The Writing Process: Author/Illustrator Blog Tour

Well I just got tagged! Last week my good friend and AMAZING AMAZING illustrator Brooke Boyton Hughes tagged me as the next one up in this cool series. When I first met Brooke I was truly humbled by her talent and she quickly became an artistic mentor for me. Everything she draws is sweet and dark like the perfect chocolate. She just illustrated the book "Cupcake Cousins"written by Kate Hannigan which she is working up a second for now. She also has a picture book, Baby Love, written by Angela DiTerlizzi coming out next spring! "Lovely" and "magical" aren't descriptive enough words to describe Brooke's style. Do yourself and favor and check out her work. You will instantly fall a love and want to live inside one of her drawings.

1.  What am I currently working on?
I am currently working on my second picture book with Roaring Brook Press due out the winter of 2015. All I can say about that project at the moment, I'm drawing hedgehogs and anteaters these days. I'm soooo thrilled to have finished my first picture book, Boats For Papa, which is due out next spring. Both books I'm writing and illustrating. I've also been doing some gag comics for a new project for Highlights Publishing.


2.  Why do I write what I write?
I find that I as much as I love humor I am very drawn to stories that have a deep emotional connection with the reader. It's because of that attraction to an emotional story I naturally want try to write compelling and important work- work that has meaning and depth that will provide a safe place for a young reader to not feel alone. I've been trying to get better with writing what I know and I think that has allowed me to tap into those places inside of myself that can resonate with readers.

3. How does my writing/illustrating process work?
Well, I rub this magic lamp that I have and... Just kidding. It depends on the story. I'm always jotting down and drawing random things that I like or interest me as well as things from memories. That helps stir up ideas for stories. My best work comes when I act on inspired ideas.That is how both of my current books were started. When I get one of those "YES!" ideas I really try to act on it fast. Sometimes the "YES!" ideas turn out to be a big fat "NO WAY!" but the important thing is to get them down, then you have something fresh to work with instead of something labored and forced.

Usually it works better for me to do rough thumbnails and story writing simultaneously. Sometimes I write out the stories in advance, but those stories tend to get overwritten right off the bat and require extra work. Most often I'll see the story in pictures in my head and use that as my mental structure for how the story is going to unfold. Once I have my rough story and thumbnails, I start to work out the story a little more. Refine it and get it to a place that makes more sense. Once it's more than just a idea and has some recognizable visuals, I'll usually let my crit group in on it. They are all so awesome and really help to find the holes.

Once the idea has run through many edits and tweaks, it is ready to turn into a real dummy. I flush out the characters through sketches and color tests and get them to where I want them to be. Then I turn the thumbnails into real sketches. After I have my sketches, I lay out the dummy in InDesign and put in the text. Then usually I will turn a few of my sketches into more complete and finished illustrations to see what things will really look like.

(Sorry I don't have pictures for some of this next part.)

For my illustrations I take tracing paper and trace over my sketches to refine them. Then I flip over the tracing paper, and go over my line work again on the reverse side with a darker/softer graphite- like drawing the image backwards.This lets me see where the drawing looks a little wonky (if it looks out of balance backwards, it gets re-worked). Once the reverse image is completed, I burnish (or rub) over the traced image onto watercolor paper so the pencil lines get transferred to the paper. I find this easier sometimes than just tracing via a light box because watercolor paper is so thick, sometimes it's hard to see the details. And the best part of this is that if I have to redo an illustration, I just have to rub the image onto the paper again instead of re-tracing the whole thing all over again. It's a little extra art insurance!

Once the pencil lines are transferred, I use a fine black waterproof pen (Uni-Pin .01) and trace the lines and add in my extra line work (textures for trees or animal fur). Then I erase the pencil and watercolor over top. I use cheaper toothy Canson Cold Press 140lb watercolor paper to help retain my "pooling" technique (nicer and less toothy papers naturally make the watercolor behave smoother). I also don't stretch my paper to allow the watercolor to pool and stain.

That's pretty much it! Just repeat the illustrations and boom- you have a book! It's THAT easy! Just kidding. It's not easy and it takes a long time but it's SOOO much fun!

So I guess that's it!
Next up is my SUPER AWESOME friend Lisa Anchin! Lisa is just like her illustrations, colorful, bold, imaginative, and just downright fun! I've always loved and admired Lisa's use of color, perspective and her ability to show movement. Not to mention her characters are just too freaking cute. She's a fantastic writer and illustrator who is currently working on a couple of picture book projects. Check her out next week!!!

Spring Cleaning

Hey all
I'm not really spring cleaning, but it's a glorious idea, isn't it? I've been on a minor hiatus recently since I'm in between books so I've been trying to just relax- for once. I'm so anxious to get working on my next book though its hard to relax. I can't talk about the project yet but all I will say is "anteater." Once I can reveal more I'll let you know!

This past month though wasn't completely uneventful. I attended this year's Western Washington SCBWI Conference a few weeks ago and it was great! Lots of great speakers presented, like the awesomely talented Renata Lewiska. I got to talk with her a bit and she is so sweet and honest. She is just such a fantastic illustrator and I was extra inspired by how much she draws her animals from her own life experiences. I try to do that with my work, but I was even more inspired to dig deeper! And after her great sketchbook workshop, I realized that I think I've been using the wrong drawing tools in my sketchbook- which has personally hampered some sketchbook momentum. So crazy what sort of "ah-ha moments" you get at the conference. I always walk away with something inspiring and interesting from going to the conferences- they are never a let down in that respect!

Also, big news at the conference, I was runner up in the portfolio showcase! Woo Hoo! It was cool to be so highly honored by my peers and professionals!

Other than that I'm working on oodles of ideas for new stories which is always fun, exciting, and sometimes frustrating. But I love it so I'm up for the challenge!

So I better get back to it! 

Saturday sketches!

Hey everyone!

It's a rainy and overcast Saturday here in Seattle so Aaron and I are drawing and painting! I'm working up some new portfolio pieces for the upcoming Western Washington SCBWI conference.  So my woodland creatures are keeping me dry and busy today! 

I've also been working on a new design for my website. It's going to be more visually focused to my children's book illustrations so stay tuned!

Okay, back to it!

NY NY- picture book paradise

Hey Everyone!
It's nearly a month after the fact, but I thought I would catch you up on my recent trip to New York! It was super fun and exciting. My husband and I went to meet with my editor Neal Porter to see where the magic was happening with my first book Boats For Papa (due out April-June 2015) and to talk about my next book project we are doing together. So exciting!!! It was a truly magical experience getting to go the the Roaring Brook offices (in the freaking Flatiron Building) and see where my book is going to come to life! I got to meet my AMAZING book designer Jennifer Brown and everyone in the office and they were all so nice! I couldn't have asked for a better home for Buckley and Mama. We laid out the artwork and Neal did a dramatic reading of book. I got a little misty when this was happening as one does when they get to see their dreams come true. Definitely the highlight of the trip. I even got to go to Neal's and meet his kitty, Arthur. It was love at first pet.

We were in town when the SCBWI NY Conference was going on- a sneaky plan on my part so I could see all my friends while I was there and meet with my super rad agent Alex! Alex and I hadn't formally met in person since I signed on with her last year. So it was great to see her in the flesh- not over the phone or email. We even got to have a karaoke jam together while in NY. Now that's what I call an agent.

It was sooo great to catch up with my good friends Lisa, Brooke, and Maple while in town too. I love these ladies. They make it so fun to be in the children's book community and I'm lucky to call them my friends and artistic peers. We even managed to sneak in a little hangout time in between all of the children's book madness. Hot chocolate, Books of Wonder, Pho, Wine... all the stuff that is good in life. (Please Note Aaron on the far left is the victim of a panoramic face melting in the photo and doesn't always look like this-but he loves when the camera makes him look like Sloth from Goonies.)

On my trip, I also got to meet a ton of WONDERFUL folk at Simon & Schuster, Abrams, Greenwillow Books & Little Brown and Company. All so, so lovely and fun and kind. It's a reminder when you get to me so many amazing people why I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to get to be a part of this business.

And if all of this wasn't enough, while we were in town, there were two AMAZING exhibits going on. The first was the Little Prince exhibit at the Morgan Library. They had the original manuscript and drawings from "The Little Prince"by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry on display. It was so moving to get to see the early stages of this book that is dear to my heart. Oh and, not to mention, I got to see a Guttenberg bible at the Morgan Library collection. Sort of amazing. The second exhibit we saw was at the New York Public Library called The ABC of it: Why Children's Books Matter. It was incredible. It was a retrospective on children's literature and they had so many original manuscripts and pieces of artwork from classic children's books like: Beatrix Potter, William Blake, John Tenniel- the list goes on and on. A very magical and amazing exhibit that I recommend anyone checking out if you are in NY between now and September.

Lastly, our trip ended with a walk at Highline Park. It was a lovely day and a trip I'll never forget.

Painting bears and fish

Hey all 

It snowed last night in Seattle, so it's a great excuse to stay in and paint! It's bears and fish and trees and whales today. I'd say its already a perfect day.

Sketching on a sunny afternoon

Happy weekend!

I for one can't be more excited its Saturday. And to start it off withe a bang, I'm doing some sketches for a joint project that I'm working on with my husband Aaron. It's always so fun to collaborate with him and I feel like each time we work together we get closer and closer to having a unified artistic voice. With out last show back in September, we did joint writing and drawing for our comics art show, 1828 Lincoln St. This time we are taking a slightly different approach, with Aaron is doing all the writing and the initial sketches while I am doing the final art. I don't want to say too much more about it, but will show more as we get more completed. 

Other than that I'm just in the process of revising my portfolio and making some new postcards for an upcoming visit to NY to meet with my super awesome agent Alexandra and my amazing editor Neal at Roaring Brook Press. So lots to do-but all art related so its very fun!!! Back to the paper!

Done!

Well I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm done with my illustrations for my first picture book "Boats For Papa." I sent off my paintings this week and they arrive safely at Roaring Brook Press (cocooned in tape and bubble wrap)! This has been an incredible experience. I still can hardly believe that it happened. I guess when i get a copy in hand I'll finally believe it. I gathered up my painting test pages when I was cleaning up my book stuff and enjoyed the view! I still think there's more laying around somewhere I overlooked...

This has been an immeasurably rewarding and fulfilling process and I can't wait to get started on the next book! But, I think I've earned the weekend off so I'm heading to the art museum to see some Franz Von Stuck and get a hamburger with Aaron!