Ken W. Min ~ Illustrator for Hire

Kiss the Frog!

Cat Power!

captain oreo and his occasionally competent but always trustworthy sidekick, pea-why!

Let's All Go to the Zoo!

 

went to the zoo today to draw the animals. as beautiful a day as it was, it was probably a little too hot for the critters. most of them looking for shade or staying out of sight in back where they could just be away from the sun. ended up with very few animals to draw.
except for this turtle (picture 1) who says turtles are slow? in the time i drew this, he was sprinting out of his home across the compound, ate some vittles, read a stephen king book, talked to the park ranger and ran back home- all in the span of 5 minutes!
and those meerkats, what a bunch of hams! they were constantly posing like they were hollywood stars on the red carpet. i guess that's what happens when one of their own stars in a disney feature and the rest of them are looking for their own 3 picture deal with 10% of the back end.

My Buddy Sara

this is my friend sara and her husband tony. i did this to celebrate sara's recent birthday. sara is a great gal and one day very soon, you'll be able to pick up her latest YA novel in your local bookstores. till then you can follow her current adventures at her blog.( <--- click there)

NaPiBoWriWee-Day 8, Post 1

oooo- got some good picture book ideas flowing today. yes, sir. i think i gots me 3 caldecott worthy tales to tell. how about...

huh? whazzat?

(psst. psst. pst)

it's over?!?!? what do you mean it's ov--

did i win??

(psst. psst. pst.)

not a competition?? why did i waste, er, 'spend' so much of my time working on these if--
i demand a recount. who do i speak to about this travesty of-- i'm calling my congressman.

(shakes fist in air) paula- where are you?

for a recap of "napibowriwee" go to http://paulayoo.com/

NaPiBoWriWee-Day 7, Post 1

i tripped at the finish line.

got bogged down with work today. plus the whole l.a. dodgers/manny ramirez/banned substance debacle weighed heavily on my mind. yes, it's only baseball, but it took me off guard. couldn't really focus on other fun stuff. it's no excuse really. but i had a hard time coming up with another viable idea tonight anyways.

alas, i'm a loser.

i feel like charlie brown.

but i did string together 6 stories during this week long marathon. that's something.

so i'm kind of a little bit of a loser. maybe about 14%.

but it was fun.

for more info on "napibowriwee" go to http://paulayoo.com/

NaPiBoWriWee-Day 6, Post 1

squeezing water from a stone.
making diamonds from coal.

this is what it feels like in my brain as i get down towards the end of napibowriwee.

one more day after today.
the finish line is in sight.
but i feel like i'm beginning to lose the wheels off the ol' jalopy. :)

i was lucky in that before this all started, i had book ideas scribbled on pieces of paper that i filed away so i had some things to work off of and develop. but as i sit here with one more day to go, i've tapped my reserves. gonna have to dig deep for one more idea.

20 bucks for a good idea. anyone?

for more info on "napibowriwee" go to http://paulayoo.com/

NaPiBoWriWee-Day 5, Post 1

had to actually do a bit of 'real' work today on another assignment so could not think PBs till now.

also losing a bit of steam as well. a couple ideas i was toying with just don't seem to work as PBs-- more like a comic book/GN or heck, maybe an animated short. so must abandon them...for now.

but i went ahead and worked up my 'wordless' PB.

because it is without words, i scribbled them out in thumbnail form. actually, what passes for my 'chicken scratchings'. my thumbnails will generally look a little cleaner than these, but because i wanted to get everything out of my head without losing the thread of the idea, i just dash them out very messily. usually what i do from here is to redraw them again as thumbnails but with some added value like some specific details or elements i want to highlight or push. but i'll leave that for another time. this will be my 'cheat' day. (get by with as little as necessary :)

NaPiBoWriWee-Day 4, Post 2

i've been brainstorming all day today. let me toss a few ideas 'atcha. o.k. see, there's this caterpillar. and he's actually eating his way through the book. it'll be all colorful and bright and at the end, he changes into a butterfly.

uhm, you do realize it's been done?

really, by whom?

eric carle.

carle?

yes, it's called "the very hungry caterpillar".

you don't say...well, how about that...what about this one. there's this boy and he's all rowdy. he has a tiff with his mom who then sends him to his room, see, and the kid sails away to this island where he becomes king of these creatures and he--

sendak.

what?

maurice sendak. he wrote "where the wild things are"

"where the wild things are"...hmm, nice title.  i was going to call mine, "where the wild cats are at"

uh, not as catchy.

sez you!
speaking of cats i was also mulling over a story about this lanky feline who wears this really tall hat. it's all stripey and cool looking and--

"the cat in the hat"

i like that title. thanks.

no, it's been done. by dr. seuss.

come on, dude. give me a break.

sorry.

pigeon driving a bus.

mo willems.

but this time he actually gets to drive the bus.

try again.

pigs on lily pads flying around a small town.

weisner. "tuesday"

jumpin' jehosaphat! are there any cool, original ideas left in the world???

you're just gonna have to work a little harder.

(grumble, grumble, grumble.)

NaPiBoWriWee-Day 4, Post 1

it's funny where ideas for picture books come from. one could sit down and say, "i want to do a tale with a jack rabbit" and then sit there for the longest time trying to find an angle, a slant or just something humorous to grab onto and turn into a story.

or one can just drive around town and a spark will light up.

like yesterday for instance.

i was driving along when i spotted this young boy standing near a street corner near a lamp post. as i drove by, i thought i saw him look down and reach over for a yellow ball that seemed to roll right up to his feet.

this got me thinking of a story with a progressive nature. like 'the old woman who swallowed a fly'. something where one action begets another, larger action and so on. i started rolling with this idea as i continued on with my drive.

dr. seuss' 'to think i saw it on mulberry street' came to mind as well. i haven't read it since i was little, but i do feel there is some shared qualities ther, but i hope to add my own personal 'tweaks' and sensibilities here. just to see what comes to mind.

all in all, for napibowriwee, i'll play with this idea.

so, yes, those magical 'ideas'- you never know where they'll come from or when they'll hit you. you just have to be open to the possibilities and play with it.

for more info on "napibowriwee" go to http://paulayoo.com/