Winthrop Receives BIG Endowment!
Turned in my PhD Thesis!
The whole thing has taken me three years, so far; while the last two months have been serious crunch time. I met with my supervisors every week, sometimes twice a week. (This was usually a joy, as I love and respect my supervisors dearly - Maureen Farrell and Bob Davis of the University of Glasgow.) But the writing was intense to say the least. My hand hurts, my head hurts. Honestly, I am seriously spent.
With it out the door, I am suddenly faced with a new thing in my life - free time. What's that? I'm sure I will fill the void with some other project soon. But for now, I'm finding it hard to focus and have turned into a complete and utter slug. It's part of why, in the service of self-preservation, I need to step back from my blog for a bit—if anything to just let my hand heal. I also feel like I'm looking UP for the first time in months. Thank goodness my friends have stuck by me through this; because I haven't been terribly present of late.
So, while I already have some ideas cooking for my next steps, I need to give myself a little down time to refill my coffers. I hope you, dear readers, will stick around for when I get back to my normal activities. Until then, I wish you peace and love for the new year, in which I will gain a brand new title!
I do like my Facebook avatar, I think it's a darned good likeness. :)
Friday Links List and Illustrators' Treehouse News - 29 Jan 2021
From Brightly: Valentine’s Day Picture Book Gifts for Little Readers
From SLJ's 100 Scope Notes: That’s So Meta! 2021 Metafictional Children’s Books
From The Bookseller:
Warning of 'submissions fatigue' as editors face 'tsunami' of book proposals
Book production hits 11-year low in 2020
From Bookshelf: Geoff the Giraffe bookcase
ILLUSTRATORS' TREEHOUSE NEWS
3x3 Portfolio Critiques
COMPETITION: World Illustration Awards Call for Entries
COMPETITION: The Association of Illustrators is hosting their annual World Illustration Awards 2021 - ENTER NOW (Deadline is February 15th)
SCHOLARSHIP: Winthrop University Department of Design Spring 2021 Portfolio Scholarship
CONTEST: Check out the Astra International Picture Book Writing Contest (Astra is the new house headed up by children's lit scholar Leonard Marcus)
PARTICIPATE - SUBMIT TO the: Bologna Children's Book Fair (12 -15 April 2021) Illustrators Exhibition
SCHOLARSHIP: 12x12x12 Scholarship Program for budding children's book writers - AND Registration is now Open!
From Random House Graphic: Newsletter
Do you know about BIPOC Design History?
From Muddy Colors:
The War of the Worlds with Justin Gerard
INFECTED BY ART 9 – AWARD WINNERS THE WISDOM OF THE LAZY TEACHER
From Print & Pattern: DESIGNER FOR HIRE - nestbox
From The People's Inauguration: Art Event
From Schoolism wiht Bobby Chiu:
Wish Dragon Production Designer: Shelly Wan Interview
INTERVIEW: Costume Concept Artist Michael Uwandi
From The Art Room Plant: Joaquin Camp
From My Modern Met: Impossibly Tiny Doodles Fill Sketchbook Pages with Surreal Optical Illusions
OFF TOPIC BUT INTERESTING
From CommArts: The Virtual Design Classroom
From @KBChild on Twitter: Spend a Weekend in a Hobbit Hole
Janie Bynum's CHICK CHAT
Janie Bynum and I go way back. So I was thrilled to hear she has a new picture book, Chick Chat, and it is adorable! Janie dropped by to share more about it...
Janie: That might be one meandering walk!
The story started with a character, Baby Chick. I’ve been fascinated with chickens as picture book characters for a while now (even before I signed with Hen & Ink Literary Studio). I can’t remember how the initial character and story presented itself. I just know that it started with Baby Chick and classic writing advice of “write what you know”—from an emotional standpoint—because, no, I’ve never been a baby chick. But I have been the youngest, chatty sibling who brought home all manner of wildlife.
I usually start a story with a character in my head that I must then draw so that I can get to know them better (in order to write their story). The first Baby Chick sketch embodies the heart of her story—her concern for the just-discovered egg’s well-being. The question “where’s your mama?” doesn’t appear in the book because as I revised the story, Baby Chick only says “peep” throughout. But that heartfelt question became the foundation for Chick Chat.
For thumbnails, I started with an extra-fine-point Sharpie pen on paper. They’re very rough, and I made story notations along with the visual concepts because I was still working out the manuscript, working back-and-forth with both word-story and picture-story.
At this point, I switched from pen and paper to Photoshop, using a Wacom tablet and stylus on a Mac computer with large monitor. I used Photoshop for very rough sketching and for ease of manipulating images (cutting and pasting, reordering and resizing elements) as I worked out page layouts, page turns, and story flow.
For the next iteration of thumbnails, I added manuscript text and continued to work out images and flow.
Below is the last set of thumbnails (but not necessarily art pre-finishes) that I used to create the rough dummy that my agent sold to NorthSouth Books at the Bologna Book Fair in 2019.
Janie: In 1996, after a decade of running my own graphic design studio, I went in search of something I couldn’t quite name. Ultimately that “something” involved tapping into the artist and writer parts of my graphic designer self. In 1997, after taking a few courses on children’s book illustration and writing in Chicago, I joined SCBWI, created a roughly illustrated dummy for a story I had been working on, and headed to LA for the SCBWI national conference. I connected with other writers and illustrators, one of whom introduced me to her agent. He liked my work, so he sent the dummy to Harcourt. My first book—Altoona Baboona—was published in 1999.
Janie: I was a very chatty chick growing up, and I pestered my older siblings (who were 4+ years older), trying to get them to play with me. When I wasn’t playing with my next-door neighbor friend, I spent a lot of time playing alone, making mud pies, and bringing home different species of aquatic wildlife to “care for.” Unfortunately, many of them didn’t thrive with all that care. (I did spare the carp my nurturing and returned it to its suburban drainage creek home.)
e: What do you think makes an illustration magical, what I call "Heart Art” - the sort that makes a reader want to come back to look again and again?
Janie: For me, “heart art” would be art that represents a character’s emotional Truth to which the viewer can connect. Determining such art as “heart art” may be contextual; it may or may not be “heart art” if separated from the author’s words.
In Chick Chat, the illustrations of Baby Chick nurturing the big round egg feel like “heart art” to me.
Janie: I maintain a website where I showcase my work and my books; and I post my art fairly regularly on Instagram.
e: What is your favorite or most challenging part of being a creator?
Janie: My favorite part of being a creator is getting lost in the process of writing or making art. When I become immersed in that world, I don’t notice the passage of time or much of anything else, only the world I’m creating. And, I’m aware that this is a precious ability to possess—especially this past year (2020).
e: Indeed! Is there something in particular about Chick Chat you hope readers will take away with them, perhaps something that isn’t immediately obvious?
Janie: Self-reliance and determination can reap big rewards—such as a surprising friendship.
e: What are you working on next or what would be your dream project?
Janie: A dream project would be to create a board book or small format picture book series for ages 0-3.
e: I think you'd be great at that! Hope to see one from you soon! Click the image below to watch the adorable book trailer for Chick Chat!
Janie: That might be one meandering walk!
The story started with a character, Baby Chick. I’ve been fascinated with chickens as picture book characters for a while now (even before I signed with Hen & Ink Literary Studio). I can’t remember how the initial character and story presented itself. I just know that it started with Baby Chick and classic writing advice of “write what you know”—from an emotional standpoint—because, no, I’ve never been a baby chick. But I have been the youngest, chatty sibling who brought home all manner of wildlife.
I usually start a story with a character in my head that I must then draw so that I can get to know them better (in order to write their story). The first Baby Chick sketch embodies the heart of her story—her concern for the just-discovered egg’s well-being. The question “where’s your mama?” doesn’t appear in the book because as I revised the story, Baby Chick only says “peep” throughout. But that heartfelt question became the foundation for Chick Chat.
For thumbnails, I started with an extra-fine-point Sharpie pen on paper. They’re very rough, and I made story notations along with the visual concepts because I was still working out the manuscript, working back-and-forth with both word-story and picture-story.
At this point, I switched from pen and paper to Photoshop, using a Wacom tablet and stylus on a Mac computer with large monitor. I used Photoshop for very rough sketching and for ease of manipulating images (cutting and pasting, reordering and resizing elements) as I worked out page layouts, page turns, and story flow.
For the next iteration of thumbnails, I added manuscript text and continued to work out images and flow.
Below is the last set of thumbnails (but not necessarily art pre-finishes) that I used to create the rough dummy that my agent sold to NorthSouth Books at the Bologna Book Fair in 2019.
Janie: In 1996, after a decade of running my own graphic design studio, I went in search of something I couldn’t quite name. Ultimately that “something” involved tapping into the artist and writer parts of my graphic designer self. In 1997, after taking a few courses on children’s book illustration and writing in Chicago, I joined SCBWI, created a roughly illustrated dummy for a story I had been working on, and headed to LA for the SCBWI national conference. I connected with other writers and illustrators, one of whom introduced me to her agent. He liked my work, so he sent the dummy to Harcourt. My first book—Altoona Baboona—was published in 1999.
Janie: I was a very chatty chick growing up, and I pestered my older siblings (who were 4+ years older), trying to get them to play with me. When I wasn’t playing with my next-door neighbor friend, I spent a lot of time playing alone, making mud pies, and bringing home different species of aquatic wildlife to “care for.” Unfortunately, many of them didn’t thrive with all that care. (I did spare the carp my nurturing and returned it to its suburban drainage creek home.)
e: What do you think makes an illustration magical, what I call "Heart Art” - the sort that makes a reader want to come back to look again and again?Janie: For me, “heart art” would be art that represents a character’s emotional Truth to which the viewer can connect. Determining such art as “heart art” may be contextual; it may or may not be “heart art” if separated from the author’s words.
In Chick Chat, the illustrations of Baby Chick nurturing the big round egg feel like “heart art” to me.
Janie: I maintain a website where I showcase my work and my books; and I post my art fairly regularly on Instagram.
e: What is your favorite or most challenging part of being a creator?
Janie: My favorite part of being a creator is getting lost in the process of writing or making art. When I become immersed in that world, I don’t notice the passage of time or much of anything else, only the world I’m creating. And, I’m aware that this is a precious ability to possess—especially this past year (2020).
e: Indeed! Is there something in particular about Chick Chat you hope readers will take away with them, perhaps something that isn’t immediately obvious?Janie: Self-reliance and determination can reap big rewards—such as a surprising friendship.
e: What are you working on next or what would be your dream project?
Janie: A dream project would be to create a board book or small format picture book series for ages 0-3.
e: I think you'd be great at that! Hope to see one from you soon! Click the image below to watch the adorable book trailer for Chick Chat!
Coloring Page Tuesday - Showering Stars
CLICK HERE for more coloring pages.
Remember, I create my coloring pages to draw your attention to my books!
For instance, I'm celebrating the new illustrated (by me) edition of A BIRD ON WATER STREET! My debut novel won me "Georgia Author of the Year!"Booklist said it's "A book deserving of a wide readership, recommended for all libraries."
If my news and images add value to your life, won't you please
Just love this one image? Consider a one-time donation...
I create my coloring pages for teachers, librarians, booksellers, and parents to enjoy for free with their children, but you can also purchase rights to an image for commercial use, please contact me. If you have questions about usage, please visit my Angel Policy page.
VIDEO: Author John Klassen discusses THE ROCK FROM THE SKY
Multiple Caldecott-winner Jon Klassen has a new book coming out called THE ROCK FROM THE SKY. He talks about his ideas behind its creation and it's a wonderful, quick lesson in storytelling. Click the image to have a look on Vimeo.
Friday Links List and Illustrators' Treehouse News - 15 January 2021
From Bookshelf: "Flow" Bookshelf - hmmm
From The Bookshelf: S&S US cancels book from US senator Josh Hawley
From BookBub: 5 Things to Know About ‘The Hate U Give’ Author’s New Book
From Brightly Storytime:
Brightly Storytime: Grumpy Monkey Up All Night (free video reading!)
The Most-Anticipated Picture Books of 2021
Making Our Voices Heard: Books About Activism for Kids (although, I have a real problem with THE PINK HAT as it was the first book after the #MeToo march and it was written by a man!!!!????
From We Need Diverse Books: The Joy of Native Storytelling Structures - Really interesting!
From BBC: Optimism in Stories for Children - Experiments in Living
Congrats to Stephanie Wildman, sister to WU colleague Robert Wildman, on the publication of her new picture book, Brave in the Water
ILLUSTRATORS' TREEHOUSE NEWS
3x3 Portfolio Critiques
COMPETITION: World Illustration Awards Call for Entries
COMPETITION: The Association of Illustrators is hosting their annual World Illustration Awards 2021 - ENTER NOW (Deadline is February 15th)
SCHOLARSHIP: Winthrop University Department of Design Spring 2021 Portfolio Scholarship
CONTEST: Check out the Astra International Picture Book Writing Contest (Astra is the new house headed up by children's lit scholar Leonard Marcus)
PARTICIPATE - SUBMIT TO the: Bologna Children's Book Fair (12 -15 April 2021) Illustrators Exhibition
SCHOLARSHIP: 12x12x12 Scholarship Program for budding children's book writers - AND Registration is now Open!
From Tara Lazar: Storystorm 2021 Day 8: Slime Flies When Ashley Belote’s Having Fun
From Muddy Colors:
Showdown of the Scalds
New Year, New Members
The Unseen Work of David Grove
How Doth the Little Crocodile with Cory Godbey
From European Illustrators Forum: The Illustrators' Ninja Guide - FREE!
From Bobby Chiu: Interview: Costume Concept ARtist Michael Uwandi
The Latest from The Diamond Bookshelf
From Make Art That Sells: Make Editorial Art
From CommArts:
Website Feature: The Current: Violent White Supremacy
Ornament and Possibility (GREAT article on the history of design trends!)
From Print & Pattern: Spotted
From Make Art That Sells: Newsletter
From Bobby Chiu: Painting Snowy Scenes with Masae Seki (Video Tutorial)
Join THE PEOPLE'S INAUGURATION: January 20th
Type Geek? Do you know about Glyph?
From Billboard: Congress Passes CASE Act as Part of COVID-19 Relief Bill The legislation creates a copyright claims board at the U.S. Copyright office to hear small claims cases of infringement. (This will be a big deal for artists!)
OFF TOPIC BUT INTERESTING
From EAB: How to Prepare College Graduates to Succeed in a Tough Economy (Podcast)
From This is Edinburgh: Top Instagram Posts of 2020 - lovely!
From Rube on Twitter: Tips for university students to not freak out during this tough time
From AFT: AFT’s Weingarten on Betsy DeVos’ Resignation as Education Secretary (it's very short - ha!)
From Myth and Moor: Creating a tolerable world
Amalia Hoffman's MY MONSTERPIECE
I'm happy to have Amalia Hoffman on today. She's been creating children's books for a very long time and I was tickled by her latest picture book, MY MONSTERPIECE—it's so full of JOY! She stopped by to tell us more about it.
Amalia: I decided to create my monsters for the book with art supplies that kids actually use. Children are very free in their creative process. They’ll doodle on any torn paper, the kitchen table, wall — anything! Well, I didn’t doodle on my table or wall, but I did paint on a supermarket shopping bag, crumbled bits of paper, and even paper plates. In some illustrations, I glued on yarn, glitter, buttons and even fruit loops. Kids love to get their hands messy. So I dipped my fingers in gooey blobs of paint. It was very therapeutic. A lot of the art in the book was painted with my fingers, rather then with brushes. I also spritzed paint with a toothbrush, letting the bits of color drop where they may. At the end of the day, my studio was a mess but I felt liberated!
Amalia: The best advice I can give other authors and illustrators is to write and create from the heart. By that I mean that any creative journey begins with love and passion for what we do. Working on your stories, try digging deep into yourself, your childhood, and your life experiences. Then, look for a way to make your story compelling and appealing to your readers. Join organizations where you can meet other writers & illustrators, editors and agents such as SCBWI. Make friends with other like-minded folks. The road to publishing could be rough; with many bumps along the way and so I think it’s important to have a supportive group of friends.
Amalia: Apparently, I was a very temperamental child. When I got angry with my mom and dad, I used to punish them by tearing the greeting cards I created for their birthdays and anniversaries. Years later, when I visited my parents who lived in Jerusalem, I found an envelope with all the bits of torn art that my father saved. When I created My Monsterpiece, I showed the kid’s frustration by creating one spread that feature the kid’s torn monsters. I remember that when I was about 8, I entered a contest, sponsored by a children’s magazine, to draw a scary witch. Apparently, mine wasn’t scary enough because I didn’t win...
Amalia: I think that what makes an illustration magical is when the artist creates an image that is uniquely personal, with imagery that could be interpreted in many different ways by the viewer. To me, “Heart Art” is what I call, “Risky Art,” when artists dare to break out of the safe standard, the “normal”, the “rules”, and strive to create images from their own imagination. In such art, the reader can join in the creative process and discover bits of details every time he or she read the book.
Amalia: I advertise myself and my books mostly on social media. When I have a new book coming up, I post the cover reveal and later, a sneak peek of an interior page or two. This creates a “buzz” in anticipation for the new book to launch. For My Monsterpiece, Yeehoo Press created a 5-day countdown for the cover reveal. For the big day, I created coloring and activity pages, based on images from the book, that were offered as free downloads.
Right Click the image above to open a larger version suitable for printing and coloring.
Amalia: My favorite part of being a creator is when young readers finally get to look at my book and comment on it. This is also the most challenging part of being a creator—hoping that kids will be able to express their reactions to the words and pictures in the story.
Amalia: What I hope readers will take away with them is the realization that by accepting people that are different from us and by overcoming stereotyping and bias, we can form wonderful friendships and make the world a better place for all.
e: What are you working on next? or what would be your dream project?
Amalia: My next project is a concept board book, Hanukkah Nights that received the first PJ Library Author and Illustrator Award. It will be published by Kar Ben Publishing in 2022. My dream project is a YA graphic novel, which I’ve been working on for a couple of years.
e: Fabulous! For more information about Amalia and her books, visit her website www.amaliahoffman.com.
Amalia: I decided to create my monsters for the book with art supplies that kids actually use. Children are very free in their creative process. They’ll doodle on any torn paper, the kitchen table, wall — anything! Well, I didn’t doodle on my table or wall, but I did paint on a supermarket shopping bag, crumbled bits of paper, and even paper plates. In some illustrations, I glued on yarn, glitter, buttons and even fruit loops. Kids love to get their hands messy. So I dipped my fingers in gooey blobs of paint. It was very therapeutic. A lot of the art in the book was painted with my fingers, rather then with brushes. I also spritzed paint with a toothbrush, letting the bits of color drop where they may. At the end of the day, my studio was a mess but I felt liberated!
Amalia: The best advice I can give other authors and illustrators is to write and create from the heart. By that I mean that any creative journey begins with love and passion for what we do. Working on your stories, try digging deep into yourself, your childhood, and your life experiences. Then, look for a way to make your story compelling and appealing to your readers. Join organizations where you can meet other writers & illustrators, editors and agents such as SCBWI. Make friends with other like-minded folks. The road to publishing could be rough; with many bumps along the way and so I think it’s important to have a supportive group of friends.
Amalia: Apparently, I was a very temperamental child. When I got angry with my mom and dad, I used to punish them by tearing the greeting cards I created for their birthdays and anniversaries. Years later, when I visited my parents who lived in Jerusalem, I found an envelope with all the bits of torn art that my father saved. When I created My Monsterpiece, I showed the kid’s frustration by creating one spread that feature the kid’s torn monsters. I remember that when I was about 8, I entered a contest, sponsored by a children’s magazine, to draw a scary witch. Apparently, mine wasn’t scary enough because I didn’t win...
e: What do you think makes an illustration magical, what I call, ”Heart Art” – the sort that makes a reader want to come back to look again and again?Amalia: I think that what makes an illustration magical is when the artist creates an image that is uniquely personal, with imagery that could be interpreted in many different ways by the viewer. To me, “Heart Art” is what I call, “Risky Art,” when artists dare to break out of the safe standard, the “normal”, the “rules”, and strive to create images from their own imagination. In such art, the reader can join in the creative process and discover bits of details every time he or she read the book.
Amalia: I advertise myself and my books mostly on social media. When I have a new book coming up, I post the cover reveal and later, a sneak peek of an interior page or two. This creates a “buzz” in anticipation for the new book to launch. For My Monsterpiece, Yeehoo Press created a 5-day countdown for the cover reveal. For the big day, I created coloring and activity pages, based on images from the book, that were offered as free downloads.
Right Click the image above to open a larger version suitable for printing and coloring.
Amalia: My favorite part of being a creator is when young readers finally get to look at my book and comment on it. This is also the most challenging part of being a creator—hoping that kids will be able to express their reactions to the words and pictures in the story.
Amalia: What I hope readers will take away with them is the realization that by accepting people that are different from us and by overcoming stereotyping and bias, we can form wonderful friendships and make the world a better place for all.
e: What are you working on next? or what would be your dream project?Amalia: My next project is a concept board book, Hanukkah Nights that received the first PJ Library Author and Illustrator Award. It will be published by Kar Ben Publishing in 2022. My dream project is a YA graphic novel, which I’ve been working on for a couple of years.
e: Fabulous! For more information about Amalia and her books, visit her website www.amaliahoffman.com.
Scholastic on CBS Sunday Morning
This was a fascinating segment on the history of Scholastic, the book publisher is celebrating 100 years this year - wow! Click the image to watch on Youtube:
Coloring Page Tuesday - New Year's Polar Bear
CLICK HERE for more coloring pages.
Remember, I create my coloring pages to draw your attention to my books!
For instance, I'm celebrating the new illustrated (by me) edition of A BIRD ON WATER STREET! My debut novel won me "Georgia Author of the Year!"Booklist said it's "A book deserving of a wide readership, recommended for all libraries."
If my news and images add value to your life, won't you please
Just love this one image? Consider a one-time donation...
I create my coloring pages for teachers, librarians, booksellers, and parents to enjoy for free with their children, but you can also purchase rights to an image for commercial use, please contact me. If you have questions about usage, please visit my Angel Policy page.