Not Basil!

I’ve been working on my kids’ book, improving the sketches, and starting to develop some characters.  Here are a few of my latest snippets about Basil.

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When most dogs bark, they go “Yap! Yap!”, “Woof! Woof!” or “Bow! Wow!”

Not Basil!   When he barks, he goes “Nee! Nee!”

And when he does,  it makes Mr. McGarnaggle’s car alarm go off next door, and he screams at everybody.

Most dogs enjoy going for car rides.

Not Basil.  He gets so excited, he’ll jump around the car so much, and smash the windshield.

And when he does, it costs Dad a lot of money to fix it.

Of course, Basil is okay.  But that’s the fourth windshield he’s broken.

Dad says Basil is a sometimes few bricks short of a full load.  I don’t know what that means.  Maybe that Basil isn’t always smart.

Update on Basil the Special Dog

I worked some more on my storybook this week.   Here are a couple of sketches. 

I’m learing a lot of things as I go.   For one thing, the colors on the first picture are noticeably clearer, because the drawing was done on high-quality board paper.  

The 2nd picture is a bit more smudgy, because it was done on cheaper paper.  (Well, that’s okay..these are still drafts).    Plus, the scanner isn’t the best quality, so the colors in the actual pictures looks better.

This time I tried to color in the sky completely (as opposed to my other cartoons).   The sky color might be a bit too vibrant, I find.   Perhaps  I might have to try a more subtle shade.    (Maybe do the sky with Photoshop, instead of with the pens).   

As for the story…I wasn’t sure whether to work on the words first, and then add the pictures after.    But what seems to be working  (right now, at least)  is to keep drawings the pictures first, and the story seems to follow quite nicely.  

I have a game plan, and I’m starting to develop the characters.  The older kid (holding the leash) is Michael Mobeel, and he’s about about 8.   His younger brother following in the trike is about four and will be called Finster. 

The story will be told from the eyes of Michael Mobeel.   Basil is really HIS dog.

The basic plot is:

 Some dogs do “X”.   Basil is special, he does “Y”   And when he does “Y”,  “Z” happens. 

 And usually, “Z” will involve something getting destroyed or messed up, at someone else’s expense.   Except fpr Michael Mobeel, who is conveniently unaffected by Basil’s shenanigans.

Basil is a big PAIN in the butt, he drives everyone nuts.   But you can’t really blame him…he’s just a rambunctious stupid special yellow lab.  And he redeems himself in the end.   You’ll have to wait and see how.

So anyway, that’s where I am right now with the story.  

That’s all for this week, kids.    Till next time.

Recent Update on Basil the Special Dog

It’s been a while since I reported any progress on my Basil story book.  So I thought I’d give an update.

A few months ago, Karen J.L. provided me with some great consulting.  She gave me some excellent feedback and constructive criticism on how to improve the story and some of the artwork.

Since then, I’ve been revamping the whole book.   Developing characters.  Researching different mediums (pen and ink, watercolor, etc).  Selecting colors.   Learning more about Photoshop, etc.  And sketching, sketching, and sketching again.   Practicing drawing trucks, trees, dogs, houses, furniture, etc….Here are a few examples:

Holy cow…what I thought would take me a few short months to crank out is turning into a serious Magnum Opus.    We’re talking hundreds of hours here, before this is all said and done.

But that’s okay…if you want to do something,  you might as well do it RIGHT.

Moral of the story:  Putting together a kids book is NOT as easy as you think!

Anyway, the book isn’t done yet.  It’s a work in progress.

But as you can see, I’ve been busy…

But slowly but surely, I’m getting closer to completing the real thing…

More updates to follow on the coming months

Basil the Special Dog (Updated, Part III)

Author’s Note: Here’s the latest draft of my childrens’ book.    Any comments or constructive feedback more than welcome.

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This is my dog Basil.
He’s a big old friendly dog.

But sometimes he behaves kind of funny.

He’s…well…a “special” kind of dog.

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When some dogs bark, they go “Yap! Yap!”, “Woof Woof” or “Bow Wow”.

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Basil is so special, he goes “Nee!  Nee!”

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Some dogs are afraid of the vacuum cleaner

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Basil is so special, he’s afraid of the barbecue.

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Some dogs like to dig in the garden

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Basil is so special, he’ll destroy the flowers, even before they’re planted.

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Some dogs get excited when they ride in a car…

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Basil gets so excited, he once smashed the car windshield WITH HIS HEAD!

Of course, Basil’s head is so hard, that he was okay

But my Dad was not too happy.

Dad says Basil is sometimes a few bricks short of a full load

I don’t know what that means.

Maybe that Basil might not be too smart.

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Some dogs like to chase squirrels

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Basil is so special, he likes to catch mice instead.

Then he holds them in his mouth…

and brings them back to us, unharmed.

(Mummy isn’t too happy when he does this, though.)

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Some dogs like to play tug-of-war

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Basil likes tug-of-war too.

But he really, REALLY likes it.

Especially when Uncle Mike comes by and gives him an airplane spin.

….TO BE CONTINUED.

Basil the Special Dog (Update Part II)

Author’s Note: Here’s the latest draft of my childrens’ book.    Any comments or constructive feedback more than welcome.

*********************************************

This is my dog Basil.
He’s a big old friendly dog.

But sometimes he behaves funny.

He’s…well…a “special” kind of dog.

*********************************************

When some dogs bark, they go “Yap! Yap!”, “Woof Woof” or “Bow Wow”.

*********************************************

Basil is so special, he goes “Nee!  Nee!”

*********************************************

Some dogs are afraid of the vacuum cleaner

*********************************************

Basil is so special, he’s afraid of the barbecue.

*********************************************

Some dogs like to dig in the garden

*********************************************

Basil is so special, he’ll destroy the flowers, even before they’re planted.

*********************************************

Some dogs get excited when they ride in a car…

*********************************************

Basil gets so excited, he once smashed the car windshield WITH HIS HEAD!

Of course, Basil’s head is so hard, that he was okay

But my Dad was not too happy.

Dad says Basil is a sometimes a few bricks short of a full load

I don’t know what that means.

Maybe that Basil might not be too smart.

…..TO BE CONTINUED.

My Dog Basil is So Special

Author’s Note:  I’m working on a childrens’ book.  Here’s a rough draft of the first installment .  Feel free to let me know what you think…

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This is my dog Basil.
He’s a big old friendly dog.

But he’s also, well….kind of “special”.   My Dad says a few bricks short of a full load.

When some dogs bark, they go “Yap! Yap!”, “Woof Woof” or “Bow Wow”.

My dog Basil is so special, he goes “Nee!  Nee!”

Some dogs are afraid of the vacuum cleaner

Basil is so special, he’s afraid of the barbecue.

TO BE CONTINUED…..