I’m back from my free range field test: a weekend trip to Fruita, Colorado for some plein air mountain biking fun. (If you missed the first post about all of my new plein-air equipment, you can read all about it here.)

First stop were the Kokopelli trails, which take you along the edge of the Colorado river. There are gorgeous vistas at every turn, and I hiked a few meters off trail and painted one of my favorite views of the canyon. If I’d been walking, it would have probably taken about four hours to get to this spot (and another four to hike back!) but with the bike I could get there in no time.

Most bikers on the path below didn't even see me.

The equipment really improved the experience. Not only was I more comfortable, but I had a much easier time judging color and value with the help of my shade umbrella.

The final painting

One benefit of combining mountain biking and painting was that my husband could do extra laps while waiting for me. Sometimes he had a good view of my painting spot:

See the white dot of my umbrella?

I was painting this interesting rock formation. So many holes!

So, you ask, how was all the equipment?

The Umbrella (Bestbrella white)
Pros: Provided a neutral, even light. I found it easy to set up and relatively stable. It even protected my painting against the odd sprinkle of raindrops.
Cons: I’m not sure I’d use it in a downpour or high winds, but that’s not really what it’s for. When the sun was at certain angles (like right behind my head) it was difficult to properly position the umbrella because the easel got in the way of the tripod pole. I think this is actually a problem with the tripod, not the umbrella: if I had a taller tripod I could have clamped the umbrella lower on the leg in order to miss the easel.

The Easel (En Plein Air Pro Traveler Series)
Pros: Easy to set up, lightweight, simple.
Cons: The easel is fitted with holes to hold your brushes, but a lot of my brushes are either too big or too small to fit in these. Some slide all the way down to the ferrule, while others stick out quite a bit. On more than one occasion I’d absentmindedly put down a brush only to have it slip right through.

The Stool (Walkstool Comfort)
Pros: Durable, easy to set up, pretty comfortable.
Cons: You can only use it with the legs fully extended when it’s on level ground.

The Backpack (Camelbak Motherlode)
Pros: Spacious, durable, well-balanced, lots of convenient pockets.
Cons: It’s not designed with women in mind, and was wide and bulky on me, particularly around the shoulder area. But the width makes it perfect for holding the easel, so I’m not complaining.
Other notes: It can also throw off your center of gravity while biking, which makes technical terrain very difficult. I wouldn’t recommend this for beginners. In fact, I made my husband carry it most of the time so that I wouldn’t mess up and fall off the cliff.

I'm just posing. I gave it back to him right after this photo.

The tripod (an old mini travel tripod–I have no idea what brand or model.)
Pros: Very small, compact and lightweight.
Cons: My mini tripod is clearly not meant to hold a bulky plein air easel and umbrella. It’s unstable, and is so small that there’s no way you could use it while standing. The short legs make it difficult to level on steep slopes. It’ll do for now, but I’m going to start saving up for something a little more versatile for the future.

We also visited 18 Road, on the other side of the valley.

Conclusion:

All in all, I’d call it a success! If you’re thinking of doing more “free-range” painting and are hesitating about investing in equipment, I recommend that you go for it. No matter where you go to paint–be it far off the beaten path or as close as your back yard–it’s a fun challenge and a great way to improve your painting skills.

The term “plein air” basically means “outdoor.” When I was in France I saw this term used on packages of eggs in the way that we might write “free range” here. So perhaps a translation of the plein air artist could be a free range artist. Like the chickens, I’m tired of being cooped up in the studio and am ready to head out into the great outdoors!

If you remember from this post, my free range painting equipment has so far been pretty much nonexistent. I was tired of precariously balancing everything on my lap and frustrated that I could only paint in places with an adequate place to sit, so I decided it was time to bite the bullet and equip myself properly. There are plenty of options out there, but I wanted something a bit more specific: a setup for mountain bike plein air painting. (Definitely the world’s most popular hobby, let me tell you.)

My crazy motives aside, I needed a backpack that could fit an easel and art supplies but would still provide a sturdy hip strap and large reservoir of water suitable for long rides and hikes in the back country. There were plenty of good hiking packs out there, but none were quite big enough to hold even the smallest tripod and easel. After a long search, I finally found my ultimate plein air pack:

As my friend Rose observed: "it's so... dainty."

Meet the Camelbak “Motherlode,” a military-grade pack that can, so they say, survive decades of abuse unscathed. I’m pretty sure plein air painting was the last thing the designers had in mind, but whatever. It’s plenty large enough to fit everything the free range artist might need: tripod, easel, art supplies, stool, umbrella, snacks, hat, and three liters of water with room to spare. You could probably fit several small children inside of it if you wanted to. Happily, this is the discontinued (i.e. discounted) model. These puppies ain’t cheap.

There are some unforeseen advantages of the Motherlode: the material is IR reflective, so I will be slightly less visible to infrared cameras while I’m plein air painting. You never know when that will come up. I can also upgrade to have a gas mask compatible water reservoir, in case I’m painting outdoors in chemical warfare situations. Plus, it blends right into the foliage:

Where's my pack again?

One of the coolest things about this bag are the velcro-covered slits on the top that allow a 24″ umbrella to fit inside the pack. My husband has suggested these slits are actually for radio antennas, not umbrellas. Psh.

Just the tip sticks out.

With the pack taken care of, it was time to choose some lightweight equipment. I was looking for a simple easel to work with the tripod I already had, and this “Traveler Watercolor” setup seemed to fit the bill.

After my blinding St. Malo painting experience, I knew that I needed an umbrella to shade my paper and palette. There are lots of options for silver and black, but I figured that if white worked for the likes of Monet and Sargent, it would work for me. I went with the BestBrella version. It’s vented to help mitigate wind issues and connects to the tripod with a sturdy clamp that allows it to extend at nearly any angle.

Last but not least, I threw in a folding stool, for those rides where I’m too tired after a long ascent to stand while painting. (Sitting on the ground just isn’t a great option because you are inevitably up to your eyes in grass and can’t see the view that you wanted to paint.) This one is made in Sweden and seems pretty sturdy.

A mountain biking trip is already in the works, so I’ll let you know how all of this works. To be continued in part 2!

p.s. Just to be clear, this is not a sponsored post, this is simply me rambling about what I decided to buy.

Mothers make the world go round!

I’ve received permission to announce that I’m working with Sleeping Bear Press on a new picture book! This one is a biography of conservationist, artist and educator Anna Comstock. This is a book I can really get behind: Anna chose to pursue a career in science long before women were encouraged to do so, and she made great contributions to nature education. Since my own sister is a professor, entomologist, artist and nature enthusiast just like Anna, I’d say this project is quite close to home. I don’t want to give too much away, but stay tuned for more to come!

In other news, I’m also delighted to announce that I’m now represented by Ed Maxwell from Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. Ed got in touch with me after checking out my portfolio at the SCBWI conference in New York this February. Since then we’ve been working together on book ideas and dummies, and I’ve found his editorial suggestions extremely insightful and helpful. I’m excited about what the future holds! Speaking of which… time for me to get back to work.

A trip abroad =  the perfect opportunity to go book shopping!  While in Paris I spent an afternoon at a bookstore called “Chantelivre,” perusing their delightful collection of picture books and comics/graphic novels. (The latter category, “Bande Dessinée,” are hugely popular in France, for all ages.)

Picture Books on display at Chantelivre

The same titles and names seem to dominate the shelves at my book stores at home, but in France I found lots of new treasures to discover. (There were a couple familiar faces: Mike Curato’s Little Elliot and Oliver Jeffers’ crayon books, and some classics like Max et les Maximonstres, a.k.a. Where the Wild Things Are. )

I was dazzled by this pop-up book by Anouck Boisrobert and Louis Rigaud, Dans la Foret du Paresseaux (In the Forest of the Sloth.)

There's something magical about opening a pop-up book.

The complexity of the pop-up engineering was nicely balanced by the simple geometry of the illustrations. With just a few words, the text made me anxious for the plight of the sloth, who we watch napping as danger nears. The book shows the ravages of deforestation, but it is not without hope.

The saleswoman asked me the age of the child I was shopping for. I explained (slightly sheepishly) that I was just buying books for my own collection. She introduced me to a few French classics, including Gabrielle Vincent’s Ernest et Célestine series:

In this volume, Ernest and Célestine lose Siméon (the stuffed penguin) in the snow.

…And she also pointed out Benjamin Chaud’s Poupoupiadours, which combined whimsical and detailed illustrations with creative use of die cutting. Children could read this book again and again and see new things every time. There are several books in this series and they’re all pretty delightful.

Holy detail, Batman!

I couldn’t resist Franz, Dora, La Petite Fille et sa Poupée by Didier Lévy and Tiziana Romanin for the charming story and elegant illustrations of Berlin in the 1920’s. Franz is none other than Franz Kafka, and the book tells the story of how a chance encounter in the park with a little girl who lost her doll brings a smile back to the girl’s face and helps the disillusioned writer rediscover the joy of creating.

I enjoyed the expressive lines and restraint in the illustrations.

Then there was Le Merveilleux Dodu-Velu-Petit, by Beatrice Alemagna, which was like stepping directly into the weird and wacky imagination of our plucky little protagonist. What is a “Dodu-Velu-Petit,” you say? Why, it’s this pink creature (obviously!) It is described as, among other things, “hairy, inedible and extremely rare.” The creature’s many uses are shown on the page at right. (They translate as follows: pillow, scarf, decorative plant, personal masseur, incredible hat, treasure-collector, domestic help, living sculpture, and paintbrush.) I think this is actually an Italian book translated into French.

My favorite page, showing the many uses of the Dodu-Velu-Petit.

Then there's this fold-out page, where the butcher threatens the little girl with a bloody knife.

Among the Bande Dessinée, I particularly enjoyed Les Carnets de Cerise By Joris Chamblain and Aurélie Neyret for the way that the story alternated between standard comic book cells showing action and scrapbook-like pages showing the protagonist’s journal and sketches. The series follows the eponymous 11-year old, a curious aspiring novelist, on her various adventures. Digital illustrations can sometimes feel a little cold, but in this case the artist did a great job of adding detail and texture to bring the art to life.

I think these books would be a lot of fun for kids in the 8-12 range.

The only problem was finding enough space in the luggage to bring them all home.

When I travel I love to write and sketch during the trip. It takes a bit of effort (and the co-operation of any fellow travelers, who are stuck for 20 minutes while I work) but the sketches capture details that the photographs miss, and the process forces me to take the time to genuinely observe the environment instead of rushing off to the next attraction.

Marée au Mont Saint Michel

Sketching the above scene of the tide coming in at Mont Saint Michel (just before it started to rain.)

These images are from a recent trip to France. Drawing outdoors poses exciting challenges, including distracting crowds of gawking tourists, unpredictable weather conditions, and constantly changing light. It started to rain part way through the above sketch of Mont Saint Michel, and I was forced to quit and finish it later. (I was also afraid I’d drop something off the cliff. It’s hard to tell from the photo  but that ledge is actually convex, so things kept wanting to roll off toward the ocean.)

One easy place to sketch is from your hotel window. Here’s my morning view of rooftops in the medieval heart of Blois, France:

Some artists have portable supplies like folding stools or lightweight easels so they can easily and comfortably paint anywhere. Maybe someday I’ll get my own fancy plein air equipment. For now, it looks like this:  (Notice how I am precariously balancing the palette on my knee. It’s a delicate setup.)

Sketching the Chateau de Chambord. Photo by my patient husband, Jonathan.

My sketch of Chambord. I'm not sure that roof line could get any more complicated.

I’m consistently amazed at the difference in color between my sketches and photographs of the same subject. The photographs tend toward gray, with all color completely lost in the shadowy areas.

Les Faux de Verzy: weird, genetic mutant trees in Champagne.

Incredibly, this is the same tree as above. Maybe I just have an overly colorful imagination?

I noticed so many details while I sketched: birds singing, bumblebees crawling into holes, clouds drifting by, the murmurings of conversations around me. Sometimes I was greeted by a stray cat or had a chat with a local or tourist who also had an interest in art. The sketches don’t always turn out as perfectly as paintings made in a studio, but they’re so much more interesting.

Do you sketch and paint while you travel? Share any tips you have in the comments!

St Malo. The tide changed drastically while I painted this.

Painting the walled city of St Malo.

Last weekend my charming assistant/husband helped me film this time-lapse video of yours truly painting a watercolor landscape. He also edited and produced it for me. Thanks, Jonathan! This is my first attempt at filming and isn’t my best landscape ever (the composition could be better) but it shows my painting technique and it’s (hopefully) interesting to watch it all come together. And without further ado, a painting from start to finish:

For the curious, pigments include:

Payne’s Gray, French Ultramarine, Prussian Blue, Sap Green, Quinacridone Gold, Yellow Ochre, Pyrrole Red Light, and a touch of Quinacridone Magenta, probably some other stuff.

Brushes:

Synthetic 1″ flat, Winsor & Newton sable flats in 1/2″ and 3/4,” Raphael Sable round #4, Winsor & Newton rigger

Paper:

Hahnemuhle “Turner” watercolor block, 24×32 cm

I’m finally sifting through all my notes and experiences from my trip to New York. It was a cold weekend to be in the big apple, with temperatures outside hovering in the single digits. Despite the frigid weather we were warm and safe inside the hotel, surrounded by a star-studded faculty of kidlit experts. Here are just a few of the highlights:

From the sketchbook

Two-time Newberry Honor winner Gary Schmidt made everyone cry about five different times during his moving keynote about the importance of writing for kids. He emphasized that writing should be an expression of empathy and compassion: we must “show up” instead of leaving the reader behind. I can’t do Mr. Schmidt justice, so I’ll just encourage you to read all of his heartrending books and leave you with a quote:

“Writing should be an act of empathy in a broken world. What ails you? That is the question we ask.” – Gary Schmidt, author

If you’ve ever submitted a manuscript exactly one time and, upon receiving a rejection letter, decided to give up: William Joyce, Oscar winner and acclaimed writer and illustrator of dozens of books, received over 250 rejection letters at the beginning of his career. So maybe it wouldn’t hurt to keep revising and try again. He also offered this advice to illustrators on finding your voice:

“Find the artists you love, find out what you love about them, and then… steal.” -William Joyce, author/illustrator and filmmaker

William Joyce speaking at SCBWI NY 2016

Newberry Honor and Coretta Scott King award-winner Rita Williams-Garcia made everyone laugh during her keynote about the “Dos and Don’ts” of writing. Her witty anecdotes shed light on the hard-earned successes and naive missteps along the road to publication.

“Do live with gratitude. Do live in the plan. Do what you’re doing.” – Rita Williams-Garcia

The delightful Sophie Blackall inspired everyone with the story of how her personal project to illustrate the Missed Connections column on Craigslist helped to jump-started her career. She also shared stories and photos from her travels working with Save the Children and other humanitarian organizations, and gave us a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at all the research and love that went into this year’s Caldecott winner, Finding Winnie. She signed my copy of book and even drew a little sketch in it!

“Do that thing that’s just for yourself, because it’s almost always your best work.” -Sophie Blackall, author and illustrator

Getting my book signed.

The conference also featured several panels representing editors, art directors, publishers and agents who offered a broad perspective on the state of the industry. There was a lot of encouraging news about the health of children’s literature and plenty of sage advice for aspiring authors and illustrators. Here are a few quotes that stood out:

“You’re only as good as the people you work with.” – David Saylor, Creative Director at Scholastic

“Don’t take shortcuts. If you put everything you have in [your work], you can’t fail.” – Holly McGhee, Agent at Pippin Properties

“You have something that no one else has, and your job is to figure out what that is.” -Cecilia Yung, VP and Art Director at Penguin Random House

“Know your competition. […] Your competition is everything kids are doing other than reading books.” – Andrea Pappenheimer, Director of Sales at HarperCollins

Well, the bags are packed, the portfolio is printed, and soon I’ll be on my way to the Big Apple to schmooze with a bunch of introverted, book-loving nerds. At this time tomorrow I’ll probably be hurtling through the streets on an ill-advised taxi ride or something. I’ll let you know how it all goes (if I survive.)

The truth is, I’m kind of a fake introvert. On those ubiquitous personality tests I hover right on the line between the two extremes. Nonetheless, a big social event like a SCBWI national conference can be overwhelming, and all the networking can push a pseudo-introvert like me to the point of social burnout. I’ve collected some tips below that have helped me have the best possible experience at one of these events. (If you want to learn more about what a SCBWI conference is, click here.)

Promo postcards and portfolio page, ready to go.

1. Homework

The seeds of a great experience are sown long before you get to the conference.

• Try to read at least one book by every speaker. It makes their keynote more illuminating.
• To be a real overachiever, come up with a question or two you’d want to ask each faculty member. If you ever end up sharing a table with them or in a Q&A session, you’ll be ready to participate.
• If you’ve been to prior conferences, go through the contacts you made back then and refresh your memory. For extra credit, check out their websites to see what new stuff they’ve been up to. There’s nothing worse than introducing yourself to someone only to hear “um, we met last year.” (Sorry about that, Rodolfo.)
• If you’re attending sessions with assignments, make sure to do your homework ahead of time.

2. Stuff you should probably bring with you

In addition to your underwear and toothbrush and so forth, don’t forget the following:

• Your portfolio/dummy books/whatever.
• Postcards and/or business cards.
• A sketchbook/notebook and something to write with.
• A copy of any of your recently published books that you want to show to your friends.
• Copies of other people’s books that you want to get signed.
• Warm things (it’s ALWAYS cold in the hotel. Plus it’s New York in February.)
• Earplugs for sleeping if you’re sharing a room with friends.
• Sleep mask (ditto to above.)

3. Networking tips for introverts, or something

I probably shouldn’t be giving advice at all in this area.

• Try to avoid looking at your feet while talking to people.
• Resist the urge to apologize for your work.
• Be genuinely interested in other people.
• Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself.
• Don’t be one of those annoying, pushy people who stalk the faculty members.
• Sit in the front. You can see so much better. Actually, never mind. DON’T sit in the front, because I want to sit there.

4. Chilling Out

For an introvert, a big conference in New York City is remarkably taxing. While the whole point of the conference is to network and go to keynotes blah blah blah, it’s okay to take some time to get away from it all in order to survive.

• Use the gym or pool if there is one to get away from people for a little while.
• Have your own room if you can afford it. This helps a ton, but it’s like $400 a night so I get it.
• Skip a keynote if you have to. Or two.
• Leave the hotel and go somewhere else. Cafes are good.

Have you been a national conference or book fair? What tips would you suggest? Feel free to share in the comments!

"Technology," watercolor. For Rafflecopter.com, 2014.

Based on my 150 followers on Instagram, you could say that I’m kiiind of a big deal on social media. Wait, that’s not a lot of followers? What are you trying to say?

Okay, so perhaps I’m not an expert. There are people who tweet circles around me. Some people are so good at using social media that they have become famous for it. But this wouldn’t be my blog if I didn’t use it to ramble on about things that I may, or may not, know anything about. So here the top five social media mistakes that I make see out there on the internet:

Mistake #1: Posting inconsistently
Do, or do not. There is no “Sort-of, every six months when I feel like it, and then I post a gazillion things all at once.” Your followers will unsubscribe. Understandably. (By the way, I am guilty as charged.)

Mistake #2: Posting the same thing everywhere
Does anyone really want to see the same picture on Facebook, twitter, Instagram and Pinterest? I’ll tell you: no, they do not. Keep each stream different and distinct. Pick a theme. You know, something like “pictures of my pug go on Instagram, Pinterest is for photos of every burrito I’ve ever eaten, sketches go on Facebook…”

Mistake #3: Being a wallflower
Participate in conversations. This is especially important on twitter. Otherwise, why bother being on Twitter? I’ve watched more than one #kidlitchat discussion without joining in. Useless.

Mistake #4: Unabashed braggery
No one needs to see your royalty check. “Humblebrags” are even worse. If you find yourself typing words like “can’t believe I just spilled coffee on my new 6-figure contract. #SuchAKlutz #IHateMondays,” just… think of the children. And then press “delete.”

Mistake #5: Forgetting your audience
What do they want to see? No one wants to follow someone who does nothing but self-promote. (Unless that person is self-promoting by posting photos of their “self” in skimpy bikinis. That seems to be an outlier. But that’s another conversation for another day.) Your promotions are fine, when sandwiched between useful and interesting content.

What works for your social media feeds? What doesn’t? What annoys the heck out of you? Let me know in the comments!

Happy New Year! As usual, I started the year off with (waaay too many) goals and resolutions. One of those goals was to revisit my portfolio with a critical, unbiased (ha) eye. The 2016 SCBWI New York Conference is rapidly approaching, and since I’ve sunk over a grand into it, I might as well prepare to make the most of the experience. So anyway, here’s a little post on reviewing and refreshing the all-important portfolio.

Like the unicorn, the perfect portfolio is elusive. Supposedly my portfolio should be a showcase for the kind of work I want to do in the future, rather than a place for my old projects to gather dust. This is much easier said than done. With my skills constantly evolving and improving, my portfolio pieces seem to go obsolete faster than Apple products. Without resorting to time travel, is it possible to show a whole portfolio of consistent, strong work?

In general, our new work will (hopefully) be better than the older stuff. But having a few great new pieces is not good enough. It seems that the editors and agents can’t see my impressive new (imaginary) oeuvre. Silly industry professionals! Instead they are judging me on what they actually see in the portfolio. The weakest work in my portfolio, specifically, rather than the pieces that hint toward my future genius. I once heard Cecilia Yung, AD and VP at Penguin, blithely say that she only looks at the absolute worst image in the portfolio and ignores the rest. “If I can live with your worst,” she said, “I can work with you.” If that’s not intimidating enough, the better the great new breakthrough pieces are, the shabbier the old not-so-great ones look by comparison, and the less cohesive the portfolio becomes. What’s a poor artist to do?

Happily, I’ve come up with a handy two-step plan to tackle this problem:

Step 1: Make more art.

Step 2: Show them less of it.

Putting together a portfolio is an exercise in curation. I like to start by doing some super-honest portfolio analysis to get a clearer picture of where I am and what path I should follow. First and foremost, what should be in my portfolio? There’s no right answer to this, but if I were an editor I’d probably want to see evidence of things like this:

1. A mastery of technique with a consistent and unique style
2. The ability to tell a compelling story
3. The ability to draw a consistent character in a variety of poses
4. The ability to draw diverse characters, both human and animal
5. The ability to show action, emotion and personality

Sounds good, right? Now comes the “harsh reality” part. Go print some color copies of all of your pieces, spread them out on the floor or a large table, and take a look.

You can start with what I call the “cringe test.” You can do this alone or (even more illuminating) with friend or colleague. If you have a friend who is notoriously hard to please they’re perfect for the job. Regard each of your images, one by one. You will probably start by admiring the best ones. Keep going. Eventually you will run out of shiny new ones and come to one where you feel that internal “cringe.” You might pause and make an excuse or apology, or attempt to “explain” the piece in some way. Hallelujah, this is the sign you’ve been waiting for! It needs to go. Get rid of as many as you need. You might even get rid of the majority of your portfolio. That’s okay. It just means that your skills–and your critical eye–have improved. Pat yourself on the back, and go have some chocolate.

Now that the cringe-worthy pieces are gone, look at what’s left. If you like, you can analyze these images through the lens of the Five Important Qualities that I invented listed above. Are you telling compelling stories that make you want to turn the page? Do you have a variety of characters in different poses? What’s missing? If you’re having trouble being honest with yourself, pretend that you’re the editor looking at the work of someone you might want to hire. What gives you confidence in this illustrator? What concerns you?

Once you’ve identified the holes in your portfolio, you can focus on making new work, keeping those things in mind. It’s always better to have a few strong pieces than to pad your portfolio with filler, so don’t go crazy here. Think of this as practice. When I audited my portfolio I found that there isn’t as much action and emotion as I’d like, so that’s something I’m working on in my new portfolio pieces. That doesn’t mean these new pieces will necessarily make the cut for the portfolio. It just gives me a direction to head in.

At the end of the day, I hope you can create your magical unicorn portfolio where you adore each and every image and it reflects what you love to do and what you’re capable of. It’s no easy task, so don’t get discouraged. Every new image you make is a tiny step forward, and every weak piece cut from your portfolio raises you a notch in the illustration world. Only you know how to take it from here.

Wherever you are, whatever you celebrate, I hope you have a season full of friendly faces and happy memories. See you in 2016!

Do you ever find yourself struggling to remove the white paper-textured background from around your images? I used to, until I learned this incredibly simple method using the “Channels” function in Photoshop. Here’s what you need to do, step by step.

1. Open up your image in Photoshop. Today I’ll be using this bicyclist illustration. Click the “Channels” icon (circled in red below.) You should see four rows: RGB, red, green, and blue. (Unless your image is CMYK, in which case you’ll have a channel for cyan, magenta, yellow and black instead.)

2. Depending on the dominant colors in your image, one channel will likely be darker than the others. I like to start with that one, but really any of them would probably work. In my case, the darkest channel is the the “Blue” channel. When I click on it, I see a grayscale version of my image. I’m going to copy this channel by dragging it down to the “copy” icon in the channels box. (See red arrow.)

3. Now there should be a fifth row in the channels box called “Blue copy.” You can re-name it if you like. While this channel is active, go to Image -> Adjustments -> Levels. Use the sliders to adjust the levels so that everything you want to be deleted (the background) is white, and the image is black. Anything that appears gray will be semi-transparent.

4. Once you’ve adjusted the levels on your channel, use the brush tool to clean it up, making sure the interior of the image is completely black if you don’t want the background showing through. (I didn’t want my cyclist’s mustache to be transparent!) When you’re done, click on the “RGB” composite channel so that your image appears as normal.

5. Exit the “Channels” view by clicking back on the “Layers” icon. Now it’s time to make the mask. To do this, go to Select ->Load Selection.

6. You will see a pop-up box something like this. Choose your “Blue Copy” channel, and click the checkbox for “invert.” (If you forget to do this, you can always just go to “Select -> Inverse”)

7. Now your background should be selected. To make it transparent, make a mask by clicking on the “Add a Mask” icon in your Layers box.

8. That’s all there is to it! It’s super easy. From here you can add any background you want, or just leave it transparent. Here I’ve added a blue background so that you can see how my mask turned out:

Well, I’m back. Thanksgiving is over. Let the holiday crazy-season begin!

I had high hopes to share some plein air pictures from my Thanksgiving trip to visit family in Deep Springs, California, but chilly, windy weather and a rather nasty cold kept me from painting. So, here’s a little painting done from a photograph that captures the essence. This spring-fed lake was fringed with salt flats and a marsh.

In other news, I’ve had a few requests for prints so I’ve finally added some new ones to my print shop, including some of the pages from The Story I’ll Tell and some landscapes and other miscellaneous illustrations. You can find links to each print on the prints page or you can directly visit the Square shop by following this link. Square works like an online store and accepts credit cards, but if you prefer Paypal, just send me an email instead.

I hope you’re all enjoying the holiday season so far and staying warm and sane.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope that wherever you may be you have plenty to be thankful for.

Congratulations to Priscilla Alpaugh, for winning a signed copy of The Story I’ll Tell. Thanks to everyone who entered the drawing.

Hello, dear readers! Today I have a mishmash of a post to share with you, so I hope you’ll bear with me. (Ha.)

I have been on a bit of a quest lately to loosen up my technique. If you also struggle with this, know that you are not alone. It takes an enormous amount of practice to get the “quick and effortless” look instead of the “catastrophic disaster” look, so we watercolorists often get very tight and controlled in order to compensate. Of course, there are many different ways to work with watercolor and some artists do the “controlled” thing extremely well, but if you’re looking to loosen up, here are a few techniques I’ve stolen from other artists over the years that I’ve found helpful:

• Using brushes that are much larger than I find comfortable
• Minimizing the number of washes. The entire background of this image was one big, wet wash, not twenty-seven separate washes detailing every single leaf and bush
• Using a lot more water and paint than seems reasonable; enough that I often end up having rivulets of liquid draining off the paper
• Getting to know the paint. Many colors lighten in value or lose saturation when they dry, so it needs to be even darker than you think when you paint it on
• Waiting for a wet-on-wet wash to completely dry before moving on to add details
• Varying textures. I used some dry brush technique in the trees to simulate pine needles
• Painting lots of really bad paintings that will never, ever see the light of day. I plan to burn these so that no one can accidentally find them when I die
• Working as fast as I possibly can
• Occasionally closing my eyes. (Just kidding! Or not…?)

I hope those help someone out there just as they helped me!

In other news, copies of The Story I’ll Tell are here, so I can also do that second giveaway that I promised you several weeks ago.

The post office didn't do the best job ever on this one

Fortunately, the books are unscathed!

Leave a comment below if you’d like a chance to win a signed book! I’ll announce the winner next Wednesday.

I had so much fun doing the last portfolio rehash that I decided to do another one.

Back in 2013 I did a series of mouse illustrations. They were an experiment into using bolder colors and different materials. While I learned a lot from this phase of my illustration journey, it isn’t exactly representative of the kind of work I really want to be doing. Something just felt… off. So I posed the question to myself: can I re-do some of these pieces, and bring them to the next level?

Here are some of the things I liked about this piece:

1. This has a fun “hobbit hole” or “wind in the willows” feel to it
2. There are lots of charming details that enrich the mouse’s world
3. This is the sort of thing I would’ve loved when I was a kid

Here are some of the issues I defined:

1. The mouse lacks personality and narrative. He could be pushed to be a more robust character.
2. The piece feels stiff. It would be stronger with a looser, more painterly feel. (Easier said than done, am I right?)
3. The perspective is a little too extreme and is causing some distortion in the foreground. The high horizon line makes us feel a little distant–the exact opposite of the cozy moment I had in mind.
4. The stairwell behind the mouse is dark and ominous. I keep looking up those stairs waiting for something to creep in from behind. Not good.

The mouse’s lack of character was the biggest problem, so I went back to the drawing board and spent some time coming up with a simple story to add context: a little mouse goes on a wintertime visit to his grandfather’s house. With two mice, this cozy scene would be a perfect family moment.

I redesigned the piece with a round, egg-like composition in order to enhance the safety and stability of the scene. I made a special effort to keep things loose while still including many of the same details of the original. Cold pressed paper and a messier technique helped to add texture. Here’s the final result: (Click to enlarge.)

One of the most important qualities that an illustrator must develop is a critical eye to see room for improvement.  I went through my portfolio recently and found an illustration that had been there for ages, since the very beginning of my sojourn into illustration. It was originally an exercise for the weekly illustration challenge called “Illustration Friday.” The piece just wasn’t working with my portfolio anymore, but it had enough strong points to be worth a second look.

Here it is, in all its glory. Circa 2010.

Here are some of the things I liked about the piece:

1. The magician’s personality was unmistakable.
2. There was a lot of dynamic action.
3. The composition was fairly strong, with the character well framed by the window.

Here are some of the issues I identified:

1. Was this really a piece for a picture book? It seemed more like middle grade subject matter. It would be more appropriate in black and white, displayed in the middle grade gallery.
2. What exactly was the story here? An interaction between two characters would create more narrative.
3. There were several issues with the perspective and technique.

After my analysis, I decided to remake this piece using my black and white style. I chose a portrait format in order to enhance the drama of the magical ribbons. The open door in the background was the perfect place to add a young observer, someone to witness the magic. Here’s the final result:

Have you ever redone a piece in your portfolio? How did it work out?

Happy Halloween, from the creepy demon children. I hope that you have candy for them, because they don’t look very friendly.

Watercolor is an unforgiving medium, but it works so much better if you can paint with guts. Here are a few things I did to prepare for the final art and make sure I could paint big, brave washes and avoid overworking the paper.

1. Choose materials carefully

I splurged on my paper, settling on Fabriano 300 lb. Normally I like the texture of Cold Press, but this time I chose something called “Soft Press,” which is somewhere in between a hot and cold press. It held the paint beautifully, was smooth enough to accept colored pencil, and was thick enough that I didn’t even think about stretching it or taping it down. Here are all the materials I used to make the final art:

• Fabriano 300lb soft press paper
• Raphael #10 and #2 sable round brushes
• Synthetic flat brushes. Cheap, and they seem to do a fine job
• A variety of watercolor paint, by whatever brand was on sale at the time.
• Huge assortment of Prismacolor colored pencils
• Masking fluid (only when absolutely necessary, as it changes the texture of the paper a bit.)
• Aquacover liquid watercolor paper. This is essentially watercolor white-out. Sold in several shades that exactly match your paper. It was perfect for the pages with stars in the night sky.

2. Know what you’re doing ahead of time

Before I start my final art I like to prepare a bit in order to minimize disasters and wasted paper. If I wasn’t completely confident that I could complete the final without making a mistake, I painted a miniature version of the illustration first. It might sound time-consuming, but these mini-paintings were relatively quick to do and they gave me the chance to make mistakes in advance. When I sat down to do the final art, I felt confident about what I was doing, and I could relax and let the paint do what it does best. This was especially important because I was mailing the art to the publisher, and thus would not have the opportunity to just “fix it in Photoshop.”

Mini paintings!

3. Make friends with your water

They don’t call it watercolor for nothing. If things aren’t going well, you can try using more water. A lot of beginning watercolorists misinterpret this advice and end up using a whole lot of water with very little pigment, resulting in a weak, pastel painting. In order to get intense colors and dark shadows, it’s very important that the paint is damp before you start. I like to spray down the palette with a squirt bottle so that all the colors are ready to go.

I push myself constantly to make bigger, looser washes. Of course that’s not the only way to paint with watercolors, but I greatly admire artists who do it well. To get the feel for it I like to paint scraps of paper with random, loose splotches before diving into the final painting.

There are some great tutorials on Youtube that show various watercolor techniques. Milind Mulick is one of my favorites.

4. Don’t be afraid to experiment

For this project I decided to add colored pencil to the images to create extra texture, something I’d never done before. It allowed me to add light on dark–something impossible with watercolor alone–and gave the book a gentle softness that I thought would be nice for a bedtime story. But most of all it was a lot of fun to try something new.

Coming soon to a bookstore near you!

That wraps up my series on technique. Thanks for reading! Next week I’ll do another giveaway so be sure to check back then for a chance to win a signed copy of the book.

Other posts in the series:

• Part 1 – Getting Started
• Part 2 – Finding Harmony
• Part 3 – Devil’s in the Details
• Part 4 – Color Magic
• Part 5 – Painting with Guts

It’s Friday! According to the random number generator at random.org, the winner of the print is:

Congratulations, Anya! Email me with your address at jess (at) jessicalanan (dot) com. Thanks to everyone who participated, and have a great weekend.

Welcome to part four of my series on the making of The Story I’ll Tell. (Read down to the end of the post for the first print giveaway!) And now: color.

The Story I’ll Tell weaves a lyrical tapestry of fantasy and reality, and I wanted the palette of the illustrations to match the lush, dreamlike quality of the manuscript. I noticed early on that the story alternated between daytime and nighttime scenes, and I knew this would become an important element in the illustrations.

Reference images were the starting point. These Ukiyo-e prints were the inspiration for the blue nighttime pages. Matching the color was not a priority so much as capturing the mood of the image. I tied to imagine how it might feel, physically and emotionally, to step into these peaceful nighttime scenes.

Left: "Moonlight, Soochow," Elizabeth Keith, 1924. Right: "Moon at Arakawa River," Hasui Kawase, 1929.

Once I knew what I was going for, I made a detailed color study for each image Photoshop. I find this useful for getting the value range correct. (For those not familiar with art terminology, value is the measure of how light or dark something is. Not to be confused with saturation, which is a measure of how vivid the color’s hue is.) Ideally I want the illustrations to read just as clearly in black and white as they do in color, and good value organization is essential. Coloring an image in Photoshop is such a mindless activity that I listened to quite a few audiobooks during this phase. Then I made a full-color, printed dummy.

I ended up lightening the value of the background for the final art in order to make the figures more visible.

Finally, I painted color studies and chose an overall palette for the book. I wanted to use similar pigments throughout the book, and I needed a blue that could work either with a warm (daytime) or cool (nighttime) color palette. I tried quite a few combinations before I settled on Holbein’s French Ultramarine, Cadmium Yellow light, and Winsor Red, with other colors as needed. I went through a tube and a half of blue.

Experimentation is key

Okay, you’ve been waiting for it: it’s giveaway time! Leave a comment for a chance to win a giclée print from the book. (It has to be a real comment. If it’s about Louis Vuitton handbags or search engine optimization, I’ll delete it.) Winner will be announced this Friday, October 23. And if you don’t win this time, you’ll have another chance next week with my final installment in the series.

Coming up next: Painting with Guts! The final art, and how to avoid being wimpy with watercolor.

Other posts in the series:

• Part 1 – Getting Started
• Part 2 – Finding Harmony
• Part 3 – Devil’s in the Details
• Part 4 – Color Magic
• Part 5 – Painting with Guts

Eventually there comes a time when the artist must figure out all the things that are happily ignored during the thumbnail phase: perspective, anatomy, facial expression, and the nitty-gritty details that fill the world of the picture book. This can seem daunting, but there are plenty of steps one can take in order to make this easier.

1. Reference images

I’ve found that it’s well worth my time to make reference photos or sketches for the poses of my characters. Sometimes I had to be pretty creative to get the right angle and pose. For the balloon page, I needed to draw the mother from above, running and dropping firewood at the same time. I put on a dress, bought some firewood, and made my husband photograph me from the second story of our house. It took quite a few tries and a lot of yelling through the window before we got it right. I’m sure the neighbors thought I was crazy.

Yes, I'm wearing jeans under the dress. But it was snowing.

Models are another useful tool. They can be elaborate or simple. Sometimes a bit of modeling clay and a scrap of cloth was enough to get the right position:

Fabric scrap + modeling clay + bowl = hot air balloon baby. Please pardon my dirty window in the background.

2. Perspective

If you’re working with perspective, it’s important to get it right. A few errors can throw the whole illustration off. I often find that my vanishing points are inconveniently distant. There are more traditional ways to deal with this problem, but since I’m a modern gal I’ve taken to using Adobe Illustrator to figure it all out.

The simple and quick method is to open the rough sketch and draw lines for your horizon and vanishing points manually with the line tool. If you have something fancy going on like a wacky three-point perspective or lots of round objects, you can take advantage of the built in perspective tool. I used this for my balloon page, making sure that all the round objects were correctly proportioned:

It looks chaotic, but somehow made sense at the time.

3. Putting it all together

With the perspective lines overlaid on the rough sketch, I projected the whole thing onto a larger piece of paper as my guide for the final drawing, keeping the other reference images nearby. Here you can see the transition from thumbnail to final drawing to final art:

As you can see, the cat transformed into dad at some point along the way.

For more on this subject, I recommend the wonderful reference book by Dinotopia artist James Gurney, Imaginative Realism. If you’re not familiar with Gurney’s work, he is truly a master of his craft. The book worth a read for everyone, but is especially useful for illustrators working in more realistic styles. (No, I’m not cool enough to actually know Gurney personally and he did not ask me to promote his book. It’s just one of my favorite references.)

Coming up next: Adding the Magic –  Color and light!

Other posts in the series:

• Part 1 – Getting Started
• Part 2 – Finding Harmony
• Part 3 – Devil’s in the Details
• Part 4 – Adding the Magic
• Part 5 – Painting with Guts