathy’s blog is one you will want to bookmark it is full of great information for those interested in children’s publishing. If you have any question on how to get published, writing or drawing tips you need to checkout Writing and Illustrating.

If you would like to checkout the entire interview .

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This is me last June. Holding my breath as I waited all morning. And when I say waited all morning I’m not talking about the I’ll just sit back and relax while I wait. I’m talking about the ´Ç³ó-³¾²â-²µ´Ç²õ³ó-±õ’v±ð-·É²¹¾±³Ù±ð»å-³Ù³ó°ù±ð±ð-³ó´Ç³Ü°ù²õ-²¹²Ô»å-¾±³Ù-²õ±ð±ð³¾²õ-±ô¾±°ì±ð-³Ù³ó°ù±ð±ð-»å²¹²â²õ kinda waiting. Then the phone rang at 10:30 a.m., my agent called to give me the news…HarperCollins wanted to publish my children’s book! The nervous pacing, and the waiting for the phone to ring gave way to the whole family synchronized jumping while group hugging.

I couldn’t have asked for a better editor and designer. They made my first book a great experience. I sketched out three or four different cover ideas, they suggested I draw Squirrel running and reaching for an acorn. I quickly knock this out and once they added the type I knew we had a winner. Personally I love it!

Aw, Nuts! In this nutty adventure Squirrel is in hot pursuit of the perfect acorn. He spots the nut dangling from a tree branch, and he has to have it! The hilarity ensues as he finds himself in one bad situation after another. Aw, Nuts! is due in bookstores everywhere Aug 26, of this year.

You can pre-order the book now atÌýÌýorÌý.

This year in July will be my 8th year as a full time illustrator. My very first promo illustration was a blue owl sitting in a tree with a very large moon illuminating the scene. ÌýIt was a popular image on my site for a long time. To mark the occasion I decided to create a new owl but this time also tip my hat to the Tootsie Pop commercials of the 70’s. The spot ran on saturday mornings for many years. In the commercial a boy asks an owl “How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop?â€� After several years of seeing this play out I remember thinking “when is this kid gonna learn not to give his Tootsie Pop to an owl?â€�. The times when I’ve had Tootsie Pops I can assure you I made sure to steer clear of any owls. I can also say that I have attempted several times to figure out exactly how many licks it did take to get to the center. I always lost count. If you would like one of my 5 x 7 postcards featuring this owl, send me an email with your name and address and I will be glad to mail you one. (U.S. residents only. While supplies last.)

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I have been working as the senior artist with a very talented group of people to put together the Bible App for kids.ÌýMy role in the project was to create each scene and character in the story. Once my sketches were complete I would pass them along to the color artist. They would color the scenes and prepare them for animation. I will be sharing some of the imagery from the app in future post.

The app is available starting Nov 28th and will be a free download. That’s Thanksgiving Day in the U.S.—which we hope will present you with many opportunities for sharing as you enjoy time together with family and friends.

The Bible App for Kids will introduce:

Kid-friendly navigation


Touch-activated animations


Engaging content that introduces kids to the big story of the Bible


Experiences designed to encourage kids to return again and again

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For several years I had the pleasure of working on a comic with Baseball Youth magazine. They wanted me to create two characters. A boy named Dexter that loved baseball and his faithful dog Dinger. I quickly got to work on the characters and it didn’t take me long to come up with something that we both liked. The client was very flexible with how I approached the comic art and the story. I wanted the art to have a looser more traditional comic strip feel than vector allows so I drew the art with pencil, scanned it in and colored the art in photoshop.

The comics usually came to me written, but they gave me the flexibility to rework the writing. I would generally keep the basic idea but reworked the punchline and tweaked the story for faster pacing and to be funnier throughout.

I have picked my very favorites of these comics and will be releasing them here over the next few months.

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I have the privilege to work with HarperCollins on Aw, Nuts! my debut children’s book as author and illustrator. The story is scheduled for Fall 2014 so check back often for more details. To find out more visit . My Book is the 5th one down.

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