Going From Writing To Illustrating

Unlike the others on this blog, I came to children's book illustration from the writing side. I have no formal art training (middle grade author Linda Sue Park tells me I should say that I'm "self-trained" instead, heh) and up to about a month ago, I considered myself mainly a writer.

I did a guest post about my experience on the SCBWI Illustrator Committee blog recently, for those interested. Summary: after my friend Beckett Gladney strong-armed me into entering the SCBWI Illustrator Portfolio Showcase at the summer conference, I won two awards and was subsequently approached by Simon & Schuster about illustrating Michael Ian Black's newest picture book, I'M BORED (coming out in 2012).

So while the others will be posting from much more illustration experience, I'll be posting from the viewpoint of a writer who is just learning the ins and outs of children's book illustration, and how it compares to the writing side. I'm not giving up writing, by the way, so feel free to visit Inkygirl: Daily Diversions For Writers for writing-related info and comics.

This blog is hosted on my Squarespace account, so please forgive the quirks that go along with that. So far I haven't found a way to make the main banner clickable to the Mentees home page instead of my own -- the only way to do that would be to pay for another Squarespace account, and I need to get more book contracts before I can afford to do that. :-)

Anyway, do checked out our bio pages at the top of the page as well as the Mentees Illustration Gallery. And thank you for visiting!

David Small: So You Want To Be A Great Children's Illustrator

BigThink.com has a great video interview with David Small about illustrating for young people. One of David's pieces of advice: Don't create a picture book whose humor can only be appreciated by grown-ups, leaving the kids out of the loop.

You can see a transcription of the interview with David Small on BigThink.com.

What I took away from this past SCBWI Conference

First things first. I’d like to send a BIG, OFFICIAL THANK YOU to Debbie Ridpath-Ohi for being the brains and backbone behind this blog! And, a public CONGRATULATIONS on her new book contract!

I’m sure that I’m not alone in leaving the SCBWI conference with my head jammed with information and my heart overflowing with inspiration.  But, a few topics really stand out in my memory:

 The Emotional Hit: When emotion is mentioned by Loren Long, Ashley Bryant, Jon Scieszka, Marion Dane Bauer, Jennifer Choldenko, Allen Zadoff, and Arthur Levine, I take notice!.  I get it...we have to create from emotional truth, and convey it in a real (not stagey, or -ick!- preachy) way. Why?  What I’ve gleaned from all those marvelous talks was that emotion provides connection with our readers. And if we connect, our books have a chance of becoming the “trusted friends” Loren Long spoke about.  Personally, that’s at the heart of why I want to create children’s books. I still visit with my trusted friends from childhood.  Check out Otis , if you haven't already. I think Loren Long has hit the perfect emotional pitch.

Social-Networking, Blogging: Do it. I got this message from last year’s conference, too. But, I didn’t do it. Sure, I had a website, but all the social networking and blogging? No. And, I’m not a technophobe. But, I’m a busy illustrator with more ideas than time.  With twin five year olds, a husband, friends, family, work, exercise, eating, and sleeping vying for a piece of me, I’m loathe to give over any time to THAT STUFF. But, THAT STUFF is not going away...in fact it’s becoming expected.  And, I hear that THAT STUFF can be a useful tool in getting our work out there. So, I’m in. (Stay tuned! Coming Soon!)

 This last one isn’t a topic per se, but a handful of words my editor, Diane Muldrow ( Editorial Director at Golden Books, Random House), said at her breakout session. Someone asked a question about submitting work, and in her answer Diane said,”you know, there’s a difference between being unpublished and being an amateur.” Right!   I believe one reason my work was read (and, published!) out of Diane’s slush pile was because  I’d educated myself about the picture book as an entity- it’s unique format, and character-, and was able to present my idea as a picture book. Of course I think my book was adorable in it’s own right, but it would not have had a chance if it came in amateurish. For those of us who are among the lightly published or unpublished (in other words, we’re “Where the Sidewalk Begins...”), Diane’s words are worth remembering when we submit our ideas.

Diane and I at the Autograph Signing Event. Diane's on the right in that lovely vintage dress. She is also a children's book author. Her latest book is We Planted a Tree, (Golden Books, Random House).

A Note To The SCBWI and SCBWI Mentors

From Kimberly, Ashley, Eliza, John, Andrea and Debbie:

THANK YOU. We're honored to have been selected, especially considering the level of talent in the rest of the 2010 SCBWI Illustrator Portfolio Showcase participants.

Thank you so much to the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators for hosting and supporting the event, and for launching the Mentorship Awards Program. It's not surprising that so many authors and illustrators credit their start to the SCBWI.

Special thanks to our six Mentors: Priscilla Burris, Pat Cummings, David Diaz, Rubin Pfeffer, Bridget Strevens-Marzo and Cecilia Yung. We know you're all busy professionals with projects of your own, and the fact that you're taking the time to help us improve our portfolios and give us career advice means a great deal.

We can't wait to take what we learned during our sessions with each of you and start incorporating it into our work.

Thank you for believing in us.  We plan to make you proud.

With the deepest gratitude,

The 2010 Winners of the SCBWI Mentorship Program:

John Deininger
Kimberly Gee
Ashley Mims
Andrea Offermann
Debbie Ridpath Ohi
Eliza Wheeler