Planet Markix

Wishing Everybody an Amazing and Magical Holiday Season!

2009-12-16T16:50:00.003-07:00

2009-12-13T18:23:00.005-07:00

I have been monitoring gift trends this holiday season among all the shirts and etc. I have designed, and, surprisingly, "the dog ate my lesson plans" shirts for teachers has been the biggest seller by far. Interesting -- I would have never guessed that.

O' Christmas Time (already?!)

2009-11-02T15:31:00.006-07:00

Seems the stores have decked the halls for Christmas already, so I guess I better get with the spirit and start letting people know about my line of Christmas cards and such at Santa-T.com.

And while your there, play some reindeer games, text Santa, learn about winter science, and find out how much time is left until Santa arrives at your house.

Review & Interview

2009-10-21T10:06:00.006-07:00

7-year-old Lillie Forteau, a Children's Reporter for WanderingEducators.com, just gave a wonderful review of my book Ellwood's Plans. She also interviewed me about my work and career. After twenty-five years of freelancing it's still feels good to have my work noticed and appreciated. Thanks Lillie, Dr. Voigts and Wandering Educators.

And BTW, if you are an educator and you like to travel you'll love the other features at WanderingEducators.com.

Going Ghosting?

2009-10-14T10:25:00.004-07:00

Halloween Ghosting is a great Halloween tradition and it can be a load of fun.

Ghosting usually involves sneaking over to a friend's or neighbor's house to anonymously leave a small bag of wrapped candy treats or small Halloween novelties and a "You've Been Ghosted!" notice on the doorstep. Then that neighbor makes up a small bag of Halloween goodies and anonymously leaves it on the doorstep of another friend or neighbor, and so on, and so on.

Once somebody has been ghosted, the "You've Been Ghosted!" notice is usually taped on the front door or in a front window to let everybody know not to "ghost" that house again.

The best time to go ghosting is just after dark a day or two before Halloween. But be careful when sneaking around the neighborhood in the dark. Always be sure to carry a flashlight and to watch your step. Have fun, but be safe!

You can find a Halloween Ghosting Letter (and other fun Halloween stuff) at my Halloween website imHalloween.com

End of Summer Bummer

2009-10-04T12:44:00.005-07:00

I had to put my pool toy (tentatively titled the "Sea Hoss") invention on hold. Even though I have a company interested in possibly licensing the idea, the cost of getting a patent and developing a prototype would run into the tens of thousands of dollars. So, for now, it's being pushed off the old drawing board (literally) to concentrate on illustration jobs.

I M Halloween

2009-10-01T08:32:00.003-07:00

Ah, Halloween! Because it was one of my favorite holidays as a child, I decided to create a cartoon character and gave him his own website just so I can relive the joy of Halloween anew each year.

At IMHalloween.com you'll find all kinds of free Halloween stuff -- coloring pages, fun Flash games, Spooky Clip Art, ghosting info and letters, and more.

Happy haunting!

Give me a "C"

2009-09-22T13:10:00.007-07:00

Just a reminder to all you artists and other creative types out there to officially copyright your intellectual property whenever possible. You can do it online now at the Electronic Copyright Office.

I recently had an incident where an unscrupulous individual hijacked a bunch of artwork, etc. from a website of mine. Fortunately, since I had a Federal copyright on the artwork, the person was persuaded to stop using my intellectual property.

Free Clip Art at Discovery School.

2009-09-13T12:38:00.005-07:00

And while I'm on the subject of school...

Don't forget you all you students, parents of students, teachers, and other educational types can get free clip art created by me at Discovery Education's Clip Art Gallery. The Discovery Clip Art Gallery, which is now sponsored by Hallmark, features thousands of pieces of fun clip art for all your educational projects.

Teachers! What happened to your lesson plans?

2009-09-11T16:07:00.004-07:00

It's back-to-school time, so now is a great time to remind teachers to get their "the dog ate my lesson plans" totes, shirts, magnets, and more at my shop at CafePress.

2009-08-18T14:13:00.002-07:00

Landlocked in Arizona but dreaming of a long vacation by the sea

I could spend my time drawing and painting and getting lots of vitamin D

Someday maybe

Artwork from a poem book for English language learners in South Korea. Published by Happy House. Artwork © Mark A. Hicks

2009-08-06T11:50:00.011-07:00

I'd like to offer a BIG thanks to Ginger and Paige for the nice comments about my work here and on their blogs. These two are illustrators as well and they do some wonderful work. So check out their blogs and artwork for some whimsical fun.

Back to School with Free Clip Art for Teachers

2009-07-17T12:37:00.016-07:00

It's that time already? Where did the summer go? In just a few days my wife gets back to the job of being a teacher program coach. So I thought this would be a great time to share a couple of items that might make getting ready for the school year more productive.

First, I have created over a thousand pieces of clip art that educators can use for free at Discovery Education. There's artwork for Art Education, Fun & Games, Health & Safety, Language Arts, Math, Music, Science, and much more.

Next, I have a page on my website that offers tips for using clip art effectively for school and classroom publications. (Be sure to check out all the little extras on the page.)

Ellwood's Plans

2009-06-24T10:05:00.008-07:00

Finally, I'm getting around to launching this book. I've used the illustrations for years for promo pieces, but, because of various reasons, I never got around to getting it published. So, this spring I dusted off the art and manuscript and did it.

It's a fun story of Ellwood, his guitar, and how things often don't go exactly as planned. (I'm sure everybody can relate to things not going as exactly planned. I know a lot of my big plans never pan out.)

You can find it at my own imprint, PumpkinSproutBooks.com or at Amazon.com! ISBN 1448603455

Lucky Lizards?!

2009-06-16T15:01:00.018-07:00

Recently I illustrated several poem books for a South Korean publisher. The books are intended to help young students learn English in South Korean schools.

Although it seems kind of dark for little children, the artwork shown here (above) is one my favorite sets of illustrations from the books. I can just imagine the look on the faces of a class of innocent kindergartners as the teacher reads the end of this poem and shares the illustration with the class. I love it.

2009-06-09T10:48:00.001-07:00

Sigh. Another birthday has come and gone.

I created this illustration for a greeting card company many, many years ago. At that time the thought of a cake full of candles seemed hilarious. Sigh.

2009-06-05T11:55:00.000-07:00

Planning a trip to Arizona? Be sure to visit Gila Ben's Arizona Pages for some fun facts and coloring pages all about the Grand Canyon State.

2009-05-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

There's nothing like a good old pool party to get the summer started off right! And don't forget to send out the invitations (send paper ones -- invitations sent electronically are so cold and impersonal.)

Tips for Aspiring Freelance Illustrators

2009-05-25T15:32:00.000-07:00

Over the years I have often been asked if I could offer some advice on how to launch a career as a freelance illustrator, so I came up with the concise list of tips below to share with any and all who ask for help getting started.

1. Have a passion for creating art.

2. Find a medium that you are comfortable with and enjoy working in.

3. Develop a style all your own.

4. Persevere. Perseverance is a large part of being a successful freelance illustrator. Don't give up when your art is rejected (and it probably will be) by a publisher.

5. Pick up copies of the latest editions of illustration market resource books at the library, your local bookstore or online. These resource books offer great tips on submitting your artwork, as well as indispensable business information.

6. Make time to create just for yourself. Explore and stretch your abilities and imagination on your own. Create for the sake of creating. It's inevitable that some art assignments, because of budget, time, size, or the personalities directing the project, will not turn out as "masterpieces." This can leave you frustrated and artistically unsatisfied if you do not take the time to occasionally create just for yourself.

7. You might want to consider another career choice if you think freelance illustrating will be an easy path to fame and fortune.

Welcome!

2009-05-23T13:50:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to my new blog.

Please check out some of my websites and links down the right side of this page.