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Proof that cats do indeed watch television.

After his people watched the entire “Mission Impossible” weekend marathon, Miles, wanting to get “in touch” with the wild feline within and sneak up on his food, took the matter into his own hands.

If only he hadn’t miscalculated the height from the kitchen light to the floor, he’d be in kibble heaven right now!

Gurggggggle swish…. slluuuuudge glump.… thorp…. bloop, bloop, bloop, bloop…..

It’s The next Big Next I tell ya!
What is?

This!
This is THE NEXT BIG THING!
See, it’s like this… it’s a global blog tour that started in Australia.The idea is to bring awareness to authors and illustrators and their current work. I was tagged by the talented Ginger Nielson. At the end of this post  you see the awesome authors/illustrators that I’ve tagged…. because they’re The Big Thing!

So on to the questions.

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

I would love to illustrate a book about a monster or maybe  a scary, but not too scary character that is actually quite lovable.  That hasn’t happened…… yet!   So, I wrote my own.  I love to bring the misunderstood to life. With this book  we get to experience the little monster inside us all.

This book is for the 4- 8 range.

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

Hmmm….. actors maybe not so much, but animated for sure!  Hand drawn please!

6) Who is publishing your book?
This book along with my other one, titled “Ruby’s New Stew” have no homes as of yet.  They’re polishing themselves up to go knocking on doors though. Did I mention I’m open for suggestions?  :)

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
It started small in one afternoon and bloomed to a full manuscript in about a week. It has been edited several times since then.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I try to never compare. We’re all so different in our writing and illustration. It’s important to find your voice. However, I do love Cinderella Skeleton written by Robert D. San Souci and illustrated by David Catrow. Another one that I really enjoy is The Wizard written by Jack Prelutsky and illustrated by Brandom Dorman.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

The love of the good story that we can all related to, while knowing that everything is going to turn out okay in the end.

10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?
His backpack has teeth!  :))

Next on the blog tour are two very talented artists:

Candace Trew Camling

If it looks like things have been a bit wonky here… well they have. The website, the blog have had a complete overhaul.

www.robertabaird.com.   Even my Twitter Page is all shiny! https://twitter.com/robertabaird

Now it’s all matchy like a new box of stationery. Check it out!

Only in the agony of parting do we look into the depths of love.  ~George Eliot

Shawna JC Tenney has always loved to draw and she has always loved children’s books. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Illustration from Brigham Young University and started illustrating as a freelance illustrator a year later. Since then, she has created artwork for 16 books along with children’s magazines, charities, educational materials, religious materials and theater playbills. I love drawing and learning every day.  She works in a number of mediums including acrylics, digital- Photoshop and Painter, charcoal, pastels and watercolor.  

Shawna lives in Utah with two very artistic little girls and graphic designer husband.  Shawna says, “One of my favorite things to do is teach an art class for my girls and other neighborhood kids. I love seeing the beautiful artwork they create!”

Here is Shawna explaining her process:

Process 1: First I draw lots of thumbnails. This helps me decide where to place characters and which angle I want to use. Sometimes I draw the thumbnails in pencil sometimes I use ink or the computer.

Process 2: I always sketch my drawings out first by hand using a mechanical pencil. Then I scan the picture into the computer and adjust lines and shape sizes in photoshop. Often I have to draw more than one sketch to get it right. Then I bring the lines into a new layer by selecting the channels so I can use my original lines and color under them. This also allows me to lock the “lines” layer and change the line colors later.

Process 3: Next I make a grayscale study.

Process 4: Then I make a color study. I usually don’t make this many, but it was fun to explore different color options for my dragon.

Process 5: I lay in the background color in photoshop. I like to use lots of different textures on my brushes. Sometimes I will print out my sketch and throw in some background colors with watercolor, just for fun.

Process 6: I lay in all the foreground color.

Process 7: Then I work in all the details over the top. Sometimes I finish the painting in Photoshop. Sometimes I use Painter because of the fun paint textures you can get. And that’s about it!

How did you end up going to Brigham Young University?

I first went to Utah Valley State College (which is now Utah Valley University) on an art scholarship, where I earned my associates degree. I had a great experience there, but at the time, they offered no Bachelor Degrees. I decided to go to BYU because at the time it had the best illustration program in the state (and also very high ranking nationally). At first I showed my portfolio to one of the professors there, Richard Hull. He thought I had some good potential. Unfortunately, I did not get in the university because of very high admittance standards. Richard Hull wrote a letter to admissions to request that I be admitted into the university to study illustration. Happily, it worked, and I was admitted. I will always be grateful to Richard for helping me get into an amazing illustration program where I learned so much valuable knowledge, which prepared me to working as an illustrator.

What types of classes did you take that really helped you to develop as an illustrator?

I took some awesome figure drawing classes, taught by Robert Barrett, who is phenomenal at figure drawing. I took an amazing (and very difficult) oil painting illustration class from Doug Fryer, where I learned amazing things about mixing color and composition. I also took some amazing illustration classes from Richard Hull, and Bethanne Anderson. Bethanne was my senior project mentor, and she inspired me in so many ways to become a children’s book illustrator and live my dreams. I took a couple  of digital classes in college, but hated them, and vowed I would never be one of those “digital” illustrators. This is very funny if you read on.

What did you do after you graduated?

Funny story. I graduated and had a baby two months later. Then we moved so my husband could go to school at another university. My husband was only able to get a part time job early in the morning working for UPS, and it wasn’t making enough to support us. So I went and got a part time job at JoAnn’s working in the frame shop. I worked there for a while, getting more and more annoyed that I was working at a retail frame shop for minimum wage. I was a well-trained frame shop worker (I had worked at several frame shops prior), and besides, I had a bachelor’s degree in illustration!  All I really wanted to do was be at home with my baby and draw. So I decided to work and pray really hard- take a leap of faith, quit my job and send out my work into the wide expanse of children’s illustration art reps and publishers, and see what happened. I think it was no coincidence that I was in the right place at the right time. Within a month, I got my first illustration job, and I got an art rep.

Did Brigham Young University help connect you to companies that could give you work?

No, but I did learn a lot of valuable information about the business of illustration, and how to start getting work.

I notice that you use a lot of different paint materials. Did you start out with a favorite material and expand to others?

When I graduated from school, my medium of choice for my children’s illustrations was acrylics.  Like I said before, I was scared of the computer. Then I saw more and more how people were able to save a lot of time and money by doing their art digitally. I was still afraid that using it would change my style, and I wouldn’t be able to make my art look enough like a traditional medium. Finally, I decided I wanted to learn once and for all how to paint digitally. So I asked my friend Manelle Oliphant to teach me a few things. I also learned from asking some of my other friends a lot of questions. I decided to jump right in and digitally paint a book I had been assigned. It took a while to really understand how to do things the right way (I am still learning a ton all the time), but eventually I got things to look more traditional than digital. So to answer your question- now I only paint digitally- except for things like watercolor sketches. I have tried a lot of different techniques, which may explain why it looks like I use a lot of different mediums.

What was the first thing you did that you got paid to do?

It was some illustrations for a crossword puzzle for a magazine called The Friend, a children’s religious magazine. My second job was the more interesting one (in a bad way). It was a reader for elementary school called The Case of the Bushy Tail. Because of a misunderstanding I took on the job not realizing that I would only have 10 days to paint the entire book- and take care of a 1 year old at the same time. It was…something I don’t want to do again. But many lessons learned.

What was the turkey’s illustration for?

It was a self-promotion piece I did a few years back.

How long have you been illustrating?

About 8 years.

How  many children’s books have you illustrated?

If you count all the readers and chapter books, 17 all together.

I see that Picture Window Books published The Truth About Ogres that you illustrated.  Can you tell us how that contract came your way?

I got that job through my agent.

Can you tell us a little bit about Picture Window Books?

Picture Window books is an imprint of Capstone Publishing. They mostly publish through the school market. I have also illustrated one of their Read-it Readers, called Allie’s Bike. That was the second book I illustrated- a bit embarrassed to look at it now, but its fun to look back on it and see how my illustrations have grown since then.

How many children’s magazines have you done illustrations for?

The Friend Magazine, Highlights, Spider and Ladybug.

You illustrated a few book with Magic Wagon. How did those books and contracts find you?

That was also a job I landed through my agent.

Tell us about DEADWOOD put out by the new small publisher Pugalicious Press. I assume that it is a middle grade book and you were hired to do the cover. What is the story behind getting this job?

Yes, Deadwood is a middle grade novel written by Kell Andrews. I illustrated the cover, and the book came out November 2012. I also landed this job through my agent. Unfortunately, I recently heard that Pugalicious Press has gone under, and the book is already out of print. But I also heard that they are selling the rights to a new publisher, and trying to see if they can use the cover artwork that I have already created.  I hope that things go well for Deadwood, especially for the author’s sake!

It also looks like you have done a few Christian picture books. Could you tell us about those books, the publishers, and how you landed those contracts?

Yes, I have worked with  Concordia Publishing house on a couple of books (The Parable of the Prodigal Son, and King Josiah and God’s Book) which I got through my agent. I also illustrated a book called, When I Take the Sacrament, I Remember Jesus, through a local publisher called Covenant Communications. I got that job because I met the art director at a couple BYU Alumni events.

It also looks like you have done a few Christian picture books. Could you tell us about those books, the publishers, and how you landed those contracts?

Yes, I have worked with  Concordia Publishing house on a couple of books (The Parable of the Prodigal Son, and King Josiah and God’s Book) which I got through my agent. I also illustrated a book called, When I Take the Sacrament, I Remember Jesus, through a local publisher called Covenant Communications. I got that job because I met the art director at a couple BYU Alumni events.

I notice a lot of illustrations on your website that have a Christmas (Santa) theme. Are they all from one book? Where they published in a picture book?  Same questions for the reindeer illustrations?

The Christmas and reindeer themed illustrations are all from a book I illustrated for an author, Chantell Taylor, called Rosie the Reindeer. The book was finished about 3 years ago, but the author has not been able to publish it yet. That was a fun book to illustrate!

Do you want to concentrate on being a children’s picture book illustrator?

Yes, it is my dream and passion. I have always loved picture books- I love looking at them and reading them to my kids. My big dream is to write and illustrate my own books.

Where were the Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella illustrations, published?

I think what you are referring to is the Beauty and the Beast pictures? I illustrated  a Young Learners Classic Reader version of Beauty and the Beast for Compass Publishing.

Tell us a little bit about the educational books that you have illustrated.

Well, I’ve done a lot of readers for the educational market. They are good bread and butter jobs, but not ultimately what I want to do for my career. Same thing with the religious books. I am really trying to focus my career on getting work in the trade book /big publishers market.

Have you ever tried to write and illustrate a children’s book?

Yes, I have written a few of my own stories, which have failed. I am currently writing a new story, which I plan on finishing soon and then illustrating. I have so many great ideas floating around my head, and I would really just like to write and illustrate my own stories and ideas rather than always illustrating other peoples ideas.

Have you made a picture book dummy to show art directors, editors, and reps.?

I did make one dummy book that I sent to my art rep some years ago. It was a flop, but I learned a lot from the experience and gained a lot of wisdom since then. I hope to have a new dummy out by this fall.

What types of things do you do to get your work seen by publishing professionals?

I’ve been doing a lot of blogging, social media, and sending out my own post cards. Lately I’ve really been focusing on what kind of things I need to do to connect with other illustrators and art directors.  I’ve also been trying to focus my work on the trade book market.

Do you have an agent? If so, who and how long have the represented you?  If not, would you like one?

Yes, my agent is Janet DeCarlo of Story Book Arts Inc. She has been a great agent and has gotten me pretty steady work for the past 8 years.

Do you ever use two different materials in one illustration?

Yes, I’ve used digital with pastels, Photoshop with Painter, watercolor with Photoshop. It’s fun to experiment!

Have you seen your style change since you first started illustrating?

Yes, a lot. When I first started, I only painted in acrylic. My goal was to have as little texture as possible and to finish every single last detail. My colors were very saturated all the time. The end result is that every one thought my illustrations looked too “Disney” and too mass market. So I’ve changed things up quite a bit. Now I use a lot more textures. I realized I don’t need to finish every single little last detail- in fact, it works better when I don’t. I have tried to make the eyes of my characters look less “Disney.” I know better how to use color. I know now that it’s better not to saturate everything with pure color. I also know better how to stylize characters and how to compose an illustration. I think it’s important to be learning all the time- from teachers, from friends, from books, from conferences. I hope my style evolves and changes and improves a ton in the next 10 years!

Have you gotten any work through networking?

Funny enough, no, not really. But I have gotten lots of lifetime friends through networking. And I learn tons from my friends all the time. In fact, I run a local monthly illustration critique group, which I love!

Do you do any art exhibits to help get noticed?

I have participated in a couple BYU Alumni illustration shows. I have also participated in two shows at the Bountiful Davis art center called Illustrators Utah. It is a juried show, and the last  show I was in, I one 3^rd place for my illustration entitled Ghost Watcher.

Are you open to doing illustrations for self-published picture book authors?

As I said before, I illustrated the book Rosie the Reindeer for a self-publishing author. I think since then I’ve learned a few things. I may be open to illustrating for a self-publishing author if they had a phenomenal story and gave me an offer I couldn’t pass up. But for the most part, I would say no. I’d rather write and illustrate my own stories or work with a publisher.

When did you start using Photoshop?

The first book I illustrated in Photoshop was The Parable of the Prodigal Son, which was published in 2008. After my friend Manelle showed me how to paint in Photoshop, and I just jumped right in, hoping to make it look just like I illustrated it in acrylics. Since I was so new to the medium, the process took way longer it would have taken to just do in acrylics. Since then, I have learned a lot of tips and tricks to really speed up the process.

Do you own a graphic tablet? If so, how do you use it?

Yes, I paint all my illustrations in Photoshop and Painter with a Wacom Bamboo tablet. I hope someday soon to be able to get a Cyntiq!

How much time do you spend illustrating?

Well, I’m a mom. So whenever I can fit it in! Both my kids are in school now for a full day, so I really try to get a lot done while they are at school. Sometimes I illustrate late into the night or early in the morning.

Do you have a studio set up in your house?

Yes, I have a studio/office room in the house. It’s pretty small and I share it with my husband who is a graphic designer. I have a computer desk and a drawing desk, he has a computer desk, and we also have scanners, printers, a book shelf, and a supply closet. So as you can guess, it’s a little crowded in here. It is also often filled with my kids and their drawings, so it gets even more crowded! But it serves it’s purpose.

Is there anything in your studio, other than paint and brushes that you couldn’t live without?

Of course, my computer (I used a Macbook Pro which I hook up to a bigger screen). My Epson Scanner (since I draw all my drawing with pencil and scan them in). I also love my Epson Artisan 1430 large format printer. And of course my art books. I am obsessed with children’s books and art books!

You have an illustration you titled Christmas Surprise. Was that used in a picture book? What about the one titled Flying Pig? 

Christmas Surprise and Flying Pig are both self-promotion pieces I illustrated quite a few years ago- when I was still using acrylics. I like Christmas Surprise, but I don’t put it in my portfolio anymore because I often get the comment that it looks too mass market, and I’m going for trade books.

Any picture books on the horizon?

Right now I’m working on a few non-picture book jobs. But I am also working on my very own written and illustrated book –I hope to have a dummy finished and sent out this year.

What are your career goals?

I would love to illustrate more middle grade novels. My ultimate goal is to write and illustrate my own books steadily.

What are you working on now?

I am working on an few illustrations for The Friend Magazine, and I am illustrating a story which will be published by Oxford Publishing house called Harpoona. It’s an under the sea/fish Cinderella story .  And of course, I’m working on my own story!

Are there any painting tips (materials, paper, etc.) you can share that work well for you? Technique tips?

Something that I really like to do is scan textures into Photoshop- such as watercolor textures or gesso textures. This is how to do it. Scan in a texture such as a watercolor texture. Change the mode to gray scale. Play with the curves to make the pattern more contrasted. Select the entire image. Go to the “Edit” menu and choose “Define Pattern” and give it a name. Then your pattern will show up in your brush palette when you double click “texture.” Then set the brush mode on multiply and you can make the contrast go as high as you like. Use this on an already textured brush. Then you can get textures that look like you are using real paint!

I  love the examples of the paper doll illustrations you have on your site. Who did you do these for?

I did some paper doll illustrations for Girl Guiding U.K. (equivalent to Girl Scouts in the U.S.). I also did a fun zombie-ish paper doll for self promotion.

Here are a few examples of Shawna’s black and white illustrations,

Any words of wisdom you can share with the illustrators who are trying to develop their career?

If you are in this field, illustration needs to be your passion. You need to keep finding ways to learn and improve your style every day. Find friends and mentors who will help you and inspire you. Blogging and social networking are important. Never ever give up, no matter how depressed you might feel about where your career is going, or feeling that your art isn’t good enough. The people that make it are the ones that never give up. I don’t even feel like I’ve made it yet to where I want to be, but I’m not going to give up! Remember, you don’t have control over what is happening in the industry, but you do have control over the quality of artwork you are producing– so keep making better artwork. Don’t ever do artwork for free. Don’t take on cheap jobs that pay way too little. Instead, focus on making better artwork, and if you do, the better jobs will come. I keep having to tell myself this every day. I know if I do, good things will happen for me and my art. And I know it will for you too!

Thank you Shawna for sharing your talent and process with us. I see a great future for you and you art and good luck with adding the writing to your achievements. Please remember to let us know when you have new successes. It will be fun following you.

If you would like to visit Shawna, you can go to: www.shawnajctenney.com Please take a minute to leave a comment below for Shawna. It will be  much appreciated. Thanks!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

At the Houston SCBWI conference, we were given a homework assignment. A choice of one of two prompts that we as attendees could choose from. One was a double page spread from a picture book and the other was a YA cover.  I started both prompts and then went with the one that appealed to me the most.  The sketches were sent to the Art Director for comments and direction, then we all brought back a full color illustration with the changes suggested. Above is  my sketch and  then my finished illustration.  Later, I was decided to finish the other prompt on my own. Below you see  a “Mock” cover for a young adult novel that is currently out. This is just a mock cover.

Mock cover

The conference was great!

The speakers were informative and friendly, and did I mention funny?  I love it when a speaker infuses their presentation with genuine humor.

The critiques filled my head with new possibilities and directions.   This year, there have been so many changes in my career, with having an agent and several books in the works, that the conference held special meaning to me. Where once I faced a critique with a case of nerves, causing me to forget everything said to me, this year I knew the questions I wanted to ask. I heard what they had to say.
This was the time to ask.

So this year those nerves were but a case of the butterflies…..

Then to top it off, I got to meet fellow illustrators in the real, that I only knew from Facebook. It was so much fun to hang out with friends who “get” why you do what you do!

So tomorrow when I start back to work, I have renewed outlook, but today…. I’m just going to chill and let all those ideas bouncing around in my head settle and form complete paths.

Sheralyn’s first successful drawing was of a hot air balloon in the third grade. When her teacher returned it, there was a big check-plus scrawled on the back with a smiley face. It was at this moment that she knew art was going to be my lifelong companion. There was no going back.

Since art instruction was not a priority in the small town where she grew up, she did my best to learn to draw. She spent many hours in her room keeping company with her fish, becoming paler by the day. She challenged herself to draw anything she could find. Most note worthy were the eleven drawings she made of a photo of Han Solo in Teen Magazine until it looked like him. Sheralyn says, “Many thanks to George Lucas. I owe most of my drawing skills to him.”

Here is Sheralyn showing her process:

This is the original pencil sketch from my sketchbook. I used this for the basic idea.

I then composed the final composition in Photoshop, adding other characters that I had done as rough pencil sketches. I blew up my composition to fit 12″ x 16″  and then transferred it using graphite paper to a black Ampersand Scratchbord panel (black coated clayboard panel).

I then spent hours scratching out the image using both a fine point and a curved scratch nib as well as this great tool Ampersand has called a parallel line tool, which works great for fur. Here is the completed black and white scratchboard before adding color with ink. I like Ampersand Scratchbord because it is very forgiving and has a very deep base of clay, so if I made any mistakes or wanted to make adjustments in any way, I could use a black india ink marker to mark over the area and then scratch again. Also the panel is very sturdy and not brittle, which was a problem I encountered regularly with other scratchboards I had used in the past.

This is the completed piece with color ink washes added to the original black and white version. Again, the panel is very forgiving and the black areas of the board repel the color pretty well so you don’t have to be too terribly careful, just dab up the excess color off the black surface while it absorbs nicely into the exposed clay surfaces on the board. I like to use Daler-Rowney FW Acrylic Artist Inks which is my ink of choice. Ampersand also offers inks for their boards and they work well. However, I like to have a larger palette to work with than what they offer and the FW’s work really well.

This is the original very loose sketch idea.

This is the refined sketch with pencil. I scan the sketch into the computer and tweak as necessary.

Now I do all the work in Photoshop. Here I make a monochromatic “digital underpainting” to create my tones on which to layer the colors.

Here I create another layer and begin to lay in my basic colors. This is the point where all the basic colors are laid into the initial sketch. After I’ve laid in the initial colors, I separate all the components into separate layers so I can work on them individually as well.

A bit of a jump here, but I have essentially taken each component of the composition and created layers of color over and over again to create smoothness and saturation. It’s essentially the digital equivalent of using translucent layers to build up colors over the initial underpainting. I also use the smudge tool like I would use a blending brush for an oil painting to blend colors. When I have finished refining all the individual components and their layers, I merge them back into one single layer (although not deleting the individual layers) and refine the entire composition as needed. Photoshop enables a lot of flexibility in this way which is quite wonderful.

Above and Below illustrations are from “Mrs. Mosley’s Christmas Tree” by Janie Devoe

Where did you grow up? Do you still live in the area?

Demotte, Indiana (a small town in northwest Indiana).

No. I’ve lived many places since. I have lived in St. Paul, Minnesota most of my adult life, with a few years spent in Yellowstone National Park, Northwest Wisconsin , and Louisville, Kentucky.

Did you ever take any art lessons?

Art was not considered all that valuable in my hometown, so there was minimal instruction and inspiration available. I was pretty much self taught until I went to Ball State University where I received a BFA in Drawing.

What was the first art related thing you got paid for?

I can remember painting an old time main street scene on our local IGA grocery store’s front window in high school. I think they paid me twenty dollars. Otherwise, I believe the first “published” art I did was for CD covers and T-shirts for local musicians when I first moved to Minnesota in my early twenties.

When did you decide you wanted to be an illustrator?

For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to illustrate children’s books.

Scratch board illustrations above and below.

How long have you been illustrating?

I’ve freelanced as an illustrator on the side for the last twenty five years while making my living in additional ways (server, picture framer, landscape painter, gallery owner, musician). In 2010 I decided to become more serious about making children’s book illustration my main focus.

What types of things did you do to help develop your work?

I’ve always studied favorite illustrators and artists. I took classes in oil painting technique and the business of illustrating. I became more involved with SCBWI in 2010 and attended several national conferences. Having portfolio critiques and attending workshops by so many amazing illustrators and art directors really opened my eyes to the story telling aspect of children’s illustration. Since all my formal training was in fine art and not illustration, I really had missed out on essential information about how good illustrations really move a story along.

I see that you use oils for your fine art. What is your favorite illustrating material?

The computer has become my tool of choice for color work for illustration, but my first true love is and always will be the pencil. I love sketching and working up tones with a pencil. Love it. I really find painting with oils much more enjoyable, but realize that with the technique of oil painting that I use, it takes a very long time to complete a full book that way.

Have you ever tried to write and illustrate a children’s book?

Yes. I’ve had one in the works that has evolved for a couple years now. It’s a counting book with a bit of a different take on the whole sheep and sleep thing. Most people can tell by looking at my body of work that I have a bit of obsession for drawing sheep.

The above is from Sheralyn’s sheep bookdummy, “A Heap of Sheep.”

Have you made a picture book dummy to show art directors, editors, and reps.?

Yes, I have a dummy for my sheep book that I mentioned earlier as well as another dummy I put together for a book based on the poem “A Piper” by the turn of the century Irish poet Seumas O’Sullivan. It’s a lovely poem about how a traveling musician comes to town and the music brightens up the day for the people of the town. I also have another dummy that another author is circulating. A few years back, an agent who saw my work at the New York SCBWI conference contacted me about illustrating one of her client’s stories. Even though I knew it was a bit unconventional for an author to submit with illustrations by another illustrator, I loved the story and thought it was a good opportunity to gain some experience in putting together a book, so I agreed. Over time, the literary agent moved more towards promoting YA books and less towards picture books. It was disappointing because in the end, she didn’t submit the dummy to many publishers. However it was a very valuable experience for me and I learned a lot. When the agent’s contract for the book was up, the author and I decided to continue our partnership in the book and she is currently submitting it to publishers. I did two full color illustrations to go with the dummy.

I see that you are in a illustrator’s group that blogs. How did that evolve?

My friend Hazel Mitchell started the group (Pixel Shavings). I met Hazel at my first NY SCBWI conference and about four months later she asked me if I would be interested in being a part of the group. It’s a great group of very fun and talented people and I am very honored to be in it.

Do want to concentrate on being a children’s picture book illustrator?

Yes. It really is my first love and what inspires me most. Not to mention it’s a great way to make the world a better place.

What types of things do you do to get your work seen by publishing professionals?

I attend SCBWI conferences whenever possible as well as send out postcards. I’ve also found that our group blog (Pixel Shavings) has been helpful as well as are the wonders of facebook and other social online interactions. To be honest, my goal this year is to be more persistent with submitting my book dummies and artwork.

Do you have an agent? If so, who and how long have the represented you?  If not, would you like one?

No, I do not. I haven’t pursued an agent yet because I have been making my living as both a musician and an artist up til now. I play mandolin in a duo and trio with my husband (who has always made his living in music). This year, I am changing my priorities to focus more on Illustration and less on music for income, so I intend to pursue an agent.

Do you ever use two different materials in one illustration?

Other than digitally combining my pencil work with the computer, not generally. I have experimented with a bit of collage and painting in the past for some of my own book dummy ideas. I had a book idea years ago that portrayed the joys, trials, and tribulations of learning to play the violin. For sample illustrations, I gessoed sheet music on to the panels to create interesting backgrounds. It was fun and a nice effect.

I see that you have some illustrations that are listed under scratchboard. Can you tell us a little bit about how you do them? Do you make y our own scratchboards?  Looking at the one in the library with the ghost; how did you do the color? It looks too exact to have been painted underneath.

I really like to use the Black Clayboard/Scratchboard by Ambersand. It’s very smooth,  consistent in texture, durable, and takes colored inks really well. I start with a pencil sketch that I transfer to the board using graphite transfer paper. Then I draw the black and white image by scratching away the black. I use pigmented inks for coloring. The entire Monsters in the Library piece is done by hand. I only used the computer to organize and expand the layout from an original sketch. The ghost was a fun challenge. I was able to get the translucence by putting down the color and then quickly absorbing it back up again with a paper towel. The nice thing about the clayboard is that after applying the color, there is still enough of a base to go back in and scratch a bit more, which also lent to the ghostly effect.

Have you seen your style change since you first started illustrating?

Definitely. I am more detail oriented and I render more now than when I first started. I have to be careful with this on the computer though because it makes detailing limitless, and it’s easy to overwork pieces.

What types of jobs have you gotten with your art?

Everything from CD covers and T-shirt designs to violin maker’s labels and storefront signs to books. Since playing music has always been a part of my life, there have always been musicians I know who need art. I’ve also illustrated two books for Reading A to Z, “Silly Sarah” and “Why the Bat Flies at Night”. They are a publisher of reading program books for kids. Currently I am working on illustrations for a book about the national parks being published by Sequoia Natural History Association. I spent five years of my young adult life working in Yellowstone Park, so that experience has really come in handy for this project. The images on my website of the little duck, mole, and pigs are from Silly Sarah.

Have you gotten any work through networking?

Actually the Sequoia book came about through social online networking. My relationship with Reading A to Z happened because of my involvement with SCBWI and Pixel Shavings.

Have you published any illustration in magazines or newspapers?

Early on I did illustrations for a conservation organization here in Minnesota called Pheasants Forever. They had a environmental awareness magazine for kids called the PF flyer. I also did illustrations for the magazine for the Minnesota Bluegrass Musician’s Association. I’ve had one spot drawing appear in the SCBWI Bulletin magazine.

Do you do any art exhibits to help get noticed?

Yes. Since I’m also a landscape oil painter I have shown and sold my work in various exhibit and art fair situations and owned a gallery called “Blue Moment Fine Arts” for eight years. I sell my paintings at B. Deemer Gallery in Louisville, Kentucky as well as The Steeple Gallery in St. John, Indiana and have had shows at Seasons on St. Croix Gallery in Hudson Wisconsin. I have also had shows and sold prints and cards of my work in Ireland where a lot of my inspiration comes from. I still sell my Irish prints and cards at a specialty shop called Irish on Grand here in St. Paul.

Are you open to doing illustrations for self-published picture book authors?

It depends on the book and the professional attitude of the author. If an author is a member of SCBWI or has really studied the business and seems to have taken the time to study and consider my work in relation to their project, then I would consider it. I received several inquiries last year from self-publishing authors whose books I felt were a bad fit for me as an illustrator. This left me with the impression that they had not really looked over my portfolio very well to see what I do best before contacting me.

You have a section on your website titled, “Ireland.” Do you visit Ireland regularly?

Yes. I spent a fair amount of time there from college through my late twenties. In my thirties, I had a show of my paintings at the Clare Museum and sold cards and prints of my work there through the Russell Gallery in New Quay. In 2007 I led a sketching tour on the west coast. A lot of my inspiration to paint comes from the landscapes and music there. It’s where I go to recharge my soul.

Do you ever use Photoshop?

Yes. Fortunately, it is a great way to get the look of oil painting with pixels.

Do you own a graphic tablet? If so, how do you use it?

I use a Wacom Intuous tablet and couldn’t live without it for a lot of my current work. I use it just like a brush or pencil, building up layers and layers of pixel paint just like I would with real paint on a canvas.

How much time do you spend illustrating?

Since my husband and I both make our living in the arts, we tend to be working most of the time. For me, if I’m not playing the mandolin for practice or profit, I’m painting or working on illustration. I try to illustrate on my hired jobs Monday through Friday, usually about 8 hours a day, and do music at night and on weekends. Of course, this changes all the time since our music schedule and project deadlines are always in flux. We don’t own a TV and weekends don’t really exist in our world, so I spend most of my time creating for my living or for fun.

Do you have a studio set up in your house?

Yes. It’s a bit small but works quite well presently, and I have to admit it’s nice to not pay extra rent for a space. I’m thinking of looking for a larger studio in the next year though. I used to have a roomy studio in downtown St. Paul, which was nice and it got me out and about a bit more. I feel a bit of a recluse working at home these days. I’m a homebody by nature, so it’s always good to have a reason to leave the house to go to work.

Is there anything in your studio, other than paint and brushes that you couldn’t live without?

My mandolin, music, Irish tea, and my cheering section of toys and stuffed animals.

Any exciting projects on the horizon?

My husband and I are working on a couple of projects that combine our love of children’s literature, my illustration skills, his writing skills, and our music. One project is a nonfiction picture book and the other involves a character who likes to share his enthusiasm for travel and history through music. Fortunately for me, my husband began to pursue writing mid-grade nonfiction about two years ago. His background is in performance and cultural music history, he teaches music to both kids and adults, and he has the unending curiosity of an eight year old, so it’s a good fit. We also work really well together, which is a major plus.

What are your career goals?

I would love to spend the rest of my life illustrating books that utilize both my color work and pencil work. I would also like to see my illustrated sheep get out in the world in the form of books, cards, etc., so I want to learn more about licensing. Somewhere in the midst of that, I want to keep making music as well and with some luck, maybe my two passions will converge.

What are you working on now?

I’m in the middle of a book of forty illustrations for Sequoia Natural History Association as well as working on some characters and illustrations of my own that I’m really excited about. I’m setting up online sales for my paintings and prints. And the phone just rang for a gig with lots of Italian mandolin music….so I’ll be working on that as well!

The above illustration is from Sheralyn’s book dummy, “A Piper” based on the poem “A Piper” by the turn of the century Irish poet Seumas O’Sullivan. Sheralyn illustrated this with colored pencil.

The rest of the pictures are ones done in oil during Sheralyn’s visit to Ireland.

I work in oil paint. I use only the highest quality, pigmented paints ( Old Holland, Schmincke Mussini, Winsor and Newton) and work on museum quality panels by Ampersand. My style works well with the smooth surface that the panels provide, and they offer a rigid ground to ensure longevity and non-cracking of the paints over time (oil paints become more brittle as they age, so the more rigid the better). You will notice that some of my paintings are listed as “oil with wax”. For these paintings, I combine a very small portion of wax medium to increase my ability to create an atmospheric effect. This medium also adds extra stability to the paints themselves.

I am an illustrator by nature. Many of the scenes I create with my paintings illustrate moments – ordinary moments that for some reason or another mark themselves as extraordinary. Moments that have embraced my senses with the smells, sounds, and feelings of being aware; the smell of rain, the sound of my footsteps, the touch of wet leaves. As I look back on my life, I realize that some of my most resonant memories have not necessarily been exotic experiences, but these seemingly unimportant moments that ring of true presence. These are the experiences that I wish to communicate.

Have the materials you use changed over the years?

The pencil was really the only thing I had available to me when I was a kid. I spent many hours in my room teaching myself to draw. When I graduated from college, most of my color work was done in prismacolor pencil. I liked working with prismacolors because you could get fine detail, but they had limitations in that the wax of the pencils could only be layered so far. So later on, I studied oil painting with a painter who specialized in traditional methods of underpainting and transparent layering of color. Learning this technique for my landscape painting also lent to new possibilities for my illustration and gave my work a fresher and more vibrant quality. Now I’ve transferred that same technique of layering color on to the computer.

Are there any painting tips (materials, paper, etc.) you can share that work well for you? Technique tips?

I love Cachet sketchbooks and Ampersand panels, both for their ease of use, quality, and durability. For paints, I adore Old Holland brand. I have an artillery of Alvin mechanical pencils I always carry with me, each loaded with different leads, so I can have the gamut of 4B to 4H lead at my disposal when the need strikes. I’m the type of person who just loves to just sit around building tones with pencil. It’s a bit like playing scales on a musical instrument. To me it’s very zen and relaxing, not to mention good practice.

Any words of wisdom you can share with the illustrators who are trying to develop their career?

My words of wisdom come from others who have embraced life. This is one of my favorites from animator Chuck Jones:

“The rules are simple. Take your work, but never yourself, seriously. Pour in the love and whatever skill you have, and it will come out.”

In addition, I guess I would say to join SCBWI and go to their regional and national conferences if you can. Get to know other illustrators and find support and comradery. Being a creative freelancer is a roller coaster ride of a life and has it’s ups and downs. So when frustration hits, be driven by your joy and desire to make the world a more colorful place. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and ask questions. Be bold and smile a lot. I’m still working on the bold part myself, but I think I’ve got the smiling part down and it really makes a difference.

Thank you Sheralyn for sharing your work and process with us. I enjoyed spending time with your illustrations and finding out more about you. Please keep in touch and let us know when you have a new success. We’ll be watching.

I am sure Sheralyn would love if you left her and comment with this post, so if you have a minute, please drop us a line. Thanks! You can visit Sheralyn at: www.sheralynbarnes.com

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Grandpa dropped his glasses once
In a pot of dye.
And when he put them on again he saw a purple sky
~Leroy F. Jackson

Happy Gnu Year!!

“The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings”

Ever since seeing David Hockney’s iPad art at the Louisiana Museum outside Copenhagen, I’d been wanting to try it myself.

Now that I have an iPad, I read this article about painting/ drawing apps and jumped right in. The good thing is many of the apps are free or have a free trial version, so it’s a low-risk leap.

Here’s my first stab at it:

Yes, my feet are gorgeous! I know, I know. You don’t have to tell me. I drew this with my fingers using Brushes (the same app David Hockney uses). Brushes is wonderfully simple and great for quick impressions.The picture is nothing special, but on the iPad itself, my kids love being able to watch the video of how it came together. I couldn’t get that feature to transfer here, but if you know how to do it, give me a shout.

Here’s a funny article about trying to become David Hockney via Brushes. You can guess how that turned out.

Below are a couple of sketches made using the free trial version of Sketchbook Pro. These are also done with my fingers, both in Florida where the hubs and I had a nice relaxing week to ourselves in early December.

Sketchbook Pro lets you to easily change brush size and tool choice (i.e. brush, airbrush, pencil). And with both programs, it’s easy to get just the color you want with the stroke of a finger. Sketchbook Pro lets you make colors more or less transparent, which makes for some cool effects. It takes a bit of getting used to, though, that the paint is so consistent. In other words, your “paint” doesn’t really blend with other colors, and it never runs out.

The “paint” is most like watercolor, though unlike watercolor, you can undo your strokes as often as you like. You could easily get carried away with self-correction. I tried not to but used ”undo” as an excuse to take risks I wouldn’t have taken with real watercolors. I think that’s one of the greatest strengths of all of the art apps I’ve tried—the ability to try new things with no risk, and to make a picture quickly without getting out and putting away all of your materials.

Using your finger to draw is a little clunky. These three were all done before I got my Sensu Brush/ Stylus, and now that I have it, I’ll probably skip finger drawing.

I enjoyed both of these apps, but I found myself wanting more features and more detail. I decided it was time to try the apps with pricetags. More about app art to come.

If you make art on your mobile device, what do you do with the images? David Hockney prefers to let his iPad work live only in the digital world, but I think it could be reproduced a number of ways. What do you think? Have you tried producing a “real” version of your digital images? I’d love to hear how it’s gone.

Once a year the eyes of the nation turn to this tiny hamlet in western Pennsylvania, to watch a master at work. The master, Punxsutawney Phil, the world’s most famous weatherman, the groundhog. Who, as legend has it, can predict the coming of an early spring. So I guess the question we have to ask ourselves today is, does Phil feel lucky?

~Ground Hog Day

Here is a new painting I have created just for fun. I will have it available to be purchased as a card in my Zazzle shop.

In my previous post, “Painting by App Part I,” I talked about using Brushes and Sketchbook Pro and showed samples of my work made with these apps.

The next two apps I tried were Procreate and Artrage, this time with a stylus called a Sensu Brush. The Sensu brush was a gift (thanks, in-laws!) and I have to say, drawing on the iPad is a way better experience with it. Finger painting on a device is totally fun and may suit your needs, but if you want more control, definitely get a quality stylus.

The stylus itself isn’t magical, but it’s much more like drawing with a pen, and, in the case of the Sensu, with a brush. The Sensu has a rubberish tip on one side and a brush on the other. As far as I can tell the bristles themselves don’t really seem different from those on a regular watercolor brush, but I haven’t done an iPad comparison. Have you?

The Christmas tree image above was made using Procreate. What I love about Procreate is the ability to change not only colors, tools, and stroke width but also the paint load and tons of variations of brush stroke. Changing the “load” and brush type means you can control how much color you want on your brush and the shape your brush makes, plus the amount of water that’s mixed with your paint. These items are key to making your digital image look  painterly.

The following three images were made using Artrage, which is my favorite art app so far. Here’s why:

1) Artrage not only lets you paint with virtual oils or acrylics, it lets you squirt them out on the screen and mix them with your brush (or other tools). This feature alone makes the pricetag ($6.99) worth it.

2) You can upload a reference photo and pin it in the corner of your screen while you’re painting. So cool.

3) You can zoom in and out of your painting so you can work on detail areas or see the big picture quickly.

4) You can choose from among many paper and canvas options in any color you like.

5) Another favorite feature! You can change the drying time to your paint. This doesn’t sound like much, but it allows you to either mix colors on the canvas or, in the case of oils, pretend several days have passed and it’s “dry” enough to paint on top of your underpainting. Sweet.

6) You can add “water” or “solvent” (depending on your paint type) to thin it down. Like the drying time, this feature allows you to control how your current paint color will interact with the colors you’ve already painted.

7) There’s a wide variety of choices of how your brush carries the paint. I’m personally a fan of the dry brush options.

One wish for Artrage, and it’s a small one, is that you could use the edge of the palette knife for scraping off color (currently I can only figure how to use the flat of the knife for mixing).

The images below were done at Cedar Cliff Lake in North Carolina. The first is an earlier version of the second image. The last is somewhat unfinished but I figured I’d go ahead and share.

All of the apps I tried have their strong points, and in the end, you have to decide what you really want out of an art app. Is it a quick sketching tool for you, or are you interested in creating more intricate pieces? Do you want to approximate watercolors, pen and ink, or oils? You can make beautiful images with all of them, but for more painterly effects, I would go for Procreate or Artrage, and Artrage is definitely the choice for anyone wanting an acrylic or oil paint look.

I’d also like to try Auryn Ink, a watercolor app, but recent reviews of it (regarding compatbility with the new iPad) were pretty poor, so I’m hoping they’ll update soon.

Thanks for hanging with me through this lengthy and fairly technical post. Back to regularish programming soon!

p.s. On an unrelated note, I just heard an interview with Lindi Ortega and was totally mesmerized by her music. Try this tune here. She’s kind of a modern Johnny Cash/ Dolly Parton mashup though maybe more on the rockabilly side than strict country. She’s playing at the Evening Muse tonight in Charlotte. Wish I could go! Let me know if you do.

In my previous post, “Painting by App Part I,” I talked about using Brushes and Sketchbook Pro and showed samples of my work made with these apps.

The next two apps I tried were Procreate and Artrage, this time with a stylus called a Sensu Brush. The Sensu brush was a gift (thanks, in-laws!) and I have to say, drawing on the iPad is a way better experience with it. Finger painting on a device is totally fun and may suit your needs, but if you want more control, definitely get a quality stylus.

The stylus itself isn’t magical, but it’s much more like drawing with a pen, and, in the case of the Sensu, with a brush. The Sensu has a rubberish tip on one side and a brush on the other. As far as I can tell the bristles themselves don’t really seem different from those on a regular watercolor brush, but I haven’t done an iPad comparison. Have you?

The Christmas tree image above was made using Procreate. What I love about Procreate is the ability to change not only colors, tools, and stroke width but also the paint load and tons of variations of brush stroke. Changing the “load” and brush type means you can control how much color you want on your brush and the shape your brush makes, plus the amount of water that’s mixed with your paint. These items are key to making your digital image look  painterly.

The following three images were made using Artrage, which is my favorite art app so far. Here’s why:

1) Artrage not only lets you paint with virtual oils or acrylics, it lets you squirt them out on the screen and mix them with your brush (or other tools). This feature alone makes the pricetag ($6.99) worth it.

2) You can upload a reference photo and pin it in the corner of your screen while you’re painting. So cool.

3) You can zoom in and out of your painting so you can work on detail areas or see the big picture quickly.

4) You can choose from among many paper and canvas options in any color you like.

5) Another favorite feature! You can change the drying time to your paint. This doesn’t sound like much, but it allows you to either mix colors on the canvas or, in the case of oils, pretend several days have passed and it’s “dry” enough to paint on top of your underpainting. Sweet.

6) You can add “water” or “solvent” (depending on your paint type) to thin it down. Like the drying time, this feature allows you to control how your current paint color will interact with the colors you’ve already painted.

7) There’s a wide variety of choices of how your brush carries the paint. I’m personally a fan of the dry brush options.

One wish for Artrage, and it’s a small one, is that you could use the edge of the palette knife for scraping off color (currently I can only figure how to use the flat of the knife for mixing).

The images below were done at Cedar Cliff Lake in North Carolina. The first is an earlier version of the second image. The last is somewhat unfinished but I figured I’d go ahead and share.

All of the apps I tried have their strong points, and in the end, you have to decide what you really want out of an art app. Is it a quick sketching tool for you, or are you interested in creating more intricate pieces? Do you want to approximate watercolors, pen and ink, or oils? You can make beautiful images with all of them, but for more painterly effects, I would go for Procreate or Artrage, and Artrage is definitely the choice for anyone wanting an acrylic or oil paint look.

I’d also like to try Auryn Ink, a watercolor app, but recent reviews of it (regarding compatbility with the new iPad) were pretty poor, so I’m hoping they’ll update soon.

Thanks for hanging with me through this lengthy and fairly technical post. Back to regularish programming soon!

p.s. On an unrelated note, I just heard an interview with Lindi Ortega and was totally mesmerized by her music. Try this tune here. She’s kind of a modern Johnny Cash/ Dolly Parton mashup though maybe more on the rockabilly side than strict country. She’s playing at the Evening Muse tonight in Charlotte. Wish I could go! Let me know if you do.

Every time it rains, it rains…… pennies from heaven.

Don’t you know each cloud contains…. pennies from heaven.

You’ll find your fortune falling all over town.Make sure that your umbrella is upside down!

Hmmmm…..She doesn’t look like she’s singing the same song as I am! Oh well, it’s still my favorite song!

Let the good times roll!

Call me, don’t be afraid you can call me,

Maybe it’s late but just, call me.

Tell me and I’ll be around.

www.robertabaird.com