Saturday was the annual San Francisco/South Bay SCBWI Annual conference and I was fortunate to have a chance to critique and comment on participants' portfolios. It was a super day and included talks by the wonderfully talented Melissa Sweet, melissasweet.net, Isabel Warren-Lynch from Random House, Melissa Manlove and Kristine Brogno from Chronicle Books. All were full of great information about publishing, writing and illustration. I wrote lots of notes, looked at some amazing portfolios and enjoyed a picture perfect San Francisco Day.
This is what I took away from the day:
Storytelling is everything. Your illustrations should intrigue the reader and make them want to know more about the characters and the action.
Think about the emotions of your characters. A happy character is less interesting. illustrate a character that is between emotions... happy to sad, confused to angry.
Show a range of emotions.
Details are great if they enhance the story, don't let them obscure what is happening.
I have illustrated a fair number of books, but it is always a good thing to be reminded of what makes a great book.
I think the above tips are going to appear on my studio walls!
Monday, September 30, 2013
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jane-feder/spooky-friends/
KIRKUS REVIEW
Vampire Scarlet and mummy Igor are very good friends. “The trouble was, they could never agree on anything.”
In the first chapter, the two friends’ interests rarely mesh. “If Igor wanted to read, Scarlet wanted to sing. If Scarlet wanted to nap, Igor wanted to dance. / When Igor made a tall tower, Scarlet made it short.” It comes as no surprise that they want different kinds of sandwiches when it’s time for a snack. Alternating shouts for “gooseberry jelly” and “chestnut butter” grow increasingly louder until the friends hit upon the obvious solution. The second chapter finds them heatedly debating what name would be perfect for their pet cat’s new kitten. When they discover a litter of eight, all the names they have come up with are put to good use. The final chapter is one of artistic differences. After an art duel that produces colorful shapes and a “tree with branches,” they arrange their separate pieces to form a lovely display that has one last blank spot. Readers will cheer when they see how the two buddies have filled it. Feder masterfully employs repetition of the more challenging words throughout the perfectly paced text, while Downing charmingly captures every mercurial emotion in the detailed ballpoint pen, watercolor and digital illustrations.
Move over, Frog and Toad, to make room for this delightful new title. (Early reader. 5-8)
In the first chapter, the two friends’ interests rarely mesh. “If Igor wanted to read, Scarlet wanted to sing. If Scarlet wanted to nap, Igor wanted to dance. / When Igor made a tall tower, Scarlet made it short.” It comes as no surprise that they want different kinds of sandwiches when it’s time for a snack. Alternating shouts for “gooseberry jelly” and “chestnut butter” grow increasingly louder until the friends hit upon the obvious solution. The second chapter finds them heatedly debating what name would be perfect for their pet cat’s new kitten. When they discover a litter of eight, all the names they have come up with are put to good use. The final chapter is one of artistic differences. After an art duel that produces colorful shapes and a “tree with branches,” they arrange their separate pieces to form a lovely display that has one last blank spot. Readers will cheer when they see how the two buddies have filled it. Feder masterfully employs repetition of the more challenging words throughout the perfectly paced text, while Downing charmingly captures every mercurial emotion in the detailed ballpoint pen, watercolor and digital illustrations.
Move over, Frog and Toad, to make room for this delightful new title. (Early reader. 5-8)
Friday, June 14, 2013
Creston Books
Here is a sneak peek at the art I am doing for Creston Books. The book is scheduled for Spring 2014.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Scarlet and Igor
Pub date is July 31, 2013, just in case you want a jump on Halloween!
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