Carlyn Beccia

Houghton Mifflin, 2010

You're feeling sick. If it were a long time ago, you might...
A. Drink a glass full of millipedes.
B. Rub some moldy bread on your leg.
C. Tie earthworms around your neck.
D. Put a frog down your throat.

It wasn't too long ago that people tried all sorts of things to help sick people feel better. They tried wild things like drinking a glass full of millipedes or putting a frog down their throat. Some of the cures worked, and some of them…well, let's just say that millipedes, living or dead, are not meant to be ingested. Carlyn Beccia takes readers on a colorful and funny medical mystery tour to discover that while times may have changed, many of today's most reliable cure-alls have their roots in some very peculiar practices, and so relevant connections can be drawn from what they did then to what we do now.
Buy the Book>

Who Put the B in the Ballyhoo?
Houghton Mifflin, 2007

A is for Awesome,
A show for all ages,
Death-defying acts,
And strange beast in cages

In the early 1900s, in a time before big budget movies and video games, circus day was the most anticipated event in towns across America. Even during the depression, crowds lined up to see snake charmers, strongmen and acrobats. And no other form of advertisement was as effective as the circus poster in promoting this event. Who put the B in the Ballyhoo? illustrates the alphabet through colorful posters and the stars that brought the circus to life. See the grace of the bareback rider, the daring of the acrobat, the strangeness of the snake charmer, and the delight of the dancing pigs. What was it like when the circus came to town? This book gives you a ringside seat.
Buy the Book>

Digital Painting for the Complete Beginner
(Watson-Guptill, 2012)

Whether you are a beginner or an expert, master the tools and techniques of digital painting programs. Carlyn Beccia begins with the fundamentals, including understanding brushes, canvases, and available media—with opportunities to practice and experiment along the way. The easy to follow tutorials show how to create a diverse range of art, including drawings, sketches in pastel and watercolor, oil paintings, and mixed media pieces. Whatever your interests are in art and digital media, Digital Painting for the Complete Beginner will be your point of departure for making your own expressive and unique digital works.
Buy the Book>

The Digital Renaissance: Classic Painting Techniques in Photoshop and Painter
(Focal Press, 2014)

The Digital Renaissance teaches you how to translate the methods and skills found in traditional art to the digital medium. By covering fundamental painting principles and the basics of digital software, before moving into tutorials that break down key techniques, professional artist Carlyn Beccia teaches you how to use the tools at hand to paint your own works of art.

Each chapter showcases one great painter and analyzes the techniques that set each one apart. These techniques are then imitated in step-by-step tutorials, allowing you to achieve amazingly convincing results and bring your own work to new creative heights.
Take a Look Inside the Book>
Buy the Book>

Books I have illustrated:





	NEW!!! Fashion Rebels: Style Icons Who Changed the World through Fashion Aladdin/Beyond Words (September 6, 2016) Get to know the women who've wielded the power of fashion and brought about change with this illustrated biography that features twenty-five of history's most influential fashion icons. Throughout time, daring women have made fashion choices that have altered the course of history. From Marie Antoinette, who wore a hairstyle as large as her presence, to Coco Chanel, who imagined a world without rib crushing corsets and heavy gowns, to Katharine Hepburn, who walked around the studio in her underwear when studio executives refused to let her wear her then-scandalous jeans, these women were mavericks as well as rebellious icons. Featuring hairstyle tips, DIY projects, inspiration boards that break down each icon's style, and illustrated timelines that cover the evolution of pants, skirts, the little black dress, and more, Fashion Rebels: Style Icons Who Changed the World through Fashion invites readers to treat fashion as an act of fearless creativity—and even become fashion trailblazers themselves. Buy the Book> *I Feel Better, with a Frog in my Throat* History's Strangest Cures Houghton Mifflin, 2010 You're feeling sick. If it were a long time ago, you might... A. Drink a glass full of millipedes. B. Rub some moldy bread on your leg. C. Tie earthworms around your neck. D. Put a frog down your throat. It wasn't too long ago that people tried all sorts of things to help sick people feel better. They tried wild things like drinking a glass full of millipedes or putting a frog down their throat. Some of the cures worked, and some of them…well, let's just say that millipedes, living or dead, are not meant to be ingested. Carlyn Beccia takes readers on a colorful and funny medical mystery tour to discover that while times may have changed, many of today's most reliable cure-alls have their roots in some very peculiar practices, and so relevant connections can be drawn from what they did then to what we do now. Buy the Book> *The Raucous Royals:* Test your Royal Wits: Crack Codes, Solve Mysteries, and Deduce Which Royal Rumors are True Houghton Mifflin, 2008 Psssst....Have you heard the one about Anne Boleyn and her six fingers? Did King George III really talk to trees?Did Napoleon Bonaparte have reason to have a short complex? Do you believe any of these rumors? The Raucous Royals invites readers to become a history detective and come to their own conclusions about 13 pretty raucous royals. Each of these rulers is remembered for rumors and gossip that have survived thousands of year. Some of these rumors are true and some of them are false. And with some of them we will never know. But all of them are told to you in secret. Please don't repeat them! Buy the Book> Who Put the B in the Ballyhoo? Houghton Mifflin, 2007 A is for Awesome, A show for all ages, Death-defying acts, And strange beast in cages In the early 1900s, in a time before big budget movies and video games, circus day was the most anticipated event in towns across America. Even during the depression, crowds lined up to see snake charmers, strongmen and acrobats. And no other form of advertisement was as effective as the circus poster in promoting this event. Who put the B in the Ballyhoo? illustrates the alphabet through colorful posters and the stars that brought the circus to life. See the grace of the bareback rider, the daring of the acrobat, the strangeness of the snake charmer, and the delight of the dancing pigs. What was it like when the circus came to town? This book gives you a ringside seat. Buy the Book> Digital Painting for the Complete Beginner (Watson-Guptill, 2012) Whether you are a beginner or an expert, master the tools and techniques of digital painting programs. Carlyn Beccia begins with the fundamentals, including understanding brushes, canvases, and available media—with opportunities to practice and experiment along the way. The easy to follow tutorials show how to create a diverse range of art, including drawings, sketches in pastel and watercolor, oil paintings, and mixed media pieces. Whatever your interests are in art and digital media, Digital Painting for the Complete Beginner will be your point of departure for making your own expressive and unique digital works. Buy the Book> The Digital Renaissance: Classic Painting Techniques in Photoshop and Painter (Focal Press, 2014) The Digital Renaissance teaches you how to translate the methods and skills found in traditional art to the digital medium. By covering fundamental painting principles and the basics of digital software, before moving into tutorials that break down key techniques, professional artist Carlyn Beccia teaches you how to use the tools at hand to paint your own works of art. Each chapter showcases one great painter and analyzes the techniques that set each one apart. These techniques are then imitated in step-by-step tutorials, allowing you to achieve amazingly convincing results and bring your own work to new creative heights. Take a Look Inside the Book> Buy the Book> Books I have illustrated: