Southern Breeze Illustrators

2012 Liz Conrad SCBWI Southern Breeze Scholarship Winner

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth O. Dulemba) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:35:00 +0000

This year's winner of the Liz Conrad Scholarship Fund is Shanda McCloskey! Shanda will receive free tuition to attend the 2012 Springmingle conference along with a free portfolio review.
Competition was fierce since we have such talented illustrators in our Southern Breeze SCBWI region. However, we don't have a lot of illustrators. So if you didn't win this year, please try again next year!
Along with a wonderful cover letter, here's the piece that really blew away the judges...

Natural History Illustration Workshop

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth O. Dulemba) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:27:00 +0000

I thought this would be of interest to some of our illustrators...

The Highlands Biological Station, an inter-institutional research center of the University of North Carolina, is offering its 2011 series of summer courses and workshops that can be taken for undergraduate OR graduate credit toward your academic program... Scholarships, Grants-in-aid of research for graduate students, and summer internships also available. Highlands, North Carolina, is located in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains, at an average elevation about 3,800 feet, and situated near the Nantahala National Forest, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cherokee Indian Reservation, Appalachian Trail, and the Blue Ridge Parkway. For more information and to apply, visit www.wcu.edu/hbs or e-mail hbs at email dot wcu dot edu.

There are several interesting classes along with the NATURAL HISTORY ILLUSTRATION WORKSHOP with Nancy Lowe called "Discover Life in America" (May 28 - June 1st). You can email me at elizabeth at dulemba dot com for more information or contact the school directly.

Scholarship Deadline Reminder

noreply@blogger.com (Kathleen Bradshaw) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:21:00 +0000

Hey Breezer Illustrators! The deadline is approaching. If you haven't already, check out the details here and get your submissions ready. Then head over here to check out the details for Springmingle. If you have any questions, please feel free to email Elizabeth Dulemba (Illustrator Coordinator) at elizabeth at dulemba dot com, or Kathleen Bradshaw (Assistant Illustrator Coordinator) at klbradshaw at yahoo dot com. Good Luck!

Liz Conrad Scholarship Fun Open for Submissions

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth O. Dulemba) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:14:00 +0000

With registration for our Southern Breeze Spring Conference (Springmingle),we are once again opening applications for the Liz Conrad Scholarship Fund. (The deadline is January 26th.)

The selected illustrator will be awarded free conference tuition and one free portfolio review during the upcoming conference in Atlanta. It would have delighted Liz to know she was helping further someone's budding illustration career, and winning is a nice honor to list on your resume.

Visit http://sbillustrators.blogspot.com/p/scholarship.html and download the application form today!

If you have any questions, please feel free to email Elizabeth Dulemba (Illustrator Coordinator) at elizabeth at dulemba dot com, or Kathleen Bradshaw (Assistant Illustrator Coordinator) at atklbradshaw at yahoo dot com.

Bologna Illustrator Opportunity

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth O. Dulemba) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:10:00 +0000

PAL illustrator members of SCBWI across the world, even if you can't make it to Bologna yourself, don't miss this chance for your work to be visible at the international Bologna Book Fair, We will be showing a select number of illustrator's promotional pieces in our special Illustration Portfolio Display at the SCBWI stand at the Bologna Book fair and also online in our SCBWI Bologna Illustrators' Gallery. Deadline for email submissions: February 14, 2012. Full details on how to apply are on http://www.scbwibologna.org/display-portfolio.php If your work is selected, we'll contact you with details about snail mailing a quality print-out of the piece.

If you are coming to the fair, then how about promoting your work at our SCBWI stand? Duelling illustrator sessions, on-the-spot illustrations to a read- aloud story, and other live art demonstrations have been particular popular events at our past SCBWI stand. To apply for a Showcase slot check out http://www.scbwibologna.org/showcase.php Why not book a slot, or share a space alone or with another PAL,then send out announcements ahead of time, and invite your publishers there to come and watch? There are no children at the fair, but publishers, agents and foreign rights people may well enjoy a break from their busy schedule to be reminded that it all starts with a good idea and a pencil, pen, brush and paint or even your laptop!

And if you aren't yet published but are going to be in Bologna for the Fair, how about booking ahead for 5 minutes of feedback on your portfolio from a publishing pro at the Stand?

2011 Illustration Contest Winners

noreply@blogger.com (Kathleen Bradshaw) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:52:00 +0000

Congratulations to Sharon Graham, winner of the 2011 SCBWI Southern Breeze Illustration Contest! Illustrators were challenged to create from the prompt "PJ tugged open…"

Sharon's interpretation was "PJ tugged open the giant oyster and out popped the magic pearl."
Created with gouache, tempera, crayon and ink

Second place went to Sandee Chamberlain

Sandee's piece is pencil drawing completed with digital color.

Third place was awarded to Kathleen Bradshaw

Kathleen's pencil drawing of "PJ tugged open the musty, old theater curtain" was completed digitally.

Honorable Mentions went to Shanda McCloskey

"PJ tugged open the buttons of his shirt, because third grade needed a hero."
Shanda used acrylic gouache and colored pencil.

and Michelle Hyde

Michelle created "PJ tugged open the dresser, desperately searching for her paci."

Thank you to everyone who entered the contest, and a big thanks to Kerry Martin, Senior Designer at Clarion Books for serving as our judge.

The Art Spot

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth O. Dulemba) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 15:49:00 +0000

Hi Guys,
The SCBWI will be launching a new section in the Bulletin in January called "The Art Spot." It will be FANTASTIC promotion for one lucky artist to be FEATURED every other month (runners up will have their art used elsewhere in the Bulletin). Go to http://www.scbwi.org/Pages.aspx/Submit-Art-to-The-Bulletin to read the details - and submit your art!!
Cheers,
e
Elizabeth O. Dulemba
Children's Book Author/Illustrator
http://dulemba.com
SCBWI Southern Breeze Illustrator Coordinator
(Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi)
http://www.southern-breeze.org/
Illustrator Blog: http://sbillustrators.blogspot.com/

Tomie dePaola Award open to submissions...

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth O. Dulemba) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 20:46:00 +0000

Hi Everyone! Just wanted to let you know SCBWI has posted the 2012 guidelines for the Tomie dePaola Award since it seems people are chomping at the bit! It is a good one and we are excited to see the art it generates! http://www.scbwi.org/Pages.aspx/Tomie-dePaola-Award

For Critique - Prescott Hill

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth O. Dulemba) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 21:01:00 +0000

Attached is a freshly finished independent illustration I have been working on in between the cracks of the past ten days. I'm presenting it to the blog for public ...(gulp) critique.

Illustrator Day has been a catalyst and a bit of a wake up call for me. Up to this point I have been happily producing my art in vector form, which has my medium of choice since 2002. However, the portfolio critique opened my eyes to the fact that if I truly want to full engage in literary illustration, I need to retool my skills away from my commercial illustration mode to something more organic. I also need to drop a lot of my portfolio pieces in favor of some fresh art focused on children's book illustration.

I've entitled the attached "The Maker Mouse," and it's the first of my fresh pieces. Wicked-pedia states: "Maker mice are the problem-solving geeks of the animal world. Unlike pious church mice, maker mice make their home in the attics or floor boards of schools and libraries. They believe it is possible to solve any problem with imagination, a piece of wire, and anything else at hand, (or paw). Lost a spare key, or an ear ring? Your broken iPod seemed to repair itself? You just might have been visited by a maker mouse."

It's been a very long while since I have done anything "painterly" so, this is an experiment to see if I still have the chops. It is also an exploration of using light to set the emotional tone and focus of a composition. The whole shebang was composed in Autodesk SketchBook Pro, (much better choice for this sort of thing than Photoshop), and built over a scanned pencil rough.

This is the first piece I've done using SketchBook Pro exclusively, and I like the results.
- Prescott Hill

Illustrators' Day Wrap-Up

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth O. Dulemba) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 13:33:00 +0000

by Kristen Applebee

     Illustrator’s Day is a real treat for the non-writing members of Southern Breeze, because it focuses entirely on the craft and career of illustrating, hence the name: Illustrator’s Day.
     The learning actually started weeks before the September 2nd meeting, with a mentor assignment by illustrator, Michael Allen Austin. Michael took on the role of art director, emailing ideas on how to add emotion, action, or connectivity to rough sketches. I found this process immensely helpful.
     Mike Lowery, SCAD professor and illustrator gave the following advise to those who wish to become professional illustrators. 1. Keep a sketchbook. 2. Promote self. 3. Don’t compare yourself with other illustrators. 4. Don’t talk about your projects. Just do them! He recently illustrated the book, THE GINGERBREAD MAN LOOSE IN THE SCHOOL, written by Laura Murray. She was there to discuss the process of illustration from the author’s point of view.
     Kristen Nobles, Art Director for Candlewick Press, taught that all children’s book illustrators should be professional, technically proficient, and do work appropriate for children. Besides having a unique style and an understanding of visual pacing, there must be an element of magic about the work, for publishing houses to really take notice.
     Robert Agis, Editor of Sterling Children’s Books, went through the basics of how work is acquired by a publishing house and the types of deals offered. He contrasted types of books from board books to interactive ebooks.
     Our speakers critiqued each attendee’s portfolio, which was very insightful. But the most gratifying part of the day for me was being with people who share my dream and love of children’s books.
The Portfolio Review with Kristen, Robert, Mike and Michael Austin...

Laura showing Mike's sketches, and Mike signing copies...

Kristen with some Candlewick titles, and Robert on stage...

Attendees listen intently to Robert's talk...

Robert with some attendees (including Kristen Applebee on the left - author of this article).

The mentor students with their projects. (Click to see larger.)
Your Illustrator Coordinators, Elizabeth and Kathleen...

Regional Advisor, Jo Kittinger, Kathleen, and Joe Davich of the Georgia Center for the Book (our tech hero)...

Our former Regional Advisor, Donna Bowman, and our current Regional Advisor, Claudia Pearson...

Registration Now Open for 2011 Illustrators' Day

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth O. Dulemba) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 13:14:00 +0000

Click here to visit our Illustrators' Day page. There you will find details about this year's event. Clicking the "Click Here to Register Now" will take you to the registration page. It's going to be a great year!
Cheers,
e
Elizabeth O. Dulemba
Southern Breeze Illustrator Coordinator
Artwork courtesy of Mike Lowery

20th Anniversary Logo Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Kathleen Bradshaw) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 22:00:00 +0000

We really appreciate everyone who participated in the Southern Breeze 20th Anniversary Logo contest. The steering committee served as judges, and all agreed it was a difficult decision to make. We had a request to post the entries here, so everyone could see the creativity of our group. So here they are...

Design by B. Black

Design by Mark Braught

Design by Lewis Porter

Winning Design by Shanda McCloskey

Design by Shanda McCloskey

Design by Susan Nees

Design by Rebecca Sweet

Design by Donna Bowman

The 2011 SCBWI Southern Breeze Gallery Show

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth O. Dulemba) — Sat, 28 May 2011 12:45:00 +0000

Friday evening marked the opening of the 2011 SCBWI Southern Breeze Gallery Show at Little Shop of Stories, during the Decatur (GA) Arts Festival's opening night ArtWalk celebration. Six of our published members showed work representing 13 currently available picture books. The represented artists were: Laura Freeman, Mark Braught, Laura Knorr, Michael Austin, Shadra Strickland, and Yours Truly. The number made for a lovely presentation in the store:

Click to see a larger image.
     Hanging out for much of opening night were:

Laura Freeman, Michael Austin, Mark Braught, Yours Truly, and former Southern Breeze Regional Advisor Donna Bowman.
     Rather than demonstration drawings, we ended up each adding a line to a drawing in progress, which ended up creating some crazy images and was lots of fun. Bada Bing once again came through on the catering. And, of course, our friends at Little Shop of Stories were incredibly accommodating and supportive - thanks guys!
     The show will be up through Memorial Day weekend and the week following, so stop by!
Here are the attending illustrators with their work...
Shadra Strickland with work from her new title WHITE WATER. She also shared work from A PLACE WHERE HURRICANES HAPPEN.

Michael Austin with work from MARTINA THE BEAUTIFUL COCKROACH and RAILROAD JOHN AND THE RED ROCK RUN

Mark Braught shared work from P IS FOR PEACH, COSMO'S MOON, and, DEAR BABY I'M WATCHING OVER YOU . He also represented his wife's work (who couldn't attend). To his left are works by Laura Knorr from the books A ISN'T FOR FOX and THE LEGEND OF PAPA NOEL.

Laura Freeman shared work from NIKKI AND DEJA: ELECTION MADNESS, HERE WE GO LOOBY LOO, and IF YOU'RE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT.

And finally, Elizabeth Dulemba shared works from THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS IN GEORGIA and SOAP, SOAP, SOAP ~ JABON, JABON, JABON.

2011 Gallery Show

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth O. Dulemba) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Hi All,
The Decatur Art Festival is nigh - Memorial Day weekend to be exact. If you'd like to participate in the 4th Annual Gallery show this year, I need to hear from you! Here's the low-down:

The 4th Annual
Children's Book Illustrator's Show
hosted by Little Shop of Stories
and the
SCBWI Southern Breeze

Who: Open to all PAL (traditionally published) members of the SCBWI Southern Breeze region (AL, GA & MS).
If you are not yet a member of SCBWI, you can join at: http://www.scbwi.org.

What: Deliver one piece of fully framed, ready-to-hang (with wire - important!) art from an accompanying
traditionally published, currently available for purchase, picture book.
Please include an index-sized card to accompany art with the following information:
Book Title:
Illustrator:
Author, Publisher:
ISBN#:
Website, illustration medium or other information
Price if available for sale, or details about available prints.
(25% of any sales made during the event will go to the gallery
at Little Shop of Stories and to Southern Breeze total.)

When: ArtWalk Reception, Friday, May 27, 2011, 5 to 9 PM.
http://www.decaturartsfestival.com/artwalk.php
Please feel free to invite guests and be available for
book signings during opening night - it's usually a big crowd.
Decatur Arts Festival, May 27th - 29th
Memorial Day Weekend
http://www.decaturartsfestival.com/
Show, May 27th - June 5th

Where: Little Shop of Stories
133 East Court Square
Decatur, GA 30030
(404) 373-6300
http://littleshopofstories.com

How: Artwork must be delivered to Little Shop of Stories between
May 22nd and May 27th, 2008, 10am - 8pm,
and picked up June 6th, 10am - 8pm.
Mailed artwork must arrive in the same time period and include
proper pre-paid packaging for its return shipping.

NOW: If you intend to participate, email Elizabeth Dulemba, SCBWI
Southern Breeze Illustration Coordinator, at elizabeth at dulemba dot com
by April 25th with the following information:
Name:
Address:
Phone:
Email:
Size of framed illustration:
Name of accompanying book (must be available for ordering
by Little Shop of Stories):
ISBN#

VOLUNTEERS will be needed to help set up and take down the show.
Friday, May 27 from 1:00 - 3:00 pm and again
Sunday, June 5th from 12:00 - 2:00 pm.
It's a big job, so please don't make us ladies work alone!

Thanks y'all!
e
Elizabeth O. Dulemba: http://dulemba.com
SCBWI Southern Breeze Illustration Coordinator:
http://www.southern-breeze.org/

Southern Breeze Poetry Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Kathleen Bradshaw) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 01:19:00 +0000

If any of you are poets, you may be of interested in the upcoming retreat "Diving into Poetry" with Rebecca Kai Dotlich June 10-12, 2011 at the Center for New Beginnings in Dahlonega, Georgia. Our region is sponsoring the event, and it is being coordinated by Robyn Hood Black. The weekend is only $295 and includes tuition, lodging, meals prepared by a gourmet chef AND an individual critique with Rebecca (provided you get your manuscript in by April 25). There are only 11 spots left. visit Robyn's blog for more information.

One Illustrator's Take...

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth O. Dulemba) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 14:50:00 +0000

One Illustrator's Take n the SCBWI Southern Breeze Springmingle Conference 2011 in Atlanta
by Shanda McCloskey

Before last weekend I merely called myself a mommy who was trying to be an illustrator. By the last day of the conference, I left for home calling myself an illustrator and believing it too.

It especially resonated with me when author Lindsey Leavitt spoke on writing and illustrating as one of your jobs. She spoke about respecting the time spent with your art even though there may be no money coming from it, and you may have many other responsibilities. But only when you respect your art as your job will you be moving forward, growing, and putting yourself in opportunity’s path.

Meeting E.B. Lewis was an experience I will not forget! This award-winning illustrator was funny, personal, and an excellent teacher. He explained the structure of a killer portfolio as a “post and rail” fence and preached the importance of having a distinct voice in our work. My brain was overflowing with his many tips by the end of the group critique!

I was also lucky enough to have a formal portfolio review with E. B. Lewis. This was my very first formal critique, and I was amazed at how he just glanced at my work and had specific things to say about improving my craft and finding my voice.

I must say that the jelly on my toast was the friendships I made with other illustrators and writers! I felt I belonged to an entire family of storytellers.

The conference continued with insight from Sarah Davies, Katie Carella, and Erin Clark about agents, work-for-hire opportunities, and again… voice. E. B. Lewis said it beautifully: “You become an artist when you have something to say.”

Shanda's portfolio (photograph by Sandy Fry, used with permission):

Cricket and Cobblestone are taking submissions

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth O. Dulemba) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:12:00 +0000

Cricket Magazine Group and Cobblestone Publishing are looking for writers of every level of experience! The "bug " line (LADYBUG, CRICKET, SPIDER, BABYBUG, and CICADA) accepts unsolicited manuscripts; the history and cultures group (COBBLESTONE, ODYSSEY, FACES, CALLIOPE, DIG, and APPLESEEDS) selects articles by detailed query letter and is also interested in illustrator submissions; the science and ideas titles (CLICK, ASK, and MUSE) seek writers with subject expertise and request a resume and several writing samples.

For details, please visit www.cricketmag.com/guidelines. Join the Facebook pages for updates: www.facebook.com/cobblestone.publishing and www.facebook.com/cricketmag.

Note: You do need to know Cricket is very slow with their payments right now, reliable, but slow.

Springmingle is coming!

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth O. Dulemba) — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 14:31:00 +0000

This year's annual Springmingle conference is February 25 - 27th. CLICK HERE for more information and to register.

Golden Kite, Golden Dreams Exhibit coming to Mississippi!

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth O. Dulemba) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:12:00 +0000

Hello Breezers! We have wonderful news - not only is SCBWI Board member and award winning illustrator David Diaz speaking at the upcoming Mississippi Children's Book Festival (details at http://www.usm.edu/bookfest/) but the De Grummond Collection has secured the Golden Kite, Golden Dreams exhibit for display during the festival and he has agreed to take us on a tour of the exhibit! David curated the collection, and it should be an entertaining and enlightening event, April 6-8th in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Scholarship Fund OPEN for Springmingle!

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth O. Dulemba) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 19:11:00 +0000

Hi All,
With registration for our Southern Breeze Spring Conference Springmingle, February 25 - 27,
we are once again opening applications for the Liz Conrad Scholarship
Fund. The selected illustrator will be awarded free conference
attendance and one free portfolio review during our upcoming Springmingle
conference in Atlanta. Applications are now open and will close on February 1st. Winners will be announced on February 5th. Click here for further details.

It would have delighted Liz to know she was
helping further someone's budding illustration career, and it is a
nice honor to list on your resume.
Visit and download the application form today!

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at elizabeth at dulemba dot com,
or Kathleen Bradshaw, Assistant Illustrator Coordinator at klbradshaw at yahoo dot com.
e
Elizabeth O. Dulemba
Children's Book Author/Illustrator
http://dulemba.com
SCBWI Southern Breeze Illustrator Coordinator
http://www.southern-breeze.org/

Our 2010 PAL-tier Illustrator Books!

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth O. Dulemba) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 19:31:00 +0000

We have some amazing talent in our Southern Breeze region. Here are titles by our local illustrators that came out in 2010:

GROWING PATTERNS
Photography by Sarah C Campbell
Boyds Mills Press, March 2010

IF YOU'RE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT
illustrated by Laura Freeman
The Child's World, August 2010

GOD LOVES YOU
illustrated by Laura Freeman
written by Carol Rubow
Concordia Publishing House, January 2010

NIKKI & DEJA: BIRTHDAY BLUES
illustrated by Laura Freeman
written by Karen English
Clarion Books, January 2010

ZERO, ZILCH, NADA: COUNTING TO NONE
illustrated by Laura Knorr
written by Wendy Ulmer
Sleeping Bear Press, May 2010

DEAR BABY, I'M WATCHING OVER YOU
illustrated by Mark Braught
written by Carol Casey
Dear Baby Books, October 2010

Ellen Craft's ESCAPE FROM SLAVERY
illustrated by Mark Braught
written by Cathy Moore
Lerner Classroom, September 2010

A PLACE WHERE HURRICANES HAPPEN
illustrated by Shadra Strickland
written by Renée Watson
Random House, June 2010

THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS IN GEORGIA
illustrated by Elizabeth O. Dulemba
written by Susan Rosson Spain
Sterling Children's Books, October 2010

Southern Breeze Illustrator Contest Winners...

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth O. Dulemba) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:09:00 +0000

We were pleased to announce the winners of our contests at the recent wik10 conference. For those of you who were not able to join us, here are the results --

Congratulations to the following illustrators recognized by Laurent Linn, Art Director for Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and judge of our 2010 Southern-Breeze Illustration contest:

1st place: Sharon Graham for "PJ traveled to London to visit the queen."

2nd place: Amy Leigh Johnson for "PJ traveled to the beach every summer."

3rd place: Susan Nees for "PJ traveled to such exotic places while daydreaming, her chores simply few by."

Thanks to everyone who participated. Now, sharpen those pencils and get busy for 2011. The prompt is: "PJ tugged open the ________."

Corn Maiden Revisited

noreply@blogger.com (LjPatton) — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 13:38:00 +0000

I created a storyboard based on the legend of the Blue Corn Maiden for the awesome Wik 10. At Wik 10, Kerry Martin presented an extremely insightful workshop that covered story boarding and the process a picturebook dummy goes through on its way to publication. At the end of our workshop Kerry suggested that everyone use the information we had gleaned to finish three of the Corn Maiden images as part of our illustration portfolio. I could see the wisdom in her words. So now I am doing just that.

I would love your input regarding composition and how to make figures not feel stiff. I have posted the original sketch with a simple parallel pueblo in the background. I have also posted the same drawing with a more detailed photo of a pueblo in the background which runs at an angle to the fore ground image. Which of these compositions do you feel is stronger? Working with Mark Brought pre portfolio day I realized that sometimes I neglect the composition orchestration and race straight to the fun painting part. I appreciate y'alls assistance with my continued investigation into figure and composition. I would also welcome any other input you have. We often don't know what we don't know. Thanks for being another set of eyes. Cheers! Lauren j. Patton www.LjPatton.com

Renee Rivas

noreply@blogger.com (ReneeRivas) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 12:18:00 +0000

"Old Fashioned Candy Shoppe"
by Renee Rivas

Illustrators' Day 2010 recap: Something to Sing About

noreply@blogger.com (ReneeRivas) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 15:15:00 +0000

On Friday, September 3rd was a workshop I had been looking forward to for a while-- the annual Illustrators' Day in Decatur, GA held at the Decatur Public Library and hosted by the regional chapter of SCBWI, Southern Breeze. I attended last year and got a lot out of the event, but I was really excited to learn that this year's event was extended to include a whole day's worth of activities centered around the craft and business of illustrating for kids!

The event kicked off with a discussion with two amazing, award-winning illustrators, Rick Lovell (a professor of mine at SCAD!) and Bill Mayer. They spoke about their experiences working within the children's book market, tips for navigating freelance business, pros and cons of working with an agent, tips for promotion, and copyright issues. These illustrators have so much experience between them, and every time I hear them speak I gain some new piece of knowledge about the illustration business.

Loraine Joyner, Art Director for Peachtree Publishers, spoke next about the grabbing an Art Director's attention with promotional material. She brought in a flood of mailers she had received over the past month, which ranged from the amazing to the not so amazing. It was interesting to hear about what grabbed her eye. She also gave some suggestions for resources to help develop our craft. Lastly, she went through a manuscript and discussed how an illustrator could interpret text and turn it into intriguing and memorable pictures.

New South Books' Brian Seidman spoke about book cover design and the opportunities for artists within that avenue. They hire both a designer and an illustrator to work on their books. New South had some really outstanding cover illustrations, and it was interesting to hear about the process of how they are developed.

Published illustrator Shandra Stickland, whose new picture book A Place Where Hurricanes Happen was recently released attended the event and reviewed portfolios and spoke a little about her work. Elizabeth Dulemba, organized the event, and also had some great tips about putting together a print portfolio.

Mark Braught was awesome enough to help the first 25 people who signed up for the workshop, and act as an Art Director/mentor while developing an image for the topic "Something to Sing About". This assignment was great fun -- I thoroughly enjoyed playing (and singing along to) my favorite musicals while I worked in the studio. Mark was extremely generous with his time in reviewing my work every step of the way. He had some great tips that will help when developing my work in the future. Below are some of my developmental sketches that Mark helped me with (final illo at the top of this post).

Sketch #2/Color Comp

Sketch #1

Initial thumbnail

All of these illustrators in one place was very inspiring, and it is always wonderful meeting new artists and see their amazing work. It also set a great tone for the Decatur Book Festival the next day! I feel refreshed going forward with some new work, and now I can't wait for the Wik '10 conference in Birmingham, AL next month...

Illustrations by Renee Rivas