SCBWI LA Conference 2013

I have been meaning to post about my experience at my first SCBWI LA conference all month, but between a tight deadline with very cool steampunk novel cover project(which I will share in a post soon) and squeezing in some summertime fun with the kiddos before the summer comes to an end, the poor blog had to come a distant third on my priority list. Now that the final art is in, we have all our back-to-school shopping complete and sneaked in a few family fun-day treks, I am finally able to post  few pictures and some take-away moments.
Overall I felt my first SCBWI LA conference was a very positive experience. But I must say I was blown away by the sheer size of the event. It was enormous! Just look...this is a snapshot of about 1/3 of the grand ballroom where all of the keynotes took place- humongous!

And being my shy self, it took me a few stomach churning moments every morning to thrust myself back in there. But I am proud to say that I pushed myself to talk to my neighbors and not keep my head down. I was so pleased to met up with new friends that I had met over the years via Twitter- that was indeed a highlight.

Priscilla Mizell, Alvina Kwong, and me

I also met most of the Simply Messing About Blog and a bunch of the #kidlitart Tweet chat crew in person finally- Tracy Bishop, Laura Zarrin, Christina Forshay, Diandra Mae, Jannie Ho( who was also on the faculty this year)... gosh, I'm sure I must be missing a few. It was so hectic I am embarrassed to say I barely took any pics. 

A major highlight for me was attending David Wieser's keynote and breakout sessions. I have been a huge fan for years, and it was a thrill to hear him speak about his craft and share his process, from idea generation to thumbnails, all the way to finished art. It was reassuring to hear that even he takes a long time(often years) to "get it right", for the story to come together. He reminded us all to " follow the story" and let it take you where it needs to go. Love it! He even shared his newest book, Mr.Wuffles, due out this Fall! 

I brought some of Skink on the Brink to sell at the PAL book sale. I sold a few, which was indeed a nice surprise, and met some other authors and illustrators at the book sale. :) As an interesting aside... apparently nobody has heard of plasticine in the US. So, until I started saying " modelling clay" I got a look of confused looks. Huh? Who knew...

I participated in the portfolio showcase as well. The caliber of art was just incredible.  I also attended some great breakout sessions with US art directors, like Laurent Linn, and Giuseppe Castellano.  And it was very cool to see Laurent discuss our friend, Debbie Ohi's fun book I'm Bored. Yay, Debbie! I just happened to be sitting beside her at this breakout session when this image came up-*quiet squeals of delight* came from our general direction, LOL.

Laurent Linn

The only drawback I found with attending SCBWI LA was that, due to the large volume of attendees, I found it very hard to find a moment to approach an AD, to give them my business card/postcard, or have any sort of chat. I didn't want to be one of those people who swarmed the speaker after their talk, or jumped into an elevator convo- that just isn't my style. So I think for me anyway,  I will aim to attend a smaller conference next year, where there may be a better chance to make more connections. 

Speaking of conferences, the SCBWI CanEast Montreal Conference( Oct. 4-6th) is coming up. I reeeeeally wish I could attend this year because the line-up and illustrator stream looks fantastic. To find our more about it, check out all the SCBWICanEast "The Art of Story" conference details. 

Stay tuned, tomorrow I will be posting my  Sept. 2013 desktop calendar. :) 

  

August 2013 Desktop Calendar and Pictures from Book launches other SKINKTASTIC stuff!

Wow, July has flown past at lightning speed. Maybe it felt that way because Lisa and I have been on the road almost every weekend for various launches and events to celebrate Skink on the Brink. I guess you could say it's been a super-SKINKTASTIC month!

Before I share some of the photos of some of our events, here is my August desktop calendar.

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As always, to download one for your computer simply select the screen resolution you'd like, right click and "Save to Desktop".  Lisa had mentioned how much she'd love one more Stewie themed desktop calendar...so Lisa, I made this one specifically with YOU in mind ;)

 

The official book launch of Skink on the Brink took place at Story Planet on July 6th. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to share in our celebration. As you can see, a good time was had by all and the plasticine activity table was a bit hit with the kiddos!
 

On July 20th Lisa an I had the honour of taking part in The Pinery Park's Savannah Festival. Lisa gave a stellar presentation and reading in the amphitheatre.

 

Then after lunch, Lisa and I spent the afternoon in the gazebo doing plasticine activities. We were very lucky to have Tanya Berkers(the field biologist that was Lisa's primary contact for her skink research) on hand to answer the children's lizard related questions. But I must say Lisa did a fabulous job of quizzing the kids to get their Savannah Festival passport stamp, she's quite the skink expert herself now.

 

 Last weekend we were in Lisa's hometown, Fergus Ontario, at Roxanne's Reflections for the Fergus launch.  We were both tickled pink...no make that "Stewie-blue", to have such a warm reception and fantastic turn out. And I want to send a special thank-you to the many sweet author and illustrator friends who made the trek to Fergus to join us. We felt very blessed. :)

 

 And tomorrow I am hoping on a plane and heading to the SCBWI conference in LA. I'm feeling nervous, anxious, and super-excited all rolled up into one.  I can't wait to share that experience(and lots of pics) with you too! :)

 





Happy July!

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It's summer time, the kids are out of school and it's a lovely long weekend here. And with the start of summer comes the start of July. Boy, didn't June just zip by?  It's been an exciting month, with the release of my debut picture book, Skink on the Brink, written by Lisa Dalrymple, published by Fitzhenry & Whiteside.

 

 I must say, it was such a thrill to walk into my local Chapters and see our book on the shelf, for the first time "WEHOOO!". And my friends and family have been so so sweet to send me images and info of our book on the shelves of stores across Canada.

 

Lisa and I have been busy prepping for the official book launch next Saturday, July 6th from 1-3pm at  the Intergalactic Travel Authority( Story Planet). If you are in the area, please join us!  We have another launch and some exciting signings coming up as well in July/August and some great interviews that I will share in  series of  upcoming posts, so stay tuned.  I have some of the upcoming events posted in the News section of my website.

 

This months calendar features another  interior spread for our book. It's one of my favorites...OK, they are all my favorites, they are my babies, after all. This foot-tapping, bug-dancing, jubilant illustration is just right to celebrate our book's release and upcoming launch activities.

 

To download, simply click on the required screen resolution above,then right click and save to desktop.

 

Please check back for more info on our upcoming events, printable activities and even a few interviews...there's lots to share :)

 

Happy Canada Day!!





Hello June!

I am so excited to share that Skink on the Brink(Fitzhenry & Whiteside), written by Lisa Dalrymple, and illustrated by me, has arrived at the Fitzhenry & Whiteside warehouse! Lalalalaaa!!
There it is smartly sitting on the desk of my editor and publisher, Christe Harkin.
" Hi Stewie!"*waving*
 Lisa and I will be visiting F&W this Monday. :). I can't wait to hold it in my hands!!!
It should be in stores in just a few short weeks.

This all happened yesterday, so I am unfortunately a day late with my June 2013 desktop calendar....geesh, I was kinda distracted, but you understand-right? Sorry guys!

In honour of Skink of the Brink's release, my June 2013 desktop calendar features the one and only... Stewie the skink. As you can see he is very excited to meet you guys too.

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To download, simple click on your desired screen resolution listed above, then right click and select "save to desktop".

 

The launch for Skink on the Brink will be organized in the coming week, so please check back for the details, we'd love to see you there! :-)

 

 

The Next Big Thing Blog Tag

Hi guys,  the Next Big Thing is a global blog tour, started in Australia, to showcase authors and illustrators and their current work. I was tagged for The Next Big Thing Blog Tag by the very talented author/illustrator, Peggy Collins.

I thought, as an interesting twist, I would share my tag with Lisa Dalrymple, the author of  Skink on the Brink, illustrated by ME, since it is due out at the end of this month-YAY!! We are super excited!

1) What is the working title of your next book?  Skink on the Brink
 

2) Where did the idea come from for the book? How did you come up with the final character illustrations for the book?

I love words and language and try to play around in everything I write. I wanted to write a story and cast in it an animal we don’t see so often in picture books. As soon as I heard the name Skink, I knew that was it. I mean just listen to it: skink. It made me laugh just to say it, so I knew I had found my little guy.

          After reading Lisa's manuscript I left it to float around inside my head for a bit. This foot tapping, singing skink had such a great personality that the ideas practically flew out of my head down through my pencil. I really enjoyed capturing all the emotions Stewie went through on his journey of self discovery. I sometimes made faces in a  hand mirror to get just the right expression, when sculpting my plasticine Stewie.

 

3) In what genre does your book fall?

It’s a children’s picture book, subtly educational.


4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Kermit the Frog should definitely play Stewie. He may be more amphibian than reptilian but he more than makes up for that when he starts singing, “It’s not easy being blue-I mean grey-no wait red.”


5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

          This is Stewie the Skink’s story about self-esteem and change, as Stewie grows up, his shockingly bright blue tail fades to gray and he has to discover just who he is when he can no longer call himself “Stewie the Blue.” 

6) Who is publishing your book? Fitzhenry & Whiteside publishers in Toronto.
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript? How long did the illustrations take to complete? 

I researched for a couple of months before writing.  The first draft probably took me about a week, but that was soon followed up with about 18 months of subsequent drafts and revisions before I considered submitting it.

The roughs, rom initial thumbnails to tight rough sketches took a few months, and then the really fun final artwork created in plasticine, took approximately 4.5 months to complete. Each illustrations took anywhere from 20-40 hours, depending on complexity.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? 

         Well, seeing as it is the fourth in the Tell Me More Series of picture books by Fitzhenry and Whiteside, there are certain similarities between it and Kazaak, Tooter’s Stinky Wish and Bye-Bye Butterflies. Each story has its own unique qualities but includes an educational component and two pages of backmatter that extend the informational elements of the story.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book? What inspired our illustrations for this book?

         The Carolinian population of the Common Five-lined Skink is Endangered in Canada – an Endangered Species of lizard in my own backyard (or at least where I camp out) that I had never heard of! I knew I wanted to know more. The more I researched, the more I heard a little voice singing in my ear, “I’m a skink on the brink of extinction, I think.” There was no turning back.

        Due to the cross curricular component of this book, as it is part of the Tell-Me-More Storybook series,  I wanted to ensure that the habitat of the five-lined skink, including vegetation, predators and other animals found in their habitat, was accurate, so I really did  my homework. Ontario has such a great variety of animals friends and foes to choose from that it was often hard to choose who to include in my illustrations- just look at my big stack of reference photos!

 

10) What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?

         Stewie’s story is a familiar one to all Common Five-lined Skinks. The juveniles of this species do have incredibly bright blue tails, the colour of which fades as they reach sexual maturity. Mature males also develop bright orange or red jaws and chin, particularly during breeding season. It’s no wonder Stewie is having an identity crisis!

Also, like other lizards, skinks can shed, or autotomize, their tails when they’re attacked. I had no idea that the tail actually keeps moving in order to confuse the predator so the lizard can escape.  (It grows back at a rate of about 6mm a week.)

Hopefully, after kids read this book, they will be inspired to go outside, go on a nature walk or go camping. Who knows ,they might even recognize a few of Stewie's habitat friends or, if they are very lucky, they might even see Stewie himself. :)

Up next week : Illustrator Jan Dolby

And author Joyce Grant
 

 

May 2013 Desktop Calendar is here!

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In the nick of time, here's my May 2013 desktop calendar, featuring another illo from Skink on the Brink(due out so very soon!!). We have had a nasty stomach bug here, with one kiddo home from school today,so this post will be short and sweet. I hope you enjoy the desktop!  :-)

Colour palette for Skink on the Brink

I just love to see artists colour palettes, mixing trays, and colourful test papers. It gives a tiny glimpse into the thought process inside their creative brain.  It's fun to see how a colour scheme is fleshed out, knowing lots of experimenting and play went into each piece of artwork or illustration.
The colour palette above is the one I created while making the final art for Skink on the Brink. It ended up flowing onto a second page too...I like to mix colours myself, and with this book I wanted the colours to be quite earthy, and natural. I even kept real leaves collected from my cottage to compare against my hand mixed plasticine colours.

You can see my colour palette on the wire thingy above my art table. I like having it within arms reach, if I need to add another colour mixture, or if I need to remake a specific colour.
And of course, I had lots of pizza to keep me well fed...LOL...kidding,  those pile-o-boxes on the right under and on top of the table are holding my finished illustrations- keeping them safe from the curious little fingers of my 4 munchkins. From the amount there I'd say I was only about half way through the final art. The boxes were double in height once all of the artwork was complete.