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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
M.O. Yuksel never imagined she would be an author, but that changed when she was asked to read to her son's preschool class a picture book about a Muslim holiday. Unable to find such a book suited to her son's age group, she decided to write one herself, launching her journey to authorship. After years of writing and rejection, M.O. published In My Mosque, her literary debut.
In My Mosque celebrates the diversity, traditions, and joy we can find in mosques around the world. It serves as a beautiful introduction to Muslims and Islam and reminds us that mosques are welcoming centres for community and love.
One morning, when she was walking her young children to school, Charlotte Offsay picked up a piece of trash and threw it in a nearby garbage can. She had no idea that this simple action would spark a conversation with her children about doing their part to keep the environment clean, which would inspire her literary debut, The Big Beach Cleanup.
The Big Beach Cleanupfollows Cora, a young girl excited to enter a sandcastle competition. When Cora learns that the fun has been cancelled because there is too much trash on the beach, she and her Mama get to work cleaning up. But they soon realize they can't do it alone.
"My daughter said she wasn't going to science camp because 'science was for boys.'"
Shelli R. Johannes had never written a picture book when she heard her daughter's stance on science, but it sparked the idea that she, with co-author and friend Kimberly Derting, would turn into the Loves Science series.
Libby Loves Science: Mix and Measureis the latest instalment in the series and shows young readers that science is for everyone. When Libby's baking goes awry, can science solve the problem?
If you are doing NaNoWriMo this year, good luck! Though chances are good you don't have the time to read this blog post.
If you attempted NaNoWriMo and gave up partway through, or avoided doing it at all because you knew you wouldn't have the time, don't abandon all hope! Consider doing a more flexible and forgiving challenge, if you are looking for daily motivation.
Even 100 words a day is better than none! Check out my Daily Writing challenge for those looking for more flexibility in writing and revision.
Sarah McGuire and Fred Koehler were once both awkward teenagers who mostly grew out of it. Each draws on their unfortunate adolescence to write stories for young readers. They met at a writers conference and decided to get married. In common they share: love of travel and adventure, dogs over cats, and sci-fi movies. They most often disagree about Oxford commas, whether or not Florida has hills, and who gets the fuzzy blanket. You can find out more about Sarah at her website and Twitter, and more about Fred at his website and Twitter.
Sarah and Fred are not only both children's book creators with middle grade books coming out this month, but they're a married couple (they got married last year on St. Patrick's Day)! Here's some info about their new books, and the pros and cons of being book creator couple.
Thanks so much to Elizabeth Dulema for interviewing me about creative process on her blog recently. She included lots of photos and art samples, including my Broken Crayon dragon. After seeing the later, Jane Yolen (yes THE Jane Yolen!!!!) emailed me a poem she had written after seeing the image.
Jane has kindly given me permission to post her poem here:
I've started working on a new picture book idea (YAY!). After I pick an idea I'm excited about, I start writing the text. Because I tend to think visually when writing, I also usually start paging out the manuscript and scribbling stick figure thumbnail sketches to help me figure out pacing.
Tip for writers and illustrators: Every so often, take the time to look at things around you differently than you normally would. Doing so can help you solve creative problems in your work. Here's why and how...
So many people think that short = easy, especially when it comes to picture books.
And while yes, it's easy to crank out a picture book manuscript in terms of wordcount, writing a picture book story that a publisher will want to acquire is an entirely different animal.
At this point, I can imagine a number of you leaping up and saying, "You shouldn't worry about the market! Just write the story that you were meant to write!" I partly agree.
However, if your goal is to be PUBLISHED, then I strongly advise you to go to local children's bookstore and library; I guarantee you will save yourself much heartache and wasted effort. Familiarise yourself with what's being published. Let yourself fall in love with some of these picture books and then ask yourself why you enjoy them so much.
A few common mistakes that new picture book writers make:
- Not reading many, many picture books before they try writing their own.
- Talking down to kids, using a style and language that comes across as awkward and lecture-y.
- Writing what is basically a short story rather than a picture book text. If you don't know the difference, you need to read more picture books.
- Assuming that the illustrator's job is just to draw what is in the text, and therefore including lots of detailed art notes ("Sandy's hair is blonde and her eyes are green, and she is sitting half-crouched with her hand reaching out for the rabid squirrel" etc.).
- Including lots of physical details in the text that could be shown in the illustrations, or left up to the illustrator.
- Assuming that a picture book story HAS to rhyme. Writing a good rhyming picture book is very difficult. Don't use rhyme as a crutch.
- Not reading their story out loud to make sure it IS fun to read out loud.
- Having a story that is overtly message-y, pushing a lesson the author want young readers to learn. This is a very very VERY common mistake.
- Assuming that because their grandchildren / niece / neighbor's child / students loved their story, that it's ready to send out to publishers.
- Their story won't easily fit into a standard picture book format (eg 14 pages instead of 32 or 40 pages, etc.). While it's possible to sell a non-standard format picture book, it usually costs the publisher more money....making them less likely to want to take a chance on a first-time author.
- Adding their own illustrations. If you're a professional illustrator and you're sure your style suits the story, then go for it...but be aware that publishers usually prefer choosing their own illustrators.
- Not having a unique twist or concept. It's ok to write another "Don't give in to peer pressure. Be yourself!" story as long as you do something different and fun to show editors how your story will stand out in the marketplace. Again, READ MORE PICTURE BOOKS and you'll see some great examples.
- Writing in the style of picture books that they remember reading as a child. This usually happens because they're not familiar with picture books being published today. Again, I recommend going to your library or local children's bookstore and READ MORE PICTURE BOOKS.
As you might have guessed from the above, my main piece of advice for aspiring picture book authors is to READ LOTS AND LOTS OF PICTURE BOOKS. If you don't like a picture book, ask yourself why. If you love one, figure out why. Make notes about wordcount and format. Analyze pacing and page turns. Enjoy the illustrations, look at how they complement and enhance the text.
And if you do read lots and lots of picture books and still find you don't really enjoy them, ask yourself if you should be writing one.
Do you disagree with any of the above? Do you have anything to add? Any other related topics you'd like me to write about? Feel free to share in the comments section.
November is Picture Book Month! Each day, you can find an inspirational essay by a children's book writer or illustrator about the importance of picture books. ALSO, teachers and librarians can find curriculum connections compiled by educational consultant and children's book author, Marcie Colleen (Marcie did the Teacher's Guides for I'M BORED and NAKED!).
Anyway, the first essay is by Aaron Becker, and you can read it here.
If you're a picture book writer, I also advise you to check out Tara Lazar's Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdmo), in which participants are challenged to come up with 30 picture book ideas in a month.
When I especially enjoy reading a book or fall in love with a particular illustration, it’s usually because the author or illustrator manages to convey an emotion, scene or story in an unusual way, that spurs me to look at the world a little differently.
I try to remember this when writing and illustrating. It's one of my goals when I create found object art, trying to avoid the obvious.
Martha says that the Showcase is a great way for art directors to see a lot of work all at once when they're looking for something in particular. She also points out that the event connects many artists with agents.
Although I primarily illustrate using digital methods (Photoshop CS6 with a 7.5" x 11" Intuos Wacom tablet), I'm starting to experiment more with non-digital media on the side. Partly because I like to always be learning something new, to try different techniques, but also because I'm often inspired to try new digital techniques after observing non-digital process.
To illustrators: whether you use digital or non-digital techniques, don't turn your nose up at The Other Side. In my experience, you can always learn something from how other creative types work.
Richard Jesse Watson at the 2011 SCBWI-LA Conference
In 2011, for example, I was super-inspired by the Illustrator Intensives at the SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles. That year, a bunch of experienced children's book illustrators demonstrated their techniques in a hands-on demonstration; you can see my reports about the sessions on KidLitArtists.com.
Richard Jesse Watson gives a demo
Kudos to the SCBWI Illustration Board and artists involved for providing this amazing opportunity for illustrators to observe. There were two rooms set up so that while the attendees were in one room, the next artist could be setting up, PLUS cameras set up so we could see a close-up overhead view on a screen as each artist worked. There were a wide variety of techniques and styles from renowned children's book illustrators like Paul O. Zelinsky, Marla Frazee, Richard Jesse Watson, Kadir Nelson, Denise Fleming, David Small and Jerry Pinkney.
I learned from everyone, though I was especially inspired by Richard Jesse Watson's demo because his approach felt closest to mine. I loooved how he used different techniques to add texture to his color, his frenzied creative energy. After seeing his workshop, I started experimenting with how to add more texture to my digital illustrations, including learning how to create my own custom-made digital brushes in Photoshop. I ended up using a lot more interesting textures in illustrations for NAKED!, a new picture book written by Michael Ian Black that comes out from Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers next year:
Anyway, I recently came across some fascinating watercolor tutorials by Tiffanny Varga. I love the way she how lets different hues of the colors mingle instead of mixing them completely. I'm so going to try this with my real-life watercolor experiments as well as figuring out how to do this effectively with digital watercolor.
Above and below: samples of the book-friendly cartoons by Tom Gault, whose YOU'RE ALL JUST JEALOUS OF MY JETPACK is being published later this year by Drawn & Quarterly. I have to buy this book!
The goal: to come up with 30 picture book ideas in 30 days.
Even if you're not ready to join the challenge but are still interested in reading the daily guest posts about writing, illustrating and publishing picture books (hey, I'm one of the guest bloggers), you should follow Tara Lazar's blog.
Today, I'm delighted to interview my Pixel Shavings friend, children's book illustrator and writer Hazel Mitchell, about her newest project.
Published by Charlesbridge/Mackinac Island Press, HIDDEN NEW JERSEY is a new book written by Linda Barth and illustrated by Hazel. The book is packed with historical, cultural and fun facts about New Jersey shared in rhyming narrative and Hazel's wonderful art. Young children can search for the hidden pictures throughout as they learn more about the state.
For a chance to win a copy of this book, just post in the comments section below! Be sure to enter your e-mail address so we can contact you if you win (random draw).
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How did you become the illustrator of Hidden New Jersey?
The developer for the book, from Mackinac Island Press (imprint of Charlesbridge) has produced two other books in this series (about Michigan and Ohio) and was looking for an illustrator for New Jersey. She saw some of my work on my Facebook fan page and contacted me. We took it from there. Hurrah for social networking!
Hurray, indeed! How useful have you found social networking in your career? And how did you find the right balance between online marketing/networking and your creative work?
Yes I have, in many ways: making contacts and meeting new people in the industry, learning from other's blog posts and links and for getting my work out in to the world. I spend a lot less time on line than I used to .. especially when I am working on projects. Marketing is a big part of the book industry these days so I will probably spend at least an hour a day doing something online.
Have you ever been to New Jersey?
Yes! My hubby was raised there, so we went to visit occasionally. I had no idea it was such a diverse state, though! The author, Linda J Barth lives in New Jersey and is a local historian.
Did you have any direct interaction with the author during the project?
No, put now the book is ready to publish we have liaised on marketing ideas. it's really great she loved what I did with her words! Phew!
How many illustrations did you have to do for the book? How long did it take?
I did 15 double spreads, plus the artwork for the covers, title/verso page and the 'hidden objects'. In total about 4 months. About 5 days on each full spread.
What media do you work with?
The line work is done in graphite and then I scan in and colour completely in photoshop.
Does illustrating a nonfiction book differ from illustrating a fiction book?
In some cases yes. In this case there was no running narrative throughout the book, as each page is specifically about a different region of New Jersey. So I had to include all the 'facts' in a montage style, abit like a jigsaw puzzle, and yet keep the feel of the illustrations cohesive. I did include the characters from the front of the book (in their canoe) throughout the illustrations as well as their little bumble bee friend, who is the state's adopted insect. There was a lot of research to be done as the illustrations had to accurately reflect many historical places. It was definitely a challenge, but an enjoyable one.
What are you working on now?
I am just about to start illustrating the fourth book in the 'All Star Cheerleaders' chapter book series by Anatasia Suen, (pub Kane Miller). And I am working on writing and illustrating my own picture books, and somewhere in the mix is an illustrated YA. So there is no chance that I will get BORED :-)
Ha! :-D And wow, you have a lot on your plate. How do you juggle your work schedule between so many different type of projects? Any tips to offer other illustrators with multiple projects on the go?
I like a lot going on. It's stimulating. When I have only one thing to do I feel like I am not working at my best. This probably stems from my Naval career and running a print business for many years. However when I am working on a book project I do find it hard to drop it and work on something else. I prefer to see the whole thing through in one go.
Sounds like a contradiction after saying I like working on lots of stuff. But mostly I am thinking about other projects, or making notes. If I have multiple deadlines, then I try and break the day up, or at least swap alternate days to work on them. It's hard. And then sometimes you hit a lull, and it's like you don't know what to do with yourself :-)
My advice is make lists. I cannot do without them and ticking things off gives me a sense of moving forward. I am learning that you have to go with the flow in the world of publishing, that's for sure!
It was great to be able to catch up with what we're each doing in our children's book illustration and writing projects, plus Eliza and I filled in Kimberly and John about our kidlit-focused Lost Weekend With David Diaz.
Today's the first day of the 2nd Annual Kidlitart #PBDummy Challenge! I am so in.
The goal of this 25-week-lon online group challenge: to create and submit a picture book dummy. Actually, I'm planning to create and submit several picture book dummies during this time.
Wednesday, April 7, 2021 at 9:21 AM
