Oh, how I would love to work in YA novels. I hope one day to get the chance.
But until then, I’ll keep practicing. Here’s a sketch, I started while waiting in the car for my daughter. Such fun inspiration to draw… and those tween kids are rich in expression!
Only in the agony of parting do we look into the depths of love. ~George Eliot
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
Some folks taste it daintily,
Others gulp it down quick-ily.
Some lick around and around,
So it never, ever comes dripping down. Some shove the ice cream
Down with their tongue,
So at the bottom of the cone,
You’re left with some.
But some lick in just one place
So it gets sort of sloppy,
And the top plops off
In a great big bloppy!
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 a couple of 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.
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
