Illustrator Intensive With Jim Hoover

SCBWI organizes many events throughout the year. I especially like attending regional events, for they are smaller and a great way to meet other amazing writers and illustrators who live nearby. It is also less intimidating for meeting the special guests who speak at these events and a great way to get your foot in the door for future submissions.

This last Saturday I had the privilege of attending a SCBWI Illustrator Intensive event with Art Director Jim Hoover. My fellow illustrators and I all squeezed into a room to hear him speak and critique the assignment we had been given in December. For me, it was an exciting event that I had been looking forward to for months!

Mr. Hoover has had a rich career so far having worked as a designer for Puffin Books and Simon & Schuster. He advanced to Art Director, working for SCBWI before working for the magnificent Viking Children's Books! I am sure that you can imagine with such a big reputation, I was nervous to meet him (not to mention receive a professional critique (YIKES!)). 

After preparing illustrations for months, the day arrived and I must tell you that it was a wonderful relief to actually meet Jim. He was a charming, insightful professional who kept the entire room entertained for over 8 hours. That is quite a feat for any speaker!

Here are a few things that I took away from the event that I had not taken into consideration before:

·       When creating a portfolio, it doesn’t matter what style you choose. The most important thing that you can show is confidence in your work. If an editor or an art director can see your confidence through your work you have got it made!

·       Costuming your characters is a really important step that often gets overlooked. The costume(s) that you choose for your characters should reflect their personality as well as the time. Don’t be afraid to use clashing patterns or bright colors so long as it fits your story and character.

·       Showing movement in a still drawing is an impressive way to capture your audience. Practice this!

I learned these things and more from this event. I would highly recommend it to anyone who gets the opportunity, for it is a great way to get insight into the publishing business as well as feedback on your art. 

The Importance of Breaks

Like every child before the holiday season, I found that I was counting down the days before break! One of the great perks of being an art teacher is that I get the holidays off...just like my students :). My imagination was bursting with ideas of things that I could finally knock off of the running "To Do" list that sits open on my computer consistently.

However, after my last class ended (on a Sunday evening) I came home and completely abandoned the list for the first time  in over two years! Here's what followed:

It all started with a sketch on a small, yellow piece of paper

I spent two wonderful days working out all of the kinks to create something that I had wanted for over two years! When it was finished, it looked like this:

Satisfied with the result, I moved on to this:


(I apologize for the huge color difference. The first photo was taken when I started that morning and the final was taken that night after I had finished.)


During this process I learned some valuable lessons and had a great time! So here is the motto for the holiday season: Sometimes you just have to let your hair down, tell your portfolio to "hang on a second" and do something fun!

What fun things have you done this season?

Travel Sketches

Hi everyone!! I just got home from an amazing trip to the Midwest. My Grandmomma lives there and we had so much fun. Here are some sketches that I did while I was there. Enjoy!

                                         

Character Study

Hi Everyone! I have been working on multiple projects for a few months now and I am now ready to start thinking about what's next! It has been a whirlwind few months with the amazing clients that I have been privileged to work with, teaching, and creating. Really exciting start to spring 2015. :)

Panda Picnic Sketch

Sneak Peek - Sketches

Here is a sneak peek of a project that I have just started working on. I am already in love with this little guy and cannot wait to start printing him!

The Botanist

Lemonade Stand - Process

Hi everyone! I am working on another new print and I wanted to share a little bit about my process :). I have started the "Lemonade Stand" in honor of summer. It just cannot be helped.

Today, I finished printing the second color on this piece. You can see, in the top picture, that the print is already beginning to emerge in just two colors! The second image (below) shows my palette. It took me three tries to mix the color that I was looking for this time. After I found it, I used the palette knife to smear a line of ink across that palette that would be just as long as the brayer (the rolling pin-looking tool above the mixed ink) so that I could roll the brayer up and down through the line. This created a nice patch of ink that I could then roll onto the woodblock (on the left). After  my woodblock had been covered in yellow, I took each piece of paper (there are 15!) and pressed it down on top of the wet ink. Using another tool called a barren (it is a small, circular tool that has a handle to fit my hand) and my arm strength, I pushed the two pieces together as hard as I could so that the ink would transfer onto the paper to create the image in the top photo.

Sneak Peek

Here is a sneak peek of the latest children's story that I have been working on by a lovely author named Niki Clainos! We are in the final sketching phase before the finals! The finals will be completed to look like the "Little Librarian" piece! Can't wait to show more. :)

Fadeaway Girl Study

This is a gouache study for a woodblock print I am thinking of creating. I have hung it on the wall in my apartment so that I can look at it over the next few days and make a decision.

The Woman of Many Faces

To the woman who wears many masks....

Little Women

I am finally posting again!! Sorry for the delay, but these delays are going to continue through the holiday season. Seriously, there are not enough hours in a day. I did want to share both of these photos with you so that you can see the difference between the painting I scanned in and the painting after I spent some time playing in Photoshop. Lately, I love Photoshop. Now I can take this information back to the original painting and create a masterpiece!

After 

Before

The Crane Wife

These sketches were created based on a children's story called The Crane Wife. This story has not yet been published by the author, but the small bit I was allowed to read to inspire these sketches was beautiful.

Monsters!

Madame Fortuna Final Print

Hello All! This is the first finished circus woodblock of this series. I am really excited by the way it turned out. The colors are much more saturated than they used to be.

Madame Fortuna Print Process

I have started a new print! My illustrator friend, Felicia and I have decided to start a project together. We have dedicated it to the CIRCUS! This first print is going to be reminiscent of a vintage circus poster for the fortune teller of the circus. I am only going to be using two colors on this one: red and black.

The top picture is a collage of the process of carving as well as the finished print hanging in my apartment. First, I have to draw on the board (upper left corner). Then I begin to carve part of the drawing away, leaving the lines I want to be filled by the color (red). These pictures are all on the right side. The bottom shows what my place looks like just after I finish pulling a color. I make a huge mess (which is probably part of the reason I love this process so much). These five prints are going to have to hang to dry for a few days before I can go over them with black. Stay tuned to see the finished piece!

New Project

These are the color studies for the latest project! I decided to go with the top one for the final composition.

Sketches and Doodles

Here are some of my most recent doodles.

Progress

This is the next print in a series for BVI Airlines. I am really excited about this one. The details are going to be crazy!

Scattered