SCBWI Published my Article!

Check out page 10 of the just-released Fall 2013 Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators SCBWI Kite Tails!

My moment with Henry Winkler (the Fonz!) has been immortalized - as well as my experience at the conference. 

You will also see my friends and fellow illustrators, Linda Silvestri and Heather Soodak and a few peak scenes from the 2013 summer SCBWI conference.

Read it here: http://www.scbwi.org/Resources/Documents/KT_Fall13.pdf

Here are even more of my favorite photos from the SCBWI Conference:

Henry Winkler and Laura Hoffman, August 2013  SCBWI Conference

Scenes from the Black & White Ball:

Rejection Letters

Rejection Letters

Black and White Ball Antics

Katy Betz looking awesome as a Zebra

Eliza Wheeler, Heather Soodak, Katy Betz, Linda Silvestri and Laura Hoffman, Illustrators.

So an illustrator goes to a SCBWI Conference….

….And comes home inspired. I am not alone.

After finishing the whirlwind of energy, learning, camaraderie and parties that was my 4^th consecutive SCBWI conference since 2010, things are finally sinking in. Every year, I find myself in a different place in my journey as an illustrator, and the conference experience has helped me on my way. The more I attend these conferences, the more humbled I become, being surrounded by a sea of talent. 

Illustrators at the 2013 SCBWI Luncheon, 8/4/13

Illustrators are solitary creatures that hole up in our studios, balancing deadlines and practicing our craft so we often don’t get out much. Then suddenly—in a span of four action packed days, we take part in a shared experience with hundreds of like-minded people. We get a chance to view other visual artists’ portfolios, share our process and concerns - and find out we are not alone. I find that I learn as much from my fellow SCBWI attendees as the award-winning authors and illustrators, top editors and agents that speak to us.

Linda Silvestri & Laura Hoffman, Illustrators, 2013 SCBWI Conference

Eliza Wheeler, Heather Soodak, Katy Betz, Linda Silvestri & Laura Hoffman, Illustrators at the Black & White Ball

Where else can we learn from the genius of the imaginative illustrators as David Wiesner, hilarious John Scieszka and Jarrett Krosocza, as well as many others? Where else can we illustrators get our portfolios in front of top agents, leading art directors and publishers? I became hooked on the conferences by my second year of attendance, when I was “discovered” by my publisher; we have since created three books together - now read by tens of thousands.

Laura Hoffman's sketches and paintings show up for Learning A-Z's presentation, 8/2/13, SCBWI Conference.

At this year’s illustrator intensive, we had the opportunity to see where selected illustrators’ work fits into the children’s book market. I never want to miss the intensives – here is a day devoted just to our concerns. I felt like we were getting the “insider’s view” of what editors, art directors and agents really look for in hiring us, where we fit in and it can be very specific. Still, we were exhorted to break through boundaries, not limit content and it’s “OK to be scary.” One art director, Giuseppe Castellano, gave us this entirely refreshing advice, “Don’t focus on genre…. be who you are.” Oh, and they still want us to send out those postcards to remind them we are out there. 

Scene from Illustrators Intensive, SCBWI Conference 8/5/13

This year I came away with far more focus. I must have an “original voice” in my work. Fundamental craft, such as drawing skills, trained use of form and composition, as well as thoughtful choices of color palette are expected from us as narrative artists. We are challenged now to know our market—our target audience—and make pictures for them. And it goes beyond that. In this age of the constant onslaught of stimulation from media, video games and other unceasing distractions, our artwork must grab attention by providing extraordinarily unusual points of view, story telling, unexpected perspective and originality. Illustrators that stand out have a “signature style” that defines us. And humor, emotion and heart go a long way.

Thank you for reading my account in 500 words or less—now I’m going to go off and draw.

Next, I'll post my favorite highlights and photos from the award winning illustrator David Wiesner keynote and break-out meeting. I draw my greatest inspiration from him. Look for fun photos from the big Black & White ball that happened on Saturday night.

SCBWI 2012: An Illustrator's Perspective, Part 1

2012 SCBWI Summer Conference: An illustrator’s perspective  Part I

I am recovering from spending 4 breathless, exciting, mind-bending days - that seemed like 8 days – at the annual summer SCBWI conference. SCBWI stands for:

Society of

Children’s

Book

Writers and

Illustrators.

Strange acronym, isn’t it? No one seems to know how to pronounce it.

I represent the ‘I’ as an illustrator – and as you can tell from my work, much of what I do is for children’s books, also known as kid lit.

This was my third conference. In 2010, my graduate advisor, Hala Swearingen, urged me to go – so I did, and it was great advice. I’ve been hooked ever since, since the kid in me is still very present and comes out when I’m illustrating anything. Even at this year’s conference, Cecilia Yung (Art director and VP of Penguin Young Readers Group) reminded us that we still have to entertain the little kid in us. But I’m jumping ahead of myself – that was from the “Illustrator Intensive,” that happened on Monday, 8/6/12.

The conference was full of info. Look for more blog posts on the conference, which you’ll relate to if you:

·      Have kids.

·      Read stories to kids.

·      Love art (especially for kids)

·      Love reading.

·      Have gone to SCBWI.

·      Are a kid at heart (that’s meeee!)

I stayed at the Hyatt, so I got a full immersion. I shared a room with Nadia Roldan, an illustrator and educator, who was a joy to share the experience with. She taught me so much about social media! Here is her blog: http://mizzleadventures.blogspot.com/, and she’s having a show on August 18^th that must not be missed: http://www.rawartists.org/roldan

From the first day on, we were flooded with information. Just the stats were interesting: There were 1,234 attendees. 411 of us are published (I am fortunate to be among this population), and 941 were known to be female and 171 were known to be male. The rest had names that couldn’t be distinguished by gender.

The conference faculty likes to introduce themselves with a single word, like this:

   “moxi” – Linda Pratt

   “Flexibility” – Cecilia Yung

   “seduce (me)” – Neal Porter

   “climax” – Eugene Yelchin

   “dream” – Tony DeTerlizzi

   “charming” – Lauren Rille

   One faculty member – a famous YA (Young Adult) writer said: “penis!!!” and ran away –loved her!

   I would say: “Overwhelmed.”   And so would most of us who attended the conference.

Enough intro…here is the good stuff:

We heard from Arthur Levine, who has his own imprint with Scholastic, who told us that timelessness is a quality he looks for, when deciding on what to publish.

So I had a new word that supplanted “overwhelmed” – which is now: “timeless” –thanks to Arthur Levine.

     Then, Tony DiTerlizzi, a bestselling author and illustrator took the stage. He won a Caldecott Honor for his book: The Spider & The Fly. http://diterlizzi.com/home/

     He asked us to be aware of this, while working on a book for kids; e.g.: what does the 10-year old Tony want in a book?

      This is if you want to connect with your audience - if they're ten.

      Cecilia Yung asked us later, what does her 4-year-old self want in a picture book? This is if you want to connect with 4 year old kids...and you have to appeal to their parents who buy the books.

     We have to tap into the kids that still exist within us. If you’re not careful, every year we get older puts us a little further. You have to remember.

More later. I’m overwhelmed!! The kid in me wants to go out and play.

Look for Part II….