THIS SITE HAS MOVED. Inkygirl posts are now part of DebbieOhi.com.
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Debbie Ridpath Ohi reads, writes and illustrates for young people. Every once in a while she shares new art, writing and reading resources; subscribe below. Browse the archives here.
I tweet about the craft and business of writing and illustrating at @inkyelbows. If you're interested in my art or other projects, please do visit DebbieOhi.com. Thanks for visiting! -- Debbie Ridpath Ohi
Thanks so much to Claudia Osmond for hosting the holiday meet up for the Toronto Middle Grade & Young Adult Author Group! I had a fantastic time: so many great conversations, good food and lots of kidlit/YA talk.
Click the right- and left- arrows to see the slideshow of my iPhone photos:
Hm...just noticed that Squarespace's Gallery feature forces ALL the photos in horizontal mode, which means you're not seeing the full photo in some cases. To browse all the photos, do visit my 2011-12 Torkidlit Holiday Party Flickr set.
Another highlight from Lost Weekend: the conversations. They sprung up everywhere and without warning, while we were painting, sitting by the fire, helping David in the kitchen, over meals, while we were out walking.
Topics frequently revolved around children's book illustration but also writing, family, food, travel, other work…in other words, LIFE.
As the weekend progressed, it became clear to all of us that this was about so much more than just kidlit illustration info and new business contacts. It was also about mutual encouragement and sharing, bonding and appreciation.
And um, food. Lots and lots of good food. :-)
Each of us ended up taking away something different. One aspect I especially enjoyed: getting to spend more time with people I knew mainly online. It was fun rooming with Andrea Offermann, who had flown in from Germany. She had arrived the week before for an art show at ThinkSpace Gallery.
Some of the newer Mentees I had only been in contact with via Facebook and had only met briefly in person.
And it was such a treat to finally spend time with Bonnie Adamson, co-founder of Kidlitchat and founder of the KidLitArt chat on Twitter. We had run into each other at SCBWI conventions, but usually only had time to exchange a few words before hurrying off to the next workshop or keynote talk.
And that was another thing I LOOOVED about Lost Weekend. We had a chance to slow down and get to know each other in a much more casual environment than a convention. Although David had some activities planned for us, the schedule was flexible and adjusted to the group dynamic.
Another of many highlights: getting to know David's son, Ariel Diaz. Not only is Ariel a talented artist but his quirky humour and dry wit enhanced the weekend for all of us. You can see samples of his work at his site: turbogrease.tumblr.com.
I can't imagine what it must have been like, having a horde of women descend on your house for an entire weekend! Ariel handled it well. :-)
On the last evening, David hosted a party for not only our group but some of the local artists and industry people. We helped David with food prep but he did the bulk of the work. If it had been my house, I would have been super-stressed about all those people showing up for dinner but if David was, he sure didn't show it.
Great to see Erin O'Shea; Erin was one of the first Mentees in 2009 (in the red sweater below):
We had a table where some of our portfolios, postcards and business card were on display for people to peruse:
I was also happy to see Jen Rofé from Andrea Brown Literary Agency at the party; Jen had given my YA novel a great critique at the SCBWI Summer Conference in L.A. (and nominated it for the Sue Alexander Award!) and I loved her energy. She gave us all some excellent advice during the evening PLUS --not sure if it's public news yet so am not naming names yet-- is going to be representing one of the Mentees!
[Edited December 8, 2011: Yay, it's official. Eliza Wheeler has just signed with Jen Rofé. CONGRATS to both of you!!]
There was so much relaxing downtime and casual conversation that I didn't realize how much useful children's book illustration info I had absorbed during the event until I got home. I had learned something that could help me in my own craft from every Lost Weekend attendee, from new techniques to try, process tips, digital tech (I sooo want Christina Forshay's drawing tablet!!), attitude inspiration and encouragement, how-to advice and practical industry info.
We've been in touch since Lost Weekend, rehashing some of the memories from those magical few days, following up on tips and advice, exchanging recipes (ok, they've all been David's recipes…and they're making me hungry!!). Plus we Mentees are starting to gradually ramp up our website at:
KidLitArtists.com
Please do bookmark us; we'll be adding more Mentee bios and organizing our post schedule. Stay tuned for lots of great info and news for children's book illustrators! Plus you can find us on Twitter at @KidLitArtists; Juana Martinez-Neal has started to help with that account. And please do Like our KidLitArtists Facebook Page; you can find updates to most of our blogs as well as main blog.
And finally, a huge THANK YOU to David Diaz for inviting us to be part of this incredible Lost Weekend! As I mentioned before, this wasn't an officially sanctioned SCBWI event but rather something that David put together on his own, opening up his home and devoting a big chunk of time (including prep) for our group. We were all blown away by his generosity.
And thank you also to the SCBWI for bringing us all together in the first place! If you're interested in children's book writing and illustrating, you NEED to join this organization if you haven't already. More info: http://www.scbwi.org
I'm gradually going through all my comic archives as I work on my Will Write For Chocolate book compilation, so am posting some of the oldies here in Inkygirl (sometimes revamped).
"We are absolutely thrilled to be able to announce the launch of our new YA imprint, Strange Chemistry The imprint will launch in September 2012, with five titles appearing before the end of that year, before settling down to one book each month. Strange Chemistry will follow AR’s strategy of co-publishing its books simultaneously in the US and UK, in both eBook and paperback formats. Subject matter will include fantasy, science fiction, supernatural and horror, and as with Angry Robot the lines between those genres are likely to be very blurry at times."
As some of you already know, I was thrilled to be picked for the SCBWI Illustration Mentorship Program at last year's Summer Conference in LA. Thrilled as in "can this really be happening to me" thrilled, especially when combined with the offer from Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers to illustrate Michael Ian Black's new picture book, I'm Bored.
The six of us got together during the conference, just to chat and get to know each other a little better: Eliza Wheeler, Andrea Offermann, John Deininger, Kimberly Gee, Ashley Mims and me. We discovered (to our mutual relief, I suspect) that we all got along very well, and we decided to launch our own website at KidLitArtists.com.
We also kept in touch via group email about what we were all up to, shared successes and disappointments, critique and encouragement. We hung out when we attended the same SCBWI events.
At the SCBWI Summer Conference this year, some of us were joking with Caldecott-winning children's book illustrator & SCBWI Illustration Mentor David Diaz, saying we'd love to snoop through his studio (I believe it was Eliza who was nervy enough to suggest it). David surprised us by saying it was a great idea. In fact, he sent out an invite soon after the conference, and said he wanted to invite some other mentees as well.
And so LOST WEEKEND was born!
Sadly, not all the 2010 and 2011 Mentees could make it to Lost Weekend (we missed you guys!). Here's the attendee list:
Note: This wasn't an officially sanctioned SCBWI event but rather an act of generosity by David. I admire his courage, inviting a bunch of strangers into his private home. I think he was a tad nervous at first, wondering what he had got himself into.
(Above: piece by David Diaz)
Some of us stayed at the hotel, some at David's. I loved David's house with its high ceilings, full of light and color. There was art everywhere, including many gorgeous and interesting pieces by David and his son Ariel.
David did most of the cooking…and he's really good at it! My mouth is watering even as I type this, remembering these home-baked popovers fresh out of the oven, light as air and slathered with fresh cream, jam or savoured plain:
Here are just some of the other things we feasted on during the weekend:
German pancakes, scrambled eggs with sautéed spinach, smoked bacon, sausage.
"Sin-cleansing" French pressed coffee.
Handmade pasta, with an Putanesca Sauce with Hot Italian sausage
Salad with goat cheese, candied walnuts, crasins, and white balsamic vinegar dressing
Sformata di Ricotta
Oven roasted garlic
Fresh bread
Jambalaya rice with sausage, mushrooms, grilled tri-tip
Pumpkin pie
Chocolate chip coconut brownies
Apple raspberry crumb pie and ice cream.
I'm pretty sure I left Lost Weekend heavier than when I arrived.
Plus Bonnie introduced me to Pickled Okra (yummmmmmmmmmmm):
which go wonderfully in these:
I loved the buzz of activity in the kitchen as we chopped and stirred under David's tutelage, conversation and laughter (a LOT of laughter) filling the house.
Even food shopping was fun:
I discovered Von's, which is apparently a chain grocery story in California. "V-a-u-g-h-n-s," said David, when I asked him how to spell it. I believed him and started writing it down until I heard the others sniggering. Kidlit illustrators can be so MEEEEEAN. :-D
We spent a lot of time just chatting in front of the fireplace. We each gave a brief demo of how we worked, talking about our process. It was funny, really -- each one of us basically felt like our own process was SO boring yet when it came to seeing how the others did their work, we were each fascinated. Lots of kidlit and art talk and picture book writing talk, plus browsing of each other's portfolios.
On Sunday, the weather cleared up so we decided to go walking on the beach. SUCH a nice change from Toronto weather!
We left our shoes in a pile on the beach:
David reassured us that no one would steal them. :-)
And holy cow, I know it sounds like a cliché, but it felt SO GREAT to walk barefoot along the beach!
and we saw pelicans:
and hang gliders:
David took us to the Self-Realization Fellowship Meditation Garden, with its beautiful gardens and koi ponds:
We got in trouble from a security guard in the gardens when we laughed too much as we tried to get this photo taken:
Darned noisy kidlit illustrators!
Above: David let us snoop through some of his archives from earlier in his career
It was fascinating to see some of David's earlier work, and hear his explanations of how and why he changed his illustration style. We also got to see sketches and drawings from Mother Earth Watches (working title, will change), his upcoming book with Chronicle Books (tentative publication date: Spring 2013).
David taught us a new technique: taping down a framed area on masonite, painting a background texture/color using acrylics, then a layer of matte medium (or at least I had to do this since my base layer of acrylic was already so textured), then drawing in conte, then spraying with a fixative.
Some of us (hand waving here) didn't normally work with acrylics, so were a bit nervous about the process. BUT it ended up being a lot of fun as well as enlightening -- it was good to push beyond our normal creative comfort zones, especially in a safe and encouraging environment like the one at Lost Weekend.
Also very cool to see the different approaches everyone took in their projects.
Andrea Zuill, who drove to David's, brought some of her paintings later in the weekend for us to look at. I LOVE her work! She also brought a print for each of us as a gift. Here's the one she gave me:
I recently came across my childhood autograph book, and the recent #readerthanks posts on Twitter inspired me to share this page.
I always loved reading, but it wasn't until I read Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine that I became aware of style in writing. I'm generally a fast reader, but for Ray Bradbury's books I slowed way down so I could savour the language. Reading Ray Bradbury's books also helped me get hooked on sf/fantasy early on.
Note re: autograph page. For every autograph I received, I found a image of the author, researched and typed up a bio, and also wrote out the author's name by hand in calligraphy.
Another gem in my autograph book: a manually typed note from Stephen King! With corrected typos, even! I'll have to share that in a future post.
In case you're wondering how Ray Bradbury ended up sending me his autograph... When I was hoping to get someone's autograph, I wrote to the publisher with my request and a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply. I was SOOOOOOOO excited when I got replies!
Yay! The color proofs for I'M BORED arrived today, woohoo!!!
Also included in the package: the welcome sign that was in the front lobby of Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers when I first visited them. I've taped up the sign beside my office door. :-)
If you're on Facebook, please do "Like" our I'M BORED page:
Just got back from a 10 day trip to California and Texas. In California, I attended Lost Weekend: an amazing creative weekend hosted by Caldecott-winning illustrator David Diaz (see above photo). After that, I attended BoardGameGeek with my husband: a five day (yes, I said FIVE DAYS) board gaming convention.
I'll be posting more about Lost Weekend here in Inkygirl, and am posting about BGG in my board gaming blog.
Right now, however, I need to unpack and then catch up with some e-mail...
For those of you doing NaNoWriMo, I highly recommend you check out Errol Elumir's NaNoToons. Heck, even writers who AREN'T doing NaNoWriMo will appreciate some of the writer angst in some of these comics. :-)
To make a long story short, I've been (1) focusing on finishing the illustrations for I'M BORED, and (2) switched over from Corel Painter to Adobe Photoshop and had to set up proper Will Write For Chocolate templates.
Will try to update more often, or at least more often than every six months!
(I'll be updating the list of other helpful tutorials at the end of this page.)
Google+ recently announced the launch of Google+ Pages, which are similar Facebook Fan Pages.
So what's the difference between a Google+ Page and the Google+ accounts already out there?
You may already have a Google+ Profile page. While there are many similarities between a Google+ Profile Page and a Google+ Page, here are some differences (from Google+ info pages on the topic):
- Pages can’t add people to circles until the page is added first or mentioned.
- Pages can be made for a variety of different entities whereas profiles can only be made for people.
- The default privacy setting for elements on your page profile is public.
- Pages have the +1 button.
- Pages can’t +1 other pages, nor can they +1 stuff on the Web.
- Pages can’t play games.
- Pages don’t have the option to share to ‘Extended circles’.
- Pages don’t receive notifications via email, text, or in the Google bar.
- Pages can’t hangout on a mobile device.
- Local pages have special fields that help people find the business’ physical location.
Anyway, here's a quickie overview for creating a bare bones Google+ Page. First go to the Google+ Page Creation area.
There are a number of different category choices, but if you're launching a Page promoting a book, choose ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND SPORTS and then under "Select A Category", choose "Book." This is the category I chose for I'm Bored; feel free to follow my Book page -- I plan to take every advantage of Google+ Book pages in the months leading up to the Sept/2012 launch as well as afterward.
If you're an author or illustrator, there are several options. Sadly, there are no Author or Illustrator categories. However, I did find a "Media, News and Publishing" subcategory under the COMPANY, INSTITUTION OR ORGANIZATION main category:
There's also "Public Figure" under the PRODUCT OR BRAND category:
Or you could always opt for "OTHER" instead, which lets you enter the Page name and an optional website. I ended up choosing "Media, News and Publishing" for my Inkygirl Page.
Fill in your Page name (you can change this later, unless Facebook Pages), website if you have one, and click the checkbox beside "I agree to the Pages Terms and I am authorized to create this page" (after you read and agree to the terms, of course).
You have 10 words to summarize your business in the Tagline field. You can change this later.
Choose a profile image if you have one (or add it later).
Click on CONTINUE, and you'll have the option to Share your page with your personal Circles.
I'll be sharing more tips on how kidlit/YA authors & illustrators can finetune their Google+ Pages and use Google+, so please do follow my Inkygirl Page on Google+!
And if you have a Google+ Page related to kidlit/YA, please do add your Page link to my Kidlit/YA Pages On Google+ (children/YA books, groups, organizations, websites for kidlit/YA industry, authors, illustrators, agents, editors, publishers, librarians, teachers, book bloggers, etc.). I just ask that you only add ONE comment, and list all your kidlit/YA pages in that one comment. You can always edit your comment later if there are changes.
So how are you all doing with your writing challenges, whatever they may be?
Thanks to Tara Lazar for inviting me to be one of her guest bloggers during PiBoIdMo month (Picture Book Idea Month). Click on the image to the left or go to Tara's blog to see my VERY FIRST Doodle Guest Post!
How very cool. Author Neil Gaiman, who has like a ZILLION followers, tweeted about one of my friend's Nanowrimo comics! Here's Errol's post about the comic and a link to the comic.
You can follow Errol Elumir's Nanotoons on Facebook (unfortunately there's no way to link to individual NaNoToons on the NaNoWriMo site, plus new comics are added at the bottom of the page rather than the top :-( ).
We talk about everything from the craft and business of writing to renovation hell stories and family updates. Plus a whole lot of other stuff that I can't possibly post publicly, of course. :-) Anyway, I asked the attendees of last night's get together what they were working on or if they had any news to share, and here's what they told me:
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 10:31 AM
