Tomie dePaola Illustration Contest

{Graphite Drawing with Digital Mixed Media, 2014}

Click image to view larger

I was really excited that the Tomie dePaola competition was a little more complex this year. We were supposed to illustrate a wordless spread with 4-6 panels that told a story. I spent quite a bit of time working out my story panels and was pretty pleased with the way my entry turned out. I'm happy to have this as an addition to my portfolio! Thanks for the prompt SCBWI and Tomie! I can't wait to see which 10 finalists Tomie chooses!

Tomie de Paola 2013 Illustrator's Contest

 {Acrylic and Digital, 2013}

This is my entry for the 2013 Tomie de Paola illustration contest. The prompt this year was a simple poem that was fairly difficult to illustrate. The text is from a poetry book that was written by Lin Oliver and illustrated by Tomie de Paola. It read, "A sneeze is a breeze in your nose." The target age is for babies age 2 and under. I wanted to create something that was dreamy and imaginative but also clearly illustrate a sneeze and a breeze. You can read the whole prompt HERE. The prize is a trip to the winter SCBWI conference in New York City and a special lunch with Tomie de Paola himself!

Bathe with an Octopus?

{Watercolor and Gouache, 2013}

In my previous post I mentioned that I would share the illustration that I created for the Iowa SCBWI spring conference illustrator's intensive. We were given a manuscript for a children's book and we asked to choose a scene to illustrate. I chose the octopus scene. We each sent sketches to Senior Art Director at Little Brown and Co.,  Patti Ann Harris, and she responded with comments for each illustrator's piece. This is my original sketch:

{Sketch, 2013}

Patti Ann didn't have a ton of things to change, but there were a few tweaks. Can you see a few differences? At the end of the intensive, we were shown what the actual book looked like. Here is the cover for the book illustrated by Marc Brown of "Arthur" fame.

You can preview the book on Amazon. Its really adorable and fun! The book was done in a cut paper collage technique that is beyond gorgeous! If you ever get a chance to meet Patti Ann Brown, do it! She was so encouraging and more importantly, very intelligent about the industry. Her eye for composition, technique and book flow is impeccable! 

Shiny New Bookmarks!

{Promotional Bookmarks, 2012}

 {Promotional Bookmarks, 2012}

I'm going to an SCBWI Iowa event this weekend and I wanted to have a fun little promotional freebie to give away. I'm not planning to send out postcards until the spring ( after baby is born and my book project is done) so I thought about something that could be a non-mailer. I decided on a bookmark to start getting the word out about the book I'm currently working on. The bookmark has one of the illustrations from the book and all of my contact information. For the conference, I punched holes in the top and added a coordinated ribbon to fancy it up! I still have several that are unpunched in the event I want to mail a few out. As always, I recommend Overnight Prints because the quality is good, the prices are fair and they ship really fast (even at standard rates).

Workshop Sketch

{Sketch, 2012}

This is a sketch for an upcoming illustrator workshop that will be part of the Iowa SCBWI conference later this month. I'm looking forward to painting this and adding all the little details. I'm also looking forward to the conference in a few weeks! It'll be nice to see fellow children's book people!

Chicken Licken for Competition

{Oil on Board, 2011}
*Click on image to view larger*

Chicken Licken excerpt by P.C. Asbjörnsen

So they went along and went along until they met Turkey Lurkey
“Good morning, Goosey Loosey, Ducky Daddles, Cocky Locky, Henny Penny,
and Chicken Licken,” said Turkey Lurkey, “where are you going?”
“Oh, Turkey Lurkey, the sky is falling and we are going to tell the King!”
“How do you know the sky is falling?” asked Turkey Lurkey.
“Ducky Daddles told me,” said Goosey Loosey.
“Cocky Locky told me,” said Ducky Daddles.
“Henny Penny told me,” said Cocky Locky.
“Chicken Licken told me,” said Henny Penny
“I saw it with my own eyes, I heard it with my own ears,
and a piece of it fell on my tail!” said Chicken Licken.
“Then I will go with you,” said Turkey Lurkey, “and we will tell the King!”

I decided to try my hand at the SCBWI illustration challenge that was initiated by illustrator Tomie dePaola. Regardless of the results, I am really glad I participated because I think I ended up with a nice new portfolio piece. The above text is the excerpt that participants were given to inspire an image. Best of luck to all of my fellow participants! It will be fun to see who Tomie picks!

SCBWI Wisconsin Illustrator's Intensive

{Oil on Board, 2011}

This past weekend I headed up to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for an illustrator's intensive with Simon & Schuster art director Laurent Linn. When I signed up for the program, it came with an assignment. Participants were given two stories to choose from and each person had to choose a scene to illustrate. We sent sketches to Laurent a few months prior to the event and he responded with comments to make it better. This is the sketch I initially sent to him:{Sketch on Cardstock, 2011}

Some of his comments for improvement were that that characters were too crowded and that the point of view seemed too high. This is how I fixed that:

{Sketch on Paper, 2011}

Laurent didn't get to see our revised sketches but he was pleasantly surprised to see the final had changed so much. (it's often hard to break away for your initial vision and I think it can be hard to admit that something isn't working and that you need to rethink a composition.) Overall, it was very affirming to hear that Laurent liked the solution I had arrived at. He also liked the period details and color choices I had made (yay!). Overall, the intensive was really interesting. We got to see how different each artist's style was and their interpretations of different scenes. I took a lot of notes as Laurent critiqued each piece. He has so many nuggets of wisdom and was so nice! He has a really genuine respect and passion for the art of children's books and I think everyone in attendance got something out of his visit.

Sketch for Illustrator Intensive Event

{Pencil Sketch, 2011}

This is part of a larger pencil sketch for an SCBWI illustrator's intensive that I am planning to attend in June. I will post the final piece and explain more about the event after I have experienced it. I'm looking forward to the event and seeing what other illustrators have come up with!

SCBWI Spring Conference 2011

{Eric Rohmann and Me, 2011}

{Lin Oliver and Me, 2011}

{Des Moines Area SCBWI Members, 2011}

This past weekend was the annual Iowa SCBWI Spring Conference. As always, it was fabulous! Featured guests included:

• Lin Oliver Author and Co-Founder of SCBWI
• Molly O'Neil Assistant Editor at Katherine Tegan Books, Harper Collins Children's Books
• Alli Brydon Editor at Sterling
• Author Candace Fleming
• Illustrator Eric Rohmann
• Diane Muldrow Author and Editor at Little Golden Books
• Gary D. Schmidt Hamline Professor and Author
• Stephen Fraser Agent
• Michelle Bayuk Marketing Director for Albert Whitman

Aside from the featured guests, attendees came from all over Iowa. There were also people from Minnesota, Missouri, South Dakota, Nebraska and Illinois! We have so many talented people in our group and there are many published authors and illustrators. I'm excited to join the ranks as a published member at next year's conference. During the conference I had a scheduled portfolio review with Caldecott winner and author/illustrator Eric Rohmann. He had wonderful ideas to help improve my chances with art directors and to help polish my portfolio. I was also able to meet Lin Oliver, the co-founder of SCBWI. She is incredibly sweet and very invested in helping writers and illustrators find their wings!

Recent Happenings

{DaVinci Exhibit, Science Center of Iowa, 2011}

I don't have any artwork to share in this post, even though my studio is full of new art right now. I look forward to being able to show a few pieces later, but for now I offer a photo of me as the Mona Lisa!

Here is what is going on in my art life right now:

1. I finished my 9th illustration for the book I am working on. That puts me at the halfway point! 9 more to go and then I can ship them off to the publisher!

2. I just signed up to attend the 2011 Iowa SCBWI conference. I am looking forward to seeing friends made at previous conferences and making new friends! Also, excited about a portfolio review and great information.

3. I just sent sketches to my other publisher for my second children's book and should get edits back sometime this week.

I'm busy as busy can be, but enjoying the process and seeing a lot of improvement in my illustration and book spread composition skills.

David Diaz at the Joslyn Art Museum

{Me and David Diaz, 2011}

{"Me, Frida", David's Newest Book, 2011}

{David Showing Sketches, Process, Promotional Materials, 2011}

{One Area of the Exhibit, Joslyn Art Museum, 2011}

I had a wonderful opportunity to see Caldecott winning illustrator David Diaz speak at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska a little over a week ago. He was very funny and very open about his process and how he approaches illustrating books. He showed sketches and promotional materials for his most current book entitled, "Me, Frida". I had my picture taken with him and asked him to sign my sketchbook... which ended in 6 pages of sharpie sketches! My friend and fellow illustrator, Erin Taylor, was able to coordinate this event with the Golden Kite Awards exhibit that was curated by Diaz and is now showing at the Joslyn Art Museum. It was overwhelming to see so many original illustrations from the best in the industry dating back to the 1970's. Illustrators included Melissa Sweet, Tomie de Paola, Trina Schart Hyman, David Shannon, and so many more! The Golden Kite Awards show is a traveling exhibit so if it comes to your area, I highly recommend seeing it!

SCBWI Bulletin

{Watercolor, 2010}

{Watercolor, 2010}

I am officially back from my trip to England and Ireland. I will be sharing some experiences in later posts! Until then, I am pleased and excited to share that I had seven illustrations included in the May/June issue of the SCBWI Bulletin. The above images are a few of the illustrations chosen to appear.

SCBWI:Iowa Spring 2010 Conference

{Book Signing with Marla Frazee, 2010}

The 2010 SCBWI: Iowa conference managed to top last year's event! Guest speakers included illustrator and 2 time Caldecott Honor winner Marla Frazee, editor of Beachlane Books Allyn Johnston, author Mike Shoulders, author and former Farrar, Straus, and Giroux editor Lisa Graff, literary agent Ammi-Joan Paquette, Harper Collins editor Laura Arnold and author Carol Gorman. There was also a wealth of information from fellow Iowa published illustrators, authors and aspiring illustrators and authors. It is always nice to know that you aren't alone going through the struggles of breaking into publishing. (well, you are, but you aren't the only one feeling all the feelings that go along with it.)

My portfolio review with Marla was fabulous. She has a very authentic way of reviewing work. She gave me tangible things to work on while reassuring me that I was "very talented". (ok, really? Marla called me...me?! talented. What a wonderful compliment!)

{Book Signing with Mike Shoulders, 2010}

Author Mike Shoulders' presentations really resonated within me too. He does over 100 school visits each year and as a former educator and principal, he REALLY has it together! He gave wonderful tips on enhancing school visits. Mike is a positive person to the core and is clearly doing what he excels at!

{Mike Shoulders gettin' Jiggy, 2010}

Mike rapped one of his books, and he TOTALLY pulled it off. A little humor and humility go a really long way! Overall, it was wonderful to meet new people in the field and reconnect with people from last year. I had a great roomate, Erin Taylor, and I suggest you check out her blog too!

Iowa SCBWI Conference Video

{Video by Ellie Ditzel, 2009}

A lovely video showing picture highlights of the 2009 Spring Conference in Bettendorf, Iowa. If you watch it, you'll see just how much fun we all had! Iowa has some truly talented and wonderful people spread out across the state. I'm in a few shots, and ... more importantly, my portfolio set up!

SCBWI:Iowa Conference

{Portfolio Display, 2009}

The SCBWI:Iowa (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrator's) conference was this past weekend. This was my first time attending, and WOW, it was so amazing. The wealth of information at this regional event is so vast! They had quite a bit of information for illustrators, even though of the 83 attendees, there were less than 10 of us. The guest speakers or this three day event included:

• Harold Underdown who has been an editor for several books within children's publishing and the author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Children's Books". 
  
• Abigail Samoun, an editor at Tricycle Press since 2000. She had a lot of love for illustrators as well as writers. (very exciting to hear!)
  
• Amy Lennex of Sleeping Bear Press, which is in Michigan. I always get excited to hear about Michigan!
  
• Ruta Rimas, who is an editor for a brand new imprint of Harper Collins called Balzer + Bray. She was so witty and fun to listen to.
• Larry Day, an illustrator, who has illustrated several books, including "Not Afraid of Dogs", which I bought at the book sale, and he signed for me! He also gave me a portfolio review, which gave me some interesting things to think about, and revise.

There were also several published authors from Iowa in attendance (also presenting) as well as a few published illustrators. The next SCBWI:Iowa conference is the weekend of October 24, 2009 and will be held in Des Moines. (I am super excited about not having to drive three hours for that!) I can hardly wait to go again. SCBWI members are always very encouraging and engaging.

{Weekend Snapshots Collage, 2009}

From top left clockwise: Attendees enjoying portfolio displays, Canadian geese and goslings alongside the Mississippi river on the Iowa side, Attendee checking out fellow Iowa illustrator, Claudia McGehee's portfolio display, some John Deere equipment in Moline, Illinois, a few of the conference guests (from left to right: Abigail Samoun, Harold Underdown, and Ruta Rimas), and some lovely and fragrant blossoms.

SCBWI:Nebraska Event

{Character Study, 2009}

Saturday, March 28, 2009 I attended the Nebraska state SCBWI conference held in Omaha. While it was small and geared mostly toward writers, I still felt that it was a positive experience. In fact, every time I go to something like this, it makes me want to start writing again. (we'll see) The keynote speaker was Andrew Karre of Carolrhoda Books. (which is a division of Lerner Publishing) He spent a good deal of time talking about networking on places like Blogger, Facebook, and Twitter. He also had a lot of optimism to offer in the way of the up coming generation and their hunger for reading material. In essence, this generation is the most linked in and communication based group in history. If you think about it, teens are reading a writing more and more, if not in the traditional sense. (ie. texting, facebooking, twittering) I also like that he added that perhaps literacy isn't just about words. (a shout out to the illustrators out there) but that our culture is moving to a more image/word based balance instead of just text. (AND that it isn't necessarily a bad thing) Overall, he had a fresh perspective that was new to me! It was also refreshing to have someone working in publishing that was right around 30 years old and seemingly excited to be there.
Now I am looking toward the SCBWI:Iowa event in Bettendorf from April 24-26, 2009. Its a bigger event and they have scheduled a speaker and some events specifically for illustrators. I hope to meet and network with some great people. I also get a chance to display my portfolio and have a portfolio review by Larry Day. (who also happens to be the speaker for the illustrators). I am VERY excited!
The image above is just a little character study with prisma pencil on chipboard that I did this morning. I need to start creating multiple images of the same character. I would like to do more of these. Perhaps I will start doing one or two a week. (with more than just two character options and some bodies attached) After all, if I'm going to aim for children's publishing I suppose it would be wise to prove that I am capable of drawing the same character over and over!

Whoa! What a Week!

{Graphite, 2009}

This is from tonight's figure drawing class at the Des Moines Art Center. The focus was on legs and feet. I didn't get all the way through it, but its an improvement on some of my past feet. I have been SO busy this week just trying to finish up projects that are coming to a close and are due ASAP. I did manage to get a minute to sign up for the Nebraska SCBWI event that will be in Omaha on March 28, 2009. I am really excited to go and see what its all about. I've been a member for almost a year, but have only read the bulletins and used the website minimally. I hope to get a few snapshots while I am there to share on my blog. I have a feeling that it will be a good experience!