Cool Character Needs Story

I am a character driven children's book author. I'll draw a character and say, "I like this guy. I wonder who he is, what he does?" Then I hunt for the right concept or story to pair with the character. It occurs to me, this might be backwards. Maybe story or concept should come first, and characters after.

How do you write your stories?

Illustrator Advice : SCBWI Austin Take Aways

Take aways from art directors and editors at the Austin Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators conference:

1. They still really love postcards. They called them one of the best ways to get your work in front of them. (They hang them on their doors and bulletin boards. Don't be discouraged if you don't hear back right away. They told the story of one illustrator whose card hung on a door for almost two years before getting a gig.)

2. Make it easy for them to see the work on your site and to download your images. Example of not ideal, they described hunting through tiny thumbnails to find an illustrators best work.

CSJennings.com (my site) is not currently user friendly in either of those ways. Redesign quickly being instituted (which was underway, but not with the urgency it now has).

Finally, in my experience, the best way to get published is A-to-B. Go where the book pro's are. SCBWI conferences are great for that. Schedule portfolio reviews, etc.

Why I work in a signature style.

From a friend: "My son came running to me at the library, book in hand, asking, 'Isn't this the guy you know?' He was holding a copy of Jacob Wonderbar! My son knows your work, even if he can't ever remember names!"

In short, my style is my brand.

My Production Tools

my tools.

My color is digital, but my line is analog, hand drawn graphite.

Pencils: .3, .5 & .7. Butter soft B lead. Non-repro blue. Erasers. (I dig the electric eraser for detailed erasing.)

Why mechanical pencils? They let me draw on the fly. No sharpening. Can turn the pencil for varying line weights.  The Pentel Kerry (< link to Amazon), best I've encountered.

Here's a sample of what my drawing looks like when it is scanned. In Photoshop I make the art black and white and then use levels to get rid of any artifacts of the blue. These are the scientists from Jacob Wonderbar and the Space Kapow. (Dial Books, May 2011).

graphite & non-photo blue