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I got to sit down with Lin Oliver, SCBWI's Executive Director, and learn why the new Illustrator's Marketing Intensive coming up on the Friday before the full 2012 SCBWI Winter Conference isn't just going to be great - it's going to be essential.
You can register now for the Illustrator's Marketing Intensive and the whole Lucky 13th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference!
Hope to see you there,
Namaste,
Lee
Illustrators attending the conference today can spend each of their three breakout sessions with a real live art director. Let me know if you want me to pinch you all, because this is definitely a dream come true.
There're two pre-conference interviews for
Lucy Ruth Cummins and
Denise Cronin already, and here we have one for Patti Ann Harris! Give Patti Ann the thumb's up or a high five if you see her—she art directed recent Caldecott Honor winner DAVE, THE POTTER.
 |
| Also art directed by Patti Ann |
Jaime: What's your average day like?
Patti Ann: I have to say that there really isn't an average day at the office. Each day is a mix of meetings with editors, phone calls with illustrators, updates with designers, it's a pretty full day. My challenge is always to carve out some quiet time to design and work on my books. There are a few titles each season that I work on from start to finish. Oftentimes, I get a book up and running, sometimes working through the sketch phase or finalizing the details on a new format. Book publishing is a collaborative art and that collaboration has always inspired me. I'm lucky to work with an amazingly talented and dedicated group of designers and editors, so the work day is anything but average. Jaime: Are you currently acquiring illustrators?
Patti Ann: I can't say that there is a specific style of illustration that I'm interested in. I think I'm more drawn to a strong character or a unique point of view. That's what I respond to most in illustration. I also love to see different media explored like letterpress printing, collage or any blending of traditional medium with digital to invent something new and exciting.Jaime: Would you like to give us a hint of what your conference session topic will be?
Patti Ann: I'll be giving an overview of the novelty and picture books that we publish at Little, Brown. Our list has a great variety of books that range from cloth and board books for babies, pop-ups, and other fun novelties to more traditional picture books. I'd like to share some themes and subjects that I think resonate. My goal is to help open up illustrators to the many possibilities in book publishing.Jaime: What's your favorite children's book cover of 2010 (not done by your publishing house)?
Patti Ann: The Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood illustrated by Renata Liwska
Only a handful of the attending illustrators have had their artwork licensed, but 99% would like to know how to make that happen. You might remember Suzanne Cruise from when she spoke on licensing a few years ago. But Penny Sikalis is a new-to-SCBWI presenter from Surtex with a really fabulous offer for all the illustrators at today's panel. FREE BADGE to the Gift Fair happening this weekend at Javits Center,—thanks, Penny!
First, Penny went over the absolute basics of art licensing:
- Art Licensing = Legal permission given to a manufacturer to produce and sell products using your art for a fee
- Artist = Licensor
- Manufacturer = Licensee
Initial steps to get into licensing? Research, research, research!
- Take classes
- Visit trade shows
- Look at types of products and companies that sell these products and start a list
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| from http://cococakecupcakes.blogspot.com/2009/03/hungry-caterpillar-cupcake-party-train.html |
Usually the best style/type of art for licensing is flat, in color, in collections
(A collection is approximately six or more images of the same central character (like a snowman) with coordinating patterns, spot art, color schemes, secondary characters, and with multiple sketches of the central character), and mainstream.
If you can draw a character, you can license your art.
Major Categories of products that need art (subcategories not listed) apparel, craft/hobby, bedding, gift, home decor, publishing, stationery, tabletop (dishes, etc.), textiles, bath.
Your goal as an artist is to license the same piece of art to different manufacturers of different types of products so that you can get paid multiple times for that one piece. Something you can't do with one piece of bubble gum, one kitten*, or one copy of nuclear weapons blueprints.
Seventy-five percent of the Surtex show (SURface Trade EXpo) is devoted to art licensing.
Links: http://www.artlicensinginfo.com, LinkedIn art licensing group, and surtex.com's monthly e-newsletter called On the Surface for more tips on getting started in art licensing.
*You might be able to license a kitten, I really don't know.
A note to all those not attending this year's conference: I am sorry, we wish you were here.
Maybe you would like some sensory details of this morning's intensives?
SEE: It might be hard to tell from the photo, but the ballrooms are decorated in Shabby Chic Bug Cocoon. Or like we are in a really fashionable beehive. Or nostril. I think we made all these jokes last year.
HEAR: Another conference going on here concurrently that does a lot of applauding and singing of the national anthem.
TOUCH: SCREEN! Lots of App talk for the Illustrators Intensive.
SMELL: This morning there was delicious free coffee, fresh bagels and loads of shmears. But then there was also this plate of onions.
TASTE: Unless you ate the onions and can only taste old onion, most everyone else is tasting POSSIBILITY! Which tastes like a cross between cotton candy and Four Loko.
No, really, feedback on your manuscripts in the Writers Intensive and groovy insights into app-making, licensing and beyond the book topics for illustrators is making for a truly invigorating Friday that we wish you were here for, too.
We all love
Dan Yaccarino's work. His books, his cartoons, his puzzles, his pajamas, his new line of hams available at Costco.
Dan shares examples of how he's taken his book art beyond books and gives hints on how illustrators can make that happen in their own careers.
For most things—plush toys, games, stationery—those beyond-the-book items are really only an option after a book has come out, sold well, and art licenses are picked up by different manufacturers or the publisher.
Dan says consider making your own promotional items, like at cafe press, to get the ball rolling.
We know Dan has awesome cartoons, but how do you get started in that? You attend the animation equivalent of an SCBWI conference,
KidScreen Summit. |
| from Good Night, Mr. Night |
Dan talked briefly about good self-promotion for illustrators, he thinks post cards are still a great way to get your art in front of the people that matter, cards often having a longer shelf life than an image in an email. A website and/or blog that conveys your personality is also key for illustrators. For those with books out, he recommended making your own book trailers using iMovie and royalty free assets. Simple is always best, though, let the work shine through.
 |
| from Every Friday |
His number one piece of promotion advice: PROMOTE THE WORK YOU WANT TO GET.
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| from the forthcoming All the Way to America |
What's Dan working on now? He's got a chapter book in the works, one that he's both written and illustrated. And in addition to new picture books and new TV show ideas he's got a great a new line of Yaccari
Our morning started off with a welcome from Cecilia Yung, SCBWI Board Member and AD and VP at Penguin. This year's intensive is a different format and focus from previous years. BEYOND BOOKS: Picture Books and the New Media. There are no hands-on art workshops or art director round tables today, but lots of exciting discussions concerning art licensing and apps with plenty of time for questions from the audience.
 |
| One of Cecilia's books for Putnam, written and illustrated by SCBWI member Jesse Joshua Watson |
Cecilia prepped us for the tone of the day:
Viable ideas with always thrive, survive and multiply in different forms and formats. We are not here to argue digital vs. print, we are here to talk about picture books and the visual opportunities presented by all these forms.
She urged us to imagine completely new concepts, completely new artwork that will take advantage of all the new formats available today.
Ladies Who Lead - Priscilla Burris, Pat Cummings, Cecilia Yung
Surprise drop in by our own superhero, Lin Oliver!
Kevin Hawkes making the rounds
He's showing off past books and portfolio pieces!
Here he is with his wicked big toddler. Kevin's going to tell us how to stand out from the thousands of other illustrator samples in an art director's flat file.
Posted by Jaime
Lisa Desimini might not be human. I think she might be a sponge. She soaks up EVERYTHING. Lisa's got an amazing background story of how she got to where she is and that includes scanning every material under the sun for use in her collages.
Few of my favorite words and images from Lisa's talk, but you need to check this lady out in person if possible:
After Lisa's first few illustration jobs doing picture books and book covers, her editor asked her if she also wrote and Lisa said, "Nooooo!"
But after being asked that question Lisa went home and started writing and fell in love with it. Now she illustrates her own books, but equally loves illustrating for others still, too.
Lisa stresses "Always do personal work. Don't do it and worry if it is publishable and don't do it because you are trying to practice a new style for your illustration." Just make art to make art and have fun. Lisa promises if you don't force it, "It will always find its way into your professional work."
Lisa showed slides of her many books and how they came to be, my favorite story being the one behind THE SNOWFLAKE SISTERS. Set in New York, the book was done shortly after September 11th and is a love story to her favorite city. The super brilliant part: All of the images of New York in the book are made with stuff from New York. Lisa collected garbage off the street, city maps, New York Times crosswords, matchbooks, and even taxi receipts and turned those into fantastic city scenes:
Lisa's got the Intensive doing a fantastic exercise right now based on our homework. She is very animated in person and the best photo I can get is this:
Today was a very fun filled day as I arrived on the Princeton Theological Seminary Campus this rainy morning for our illustrator's intensive workshop. I finally was able to officially meet two members from my critique group, wonderful ladies Penny Weber and Deb Cuneo. We split off into 2 groups of 10 for our critique. I was in Tim Gillner's group of Boyds Mill Press. Everyone brought with them a preassigned illustration in which we were given the opportunity to submit a sketch to the art director and have him make comments before bringing in the final art to the conference. I chose the story Piggy Wiglet, a manuscript about a little piggy who decides he is
going to leave his pen, go out the barn, and into the city in an attempt to catch the sun. This is my first sketch for submission.
Afterwards I received these comments from Tim:
" Hi Christina,
Nice sketch,
I love the expressions on the cows. I am having a problem with the goose. It seems to be lost up there and it seems to be too far away from the text. I am not sure what to do here. Here are a couple thoughts which may or may not work.
1. Move the barn to the left into the valley to isolate the goose and move the piggy a little to the right.
Or
2. See attached PDF. I just moved these around. you may have to change position and direction. This is just to give you an idea. ------------->
3. Leave as is.
You can do another sketch and send it to me or just make the correction when you do the final. It is up to you.
Best,
Tim
After reviewing these comments I then went along to the final deciding to take his advice from the PDF he had played around with.
It was finally my turn for a critique as I waited with anticipation second from last. Tim said "that it actually turned out a lot better than I thought it was going to be from the sketch" in which I responded "Thanks......I think". I smiled though because I knew this was a good thing for my finished piece! The grass may be too dark Tim said but can easily be fixed in photoshop. A few fellow illustrators also commented that perhaps I can add in a grass hill at the bottom of the barn to give it more of a rolling hills feel. Also a nice suggestion was that perhaps if the cows back is continued to the edge than it would take away that negative space in the upper left corner and, in turn drag your eye closer to the pig. (You can cover the upper left corner with your thumb and squint one eye to understand what I mean.)
I also learned some very valuable information such as it is always a good question to ask a publisher if your book will be using "perfect binding" in which they glue the spine of your book and you actually lose 3/16 " so it is wise in this case to add more illustration room to the gutter. Additionally, interactive websites are not always a good idea since the art director wants to just get to your work as soon as possible since their time is precious. This also includes seperating your portfolio into educational, picture book, and advertising categories so they can use their time more efficiently to see the types of portfolio pieces they would be interested in. Also the Highlights Foundation offers two workshops for illustrators in which you can apply for a scholarship to attend!
I then had a lovely lunch and was able to sit with a number of illustrators from critique group and was also able to have a little group chat with Scott Piehl of Disney's Group for Young Readers. I was also able to see my good college friend and fellow illustrator Olga Levitskiy.
The rest of the day was packed with wonderful presentations and inspirational speeches by Newbury Award Winner Richard Peck and award winning illustrator of 48 picture books E.B. Lewis. He explained when an artist struggles to find their voice and said "the artist is never supposed to be aware of their style- someone else comes in and recognizes the work. We are just producing." He also explained the difference between an illustrator and a fine artist. He said, " the illustrator is solving someone else's problem and a fine artist is solving a philosophical question for themself." I also admired his remark that "artists are the critical thinkers of society."
Overall is an informative, fun filled day and I can't wait to go back and see what's in store for tomorrow!
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0 Comments on Conference Interview with Little, Brown AD Patti Ann Harris as of 1/29/2011 9:07:00 AM
It is nice to come back and use the blog as a review after attending the actual talk! Some of the things I missed scribbling down are there and you have great visuals that weren't a part of the original presentation. Great Job!
Kirsten