Happy Birthday to Me by Sheralyn Barnes

Today is my birthday and I’m halfway to ninety should I get there. 

I really wasn’t planning to make a big deal of it, especially because I’ve been feeling older in body and spirit in the last few months. Also, I am allergic to a lot of foods. I can’t eat gluten, sugar, or dairy. This is terribly inconvenient for my poor husband who probably has one of the hardest wives to try to do something special for on her birthday. We usually just go out for Indian food.

So a thought occurred to me the other night. I was thinking about this upcoming post and how I’ve been feeling rather “un-fun” with my art lately. I was thinking how ever since I started creating art for money (and on the computer), a lot of the fun has gotten overshadowed by anxiety about doing a good job, my obsessiveness that accompanies working digitally, and navigating contracts. I started thinking about what a BIG deal your birthday is to you when you’re a kid and how you let EVERYONE know. So I told my husband we should definitely have cake for my birthday this year....on paper. I went out and bought crayons and some construction paper. I spent 3 hours literally sprawled out on the living room floor, crayons all around me, making myself a birthday cake. My husband made me one too (he burned it, but it’s still lovely). And my Pixel Shavings mates were incredibly kind enough to take time out of their (very) busy schedules to make me cakes as well. Debbie even took up my challenge of not doing it digitally for the thrill of it.

It was great to not have Control-Z as a safety net. It was great to linger aimlessly over paper on the floor using stubby little sticks of waxy color that seem to work best when held fist first. It was great to realize by middle aged body can still manage to sit on the floor for hours. But most of all, it was great to feel like a kid again and get lost in coloring for a few hours for no reason whatsoever.....except...

IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!

©2012 Sheralyn Barnes

©2012 Brian Barnes

©2012 Hazel Mitchell

©2012 Debbie Ohi

©2012 Russ Cox

Thanks to everyone for the loveliest cakes ever 

and for making my birthday so great!

 

www.sheralynbarnes.com 

Being an Idea Factory by Fred Koehler

Dan Santat illustrated like seven books in one year. My friend Janeen Mason told me she can have a dozen projects at various stages of development all up in the air at once. At a recent SCBWI conference I heard repeated again and again that successful writers and illustrators are idea factories.

So while book numero uno, DAD'S BAD DAY, is in full swing, I'm keeping up the writing and the sketching and the concepts. Here are a couple of recent ideas that I think have some promise.

The Pink Princess Problem - wherein a poor little giant is pestered by princesses who are kinda snarky, mean, and evil.

The Happiness Emporium - wherein a penniless boy encounters a curious shopkeeper with the secret to lifelong happiness, and it's for sale.

Thanks to all of the friends of pixelshavings, and check in with us next month!

-Fred Koehler
freddiek.com

Congrats to Russ Cox and Hazel Mitchell on their awards from NESCBWI!

I'm interrupting the usual Pixel Shavings illustration process blog postings to post some special news about two of our members, Russ Cox and Hazel Mitchell. Both came back with awards from the New England SCBWI Conference!

Congrats to Hazel on her second-place win in the People's Choice Award with her "Boy and World" image:

Hazel Mitchell with her print and NESCBWI award.

You can read Hazel's post about the NESCBWI event on her blog.

And congrats to Russ, who won THREE (!!) first-place awards at the conference with the Mother Goose piece he posted about in Pixel Shavings last week:

©2012 Russ Cox.

Russ won first place in the "Published", "People's Choice", and "The Richard Michelson Emerging Artist" categories, and his print will be hanging in the DZain Gallery and the R. Michelson Galleries in Massachusetts.

You can read Russ's post about the event in his blog. Russ also posted about the critique he received from HarperCollins creative director Martha Rago...fascinating insights, and I strongly urge illustrators to read his post.

I've already heard so many good things about the NESCBWI conference, but both Russ's and Hazel's posts (plus everyone's #nescbwi12 posts on Twitter) have convinced me that I really need to try attending this event next year. According to Harold Underdown, the event is scheduled for May 2nd weekend in 2013, so I've marked it in my calendar.

Hazel & Russ with illustrator pals at NESCBWI

Next up: the fabulous Fred Koehler, whose first picture book (Dad's Bad Day) launches in Spring 2014 from Penguin USA.

- Debbie Ridpath Ohi - Twitter: @inkyelbows

Inkygirl.com: An Illustrated Guide For Those Who Write & Illustrate For Young People

From Chicken Scratch to Final by Russ Cox

All images © 2012 Russ Cox | Smiling Otis Studio

Hello everyone! For my post I thought I would share how I developed the idea for a poster contest. Sometimes an idea gets stuck in your head and you need to pursue all avenues to see if it is a good one. This illustration was created for the NESCBWI Conference poster contest. The theme for this year's poster is "A Whole New World". The idea that hit me right away was to use Mother Goose, since she is a standard symbol for children's books and stories, using an iPad which is being used more and more by children to read and interact with stories. 

Originally I wanted to use other iconic characters from children's books. The first sketch shows Mother Goose with Max (Where The Wild Things Are), Pinocchio, and The Three Little Pigs. I liked the idea of them being crowded around the iPad but the overall composition was too busy.

The next idea was a straight on view. I felt it is too direct and lacked a warmth that was needed to tie the "old" and "new" together. You can see the little doodles on the outside of the sketch as I played with composition. At one point, the iPad was very large with the characters staring at it. That composition had too much of a "Big Brother" feel to it.

I went back to Mother Goose as the focal point and had the characters sitting around her and the iPad as if she was reading to them. This was getting better but it lacked the interaction I felt was needed and it needed everyone viewing the device.

Another idea for this concept was if I made Mother Goose a human, riding on a goose with the iPad. Compositionally it was good but then it looked like more of her using a GPS than reading on the device. In the bottom corner, I did a little doodle where she was back to being a goose and facing left. Having her facing left was like she was not ready to move forward but secretly loved the iPad. I moved forward with this idea.

I did a tighter sketch of the idea but added Hickory Dickory, along with the mouse,  to symbolize time and Humpty Dumpty to represent the fragility of embracing digital stories while being true to books and being scared of the new technology.

The above sketches where drawn separately so I could move things around in Photoshop to get the scale and placement to my liking. Instead of clouds in the background that where in the original sketch, I decided to have a book case in the background. This warmed up the tone of the illustration and help strengthen the concept.

Here is the final illustration. I was quite happy with the final and hopes it captures the theme.

Be sure to check back in two weeks for the marvelous Debbie Ohi!

You can view more of my work at:

www.smilingotis.com
Smiling Otis Facebook Fan Page
Smiling Otis Studio Blog

Digital Sketching from Hazel Mitchell

Lately I've been working a lot more with digital sketching, getting my thoughts right onto the screen with no premeditation or thumb-nailing. Really this has been an exercise to stop me overworking, to play more and to have some fun! I have also been limiting my palette by using online palette suggestions (I use http://design-seeds.com, although there are many others out there).

It's been taking me in a different direction and got me out of my standard tools/colours/process. So I thought I would share a few of the sketches I have worked on this last month. Most of them were 15 mins to an hour and I draw on a Wacom tablet and use photoshop CS5.

Thanks for stopping by Pixel Shavings! Stop by next time to see what Russ Cox has on the menu.

Hazel Mitchell

http://hazelmitchell.com

http://hazelmitchell.blogspot.com

 

 

 

  

 

 

The Evolution of the Bunny by Sheralyn Barnes

I loved Fred’s post last week.

 I think he hit the nail on the head about what it takes to be a children's illustrator

and it made me think a lot about my own learning curve on becoming a children’s illustrator over the last two years. So I thought I'd touch upon some of his points...the ones about attending conferences, learning as much as you can, and being open and relaxed to what comes your way.

 I find myself constantly trying to convince fellow writers and illustrators who truly want to publish children’s books to take the plunge and go to not only the regional SCBWI conferences, but also either the New York or LA ones if they can. To attend one of the larger conferences is a pretty big financial commitment, so it’s understandable why people hesitate. I still find it hard to believe that I ignored my doubts and dire financial situation and went to my first New York conference back in 2010 . But I did, and it is probably one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. Since that time I have

 attended two more conferences in LA, one in Nashville, and one in Minneapolis. As the time to commit to going to the LA conference this year grows nearer, again I find myself doubting whether it is important to go. 

So, to reassure myself, I put together this Bunny Timeline. 

This little furry guy is someone that I've been experimenting with since my first New York conference. I've used him as a gauge for what I've learned in the last two years as I've dedicated myself to becoming a professional children's illustrator. Some of you may recognize the first three images from previous posts. When I look at these illustrations now, I can see how with each conference (and the workshops, keynotes, and critiques that go with them) I have learned so much more about what it really is to illustrate for children. Every conference has been important in giving me new insights as to how to be a better. Not to mention the daily influence, support, and inspiration of the great illustrators that I have met at these conferences. When I attended my first regional conference in 2009, I was naive enough to think I knew what I needed to know to be a good children's illustrator. I thought with a few tips, tricks of the trade, and connections, I’d be working in no time. What I learned is that I had a lot to learn if I truly wanted to be good and get published. I could draw well (my degree is in fine art, not illustration), but I didn’t really understand everything that went into a great illustration...especially aspects of story and character development. Attending conferences has continually given me the inspiration and information I need to make illustrations and children's books that I can be proud of, not to mention given me an incredible community to be a part of.

So here is the set up for this first page scene:

A bunny is anxiously awaiting a mouse friend to go find shelter in a barn

as an impending snow storm looms large and threatens their very existence!!!

Rabbit 2010

Here, I found reference photos of wild rabbits (since he was wild right?)

I added a snowy background.

  I thought his looking off into the distance would build intrigue.

What I've learned since:

Wild scrawny, mangy looking rabbits are not necessarily instantly lovable, 

even if they are decently rendered.

I LOVED my rendering of the front paws here.

 I was so in love with their artistic nature that I neglected to

 really assess whether the overall image told a story or was endearing to the reader.

There is absolutely no sense of alarm here.

I was just learning to paint on the computer and this is my

 first real image done entirely digitally.

 I was still using a mouse to draw on the computer. Egads.

 I bought a Wacom tablet and watched many tutorials

 on painting in Photoshop after completing this image.

Rabbit 2011

Which brings us to here..... 

after about 4 months spent learning how to paint in Photoshop.

 I decided that my rabbit needed to be less mangy and skittish looking.

 I also discovered that my obsessive nature of wanting to make things

 look real exploded with the endless ability of the computer to detail things.

And of course...looking back, I obviously still hadn't caught on to giving

 this guy any sense of alarm.

I was very proud of this piece when I showed it to Dan Santat in a critique in LA. 

Dan replied that it was a very nice "portrait" of a rabbit.

 What it wasn't was an illustration that told a story. 

WOW. Big light bulb over head moment there.

Rabbit sketch fall 2011 (post Dan Santat critique)

This critique with Dan became the subject of one of my posts 

here at Pixel Shavings and this is the sketch that I made following it. 

I realized that I tended to make my characters very stoic. 

And decided that as an illustrator I needed to work on 

creating more emotion and to develop more of a story in my scenes.

 I could draw well enough, what I needed to work at was a becoming a better actor and director.

I remember starting to think of my characters in these terms: 

Would I hire them for the role in a casting call?

What qualities would I look for if I were holding an audition?

Bunny 2012

Which brings us to the present.

After taking the time to watch and re-watch Will Terry's great videos,

 and taking in more great insights from the posts of my fellow Pixel Shaving's buddies,

 I began to work on my character design.

 I didn't want this to be a "rabbit". He's a bunny. HE is the LOVABLE character in the story.

 I needed to make him instantly endearing from the start.

 I upped my cuteness factor and this is where I ended up.

 I also warmed him up a bit color-wise, with hopes that it would help the reader warm

 up to him as well.

 I added a hint of the story in the illustration, rather than just a background of snow.

Thus ends my bunny evolution. Time to move on to other things.

 I'm sure that a year from now I will have an entirely new perspective on it all.

 And that is great.

That is why I will be taking the plunge for another conference this year. 

It just gets better and better all the time!

Thanks for checking in!

Sheralyn Barnes

www.sheraynbarnes.com

How to Get a Publishing Contract in 3 Easy Steps by Fred Koehler

Okay, okay. So perhaps that title was a bit deceiving. But, after reading this humorous post on How to Win the Caldecott, I thought I might give it a shot as well. This is a general description of how I sold my first two books to Penguin USA. The first, "Dad's Bad Day," will be out in 2014.

Step 1. Get Really, Really Good at Something. Whether it's writing, illustrating, or even concept and storyboarding, put in the 10,000 hours you need to become successful at your craft. Because all work feeds your art, it doesn't matter where those hours come from. You want to be a writer? Blog. Volunteer to write press releases for a local charity. Write letters. Just write a lot. Same deal with illustrators. Start a sketch blog and add to it daily. Doodle in meetings instead of paying attention (and convince everyone that you listen best while doodling). One day it's going to click. Something original is going to emerge from your work. You'll stop in the middle of what you're doing and say "Whoah. Where did that come from?" Congrats. You've found your voice.

Step 2. Hang Out and Be Cool. For "big people" publishing, I don't know how to be cool. Grown-ups frighten me honestly. For children's publishing, join SCBWI and just go and hang out. Invest some dollars. Sign up for multiple classes and critiques at the conferences. Bring your "A" game. Bring the work that embodies that original voice and still makes you say "Whoah" when you look at it. Be proud and be excited about it. And don't be creepy or stalker-y with the agents and editors you meet. The ones I've met still talk to me because my attitude has always been that "I'd love to sell something, but I'm really just here to learn and make friends."

Step 3. Listen, Learn, and Repeat. At a conference I heard an editor say, "Anyone who submits work to me in the next two weeks hasn't been paying attention." The purpose of attending conferences is to learn how to improve our craft for revision. It's not about landing the deal. When you get that one-on-one time, offer yourself up completely defenseless. Demonstrate your ability to listen and accept advice. And for some people, that's the hardest part. You're sitting across from the person who could give you your break, so whatever they tell you to do, DO IT!!! Now go back to Step 1 and repeat until successful. And remember, the equation for success is "Every Single Miserable Failure + One More Try."



Cheers,

-fred
freddiek.com