SCBWI postcard contest

So yesterday I was at Illustrator Day in San Gabriel. It was a small event with several good speakers who talked about the children's book market.

There was also a portfolio contest (which it seemed that every attendee submitted a port for) and a postcard contest which I counted 23 entries.

This was my postcard:

I thought it was a great idea (that my two main characters were bursting through the front of the card and on the back you could see the exactly what it would look like if you could actually flip the illustration over)...but the execution was a little lacking...it felt like there was something missing and I ended up not having time to finish it before the cards were due (back in October). Also, my original concept was that I would actually tear open a piece of paper and scan that and put my characters behind it...only to find that I couldn't tear the page to look enough like it should (like in the drawing above).

In the couple of weeks from the due date of the postcards to the conference I was able to finish another version of the cards - this time adding the look of lined paper (created in Adobe Illustrator for Shutterstock). And while this definitely helped add some interest to the piece, it still feels like it's missing something. Ideally it'd be nice if there was some sort of mirrored picture on the back of the postcard so when you flipped it over you'd actually see the back of them, but also what they're looking at (which would be you) so you'd also see yourself. This postcard won't be complete until I can accomplish that and kind of blur the lines between reality and lame postcard contests. Of course it was only lame because I didn't win...but I entered a postcard I wasn't completely happy with, so it was also expected.

From the event I learned that postcard mailers do actually work. This one girl (who did win) did a postcard that actually folds out into another (and bigger) picture, and then even folds out to an even bigger and full sized illustration. What's smart about her mailer is that each picture relates to the same story as the last and inside, when the postcard is all unfolded is another, smaller return postcard. Does it do the job? Who can say yet, but it's a very cool and different idea. I also learned that Chad Beckerman, the art director at Abrams only wants to see postcards and, like many art directors, uses that to look up new talented artists - but doesn't want to see bigger or more extravagant mailers (portfolios or anything more than a postcard) because he feels like he can get enough information from a postcard so anything else is a waste of time and money.

Just got back from Illustrator Day...

and boy are my arms tired!

Actually I'm really just tired in general. I was paying all sorts of attention at the conference...and gabbing. You have to do so much networking and talking and networking and smiling and talking some more. It's nice though when you get into it...but it's a sloggingly long day. It's the worst when you have to stand nearby while you're waiting for the big art director or art rep to finish talking with another conference attendee...I only pulled it off by shuffling, fidgeting and looking awkward. That's the best way to go about it...

In the meantime I did some drawing...there's a lot of sitting around, so I was able to get to the sketches for a project I was just commissioned for. Character design roughs for a pitch. It doesn't have to be a fully realized character, but just the mood and tone for what they want. This is the first sketch:

Now - it's not bad, but it's also just the first try. And, mind you, I don't draw people too often...much less adult people. I then had to keep trying, especially since I was drawing in my sketchbook amongst all these really good children's book illustrators (or at least people, like me, making the attempt). So I went on with this one. It has more of a story and kind of a cool idea that just hit me while I was zoning out during one of the breaks (not during one of the talks, because I pay close attention).

Definitely better - but there was still a more interesting part of his story that sounded like fun to draw...at first I was just drawing a bunch of heads trying to find a better look for the character, but then this idea/pose struck me...starting with the face biting off the head of a small rodent:

I just scanned all of these in to show the client (he wants approval before I move on to the complete color rough)...and I did a small bit of touching up and adding a little bit of color to help the mood. I'm sending them off and we'll see what he says...

SCBWI contest: postcards

There's this SCBWI event in November called Illustrator's Day 2009. They're doing a postcard contest, so I thought I'd see about throwing something out there with my characters.

My idea consisted of having my two square animal characters waving through the torn paper on the front, and then when you turn the postcard over, it's the back of the characters. I'm still working with it, and am currently thinking about redrawing the skunk character...


The due date is coming up pretty quickly (it was originally due on the 2nd of October and has been pushed back to the 7th)...so I think I'm going to finish up this postcard and then, given time, I'll see about reworking the skunk character...