Animals of Oz #5: Bear Center
My daughter, Lana’s, favorite stuffed animal has always been a pink bear since she could understand what she was holding. Her final addition to the Animals of Oz series focuses on the Bears of Bear Center in Oz. These are toy stuffed bears run by the Lavender Bear king and his adviser the Little Pink Bear.
On the back of the painting she wanted a quote by L. Frank Baum. It reads: “Time is given for us to be happy and for no other reason. When we waste time, we waste happiness.”
What are some of your favorite characters from the land of Oz?
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Animals of Wonderland #3: Walrus and Oysters
Deciding to not have the carpenter in this scene was a wise choice by my daughter. Lana wanted to focus on the series’ animals, so here’s her vision of the Walrus and Oysters. She chose a quote for the back of the painting by Lewis Carroll that reads: “Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well.”
What are some of your favorite characters in Wonderland?
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Animals of Wonderland #1: Cheshire Cat & Breadandbutterfly
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My daughter, Lana, returns with her latest painting. This is part 1 of her “Animals of Wonderland” series. Here’s her version of the Cheshire Cat and Breadandbutterfly.
Not bad for a ten year old.
Cover Reveal: Consumed By War
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The brainstorming and writing has been incessant as of late. Wrapping up this novel has proven to be a challenge for me because it will be the final entry in this 12 book saga. Making it stand alone and also tie up all the unanswered questions from the previous novels is probably one of the most difficult things I’ve done, but it will be well worth the wait. The historical and mythological tie ins for this book exceeds everything I’ve done so far and in a way that will have the reader on the edge of their seat.
That being said, here’s the cover reveal for CONSUMED BY WAR. My brother, Dan Pipito, did the art and came up with the concept for this. Be sure to follow him @dpipito or check out his children’s art @pintsizedpages.
Let me know what you think.
Logo contest entries 2-5
A few more entries for our #thinksipwrite logo contest were done by Scott Mojoswork . Which is your favorite? I’m loving the mascot and bottom left.
If interested in entering the contest, Roberta Pipito and I are seeking a new logo for our fourth season. Winner will be chosen on January 16th, so keep those entries coming and we will share. The logo we select will be used for the entire 4th season after the premiere, and credit will be given during each episode with contact info. #contest #artist
Logo contest entry #1
So if you didn’t know, Roberta and I are holding a contest for a new logo for this upcoming season of #thinksipwrite. Winner will be chosen on January 16th. I’ll be posting the pics every couple of days. Winner will have their logo as the title card of each episode for season 4, and of course get credit in the episode and descriptions. Keep those entries coming.
Our first entry is by Mary from http://www.reddogdesigns1.com. Tell us what you think and be sure to check out the services Red Dog Designs offers.
Animals of Oz #3
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Animals of Oz series #3: The Queen of the Field Mice, Eureka the Pink Cat, and Toto the dog
Her goal was to portray that despite all our differences, we can all get along. I think she’s on to something with that line of thinking.
Animals of Oz #2
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Animals of Oz series: #2 by Lana Rose Pipito – The Hungry Tiger
Animals of Oz #1
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Animals of Oz series: #1 by Lana Rose Pipito. The Cowardly Lion
She is a big fan of the original L. Frank Baum Oz novels, so she wanted to start there with an animals of Oz series. First up is the Cowardly Lion on the yellow brick road by the forest’s edge. On the back of the canvas she wanted a quote from the novel THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ… “True courage is in facing danger when you are afraid.”
I asked why she wanted this quote in particular, and she claimed that it takes courage to put skills and talents out there knowing that people will criticize it. I couldn’t agree more, but I think this little lady has a fine future in front of her.
Day 3 #authorlifemonth – art
Here’s a design Dan Pipito came up with for the trilogy release cover, on which I’m working. It is obviously a take on DaVinci’s Vetruvian Man, but really captures what is going on in the Beyond Human Trilogy.
Day 29 – Looking at a past release
Okay, so I got away easily with this post in doing something similar to yesterday’s. Since time travel is the topic for today I decided to do a little of it myself. Just a year ago I released my first children’s book, A LITTLE GIRL IN THE LAND OF THE HICCUPS.
While the sequel has hit some road bumps, it will be here sooner than we know it. When my daughter was in the womb, I read to her mother’s belly every night. I knew somehow that she’d be a girl, even before we found out by the doctors. As a fan of Baum’s Oz books, and Alice’s adventures in wonderland, I read those to her first. I remember her moving to the sounds of my voice as I told her all about Dorothy’s journey to see a wizard, and her adventures afterwards. By the time she was born she’d already heard four and a half full length novels!
As a writer I came up with an idea for her own children’s book. One of the things she used to do, other than twirl around in circles in the belly, was to send jolts of excitement. These came in the form of hiccups. It dawned on me then. A story about a girl who is lost in a land with some strange creatures by the same name. There would be a certain degree of education in the book, while keeping it fun for kids and have an underlying moral to the story.
While we wait for its sequel A LITTLE BOY IN THE LAND OF SLEEPLESS KNIGHTS, we can always go back and share a fun reading with our little ladies. Here’s the description of A LITTLE GIRL IN THE LAND OF THE SLEEPLESS KNIGHTS: When a little girl finds herself a long way from home, she must help her new Eskimo friends to rid their land of the Hiccups, miniscule little creatures that are more of an annoyance than anything. From award winning author, Rick Pipito, the story is aimed for a young female audience, but can be enjoyed by all. With art by Dan Pipito, this heart warming tale will inspire young readers to never give up hope and put their best thoughts forward.
What are some of your favorite memories of the past? Do you have a favorite children’s book? Make sure to use the hashtag #scrypthalloween when commenting, and you may win a copy of one of my novels. You can find this book and more of mine in print at Lulu.com, and on Amazon in digital.
No one likes a case of the Hiccups. Here’s one of those tiny pesky creatures. Art in the book is by Dan Pipito
Think, Sip, Write – Ep 7: sCrypt
For this episode I talk about what got us into sCrypt comics, the process of it all, and how it evolved. At the end I included a slideshow with samples of the art.
Special thanks to the artists. They are: Dan Pipito, Leanne Wiedmeyer, Asher Humm, Joe Parisi, Angela McQuillan, Fred Loeffler, Tiff Pugliese, TJB, Phillip Allie, J.C. Spence, Jacob Greenawalt, Sakura Jones, Ivy Duffy, Scott Modrzynski, Vince Pipito, Kelly Swann, Mike Coppolecchia, Ken Hensley, Michael Garard Jr, Kristie Vanderzee, Muhammad Nurul Islam, and Mao Estheim
Day 14 of #authorlifemonth fave cover
Day 14 of #authorlifemonth is my favorite of my book covers. While each one holds special meaning to me, the cover for A LITTLE GIRL IN THE LAND OF THE HICCUPS is my favorite. @dpipito did the art and design for it
Day 5 of #authorlifemonth: Comp covers
A comp cover is a design or concept for a book cover that didn’t make the final cut. Fortunately I haven’t had many that were rejected. For my novel BLOOD, THE SECOND HELPING, my brother, Dan Pipito originally came up with this design.
While the artwork certainly matches the theme well, and is an amazing piece of work, we decided to go with something a little more involved for the final product. Here is the original concept revealed!
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A Little Girl In: The Land Of The Hiccups
Follow the adventures of a little girl as she finds herself lost in a village of Eskimos. As she searches for her way home, she uses a bit of intuition to help the villagers rid themselves of annoying little creatures called “the hiccups.”
This is Rick Pipito’s first children’s book with all of the art done by Dan Pipito. It’s the perfect gift for any little girl or anyone who enjoys a timeless tale.
You can purchase a copy on Amazon or here: http://www.lulu.com/shop/rick-pipito/a-little-girl-in-the-land-of-the-hiccups/paperback/product-21910133.html
There are always discount codes available as well, so feel free to contact me for them.
Day 16: A Children’s Book
When my wife was pregnant with my gorgeous little girl, I wanted to write a story specifically for my angel. It strayed from my horror roots, but fit in well with vivid imagination. I remember the doctor telling us that the shakes that we could feel were because my daughter was hiccuping in the womb. This went on for months before she was born.
Then the idea came to me. A LITTLE GIRL IN THE LAND OF THE HIC-CUPS was written. The hic-cups are these funny little creatures that cause sudden shakes and there is only one way to defeat them, so our hero girl is thrust into a situation where she’s got to use her common sense to save a small village from these creatures.
Now it is six years later and that book is finally going to be released! Dan Pipito has almost finished the artwork and is going for his classic water color style in doing so. It will be released just in time for holiday shopping this year (2014), so stay tuned.
Day 13: Ancient Antagonist vs Modern Good Guy – Cain vs Gordon
FLESH AND LEFTOVERS was a zombie novel, but the zombies weren’t the build up for what was to come. By the end of the book I had set up Cain to be the antagonist of the first trilogy. The great thing about this character is that he is in essence completely immortal. I wanted a man who was downright evil and bad with a small part of his humanity that made you sometimes cheer for him.
Imagine being the first person ever to have committed a major crime, and then not being forgiven for it. Cain murdered Abel, but there were no
Depiction of Cain in the comic spinoff LEGENDS OF VAMPIRE. Artwork by JC Spence
ground rules per se. He was punished by a higher power and had the “mark of God” placed upon him. As the vampire lord his immortality stayed with him even in death. Even his remorse for killing his brother did not rid him of this plague. He had to watch his friends and loved ones die before completely switching over and giving in to his demonic nature.
If he couldn’t have freedom of humanity, then he would rid he world of humanity, and punish God in turn by taking away his precious creatures. Their God would no longer control them, and instead they’d be Cain’s sheep like minions. Through his journey we see Cain take on different characteristics and traits and despite apparent death, he is always there some how. Perhaps he is given a second chance at some point, but was he misunderstood? Was this all just a punishment set in place with predetermined results?
Bring in Gordon Lightcap. He was a man whose family was torn from him at a young age. Not once did he blame any higher power. Instead he used this as a cause to prevent anyone else from suffering the same fate. His experiences sent him on a borderline alcoholic binge, but he continued on. Even when haunted by his memories of the past, he came through strong.
Battling against Cain is something that is built towards and their common love interest throws a whole other aspect into it. You can see what happens as the books progress, but the bottom line is that you have two very similar people who took their experiences in opposite directions. In other words Gordon is in a way a complete opposite version of Cain. This rivalry is the focus of the first trilogy but not limited to there.
Follow the adventures of Cain and Gordon in the entire series or in individual installments: FLESH AND LEFTOVERS, BLOOD THE SECOND HELPING, BONES AT BREAKFAST, SOULS 4 SUPPER, DEVIL’S DESSERT, TECHNO FEAST and the comic spinoffs.
Artist of The Month for July 2012: Fred Loeffler
“I might not be playing with a full deck but, I have all the best cards” is the tag line that artist Fred Loeffler is currently using with his new line of playing card art. That is not all he specializes in, however. He is an outsider artist with over twenty five years in commercial art industry experience. Printing and production art, graphic design, and illustration go hand in hand with his fine art and murals.
Fred is a featured artist in sCrypt Comics’ first issue “Flesh and Leftovers: Zombie Incidents.” Check out some of his art below, and see more at fredloeffler.com. The site is under construction, but has a few samples to start. Click on the images below to make them larger.
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- Excerpt From “Flesh And Leftovers: Zombie Incidents” Graphic Novel by sCrypt Comics
sCrypt Publishing 