Usually they are given a script to read and then they draw how the cartoon will look. The storyboard is used as a type of blueprint for what the animators will do through the acting, staging, and camera moves.

Wendy has worked on the storyboard of a well-known TV cartoon (don’t have company approval to mention the name). Storyboarding is a part of the animation process.

Here’s Wendy:

As a kid I always loved drawing, The Muppets, Disney movies, and dreamed of illustrating children’s books.

I graduated with a BFA in drawing from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. I taught art to elementary children for five years; then moved to California where I began working as a storyboard artist.

I have worked on a variety of productions, winning an Annie Award for storyboarding in 2004. I have also served as an animation development artist, children’s book illustrator, and character designer for companies such as Nickelodeon, Sony, Klasky-Csupo, White Wolf, etc.

I am completing my Masters degree in Illustration at California State University of Fullerton and will be graduating this spring. Being in school has provided me the opportunity to refine my drawing, painting, and illustrating skills and to explore a variety of illustration mediums. I had the opportunity to design and create my own short animated film, “The Littlest Valkyrie”, which I also adapted into a storybook. I enjoy sculpture and created a maquette of the main character of the young Viking girl from my film as well as a sculpture of one of my monsters and a giant from Jack and the Beanstalk. When I draw, paint, or sculpt I want my illustrations to tell a story and involve the viewer emotionally.

I have also designed and had manufactured my own line of plush toys called Fuzzlelumps! Fuzzlelumps are cute little monsters that live in various nooks and crannies, in dark closets, and under beds. My husband and I have also written a story about the Fuzzlelumps for which I have created illustrations and put together a rough dummy book.

When I’m not drawing, I love to read books, play games and spend time with my family.

Here is the process:

This is an illustration from one of my stories about a boy and a monster he befriends. I do sometimes draw in a sketch book, but prefer to work out my illustrations digitally from rough sketches to finished illustration on my tablet PC or Cintiq.

1. Before I start an illustration, I like to work out the design of my characters. I draw them in various poses and emotions. Here are the final designs of the boy and the monster that I chose.

2. Next I create several rough thumbnail sketches of an idea I have for an illustration with the characters I have designed. I then take my favorite composition and sketch a rough drawing for painting. My sketches are done using a program called Alias Sketchbook Pro or TVPaint. I bring this sketch into Corel Painter and place it on its own layer on top. My drawings are usually rough and the refinement comes as I paint.

3. I then reduced the image in size, so that I do not get hung upon details, and create some color studies to help decide on color temperatures and lighting.

4. Once I have an idea of how I want to proceed in terms of color and light, I reduce the opacity of the sketch layer to 50% and begin painting. I work using many layers, the background on its own layer, the foreground, middle ground, characters, etc. will also be on their own layer. This makes it easy if I want to make changes.

5. When I feel I am nearly finished with the painting I turn off the sketch layer and finish painting.

6. After the painting is done, I add in details on a separate layers, such as the stitching on the blanket in this illustration, and the outlining of the boy, bed, etc.

I see you have your BFA. How has that helped you with the storyboarding jobs you’ve been doing?

Having a degree has not helped in getting a job, the drawing skill that I honed while in school and continued to develop has been invaluable in my job. Storyboarding is a demanding job requiring a high level of drawing skill as well as a knowledge of filmmaking, acting, etc.

What was the first thing you illustrated and got paid for?

When I was 13 I illustrated a poster for a lady at church and to my surprise she paid me twenty dollars! I was elated. It was the first time I realized I could get paid for drawing.

When you moved to CA, did it take a lot of time to get your foot in the door as a storyboard artist?

My husband and I made a trip to California one summer, staying with friends while shopping around our portfolios. We both found work as a result of this trip. I first worked as a character artist in the licensing department at Film Roman; 5 months later I was hired as a storyboard artist.

Tell us a little about the world of a storyboard artist.

I get to draw all day every day. Storyboarding is a very rewarding job; I work with interesting people and have had the opportunity to work on a variety of exciting productions. I love my job and the past 15 years have flown by.

Normally I work with an existing script, but sometimes have worked on productions which ask me to storyboard and write. Usually I have 5 or 6 weeks to complete one storyboard. A storyboard is usually about 550 drawings long. All the storyboards are drawn digitally on Cintiqs; we draw into a program called ToonBoom Storyboard Pro. The TV cartoon I am working on is premise based show, meaning the storyboard artists are provided with an outline of the story and they are responsible for writing and drawing the show. The first two weeks are for roughing out the story with drawings, which are next pitched to the director. The next two weeks are used to rough out the story with any changes they received at the first pitch. The final two weeks are for cleaning up the rough storyboard and making any changes. Once a show is completed, the process starts all over again.

My job responsibilities are somewhat different as I am the artist who specializes in storyboarding songs that occur in each episode. I am given a song and the lyrics and a brief description of what is going on in the story up until the point of the song and what the director wants to see happen in the song. Most of the songs I do involve dancing, which I can draw very well.

Was that an easy transition into animation?

I did not transition into animation. Storyboarding is one aspect of the animation process. Storyboards are the blueprints for the animation, they tell the animators what to animate. While in school for my Masters I animated a short film which was a lot of work and late nights. I learned a great deal and had a great deal of fun creating my own film.

Do mention you work in a lot of mediums. Which one do you enjoy doing the most?

I used to work traditionally on paper. In my illustrations I liked to use watercolors with ink outline. Now I work almost completely digitally. I sometimes will draw in a sketchbook I carry around with me. I do all my finished illustrations digitally using a Wacom Cintiq or my Tablet PC. I love to work digitally in Corel Painter for my color illustrations. I like to use the chalk tools in Painter. For sketching I love the pencils in Corel 11 on my Cintiq since you can tilt the stylus and it acts and looks just like the side of a pencil . I also like to sketch in Alias sketchbook Pro and TVPaint.

I asked Wendy to give us a little more detail on her job as a storyboard artist.

I draw all my storyboards using a Cintiq. My specialty is songs on the show. I am given a song and I draw everything that happens in the song; dancing, montages, what ever is required. For the most part I am usually given songs with dancing since I am very good at drawing interesting and creative dances/posing, and because I also have a good understanding of animation, I can pose out a dance short of actually animating it.

We are given a packet of art that has backgrounds, characters, size comparisons, props (ex. cars, beds, etc.)and we use these as reference when storyboarding. We need to draw on model as best as possible. I do draw the characters the way they should look.

The show is traditionally animated, meaning it is still handdrawn. All the work done here is completely digital. I draw all my storyboards using a Cintiq. My specialty is songs here on the show. I am given a song and I draw everything that happens in the song; dancing, montages, what ever is required. For the most part I am usually given songs with dancing since I am very good at drawing interesting and creative dances/posing, and because I also have a good understanding of animation, I can pose out a dance short of actually animating it.

We are given a packet of art that has backgrounds, characters, size comparisons, props (ex. cars, beds, etc.)and we use these as reference whenstoryboarding. We need to draw on model as best as possible. I do draw the characters the way they should look.

When did you decide you wanted to illustrate children’s books?

Since I was very young I have loved to draw. My favorite books were children’s books and their illustrations. Maurice Sendak and “Where the Wild Things Are” was my favorite.

You mention that you and your husband have written a picture book. Did you do it digitally?

Not initially. My husband wrote out the manuscript and I sketched out the dummy book. Later I redid the drawings digitally improving on the page layouts and compositions.

Do you ever touch up your illustrations in Photoshop or Painter?

I do all my illustrations in Painter. When I finish painting I take them into Photoshop, mainly to prepare them for printing.

Do you own a graphic tablet? If so, which one?

I own a Wacom Cintiq and a Tablet PC (Fujitsu).

Have you changed your approach or style, since you got your BFA?

My style has remained somewhat the same with the exception that my drawing ability and understanding of color and painting have continued to improve.

Do you think living in CA provides you with more opportunities to sell you work?

The entertainment industry is here in CA, providing me with many markets for the art I create.

What are you working on now?

I am completing a series of maquettes and completing my short film, developing the final look for the production. I am also continuing as a fulltime storyboard artist.

Are you represented by an agent? If so, who?

I am not currently represented by an agent.

Where do you do most of your creating? Do you have a studio?

We are currently setting up a studio in the house in a spare bedroom, but for now I sit at the island in our kitchen drawing or painting on my tablet PC, sculpting, or painting my maquettes. I also use the Cintiq in a small office space next to the kitchen.

You mention that you and your husband have written a storybook together. Tell us a little bit about how you got the idea and how it is to work with another person on a story.

I love monsters and designed a whole family of monsters. My husband thought they were great; he named them and came up with the idea that the monsters could be your friends and if you were to find a monster under your bed, he might be just as afraid of you as you are of it. Maybe if you caught it you could keep each other safe from things that go bump in the night or in the day. I wanted to create monsters that were soft, cuddly and friendly. We named the line of stuffed monsters, the Fuzzlelumps!. I designed five different monsters and had two produced overseas (500 of each). The two we had produced are named Bogwort and Boodlewink; We wrote the story about Bogwort. My husband and I work wonderfully together.

The illustrations below were done for a storybook I wrote based on my short animated film “The Littlest Valkyrie”. The story is about a young Viking girl named Anna and how she deals with the death of her father. These images were done in Corel Painter, from sketch to finish. I may eventually use a very limited color pallette to color the illustrations, or leave them black and white, I’m not sure.

How long did it take you to create your book dummy?

We had interest from Candlewick Press when they saw the stuffed monsters and they wanted us to send them a story. We put it together in about two weeks.

Is your husband and artist, too?

Yes. He has worked as a storyboard artist and has also worked as animator. Chuck makes his own short films, the latest of which is currently screening in film festivals. He is now an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator for the Entertainment Art/Animation Concentration at Cal State Fullerton.

I picked up your promotional postcard at the LA SCBWI Conference, so do you see your future more in writing and illustrating or do you think you will do more storyboarding and animation as you progress down the road?

I really love my job and I also love illustrating and telling stories. I would like to continue my work as a storyboard artist and also build a career as a writer/illustrator.

Do you have a plan to get published?

Yes. I hope to someday write and illustrate my own books.

Are there any marketing things you have done that helped you get additional work?

The postcard and attending various SCBWI conferences have generated some interest, but no additional work yet.

Do you have any words of wisdom for your fellow illustrators that might help them become more successful?

Draw, draw, draw. Draw what you love, excites and inspires you. Be open to critique and strive to improve and learn and be the best that you can be. You have to have a heart for what you do or it will just be another job. I love what I do, drawing is my passion and I work at it every day. And get your work on line! Join SCBWI, show your portfolio! It helps to get your work out where people can see it! Mine is at www.wendygrieb.blogspot.com and www.chuckandwendy.com

I enjoyed this sketch that Wendy did of Little Red Riding Hood before she encounters the Big Bad Wolf, so I wanted to share it with all of you.

Thank you Wendy for sharing your process and your unique background with us. Hope to see you name a nationally distributed film in the future and Chuck and your name on a children’s picture book. You can see more of Wendy’s work at: www.wendygrieb.blogspot.com and www.chuckandwendy.com .

I’m sure Wendy would love to hear what you thought of her interview and art, so if you have a minute, please leave a comment.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Our Guest Critiquer for January is Author Dianne Ochiltree. She is the author of nine published children’s books and does freelance editorial work.

Some readers—especially members of NJ-SCBWI—may already know today’s guest. Dianne has been a faculty member for chapter conferences several times, presenting writing workshops on a variety of topics related to children’s publishing as well as providing one-on-one critiques. Her books have appeared on several recommended reading lists nationwide, including the Bank Street College Children’s Book Committee ‘year’s best’, and the Dollywood Foundation’s national childhood literacy program, ‘imagination library’.

Dianne Ochiltree has a new book coming out this fall titled, MOLLY, BY GOLLY! It is being published by Calkins Creek, an imprint of Boyds Mills Press. It is a re-telling of the legend of Molly Williams, America’s first female firefighter, and is illustrated by Kathleen Kemly and was edited by Carolyn Yoder.

Blue Apple Books aquired a counting picture book for the very young, written by Dianne titled, GOODNIGHT, FIREFLY, illustrated by Betsy Snyder. The release date has not been set.

You can visit Dianne at: www.Ochiltreebooks.com

We only have two first Pages this month.  Again, I received more, but all the rest did not use the picture prompts.  Here is the first one.

UNTITLED by Su Lael

Under my wool sweater, beads of sweat trickled as I drove my short legs to match my father’s stride, fitting my booted feet in his vast footprints, making the crystals of snow squeak.  My breath condensed in frozen pellets on my scarf, wrapped tightly around my nose and mouth.  As dark shadows stretched out their fingers, the woods exhaled cool and deep air which stung my eyes and numbed my fingers.  I beat my gloved fingers against my thighs and curled them back in my sleeves.  The tramp and squeak of booted feet treading the snow was the only sound.  The rector and the altar guild crossed the street and bent their steps into the deeper snow under the trees and off the path, where the shadows deepened.  I had never been allowed out to cut the evergreen boughs in the woods during advent.

The baby and my mother remained at home in the light and safety of the kitchen.  Now, no doubt, my mother was sifting flour into her favorite glass bowl as the butter slowly melted on the stove.  My little brother slid the chunk of butter around, spearing the diminishing block with a fork, around and around again.  But I strode on in the cold and the dark.  The procession drew ahead of me.  I paused, pressing my cold fingers against my neck as I drew first one and then the other hand from my frozen gloves.  As the lights receded, I felt as though I were in a cave watching the miner’s light bob and shrink as the darkness, an active force, pressed round me.  I roughly forced my reddened hands back in my gloves, and, half running lurched after my father.   The men had halted in the grove of fir trees.  The rector intoned the familiar words of the prayers.  I pressed against my father’s side, finding comfort in his sturdy bulk.  I gazed up through branches to the night sky above.  The vast bowl opened up, the stars wheeling in their slow march across the sky.  My father’s arm circled my shoulder pulling me close.  When I tilted my head up, I could see the cloud of his breath.  “Well done my little one” he whispered.

Critique highlights:

The first page sets a time and place very well.  The author has put sensory details such as ‘my breath condensed in frozen pellets on my scarf’ and ‘the tramp and squeak of booted feet” to good use throughout.  The reader is immersed in a complete, yet mysterious, setting.  The woods, in fact, are as much like a character as the narrator, as its dark shadows ‘stretched out like fingers…and exhaled cool and deep air…”  The author uses  many such bits of poetic prose throughout the page to set the scene, and the mood.  The language used here is well done but not overdone.

The characters are introduced in adequate detail to get the story going but not too much to stop the reader from wanting to read on to find out the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of the story to come.  There are questions that readers will want to turn the page to find out—for example, if the narrator is so young/small that his booted feet could fit inside the father’s vast footprints, why is he going out with the men to cut evergreen boughs now?

The page ends with the narrator’s father whispering, “Well done, my little one” which adds another question to spur on a page turn:  what action did the narrator complete to earn this praise?  It is not evident in the action described earlier in the narrative, nor hinted at.  My suggestion would be to plant some sort of hint as to what the young child is doing that is extraordinary on that night march, so this statement doesn’t appear to come out of the blue.  Just enough to foreshadow but not so much that it will give away the surprise later on in the story.

The first page also contains two sentences of back-story which, while not at all inappropriate to mention here—it helps the narrator drive home the point that he/she is not where he/she would usually be on this night but instead is part of this woodsy adventure—needs a transition phrase to help it flow better within the first-person narrative and make it clear that these are inner musings of the main character as he or she is marching along.

My suggestion is to add a preface to the seventh line, on the order of, ” I thought of the baby and my mother (who) remained at home in the light and safety of the kitchen.  Now, no doubt, my mother was sifting flour…”  The eighth sentence,”My little brother…” needs to switch ‘slid’ to  ‘was sliding’ to match the sentence preceeding it.  Another thought would be to indicate that this was an inner thought of the narrator by saying that “My mother would be sifting flour” and “my little brother would be sliding the chunk of butter around”.

All easy fixes.

Rilla’s Resolution by Cathy Mealy

The day that she both longed for and loathed was fast approaching. The Seaside Festival brought finned fairies and winged fairies together for one day of celebration each year. Rilla adored spending time with her land and air-dwelling cousins, but each brief visit intensified her deep desire and growing envy of their wondrousworld.

Last year Rilla perchedon the smooth beach rocks as the sun dried her wet locks into silky, shining auburn curls. “Oh Rilla! You’re gorgeous!” gushed the twins, Zenna and Lu. They had flown to a meadow- whatever that was- and returned with armfuls of sweetly scented wildflowers. The twins gently wove the delicate blooms into Rilla’s hair so she could inhale their perfume simply by tossing her head. Nothing under the sea smelled aslovely and fresh, or even smelled at all. When Rilla returned to her watery home, the tiny flowers rinsed away andher soft, springy curls became a hopelessly tangled mop once again.

For several weeks Rillahad prepared for this year’s Festival by prying open reluctant oysters and plucking their pearls to give to her friends as gifts. She rattled the lustrous spheres inside an empty nautilus shell. The rhythmic sloshing sound could not compare to the lilting harp flute melodies that filled the air during the Festival. Rilla insistently hummed a fairy tune to herself, trying to block out the humpbacks’ constant booming moans and guttural squeaks.

When her stomach growled and pinched, Rilla swam to the bottom and yanked a puckered sea cucumber from the sand. She slowly chewed the slimy, tasteless plant. In just a few days, she would be savoring juicy red strawberries, licking sticky clover honey from her fingers,and crunching on crisp golden fairy biscuits. How she loved crunchy, crispy food! The memory of such gustatory delights made the sea cucumber even more unpalatable. Rilla released it in disgust, and watched it float upward toward the surface. At that very moment she resolved to herself,“This will be the year that I do it. I am never coming back to Atlantis.”

Critique highlights:

This first page does a great job of setting a scene, which is not easy considering that the story is taking place in a fantasy world of fairies. It introduces an intriguing concept of underwater fairies with fins, and earthly fairies with wings, and the festival which brings them together for one day a year. This makes the reader want to read on, to find out how this is possible, why they have the ritual and what conflicts/alliances have come of it. Most of all, the author has established the primary need of the character’s heart, the problem for the main character to solve: becoming a part of the
‘other world’. Whatever turns of the plot to come, readers know that important changes will come and want to flip the page to find out.

The author doesn’t just tell the reader this is what the character wants. The reader is shown the Rilla’s discontent with the gummy, tasteless sea cucumber and the humpback whales’ constant noise. The dreams of Rilla for life in the air is punctuated by lively images and language, such as ‘juicy red strawberries’ and ‘lilting harp flute melodies’. The five senses are engaged in this narrative.

The ending sentence, “I am never going back to Atlantis.” is an excellent page-turner. It sets up the action in the plot to follow. It is also a good piece of characterization. We knew in paragraphs before what Rilla dreamed of and wished for, but now we also know she is an MS determined to get the job done.

My only suggestion would be to strengthen the transition of the first paragraph to the second paragraph in a way that made it seem less an abrupt flashback and more a real-time inner musing of Rilla’s as she prepares for the upcoming Seaside Festival, something on the order of “Rilla’s thoughts swam to last year’s festival, remembering herself perched on the smooth beach rocks…” The back-story information here is important but it needs to be woven more seamlessly into the opening scene.

Thanks Dianne. You are a good friend to share your expertise with our writers.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Writing Competition

Tarcher/Penguin and Julia Cameron are seeking undiscovered writing talent!

1.  This competition is open to novel and novella-length fiction as well as narrative nonfiction.
2.  Submissions should be no more than 10 pages (roughly 4-5,000 words maximum), and only one submission per person will be accepted.
3.  All submissions must be work that has not been published previously or awarded any prize in a prior contest or competition.
4.  Submissions should be sent electronically within the body of an e-mail (no attachments) to feedback@tarcherbooks.com, along with your full name and contact information. Be sure to put “TTA [Your first and last name]” in the e-mail subject line. Submissions must be received by March 2, 2012.
5.  Semi finalists will be contacted March 23 to submit (electronically) the full manuscript. The winner will be chosen by Julia Cameron and announced online on April 26.
6.  The winning piece will win a cash prize of $5,000 and a manuscript review by a Penguin editor.
7.  View the complete official rules

TIMELINE

Submissions accepted from Jan 1, 2012 through March 2, 2012
Semi-finalists chosen: March 23 (Tarcher-Penguin will contact semi-finalists for additional material, which will need to be submitted to us by April 6). The semi-finalists’ manuscripts will be reviewed by Tarcher-Penguin editors.
Winner announced: April 26

HOW TO ENTER

1. To enter the Tarcher Top Artist Competition (the “Contest”), entrants must submit one or the other type of creative piece, as follows:

• An original drawn or painted piece of artwork, in jpeg or PDF format based on the theme of the book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.

OR

• A fiction or narrative non-fiction written sample taken from a novel or novella-length manuscript; the entry to be no longer than ten (10) pages (roughly 4,000-5,000 words maximum).

The initial entries (of the written samples) must be sent to feedback@tarcherbooks.com within the body of an e-mail. Be sure to put “TTA [Your first and last name]” in the e-mail subject line. In addition, each entry must include the entrant’s full name, email address, mailing address, telephone number, age and website URL if applicable. Initial entries (of original artwork) and a brief description of how it ties in to the title, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, should be either e-mailed to feedback@tarcherbooks.com (file size no larger than 200KB; e-mail subject line “TTA [Your first and last name]“) or, preferably, posted to the Tarcher Top Artist Flickr group page (you must include your full name and age in the description area). These submissions will be used in the selection of ten semi-finalists in each category. Final winner selection will take place as outlined below under Judging.

2. Contest begins January 1, 2012. Writing submissions are due no later than March 2, 2012, 11:59:59 PM Eastern Time (ET). Art submissions are due no later than June 1, 2012, 11:59:59 PM ET. Limit one entry per person and per email account. The sole determinant of time for the purposes of receipt of a valid entry will be the computer servers of Tarcher Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. (“Sponsor”). Proof of transmission (screenshots or captures, etc.) does not constitute proof of receipt.

http://www.tarchertopartist.com/official-rules/

Good luck,

Talk Tmorrow,

Kathy

I will be atending the conference this weekend. I know many of you have signed up to attend, so I am hoping I will get a chance to meet with you if you are going to be there. This year they have a party planned on Saturday evening.

5:30pm – 7:30 pm

GALA DINNER—COME FOR A FREE DRINK AND FUN FOOD! A TIME TO MINGLE AND NETWORK WITH FACULTY, COLLEAGUES, INDUSTRY INSIDERS AND MEET MEMBERS FROM YOUR REGION.

NEW JERSEY has two tables (18 and 19), where we can gather. Our Illustrator coordinator, Leeza Hernandez will head Table 18 and I will be head Table 19, so even if you are not from New Jersey, please stop by and introduce yourself. I would love to meet you in person. 

If you think you would want to go out to dinner afterwards to keep the party going.  Please e-mail me and I will make a reservation for all of us.  In past years I have invited editors and agents, but I haven’t had time to do that this year with getting the whole NJSCBWI Conference Registration up, but you never know I might pull a rabbit out of my hat.

The official hash tag of the 2012 Conferfence is #NY12SCBWI

Want to get schedule, speaker and venue information right from your smartphone? Download the free guidebook app and search for SCBWI to download the “SCBWI Winter Conference” guide. http://guidebook.com/getit/?ref=badge

Want to follow the conference from home? They will be blogging all weekend: http://scbwiconference.blogspot.com/

Hope you hunt me down in NYC.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Besides our beautiful seaside resorts, the warm summer days, Atlantic City Casinos, plus the Big Apple and the birthplace of our nation being only a hop skip and a jump way, it is the time for the New Jersey SCBWI Annual Conference.  So if you are a writer or illustrator, you should bring the family to New Jersey.  They can play  in the pool and explore Princeton while you are at the conference and then finish out the week enjoying the many interesting things in the area.

The Conference is held on June 8th, 9th, and 10th at the Wyndham Hotel & Conference Center in Princeton, NJ.  Every year our conference grows and the reason for this is we do everything we can to offer you opportunities to learn new skills and meet as many agents and editors during the weekend as possible—it’s all about connections!

Leaving out the great location, here are 12 reasons why it makes sense to join us in June:

1. Friday afternoon we offer, for an additional cost, in-depth author and illustrator workshops on specific topics to help you learn and take you to the next level of your career. This year we added a Beginners Intensive, so members just starting out can cut off a few years of learning and kick start their careers. We even provide a box lunch with the Intensives, so everyone can eat lunch with their instructor.

2. All meals are included in the registration fee, along with unlimited snacks and drinks throughout the day.

3. A Free Friday First-Timers meeting is scheduled on Friday, so new people can get to know people and get their questions answered.

4. Optional Mix & Mingle with the faculty on Friday night. This is a great networking opportunity.  Meet editors, agents, art directors, authors and other members in a friendly atmosphere.

5. Over 50% of our editor/author/agent critiques are conducted after the workshops have concluded, so you don’t have to miss something in the workshops you signed up for.

6. This year’s faculty consists of 32 editors, agents, art directors, plus 27 published authors doing critiques and conducting workshops. We also have award-winning Author & Illustrator Dan Yaccarino kicking off our conference on Saturday and Newbery winner, Kate DiCamillo sending us off with inspiration on Sunday.

7. Chance to have multiple critiques, consultations, agent pitches.

8. Eighty workshop offerings.

9. Chance for published authors to sign their books and attendees to buy and get the book autographed at our Book fair on Saturday. A great opportunity to network again with the faculty, since they will all be there to talk with you.

10. Free Saturday Peer Group Critique Sessions for authors and illustrator who want to participate.  Great opportunity to combine fun and learning.

11. You have full control of your schedule. You pick everything down to the times. You can even go back in after you register to make changes to your schedule and add additional critiques, etc.

12. We are very friendly and work to help you meet people. You will never eat alone at one of our conferences and you will never leave without talking to an editor or agent. Usually people leave with many personal contacts with the faculty. You pick the faculty member you want to eat lunch with on both Saturday and Sunday.

*Make sure you catch the “Early Bird” Pricing Special. Ends March 1st. Don’t wait! Grab the spots you want and save money by registering now!  www.regonline.com/njscbwi2012conference

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

If you read this blog or are a member of the New Jersey Chapter (which covers a wide range of SCBWI members from all over the country and Canada) you already know how important I think networking is and how much it can help open doors. When Shannon arrived in Florida she immediately sought out other writers in the area and met Augusta Scattergood a Snow Bird from New Jersey who splits her year between Madison, NJ and St. Petersburg, FL.  They bonded over their NJ connection.  Just two relocated unpublished writer friends commiserating on over their lack of progress, when BOOM things exploded for Augusta.

When I asked Shannon why she submitted her interview with Augusta and if she read her book, she said, “Because she’s a friend and there was the NJ connection which I thought might appeal to Sprouts Magazine. I read her book before it was published and she has a wonderful “southern” voice.

“And because I needed to be reminded good things can still happen in publishing. Last year I had an agent and my manuscripts went to acquisitions twice. Once with a picture book biography, and again with a MG novel. Both times my manuscripts didn’t make it out of committee. Then my agent resigned from East/West Literary. So far I have not been able to find another one. But enough doom and gloom, I am headed to the Miami SCBWI conference this weekend. Hope springs eternal!”

So since we were told by National that we could not continue to publish Sprouts Magazine, I though it would be appropriate to post Shannon’s Interview with Augusta right here.  I also thought you would find it interesting. In between writing the interview and posting it today, Augusta was interviewed on NPR and launched her book with a party at Inkwood Books, St Petersburg’s local Indie bookstore.

GLORY BE!
An Interview with Augusta Scattergood
By Shannon Hitchcock

Augusta Scattergood is a former librarian turned book reviewer turned middle-grade author. Her debut novel GLORY BE was edited by Andrea Pinkney and published by Scholastic.

GLORY BE takes place in 1964 during Freedom Summer. What was your initial inspiration for this story?

I actually started writing the book in 2001, after hearing Ruby Bridges speak at Kent Place School in Summit, NJ, where I worked for ten years. Soon after that, I joined a critique group and mostly wrote book reviews and personal essays. Actually GLORY BE started life as “Junk Poker,” an essay/ short story about a game my sister and I played as children. That remained the working title of the novel for quite a while, through several premature submissions. Till I realized neither junk nor poker was a particularly appropriate title for a middle-grade novel.

But I need to go back a bit to tell you that this story really started in 1964 when I worked for my state’s Library Commission as a summer college intern. Sunflower County, Mississippi (And no, I didn’t make up that county’s name) was in the heart of the Mississippi Delta. It was Freedom Summer, 1964. A lot was going on, to say the very least on that subject. History unfolded while I shelved books and ran story hours.

As a library intern, I worked with an amazing director. She stood up to a very vocal library trustee who wanted us to close down the library, or at least remove all the chairs, rather than allow it to be integrated. By the end of that summer, Story Hour had turned into a remedial reading class attended by children who’d never been inside a library. That same summer, I briefly met a young, white civil rights worker from Ohio. In town to register voters and teach in the new Freedom School, she spent her off hours hanging out in the library. It’s not a reach to say I learned a lot that college summer.

And now, both my library director and that civil rights worker have ended up in my book.

I read a Willa Cather quote on your blog that said: “Let your fiction grow from the land beneath your feet.” Tell us how growing up in the Mississippi Delta influences your writing.

I see setting as almost another character in my writing. GLORY BE takes place during two short weeks in July. I always loved summers growing up. As I wrote this novel, I pictured mimosa blossoms from the tree outside my childhood home, and I heard crickets — that almost deafening sound that happened every early evening. When Glory and her friends gather to play kick-the-can or baseball, the pecan tree that shaded my backyard is home base.

Another quote I love is from Eudora Welty, as reported in One Writer’s Beginnings. She shared this advice from a literary critic: “Always be sure you get your moon in the right part of the sky.” I tried very hard to get the details of the Mississippi Delta right.

Give us a brief plot synopsis for your novel.

All Gloriana June Hemphill wants this summer is for her pool to stay open and her big sister to stay her best friend. But things are beginning to change in Hanging Moss, Mississippi, whether she likes it or not. The town is divided by the closing of the community pool and the civil rights workers who’ve come to town. Her sister has a boyfriend, the new football hero who’s mysteriously turned up in town.

Glory begins to make sense of these changes when she befriends the daughter of one of these “outside agitators.” Her maid, Emma, also helps her understand what’s changing in her life, and more importantly, why things shouldn’t stay the same.

GLORY BE is historical fiction. What research tips do you have for other authors?

Having spent most of my career as a librarian, the research part was fun. I think when writing for kids about such an important time in history, writers need to make sure young readers understand what it was like living in another century, in a different place or in someone else’s shoes. Quite honestly, even though I was there during this crucial time in our history, as a child I was shielded from a lot of what was happening in the South. So I’ve always been interested in learning more about Freedom Summer. For this book, I tried to read oral histories and also to interview my contemporaries about the actual events. Then I had fun remembering early 1960s music, the hairstyles, the food.

So many debut authors complain about the lack of marketing support for their novels. That has certainly not been your experience. Share with us the wonderful journey you’ve been on pre-publication.

A whirlwind. That’s about the only way I can describe it! My editor loved the book from the very start. We worked together for several months, then she started sharing it with everybody at Scholastic. For me, that’s when the excitement truly began.

Along with four other debut novelists, I was invited to speak at the spring sales meeting. Having been a school librarian for so long, I went prepared. I took my Junk Poker/ Buster Brown shoebox filled with treasures, and did a Show and Tell. After that, I was asked to read from the book for an audio recording Scholastic made to share with potential bookstore purchasers, then a video recording for their Librarians Preview. I could go on and on. I have no complaints! I adore Scholastic!

What has been the most exciting thing that has happened to you in the past year?

Wow. So many things. Re-connecting with old friends (mostly via my blog and Facebook) who have their own memories of the summer of 1964. Hearing grown-up readers tell me they want to share the book with their children and grandchildren and students to help them understand Freedom Summer. Lunch with my editor and tea with my agent when I returned to New Jersey for the summer. All the amazing events at Scholastic. I pinch myself on an almost daily basis. Even before the book is officially in print!

What are you working on now?

Aha. The hard part! I’m working on a second middle-grade novel, set in Florida, started at a Highlights Founders Workshop with Carolyn Coman at least three years ago. I try not to think about how long it takes me to write, from idea to fruition. I’m working hard to speed up that process. GLORY BE took almost ten years from the time I put pen to paper until the book hit the stores.

This “new” novel was critiqued by an amazing agent, Linda Pratt, at an SCBWI regional event. That’s how we met and totally connected, but she didn’t take me on until I revised and submitted GLORY BE a year later.

I have another tiny kernel of a potential master plan for something new, also middle-grade, set in the South of course. Always be prepared. Just in case.

Augusta Russel Scattergood grew up in a small town in Mississippi. She has since lived in North Carolina, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, California, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Florida- twice! Although if anybody asks where she’s from, Mississippi would be the answer.

A former school librarian, GLORY BE is her debut novel.

For more information, please visit her website: www.augustascattergood.com

Shannon spends every day working to be a successful writer.  You can visit Shannon clicking here: www.shannonhitchcock.com

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

In 2001, she earned a BFA in Printing from Colorado State University. After a brief move to Austin, Texas, she headed for the Big Apple, where she attended New York Academy of Art and earned an MFA in Figurative Art with a concentration in drawing and relief printmaking.

Now she lives a hop and a skip from the Rocky Mountains in Fort Collins, Colorado, where she works as a freelance illustrator. When she is not drawing, she can be found outside, hunkered down in a snow fort, conversing with her pet rabbit, or buidling fairy furniture out of grass and twigs.

She has been a member of the SCBWI, since 2005.

Here’s Brooke’s Studio and the place where the magic happens.

Here is Brooke sharing her process:

This version of Hansel and Gretel is a re-working of an earlier Hansel and Gretel illustration I did. I decided that the first version wasn’t working as well as it could. It didn’t have a strong sense of light and I felt the characters could be stronger and the trees needed to feel more solid. I began by doing some thumbnail sketches to work out the composition changes. I then did some slightly larger sketches to work out some of the details, like where the animals should be and what the trees should look like. I also did detailed sketches of Hansel and Gretel. After I felt comfortable with the initial sketches I did a finished pencil drawing on hot press illustration board. (However, with my newer illustrations I’ve been using Arches hot press watercolor paper because its more forgiving.) In this case, the dimensions were 11” by 14”, which is the size that I intended to print the illustration for my portfolio.

1. Once the pencil drawing was finished I went over the drawing with acrylic ink and a dip pen. (Sometimes, at this stage I scan in the inked drawing and do some quick color studies in photoshop. However, since this was a re-do I already felt fairly comfortable with the color palette I was going to use.)

2. When the ink was dry I erased the pencil drawing and did an under painting to lay in the lights and darks. I use Holbein and Winsor Newton watercolors.

3. Then I began to lay in the local colors.

4 and 5. I continued to build the colors and darken the shadows. I tend to work in layers and to paint very slowly.

6. I used a black colored pencil to darken the background with crosshatching.

7. Once the painting was finished, I scanned the image and fixed mistakes in photoshop using a Wacom intuos tablet. I made some minor color adjustments and cleaned up any rogue pen marks.

How did you decide you wanted to illustrate books?

I don’t remember ever really making a conscious decision to illustrate books. It’s just something I’ve always wanted to do. I loved books when I was little and have always loved to draw. I guess when I joined SCBWI in 2005, I was really starting to take things more seriously and made a conscious decision to start building my career.

What was the first thing you illustrated and got paid for?

In 2007 I started working for a small local company doing historical illustrations. I later started illustrating coloring books for the same company. The first freelance job I got paid for was illustrating some educational materials for the U.S. Department of State.

How long have you been illustrating?

When I was a kid I would write stories and illustrate them (usually stories about cats). I started putting together my illustration portfolio around 2005 while I was in grad school. I also joined SCBWI in 2005. In 2007 I got a job as an historical illustrator.

Have you always worked in watercolors?

I have a BFA in printmaking. In college I mainly did etchings, and some lithographs. And in grad school I did a lot of charcoal and pencil drawings, as well as woodcuts. But for illustrations I work mainly in watercolor and pen and ink. Although, when I was first experimenting with my illustration style I used quite a bit of colored pencil. (If you go to my website and click on the bumblebee to the right of my name, you can see some of my woodcuts and pencil drawings).

Do you ever touch up your illustration in Photoshop?

Yes. I clean up my pen lines and occasionally make small color adjustments. Having the safety net of Photoshop has allowed me to be more relaxed while I’m inking and painting.

Do you own a graphic tablet?

Yes. I use a Wacom intuos tablet.

Have you changed your approach or style, since you started illustrating?

Changes in the way I work have happened slowly over time, through trial and error. I have learned which materials I prefer by experimenting and I have become more comfortable with color and using watercolor through practice. I decided to go to graduate school because I was only able to draw stylized people, and I wanted to learn how to draw more realistic figures and to be able to draw people more naturally.

I see that you mention the SCBWI on your blog. Do you try to attend conferences and workshops?

Yes. I attended the Winter Conference in N.Y. several years ago and have attended the Summer Conference in L.A. for the past two years. I plan on attending this year’s Summer Conference as well. I also attend my local chapter’s conferences.

Do you think doing that has helped you?

Yes! I am so grateful for SCBWI. I have learned so much by attending conferences and have met some really wonderful people, including the women that I am in a critique group with. (You can see our group blog at:  http://betweentheendpages.wordpress.com I always leave conferences feeling inspired and ready to create.

It looks like you draw in a notebook. Is that something you do regularly?

I try to draw in my sketchbook on a regular basis, although, it seems to come in waves. I’ll work for several days in my sketchbook, either to generate ideas or to draw from life, and then I won’t touch my sketchbook for awhile while I’m working on finished illustrations. I’d like to draw from life more often.

What are you working on now?

The last few days I’ve been working on some new portfolio pieces, including some black and white illustrations. I’ve also been working on some valentines for my Etsy shop. http://www.etsy.com/shop/brookebeestudio

Do you try to follow a schedule for working on your art? Have a regular routine?

I try to go to the gym or go to a yoga class a couple of mornings a week and I usually have lunch with my grandma once a week, but besides that I try to have a regular work schedule. I usually start working everyday around 9am. I take a quick lunch break and then I work until 5 or 6pm. Quite often I will draw after dinner while my husband and I watch a movie together. We try to do something fun and active on the weekends.

Where do you do your illustrating? Do you have a studio?

I have one of the rooms in our basement set up as a studio. Sometimes in the winter it gets too cold to be downstairs, so I have a small worktable in the living room, near the fireplace, as well.

Have you ever thought of writing your own book and illustrating it?

Yes, I think about that a lot. I have lots of story seeds in my head that I’d love to flesh out and illustrate.

What types of things have you put in your portfolio?

I have several images of children engaged in various activities, and some illustrations of anthropomorphic animals. I’ve tried to create a pretty well rounded portfolio, but more importantly, to include characters and scenes that I’m excited about and that I loved drawing.

Have you made a book dummy? If so, how long did it take?

I have done some story boarding, but I’ve never made a full book dummy. Although, its something that I’d like to do this year.

I picked up your promotional postcard at the LA Conference. I like the rounded edges, did that cost more to do? What company do you use to do your postcards?

The rounded corners do cost a little extra, but I really like the way it looks. I use Overnight Prints, largely because they’re one of the few companies I’ve found that has the ability to make rounded corners. http://www.overnightprints.com

Are you represented by an agent? If so, who?

I’m so excited to say that as of the beginning of the year I am represented by Teresa Kietlinski of Prospect Agency. www.prospectagency.com

Are there any marketing things you have done that helped you get additional work?

Having a blog has been really useful. Not only does it allow me to connect with other illustrators, but it seems to be a great way for people to find my work. My agent found my work via my blog. I also think its important to have a website that is clean and easy to navigate.

Do you have any words of wisdom for your fellow illustrators that might help them become more successful?

When I first started attending SCBWI conferences I think I was looking for someone to tell me exactly what I needed to do to get work. I wanted a very specific step-by-step guide.
After attending a few conferences, I realized that each of the illustrators that I admired had their own path and their own way of becoming successful. And while I do think that there are things we can all do to further our careers (like having a blog and website, attending conferences, networking, honing drawing/painting skills) I think we each have to find our own path and to do whatever works best for us.

That being said, I think that it’s important for an illustrator to be honest about their work and to not be defensive when their work is being critiqued. Being part of a critique group has definitely been very helpful for me. I also think its important to create images that excite you and characters that you love.
Also, it probably sounds sort of cliché, but being patient and persistent is really important.

Thank you Brooke for sharing you talent with us. If you would like to see more of Brooke’s illustrations, you can visit her at http://www.brookeboyntonhughes.com . Please take a minute to leave Brooke a comment. I am sure she would love to hear your thoughts.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

We should be able to start registering some time on Saturday morning.  As soon as it comes back on line, an e-mail will be sent out to everyone on our chapter list.

HELPFUL HINT:  Have everything figured out with a number of options.  You will get kicked out of the system after 60 minutes and anything you chose will not be returned to inventory for an additional 60 minutes.  So your perfect spot will not be there when you go back in again to register.  It will show up later, but it will be available to everyone.  My suggestion is to fill out the form and go all the way to the end and pay.  Do not go back if you think you may have made a mistake.  Once you have paid a confirmation scene will pop up and you will be able to go back in and make corrections.  You will also get an e-mail.  Please save that, because you will be able to use that link they give you to go back anytime you want an add or change things.

If you have PayPal, we would love you to use that method of payment? We had to switch to another method to secure access to non-PayPal credit cards with the registration form at the last minute.  Those prices are higher than what we expected to pay.

Illustrator Saturday will be up as soon as it’s finished.  Like I said yesterday, things are crazy around here.

Kathy

On the “Good News” side, I talked with Margery Cuyler, publisher from Marshall Cavendish tonight and she told me it is okay to say she is doing All Children’s Genres with her bio.  You might remember that I said she had to make sure of Amazon’s direction, since she is going to be working on the Amazon side, but remaining as publisher at MC.  So you do not have to be hesitant to sign up for a critique with her.  If you have never had a critique with Margery, she is phenomenal.

Oh, the one thing I forgot to point out in all my other posts is that we have to charge a $20 Processing Fee for the registration system.  That amount  is 50% less than what we are paying, so I hope you will understand we are trying to keep the costs down, but we do want to make sure we collect enough money to pay for everything.  I really think you will appreciate being able to customize your whole schedule, so please remember the pluses when the charge shows up at checkout.

Donna Taylor took my little worksheet and made it look better.  You will find it on the first page, when I send you the link – Right before the “Register Now” Button.

Talk later today,

Kathy