Christopher Denise

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Many thanks to Barrington Books for hosting the launch party for Bella & Stella Come Home!

Thanks to everyone at Barrington Books for a great day! If you missed us, we will be signing at Books of Wonder in NYC this Sunday, December 5th.

Friday, November 12, 2010

CTN EXPO 2010

Next week I am off to see the future! Hope to see some of you there.

http://www.ctnanimationexpo.com/

Friday, October 22, 2010

Another review for Bella & Stella Come Home!

This just in from Publishers Weekly!

10/25/2010 Children's

Bella and Stella Come Home

Anika Denise, illus. by Christopher Denise, Philomel, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-399-24243-4

In this clever and reassuring offering from the husband-and-wife creators of Pigs Love Potatoes, Bella finds solace in her stuffed elephant, Stella--and in her expansive imagination--on moving day. "Stella says she will miss our house. I hug her and say, ‘It will be okay,' " says Bella. Vibrant digital and pencil art soon reveals a transformation as Stella springs to life as an enormous yellow elephant. Faces share skepticism and apprehension as Bella transfers her emotions to Stella. The new kitchen is yellow ("Stella thinks kitchens should be blue. I do too"), and the two continue to concur that old beats new: the garden should have an oak tree, and their bedroom should have polka-dot curtains and stars on the ceiling. The arrival of Bella's possessions helps ease the transition, as does meeting a neighbor who also has an oversize animal companion. The fact that Bella comes to terms with the move on her own (her parents are always offstage) adds to the appeal of this story, whose subtle narrative is neatly balanced by larger-than-life graphics. Ages 3–8. (Nov.)

Review time can leave you a bit nervous....

The early reviews for Bella & Stella Come Home are starting to some out. So far, its all good!

Here's what critics at Kirkus Reviews have to say about our new book:

ISBN:978-0399242434(Philomel) November 24, 2010

When Bella moves to a new home, she finds it greatly comforting to have her best friend Stella always at her side. Everything is so different. There are ten steps to the front door instead of three, the kitchen is yellow instead of blue and the bathtub has feet. Bella and Stella take turns encouraging and reassuring each other as they explore their new home. Even when her room is set up with her familiar things, it takes all the lights on, a new morning and a new neighbor with his own best friend to make her feel as if she’s home. Anika Denise conveys tender understanding as Bella speaks directly to the reader, expressing her apprehension and confusion in appropriately childlike terms. Christopher Denise’s glowing, softly colored pencil-and-digital illustrations add further dimension as readers see that Stella is Bella’s beloved yellow stuffed elephant, who morphs into an imaginary life-sized companion and supporter. Text and illustrations are interdependent and seamless, a splendid marriage of words and pictures. Cozy and comfortable. (Picture book. 3-8)

Friday, September 17, 2010

Bella and Stella Come Home, more character development.

and a detail from the interior of the book...

Anika Denise, the author of Bella & Stella Come Home, and my wife, has also posted a more detailed account of Bella's early stages on her blog, http://anikadenise.blogspot.com/,

Check it out!

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Some early character work from my next book, Bella and Stella Come Home.

and a detail from the interior...

Monday, August 16, 2010

Think ideas are all original? Think again!Its all in the air ....

This is not one of those posts that accuse the big evil corporate entity of ripping off the little guy. This is a post about amazing coincidences where inspired artists working independently are pulling ideas from the ether.

I had the great pleasure of finally seeing Toy Story 3 last night. I think we were the last to catch it, but if we were not, you really need to see this film. You will not be disappointed!

Last summer I was working around the clock creating the final images for my next book, Bella & Stella Come Home, by Anika Denise.

Publication was delayed for marketing reasons until this November. All of the final artwork was completed and sent to the publisher in September and October 0f 2009.If you like my work, don't forget, you can always pre-order the book at your favorite independent bookstore or Amazon.

Large pre-orders send a really strong positive message to my publisher!

I will preface the following with a few facts;

1. I have never been to Pixar....yet

2. No full time employee of Pixar has ever been to my studio.

3. I have not worked with or for Pixar.....yet.

4. I have exchanged emails and pleasantries with a few of the amazing artists that have worked on the Pixar films that I ad

mire, including Toy Story 3. No images were ever shared. Pixar runs a tight ship and at the cost of not showing my most recent work, I try to keep unpublished art under wraps.

5. Full disclaimer: I do have the good fortune to

count Carter Goodrich and Buck Lewis amongst my friends. Both are amazing artists who have contributed to Pixar films in the past.

6. I am a fan of Pixar films. The work that has come from that amazing group of artists, writers and filmmakers has been the driving inspiration for me to begin to venture out of the dusty but pleasant cocoon of books and into the world of animation.

As I watched the film last night, I was swept along with the mastery of story telling and film making. I was in that wonderful place of being completely in the film...until the last scene.

The last scene was not a disappointment in anyway shape or form! It was perfect but it was also strangely familiar. I was in awe. What I was watching was a more masterful rendition of a scene that I had created in my book just twelve months ago!

Remember: This is not one of those posts that accuse the big evil corporate entity of ripping off the little guy.

I have a healthy respect for copyright law so I will not post any pirated images from the final sequence of the film. However, the last scene is viewable at the sites where you would expect to find these things. I can post a few of my images from Bella & Stella Come Home and I would welcome any commentary from readers of this blog.

Please bear two things in mind:

1. I do not feel that I have been ripped off in any way shape or form.

2. Any similarity is purely coincidence. I could not have seen anything from the film nor could anyone making the film (which was already in the final stages of production) have seen my work.

I see that whole thing as an amazing coincidence and perhaps a message that my head is in the right place and my inspirational receiver is tuned into a very good station.

As I said.....I have not worked with or for Pixar..........yet.

This is our Bella..and Stella

Here she is meeting the neighbor.

I tried for the hand on the hip but it changed the body language expression of the mom too much.

There are other areas of similarity that just come with

the subject matter (tutus and stuff). But there was just something about seeing that kid in that environment that blew me away. See the film and look at the book and see what you think. No imitation on either end-it would have been impossible. I think the ideas are just out there floating around and sometimes we grab the same ones!

(detail from a larger scene)