2017 engagement calendar - with drawing

So excited to get these from my publisher!

Get organized with this 2017 engagement calendar that actually starts on September 2016, so you can start using it right away.

It's hardcover, 5 x 7 inches, with a weekly planner format, published by Peter Pauper Press.

It's available on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk, and many local bookstores. 

Or... you can buy it from my shop for $25 and I'll draw this on the inside front cover:

It's an encouraging bird, marching courageously into the new year! I need this encouraging bird big time.

I've got a limited number of copies that I am drawing on, so don't wait too long to get one. 

Children's book in the works

So excited to tell you that my wife Kristen and I are working on a children's book! We've been talking about making a book together for ages and ages and we are finally taking the plunge. More to share soon!

From Rain to Rainbows - a book from Chronicle Books

From Rain to Rainbows is a charming new hardcover book published by Chronicle, and I'm thrilled to have three of my drawings included.

They say that without the rain you'd never see the rainbow, and this book is a collection of, you guessed it, delightful artwork about rain and rainbows.

From the introduction:

Here's what they don't say much: that both rain and rainbows can make you happy if you let them. That to cheer yourself up, sometimes all you need to do is get out of yourself for a moment.

Here are the pages with my drawings:

(See original drawings: umbrella, rainbow on skateboard, rainbow types)

Here are some pages by other amazing artists:

Blanca Gomez:

Jessica Stuart-Crump (left) and Riga Sutherland:

Gemma Correll:

Skurtur:

This is the third collection from Chronicle Books that I've had the honour to be a part of. The others were You Are So Loved and Everything is Going to Be OK.

Buy the book here: Amazon.com | amazon.ca

The Daily Artist - a new book

After spending months last year secretly working on this, It's finally out: my new book!

The Daily Artist is a creative journal, a book that you draw in (or write or scratch or scribble), full of creative exercises. The book is meant to be fun, help you look at the world a tiny bit differently, give you some new ideas, and get you drawing.

Buy it online:

USA: Amazon.com

CANADA: Amazon.ca

UK: Amazon.co.uk

ELSEWHERE: BookDepository.com
(free worldwide shipping)

Direct from the publisher: Peter Pauper Press

Ask for it at your local book store or check Indie Bound.

Here's how Amazon describes it:

• Visual and verbal prompts by Johns -- witty, playful, and zany -- will inspire you to pick up that pen or pencil!
• Draw different tattoos, connect random dots, complete sketches already started, and much more.
• No rules here -- its all about having fun and looking at things differently!
• Elastic band attached to back cover keeps your place or keeps journal closed.
• Acid-free archival paper takes pen or pencil beautifully.
• Who knew a creative journal could amuse, entertain, and challenge this much?
• 160 pages. 6-1/4 inches wide by 8-1/4 inches high.

The book has rules:

If you get the book, share what you've done in it! I'd love to see how you use it. Put photos online and use the hashtag #thedailyartist, so we can all see how everyone is using the book.

Bloggers: download photos of the book on Flickr.
(Hat tip to Austin Kleon for this idea.)

Local note: my wife spotted the book in (the amazing) Bolen Books at Hillside Mall, and in Pharmasave in Oak Bay.

"I made these drawings for you" book is on sale

Amazon has my book on sale!
20% off through Amazon.com and about 20% off through Amazon.co.uk.

That's $19.66* in the US (instead of $25.00!) and £12.83* in the UK (instead of £15.95). 

See more photos of the book and links to all the Amazon sites that sell it.

So you know, I have no control over Amazon's discounting (and it doesn't affect my royalties). It has nothing to do with inventory clearance: the book is printed on demand, so there's always copies available. 

So if you haven't bought the book yet, well, go get it! Over 110 drawings of ridiculousness!

Get it from Amazon.com for $19.66 US.
Get it from Amazon.co.uk for £12.83.

* Prices updated as of August 1, 2013. They fluctuate daily. Fine print is fun!

new book now available on Amazon

Yay! My new book, I made these drawings for you, is now available on six Amazon sites. Get it here:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.de
Amazon.fr
Amazon.it
Amazon.es 
CreateSpace

In case you missed it, read more about the book and see photos of some inside pages.

I priced it at exactly $25 (instead of the usual 24.95) on Amazon.com so that you'd qualify for free shipping without having to buy anything else. I think it meets the free shipping threshold on some of the European sites as well.

I'm disappointed that I wasn't able to get it on the Amazon.ca site, for my fellow Canadians. I'm sorry! The service I used, CreateSpace, gets it onto the 6 Amazon sites listed above, and none of the others. I was going to offer the book directly myself but it would cost just as much (maybe more) for me to ship to a Canadian address as it would for Amazon.com to ship to a Canadian address. Maybe in the new year I'll get something sorted out.

Also, for some reason the author is "Mr. Marc Johns". Not sure why the formality is there. I guess it's because I am a thousand years old, so the extra prefix is warranted.

I made these drawings for you - a new book

The book is ready! It is now available online for $25 (£15.95, about €21.00 or less). 

BUY IT HERE:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.de
Amazon.fr
Amazon.it
Amazon.es 
CreateSpace

UPDATE: the price may be less! Amazon has been lowering the price lately.

If you don't live in one of the countries above, not to worry. Amazon will ship anywhere, so pick the shop nearest you and place an order to see how much shipping is.

By the way, I chose $25 (for Amazon.com's price) instead of $24.95 so that you'd automatically hit the threshold for free shipping without having to buy anything else. I love free shipping.

I MADE THESE DRAWINGS FOR YOU. That's how I feel about what I do, so I thought it would be an honest and appropriate title for the book.

102 pages. Full colour. Soft cover. 7.44 x 9.69 inches (18.9 x 24.6 cm). 

Over 110 drawings. Most of them are reproduced at actual size. Drawings look better on paper than on a screen.

Buy it here.

I used CreateSpace to make this book. Like I said in my last post, I am self-publishing this one. I've always wanted to put my own book together at least once, and I like to experiment with new tools and try new ways of sharing my work.

CreateSpace was the only service that allowed me to have my book available on multiple Amazon stores throughout the world, easily. This was important to me, because you (beautiful, amazing audience) are located everywhere. I get orders for my prints from every corner of the globe, so I couldn't have a North American-centric solution. I don't want someone in Germany to have to pay $30 in shipping costs to buy a 25 dollar book. The internet is borderless (in the free world, anyway), and I wish shipping was too. This is as close as I could get.

I looked at a gajillion different ways to make and distribute a book, and this way was the best for me (this time). It's not absolutely perfect, but none of the options are. I could fill a whole separate blog sharing all the research I gathered.

I won't be selling the book directly (for now). Shipping costs from me to you are too high. Buy it here, or wait til it's available from Amazon.

I MADE THESE DRAWINGS FOR YOU.

I'm working on a new book

Yup, a new book is on its way, and it will (hopefully) be available very very soon (if you subscribe to my shop newsletter, you already knew about this).

My last book, Serious Drawings, is sold out, as in out-of-print, and has been for quite a while now. You can still get a copy here and there if you search for it, but many of them are going for $60 to $100 online, which is crazy. Anyway, I'm happy to report that a new book is on the way!

Below is a photo taken during my artwork selection process. I printed out all the decent drawings onto regular paper, four per page, and then cut them all out. I went through about 300 drawings, trying to narrow it down to 100 (printing a 300 page colour book is way too expensive). They're all from between 2009-2012. None of them were in Serious Drawings. I probably have enough material left over to do another whole book.

And here's a peek at some of the pages, printed out from the working design file:

I'm self-publishing it. I've always wanted to make my own book, at least once in my career. I've always admired people who did. I make drawings and share them here, for you, and I wanted to make a book for you. I wanted to keep it personal. Like a zine, only a bit more polished.

I also wanted to go through the whole process and make all the mistakes and learn lots along the way. I even set up my own imprint, because I thought it would sound better to be published by Parallelogram Books (more about that another time) than by Marc Johns.

I love book people, and everyone I've ever interacted with from the publishing industry has been delightful. They are a passionate and intelligent bunch. I certainly don't think I can do a better job than a traditional publisher, but like I said earlier, I wanted to keep this book personal, and try putting it together myself.

Stay tuned! Hopefully this will be ready real soon. I'm just waiting for a proof from the printers.

You Are So Loved - from Chronicle Books

You Are So Loved is a new book from Chronicle Books with four of my drawings in it. It is a follow-up to the very successful Everything Is Going To Be OK, which also included my artwork (and which I've blogged about).

I'm on the first page!

It's a book full of illustrated positivity. There are loads of amazing artists, including many friends and heroes: Jen Collins, Lisa Congdon, Gemma Correll, Will Bryant, Jessica Hische, Dallas Clayton, Julia Rothman and many more creative heavyweights contribute to this collection.

Buy the book here: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com | Book Depository

Breakthrough - a book about overcoming creative block

I'm in this book:

Super talented renaissance man Alex Cornell asked me and 89 other creatives to contribute our take on creative block, and the result is this book from Princeton Architectural Press. A very good book.

Here's the spread with my contribution:

Here are two of my suggestions for overcoming creative block:

Change your materials
Try pen and paper. It forces you to focus on the basics, on simple solutions. Use crayons. Use chalk. Write on your hand. Take that paper cup from the coffee shop, cut it open, lay it out flat and draw on that. Attack it like a wild animal.

Pretend
Stop thinking like a designer or writer or whatever you are for a minute. Pretend you’re a pastry chef. Pretend you’re an elevator repair contractor. A pilot. A hot dog vendor. How do these people look at the world?

The book also includes wisdom from Debbie Millman, Douglas Rushkoff, Khoi Vinh, Paula Scher, Jon Contino, Cameron Moll, and a ton of other brilliant people.

Here's a spread with Christoph Niemann and Jamie Lidell:

And here's musician Alexi Murdoch, a big favourite of my wife and I:

Brain Pickings did a really nice, lengthy write-up about it, and Swiss Miss did a great post about it too. I'm so honoured to be a part of it.

Available here: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca

Everything is going to be OK - from Chronicle Books

Everything Is Going To Be OK is a new, lovely little hardcover book out from Chronicle Books, and I am thrilled to have a post-it note drawing in it.

It's a book full of positive, inspirational messages, all presented in a fun and fresh way.

Here's my piece - I'm on the last page:

The best part is being in the same book as some wonderful creative people, such as Austin Kleon, Marian Bantjes, Anthony Burrill, Clifton Burt, Mike Perry, and a whole bunch of others.

From Chronicle Books' description:

A little inspiration goes a long way. It's the end of the naughties, and things are starting to look up: cropping up everywhere are messages of sincerity, optimism, and hope, and the good cheer has spread to the world of art and design. This pocket-sized volume is filled with artwork bearing mottos of encouragement and affirmation. Featuring work from a diverse roster of indie artists, designers, and crafters—including beloved figures such as Mike Perry, Marian Bantjes, Marc Johns, Enormous Champion, and Yee-Haw Industries, as well as a host of emerging new talents—this hip take on the classic cheer-you-up gift book is the perfect visual treat for anyone whose spirits need a little lift from time to time.

Buy the book:
Amazon.ca | Amazon.com | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indie Bound

Paper towel drawing in Rainn Wilson's new book

One of my paper towel drawings is in Rainn Wilson's new book, Soul Pancake.

Based on the website SoulPancake.com, the book explores philosophy, creativity, spirituality, love, truth, science, and much more with big questions, intriguing challenges, and loads of art. Here's my page:

Check it out: Rainn signed my book!

Here's a larger image of the paper towel drawing:

More paper towel drawings here.

I'm sure most of you know who Rainn Wilson is, but in case you don't (I know that lots of you are outside North America) he's the actor who plays Dwight on NBC's show The Office, among other things. He was terrific as the convenience store clerk in the movie Juno.