1!!!!!!!!!! Featuring Katrina Elzinga

THE PICK-UP PRINCESS ANIMATED E-BOOK LAUNCHES TOMORROW! I can't believe it! The anticipation has been enormous. Today we look at the final crew member

 Katrina Elzinga: Author

Katrina wrote "The Pick-up Princess" when she was about 6. I was 14 at the time and we decided to do a self published paper book where I provided the illustrations. Our effort was marginally successful. Jump forward to a year and a half ago when I was wanting to do an animated e-book; a revamp of The Pick-up Princess was foremost in my thoughts. I think the writing is great and I hope our efforts inspire Katrina to continue writing. Stay smart Katrina! 

2!!!!!!!!! Featuring Cassandra Trissler

2 DAYS REMAINING until our app goes live! Today's drawing is brought to you by Rough Animator and Colorist Cassandra Trissler. Be sure to check out her portfolio site when you get a chance: http://www.cassandratrissler.com/

Cassandra's animation was one of the hardest to clean up, but also one of my favorites. She had a really subtle scene and she just ran with it to produce animation that was very smooth and touching. Her style has always intrigued me for being soft and beautiful. Even her comical pictures are often desaturated and create a sense of quiet. I love that about her and her work. Stay beautiful Cassandra! 

3!!!!!!!! Featuring Sean Ward

ONLY 3 MORE DAYS UNTIL OUR APP LAUNCHES! I'm jumping for joy, you guys!

Today we feature Colorist on the project Sean Ward.

I met Sean during a particularly late and frustrating night at my school's animation building. He noticed that I was about to punch a hole through the computer I was using and came over to suggest that I not do that. We ended up quoting SNL skits for the rest of the evening and I've been following him around ever since. His excellent word play and acceptance of my constant spewing of Monty Python skits make him an invaluable friend and I was so happy to have him on this project. Stay "What chyo' swattin' at" Seanicus! 

8!!! Featuring Margaretta Westerman!

Only 8 more days until the animated children's e-book "The Pick-up Princess" launches!! As a part of our countdown, I'm featuring one crew member every day. Today our story and art comes from Margaretta Westerman who was a rough animator on the project. 

"I had a lot of toys when I was younger but one of my favorite toys was a giant Meeko plush (from the Disney movie Pocahontas) that my dad gave me. I was living in England at the time and my Dad was sent to Texas for work. Well like most father's he brought back gifts for my brother and I and mine was this giant Meeko plush. He said he saw it and thought of me and since he had only brought one suitcase he had to stuff this giant plush into to his suitcase in order to bring it back to England. It's old and worn now but I still have it, he sits at the edge of my bed back in Virginia where my cats like to sit and sleep on him, he's just that fluffy still."

Margaretta is currently working at a Disney theme park soaking up all the artistic brilliance down there. I remember her animation being some of the easiest to clean up because she's one of those people who is good at hands and fingers. That may not sound like much, but trust me, hands are a nightmare! I'm completely jealous of her hand talent and was very blessed to have her on the Pick-up Princess team. Stay classy, Margaretta!  

9!! Featuring Catherine Huyck!

9 DAYS UNTIL OUR APP LAUNCHES! Today we look at the first person I brought onto the project. 

Catherine Huyck: Background Artist 

Back when I was a kid I was obsessed with collecting beanie babies. I don't just mean a few, I mean dozens. I had a huge Rubbermaid container full of them. But by far, my favorite was always Bones the dog. He was plain and simple, and always there no matter what. I could also easily stuff him in my pocket so I took him everywhere.

Working with Cathy was so much fun and she provided some of the best ideas for toys ever. Wherever you look in her work, there is always something completely off the wall; whether it be a walrus with a mustache or a Viking ship. Stay weird Cathy!

10!

10 DAYS! There are only ten more days until the children's animated e-book "The Pick-up Princess" launches on the app store! I am so happy to be able to say that, this has been a long time coming. 

To celebrate, I will be posting an image done by a member of my crew each day of the countdown about their favorite toy from childhood. 

Starting the whole thing off is myself: Debbie Scheller: Director and miscellaneous tasks person

14 DAYS!!

Hey everyone! 14 DAYS UNTIL THE LAUNCH! We're so close now! The anticipation---GAHHH! I thought I would share a story this week...because...well...I didn't have time to draw anything. So sue me. I was genuinely doing a happy dance for a month after getting the contract in the mail, though. It was so official that I felt like one of those real human adult peoples for a second.

In other news, it's midterms week here at SCAD, so it's probably a good thing that The Pick-up Princess isn't launching quite yet. On top of my school work I also have some very intense freelance work that is keeping me jumping. It's going to be a stressful week, but a good one...I hope. There will be the 10 day countdown to look forward to. The Pick-up Princess crew has a very special surprise in store! So don't turn the dials that no longer exist today...more things should have dials.

The Pick Up Princess! Coming Soon!

Yesterday I was given the second beta test of the upcoming animated children's e-book "The Pick-up Princess"! So far there is still no release date, but here is what Frank Ayars of Ayars Animation sent me:

 "I will try to make the bug fixes soon. At some point we willl have a viable release candidate and we will release it to Apple. It will take about two weeks for Apple to approve the binary - assuming no rejections." 

So it's going to be a little later than expected, but we're definitely close to the finish line! I'll keep you upated as things progress. Stay tuned!