30 Lessons Learned, #9: Find Your Own Art Directors

I am lucky. My husband is an art director (although not of children's books). He usually comes home after a long day at work to my pictures spread out on the kitchen table and a barrage of questions. (An art director's work is never done.) My kiddos are privy to a lot of conversations along the lines of: "Maybe it needs more blue here. What if the frog's eyes were a bit more menacing? Oh, is that supposed to be a wing?"

I find it so helpful to have other eyes on my work and people who will be honest with their feedback. Finding your own art directors is key. They may be under your roof. They may be in your critique group. They may be online. They may come inside 4-year old bodies. Recently, my 4-year daughter took a look at one of my paintings and said, "You know Mama, it's good but I think it could use some sparkles."

While the sparkle comment just made me laugh, her reactions to my work are often genuinely helpful. If she can't tell me in one sentence what's happening in an image, I know that the image is not succeeding. In addition to my in-house art directors, I belong to two different critique groups. With that many eyes on my work, it doesn't take long to realize where I have holes in my writing or images.

30 Lessons Learned, #8: The Answer is Obvious, Once You Figure it Out

People talk a lot about this elusive thing in writing called voice. I suppose style is (kind of?) the illustration equivalent. I was in art school in the 1990s. The picture books I studied had long texts and complex painterly illustrations. Often they were based on folks tales and legends that called for ornate period costumes. I tried my hand at this type of work but it never quite clicked for me.

Then a new generation of picture books was born -- they were simpler in both text and images. I really connected with some of those books. Olivia, anyone? I LOVE that pig. And I began to find my own voice in writing and illustration: simple and clear with a touch of humor.

In retrospect, it seems so obvious, especially when I look at myself as a person. As much as possible, I live a simple life -- I opt for simple clothes, usually no makeup, I'd rather walk than drive, etc. I wear earrings so infrequently that both of my daughters get excited on the rare occasions when I do. :) So, doesn't it make sense that my work would be similar? As I'm writing this post, it all sounds so obvious that perhaps it doesn't even need to be stated. But it was interesting to me when I began to connect the dots, and who knows, it may give some of you insights into your path or process. Happy December!

30 Lessons Learned, #7: Live Near a Good Coffee Shop

I have two young kids and the chaos in our house is not often conducive to thinking. When I need to write, I ride my bike to the coffee shop, order a cup of coffee and then grab the table in the corner. I order only a cup of coffee because as soon as I start thinking about whether I need a muffin or a pumpkin cookie moon pie or whatever other amazing pastry they've whipped up for the day, the focus is no longer on the writing.

I like the commotion and activity of the cafe. Silence is deadly for me. Thank you cafe owners for allowing me to "rent" a table for $3.00 when I need to get something done. :)

Happy Thanksgiving all!

30 Lessons Learned, #6: Your Experience Will Serve You

For most of my life, I have wanted to write and illustrate books. I've tried on and off over the years to do so. It is only recently that I'm beginning to find inspiration and a voice that feels authentic. I'm realizing though, that all of my various pursuits up to this point are informing what I do now. This is amazing to me because when I wasn't illustrating or writing, I always felt so far away from it. My jobs and pursuits felt completely unrelated. But when I look at my current work, I see all of those years woven in. For example:
1. I worked as an art director for years. Most of that time was spent designing multi-page publications. Some were magazines but most were (gulp) catalogs. I realize now that this was my bootcamp for understanding pacing and page design.
2. I worked in a calligraphy studio. This was my bootcamp for lettering and drawing with nibs. I am more comfortable with a dip pen and india ink than a marker.
3. I've spent a lot of training time on a bike. I've gotten to know Northern California from the seat of a bike. The terrain and early morning scenery live in my brain. I find that I gravitate toward those colors and landscapes frequently in my images.

I suppose my point is that all life experience gives us resources from which to draw. And when the time is right, those experiences can come together in unexpected and wonderful ways. I'd love to know if you agree. :)

Illustration Friday: Burning

Burning cheeks: the realization that polka dot footie pajamas are no longer okay to wear to school. My daughter is four. She has pajama day at her preschool. I'm assuming that, at some point, she probably won't think wearing pajamas to school is the best thing ever. When exactly does that happen?!

30 Lessons Learned, #5: Getting Ideas Down on Paper (Part Two)

Last week I wrote a bit about my process. Did I mention that I love thumbnails? Okay, good. Then, picking up where I left off:

My thumbnails are rough (they’re only about 1” x 2”). I enlarge them and refine. I do this again to arrive at a rough sketch. I like to sketch at a small size. That is my comfort zone. As a student, I tried to begin by sketching large images, assuming that beginning with a larger sketch would result in more detailed images. I was always frustrated by the results. It has taken me years to develop this process, but I’ve finally figured out that working from a thumbnail is the right method for me.

I enlarge the rough sketches to use in my dummies. I think this works on two levels. One, I can work in my comfort zone (smaller sketches) and two, it keeps the sketches from becoming unnecessarily detailed at this early stage. It’s easy to get drawn into the details and distracted from the purpose of each image.

I’ve arrived at this method of working because of my background as a designer, illustrator and writer. I continue to be amazed at the ways in which we all bring our unique experience and strengths to the process of creating children’s books and always love to hear about what works or doesn't for everyone else out there.

Here's a progression from smallest, roughest thumbnails to intermediate thumbnails and then a loose sketch:


30 Lessons Learned, #4: Getting Ideas Down on Paper (Part One)

Hi all, just a quick note to let you know that I am SWAMPED with work. I may not be doing Illustration Friday quite as much (sniff) but I'll still be posting on Wednesdays. I hope to be back to IF soon. I miss it already. Now, on to the topic of the week:

People tend to be curious about my process and whether I begin with words or images. In my case, both are woven together. Most projects begin with a spark of inspiration—usually a character idea or an observation of a quirk that develops into a character. After that initial spark, I do rough sketches of the character. I keep them very loose and try various poses and expressions. This helps me get to know the character.

I also begin to consider dialogue: what does the character think or say? This guides me into the story. I try to envision the character’s environment and how the character exists within that environment. I also begin to envision the other players in the story and their relationship to the main character.

Next, I like to think about spreads. What are the moments of action in the story? I jot down notes about various scenes, sometimes with sketchy thumbnails in my notebook. I brainstorm and put as many possibilities down on paper as I can. This stage is not about the plot. It is about getting to know the character(s) and key interactions. I am drawn to humor so this is often about the moments—either visual or written—that make me chuckle.

After some time has passed, I review the scenes with a fresh perspective. I circle the most cohesive parts. Often an order begins to suggest itself. At this stage, I like to do thumbnails of the whole book. In art school, I didn’t understand thumbnails. It frustrated me that I couldn’t put any detail into those little squares. It wasn’t until I began to work as a designer that I came to value them. Now, I love thumbnails for their ability to show size relationships, positive/negative space and pacing at a quick glance. In my studio, there is a drawer full of legal sized sheets, each printed with thumbnail rectangles. There’s no need to mess with rulers or drawing rectangles or anything else that might distract me. I write. I sketch. I write. I sketch.

(Part two will be posted next week!)

30 Lessons Learned, #3: Kill Your Babies

I am a very independent person (at least I like to think so). In the past, I've been guilty of trying to write and illustrate in a vacuum. It just seems easier that way. But this past year, I've found my way into two critique groups. And now, I look forward to the groups and use them as deadlines to keep moving forward. The feedback and interaction has helped me to grow as a writer and illustrator.

A favorite piece of advice came from one of these groups. Probably lots of seasoned writers are familiar with this, but it was new to me: kill your babies. Any part of my writing that I love in a completely irrational way probably needs to go. It is hard. In fact, I had another name for a main character that I adored. It was perfect. It just HAD to be the name. But I couldn't figure out a way to spell it that would make it easily pronounceable. And thus, after a few weeks of mourning, I (sniff) let it go. I think this is important for illustration too. There are plenty of situations where I become attached to a sketch because of a cool perspective or fun detail and forget about the overall goal of the image. In the end, images (and words) need to tell the story first.

Illustration Friday: Racing

It's raining here which means lots of racing: adults racing indoors and kiddos racing out.

30 Lessons Learned, #2: Inspiration Arrives at the Strangest Times

Over the years, I've tried to keep daily journals and sketchbooks. Unfortunately, I haven't been particularly faithful at either. I do, however, keep an idea book. I jot down phrases that catch my ear and/or strike my funny bone. Sometimes I do quick sketches. The entries are nothing more than that. However, I've found that the simple act of writing/sketching keeps the ideas brewing in my mind. They simmer away until they're cooked. A couple of years ago, I had written the phrase "messy sleeper" in my notebook. I was thinking about people who tear their beds apart every night vs. those whose beds are still perfectly made in the morning. There was something intriguing about that to me. It simmered for a few years.

Then, when I was a slightly delirious, sleep-deprived Mama with a newborn and feisty 3-year old, my friend asked me to take a writing workshop. I was too tired to say no. As I started to mull over story ideas, I was struck by the contrast between my swaddled newborn who slept so calmly, so neatly and my 3-year old who thrashed from one end of her bed to the other every night. I thought about the "messy sleeping" note in my notebook. I began to suspect that my 3-year old was having BIG dreams. And the story of Buglette was born.

Looking back, I suppose it’s not surprising that I wrote a book about sleep at the point in my life when I was getting the least. Now that my kids are (slightly) older, I'm finding inspiration in the piles of clothes all over their room. Hopefully this will be the upside to the loads of laundry I find myself doing lately.

Illustration Friday: Spooky



This is in honor of my 18-month old who is literally afraid of her own shadow (a new and hopefully short-lived phase).

After receiving an award from Leen Christens, I am excited to pass it on to some more Illustration Friday bloggers whose work I truly enjoy. The list could be much, much longer but I tried not to include folks who have already received the award. Thanks everyone for stopping by!








Yiannis Stilos
Sarah Bowie
Christine Grove
Nicola Killen
Jennifer
Kaitlin McCane
Brooke Boynton
Vera Lluch
Lesley Grainger
Wendy W. Lee