Whew! This has been quite the year for me so far. As of last week, I've illustrated nine books this year. It's been very exciting!
To add to my excitement, my new book, Ghost Eats It All! comes out next month!
Then just when I think I have a minute to breathe, I'll be joining a fabulous group of Texas authors in October to promote Ghost on the Read It - Write It tour. I hope to see some of my favorite fellow Texans along the way.
The Picture Book Junkies have started a monthly challenge where we all illustrate the same theme. It's a great chance for us to take stock of our portfolios and marketing materials, and fill in the holes.
This month, the theme was "growth." I've been so busy with client work, that I haven't really had a chance to just experiment and play, so I took the opportunity to try out a new brush in Painter.
Take a peek at the other Junkies' takes on the theme:
If anyone has missed my blog posts lately, you can blame my rep. She's been working overtime keeping me working overtime.
When I've got several projects in varying stages of completeness, it really pays to take some time to organize each project before I begin.
I start by printing out all the specs for the job, and I break the job down into tasks. Then I make a chart so I can check off each task as I complete it (this can be as simple as something I write out on a piece of paper or as complex as an Excel spreadsheet for larger jobs).
I have a magnet board next to my desk, and I use it and magnetic bulldog clips to keep track of all open jobs. I clip the specs and my checklist together for each job. I also keep a calendar on the magnet board which lists all the due dates for the various jobs.
Not only do these preliminary steps keep everything organized, but as I check each task off my checklist and due-date calendar, I get a good visual of how much I've already done and how much (or little) I have left to do.
I know Patrice Barton makes similar tools when she has a large project and Heather Powers keeps a running to-do list to keep her projects on track. I'd love to hear what tools other people have devised to keep their project(s) organized.
I have cool news to share. I've sold my first two books to the lovely folks at Little, Brown and Company.
I'm an author!
Both books are about the little guy on the left there, Ghost and his friend Monster. The first book, Ghost Eats it All, is due out in time for Halloween 2006, and the next book, Ghost Gets Dressed is scheduled in time for Halloween 2007.
The people I've been working with at Little, Brown are just out of this world fantastic to work with. I love it when editors and art directors adopt you as part of the team. It's really the way I like to work. So a big thank you to Liza, Patti Ann, Fatimah, and Saho!
Also, a huge thank you to Maggie, my rep, who put all the wheels in motion.
Since my blog has kind of taken on an air of the "How-to," here's my advice on how to act when you sell a book.
See how easy that was?!?
How do you choose which pieces of artwork to use on your promotional materials?
When you're sending out a promo with several images, it's not such a tough decision, but when you're sending a small postcard with room for only one image, your choice becomes much more important. It's a one shot deal, and you want to choose just the right image.
Ask yourself these questions:
1. Do I feel this is one of my best pieces of work ever?
2. Would I put this image as the first piece in my portfolio? Because that's basically what you're doing with a postcard...you're saying, "Here's my best piece, now come to my website and see what else I've done."
3. Is this piece representative of the type of job I want to do? It could be the best piece of work you've ever done, but if it took you two years to complete it and forced you to wear a brace for carpal tunnel syndrome, you probably won't ever want to do this style again.
If you answer "yes" to all three of these questions, THIS is the piece!!! If you answer "no" to any of them, you should probably select or make another piece.
As I mentioned in my last post, one of the things I'm working on this year is developing my characters more. Whether writing or drawing, I want to push beyond the static.
I want you to be able to look at my drawings, or read what I write and KNOW the person. Facial expressions, gestures, body language, clothing choices, quirks...all the things that go into making a person an individual.
In a workshop earlier this year, I wrote a manuscript for a picture book. I used a stereotypical character we've seen in a hundred movies from a particular genre. Due to my movie watching experiences, I really KNEW this character, and it came out in my writing.
The manuscript practically wrote itself. I never had to guess at the dialog. I knew exactly how this character would react, what he would say, and how he would say it. When I read the story out loud to critique buddies, I naturally read it with his accent and mannerisms. I knew him.
I want to try to know all my characters that well. It's so much easier to give them depth if you know them first.
I wanted to point out a few illustrators who, I think, really manage to give their characters personalities:
Great stuff, don't you think?
My goal hasn't changed in a few years — to create children's books.
It's still just as exciting to me as it was when I took that first brave leap and left the corporate stuff behind. No reason to change it. I'm on the right path.
I do like to reevaluate my progress from time to time though, and make tweaks as needed.
I'd like to take more risks this year and make my work stand out. I want to concentrate more on character and storytelling. The interesting thing is that these two tweaks apply to both my illustration work and my writing.
I love this. It means that both disciplines are coming together for me. Since I'll be working on the same aspect of both, I can really focus on it. This is a good thing.
I'm hoping this year will be as successful and fulfilling as the last, but no matter how it turns out, it'll be exciting!
Austin writer, Chris Barton, keeps a running tally of his successes. I find this such a positive practice. What a way to bolster yourself when your self-esteem flags a little.
With that in mind, I decided to take a look back at my year and my accomplishments.
• I had an excellent year promotion-wise. I feel that I really got my name and work out there.
• I worked consistently through the year with no real downtime (thanks Maggie!).
• I worked with several dream clients for the first time this year, including Scholastic and Highlights for Children.
• My first trade-book illustration job was published (this month!).
• I moved forward in my writing, including taking workshops with Anastasia Suen and Uma Krishnaswami.
• I have several proposed book projects making the rounds and getting some nibbles.
• I licensed several images to a crafting company (thanks Michael!).
• I was invited to join a couple of amazing groups of my peers (and heroes).
I'd have to say this was a great year for me. I'm moving in the right direction and getting some fabulous opportunities. I can't ask for more than that.
I'd love to hear about everyone else's successes!
I love Christmas, but I'm afraid I'm one of those people who is still wrapping as the guests ring the door bell.
We went to a party last night. I put the finishing touches on the gift tags minutes before we were due to leave.
For all you fellow seasonal procrastinators, here's a late Christmas gift to you from me. You can *download and print a set of the snowman gift tags here to use on your own presents.
Merry Christmas, y'all!
*Gift tags may only be downloaded for personal use, and may not be used for any commercial purposes without the written consent of the artist.
I had big plans to send out a Halloween promo, but ended up having a very steady stream of work coming in the last few months.
I'm making up for my procrastination on this project by sending a big mailer instead of a postcard this time. I found these awesome 9x12 full window envelopes from Action Envelopes.
I hope that seeing some artwork through the window will entice art directors and editors to open them up. This is the insert that will show through the window. I write the editor's address on the little envelope the snake is holding. I'm very happy with how this turned out.
Behind the insert, I'm including two letter sized promo sheets. I've got two styles I'm working in right now, so I've included a few samples of each style.
I added Highlights for Children to my client list as a result of my last promotion; so I'm hoping this one will be as successful.
