Color Me Happy~How?

A page from Color Me with Kat McD. 

 I've been diligently working on creating an adult coloring book through Createspace with Amazon. The process was a bit of a learning curve, but I'm so happy with the results.  Always looking to re-purpose artwork and with the piles of my Day of the Dead line drawings growing, the adult coloring book craze could not have been a better fit.

  Here is what I had to learn:

• How to clean my artwork very well in Photoshop
• How to increase the stroke size for the line work
• How to save files to PDF - 
• How to design a cover with the help of great artist friends

Here is how I did it ~ for Createspace in Photoshop

Scan/Clean
      Scan interior art at high res 1200 dpi,  grayscale.  Clean with magic wand, erasure tool - delete all
         the white .
Stroke
        Select white, inverse to the black lines and go to stroke, add 1 or 2 pixels
Interior
        I used MS Publishing Layout. Keep in mind your gutters and bleed.  I kept all odd pages blank so            that markers won't bleed into images next page. insert each image to new page.
PDF - on mac MS
        Save cleaned Photoshop files as tiff, then change dpi, Save As 300 dpi png
            This was the most frustrating part to figure out.  To Save this interior file as a PDF, go                              to PRINT and  click on the button left labeled PDF. Here you can save as a PDF.
Cover
      Design your cover so that it is clear when viewed as a thumbnail.
       Create a template that includes bleeds and page count. Get friends to critique it.

I hope this helps those of you who are working on publishing your artwork into a coloring book.
I just got my proof and love the quality.

Hooray! Yay! Oh Happy Day!

     I'm so proud! I've completed my first Adult Coloring Book, Color Me with Kat McD!    It's filled with cats, dogs, blossoms and birds.  All inspired by the Day of the Dead.

You can find it on Amazon at:  http://www.amazon.com/Color-Me-Kat-McD-Dead/dp/1532721013?ie=UTF8&keywords=color%20Me%20with%20Kat%20Mcd&qid=1461161284&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

    Color Me Happy!

A Video Game For Me? Never Alone.

   Well crafted characters, beautiful artwork and an intriguing story make up a perfect book for me.  In some instances,  they even exist in the video games my son plays.  He knows the  only way to get me to consider a purchase, or to watch him play, is to sell those aspects of the game to me.   Have to say, it will keep me interested for at least a few minutes.  So, while I am no video game aficionado, I am going to recommend one to you.
     While binge watching/listening to The New Yorker Presents, (seriously addictive)  in my studio, I perked up when a story came on about a video game called Never Alone.  http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/never-alone-video-game-help-preserve-inuit-culture
     Developed by the Cook Inlet Tribal Council of Alaska and E Line Media, to keep Inupiat's rich story telling, language and history alive and relevant.  The artwork that inspired the game, along with the melodic language is almost meditative.  It's storyline imparts the important message, that we all are in this together.  A universal truth quite evident in the harsh environment of Alaska, but one that would serve all of us to remember.   I may have to take up gaming, or, at the very least  own this so that I can explore the beautiful universe and traditions of the Inupiat people.  My son better watch out, I may be beating him at a video game yet.
Check it out for yourself. http://neveralonegame.com/