Dusting a Dummy

I wrote a story a couple of years ago and made it into a sketch dummy (a picture book mock-up). I love the process of putting sketches with the words. It helps me understand and revise things like the story's pacing and setting changes.

My old dummy was called, Jackson's Magic Jacket. It was about a little boy's obsession with his favorite piece of clothing. This month I've decided to make it about a rabbit and call it Jack's Jacket. The story has changed enough for me to delete some scenes and add a few more. Here's a page spread that didn't exist in my last draft.

Illustrator's Day 2013

Here I am in Atlanta, with illustrator, Will Terry, who gave an insightful presentation on the future of our field.  Scholastic Books Executive Editor, Diane Hess and Abrams Books Art Director, Chad Beckerman, also gave helpful advice about how to get noticed.

As one of the first twelve to register for Illustrator’s Day, I got a chance to participate in a mentorship assignment. I usually do the assignment multiple times as a way to hasten my growth as an illustrator. This year, mentor, Mark Braught had us to choose from a list of animals, time periods, and places.

I did one painting of Victorian gibbons in Egypt 

and another of 1940's Asian rodents.

One of my first scribbles in deciding which animals to choose, was part of a bunny. Since rabbits don't technically fit into the rodent option, I didn't use it. I later went back to the sketch and spent the two weeks after completing this project doing several dozen bunny paintings. There was no underpainting or physical texture to these new pieces. They were more gestural and generally more energetic. It was such a breakthrough for me! You never know where you'll end up when you get to work and follow your heart. Thanks for the springboard Mark!