On My Mind

The Sketchy Stage – when I feel most like an author and illustrator

Filed under: Illustration,Lessons of an Artist,My Books,On My Mind,Sketchbook | April 7, 2024

My January-March was packed full of racing to finish up final art for SMASH, CRASH, TOPPLE, ROLL (a book about Rube Goldberg, written by Catherine Thimmesh) and 12 school visits in three states! I got to visit the wide-open rolling hills of northeast Missouri and several little new-to-me towns in Georgia and South Carolina. 

Ben (husband) can work anywhere, so he goes with me when it’s more than just a day trip. It’s great. He drives :) And our girls and pup get to live it up with my mom (Didi) who is much cooler than me. 

Now I’m back home … April begins … it’s a little calmer, and it’s time to start a new book project… Anything is possible at this stage. It’s when I feel most like an author and illustrator. 

I spend some mornings at Barrel House Coffee shop sketching thumbnails (small loose images) of the whole book, LILIBET MAKES A FRIEND, by Kersten Hamilton. And while I make decisions about which words should fall on which pages and what the images on those pages might look like, I also listen… 

A group of men gather at a table next to me, talk about the best way to make hummus, and how one of them renders some sort of building plans at no charge for fun. They talk a little about politics and new things coming to our little town, even though they are “not at liberty to say”. 

Another group forms around another table. They’re local real estate agents and insurance people. They brainstorm ways they can work together to navigate the tough market. And it occurs to me that we’re ALL just trying our very best to make it in this world, battling imposter syndrome or interest rates. 

I love working at the coffee shop. It reminds me that I’m a part of a community and I’m an author-illustrator in that community. I’m not alone in the struggle of life and work and trying to be something. Many things feel possible. I am creative, fluid, and imperfectly lovely … just like my sketches. 

I Talk About My Mistake on The Lil’ Leaders Podcast

After my last post about making a big, embarrassing art mistake in Little Red and the Big Bad Editor, I was invited to talk about it on The Lil’ Leaders Podcast!

T-Bone the Drone Update

Publisher Little, Brown recently informed me that my book, T-Bone the Drone, is sold out in the warehouse but, unfortunately, they are not going to print more. Soon, T-Bone will only be available as an e-book. So snag a physical copy before they’re all gone! Amazon, BN.com, and Read It Again still have a few. 

I’ll always love my little drone book and how excited kids get when they discover Charlotte, Doll-E, and Blutooth (from DOLL-E 1.0) are a part of this story too!

Pencil Pusher schedule changes…

I’m elated that so many classrooms and families are enjoying the Pencil Pusher newspaper for kids! This newspaper is a project of my heart and I want to continue to make it the best it can be. So I’m changing up the sending schedule a bit to fit us all better. Starting now, schools/classrooms/libraries will receive 2 issues per year (Fall & Spring) and individuals/families will receive 3 issues per year (Fall, Spring, AND a summer edition with surprise stickers)!

Just a schedule change. There’s no need to do anything. But if you’re not already signed up, you can do that at the link above, or if you need to change your subscription for any reason, email me at theshanda@yahoo.com.

Friends with New Books!

Shelli Johannes co-wrote and recently released the Farm Friends series! (Think STEM + agriculture, early readers).

Bethanie Merguia’s Wagnificent (a young middle-grade graphic novel about Sage and her dog, Thunder, who juggles with being a perfect pet and a wild animal from wolf ancestry) comes out in July! Preorder and get a cool set of stickers too. 

Vicky Fang’s 3rd in her Best Buddies series just dropped! This series is a favorite of my cousin, Paisley (age 7)!

Kristen Tubb’s Fowl Play (middle-grade novel) will be hitting shelves in July!

Shannon Anderson’s newest picture book, B is for Belonging, comes out in August!

Jannie Ho has illustrated the second early graphic novel in the Fry Guys series! This “punny” book comes out in October!

McCall Hoyle’s middle-grade novel, Millie, just released! This book is the 3rd book in her beloved dog “series”.

Randi Sonenshine’s 3rd book in her Built Series, The Den that Octopus Built comes out in May!

It took three years to publish this book

Filed under: Events,Gifting Books,My Books,On My Mind,Shanda's Journey | September 1, 2022

It takes sooo long for a book to go from deal to release day. I signed the contract to illustrate this book in March of 2019. At that time, we had never heard of covid, and we still wouldn’t be affected by it for another year! And when it did hit the US, I was in the middle of working on this book. The world shut down in March 2020.

It was weird. All of a sudden, I couldn’t get in contact with the publisher. Months and months went by in silence. But I just kept working. I didn’t know what else to do.

Eventually, the publisher reached out and said that Little Red would need to publish later than originally expected, which was fine with me. And here we are!

LITTLE RED AND THE BIG BAD EDITOR releases on Tuesday, Sept 6th! I hope you consider ordering a copy (or two) from my favorite indie bookstores below.

If you order at least two books, Little Shop of Stories will ship for FREE! And with the holidays coming up, consider purchasing 2 copies of LITTLE RED AND THE BIG BAD EDITOR (one for your family and one for your child’s teacher/classroom).

If you fancy SIGNED (by me) copies, then definitely place your order of LITTLE RED AND THE BIG BAD EDITOR with Read It Again Books! Be sure to request that it be “signed by Shanda” in the notes section of the order.

If you’d like to come see me in person (because I sure want to see you) I’ll be at the Decatur Book Festival on October 1st with Little Shop of Stories and then with Read It Again Books for a fun family launch event on October 8th!

Graphic Novels: A Brain Workout

Filed under: Book Reviews,For Teachers,Growing Up Reading,On My Mind | July 1, 2022

I didn’t grow up reading comics. I am a new lover of the comic medium. When I found stories AND informational books in comic form, I fell in love.

But it wasn’t super easy to read at first. My brain was used to reading prose, so it took me a minute each time I opened a graphic novel to recalibrate to this form of reading. Kids seem to read comics so effortlessly, but my adult brain can tell you that there’s a lot going on up there when you read a graphic novel!

Have you (grown ups) tried one yet? I’m telling you – it’s a great brain workout!

And I’m not just making this stuff up…

“Traditional text is limited to presenting the same information sequentially. But when we read comics, we simultaneously interpret a multitude of visual information such as setting, mood, time, emotion, dialogue, and action.” (Read the full article here.)

My Favorite Informational Comics:

My Favorite Story Comics:

Grownups, I hope you’ll try a graphic a graphic novel THIS summer! If you do, you’ll appear much cooler (than you already are) to the kids in your life!

If you are already a reader of graphic novels, what’s YOUR favorite one to date? Comment below! I’d love to know.

Life is NUTS!

Filed under: Art Lessons,Lessons of an Artist,On My Mind,Shanda's Journey | June 15, 2017

So Much has happened … good AND bad and the reason for my posting gap …

 

I got an agent! – Very good.

November of 2015, I participated in a twitter pitch event called #PBPitch. Participants write up a VERY short pitch of their picture book work-in-progress and if an agent wants you to submit it to them, they “favorite” your post. I got 10 favorites that day! But one agent in particular took the time to email me separately and state that she really looked forward to seeing my work closer. That effort made me feel like she really liked it. She was the only agent I sent it to that week. And that’s how I found Erica Rand Silverman! Turns out, she’s the perfect agent for me! (She’s cool even if you cry which is MUST-have to be my agent :)

 

I got LASIK – Very very bad.

My life changed on February 19, 2016. Because I had LASIK. Yep. That “easy” surgery that’s a “miracle” called LASIK. Well, for most it is a miracle, but it was a tragedy for me. I haven’t even been able to write about it until now – over a year later – and I’m still not out of the woods. My eyes reacted unpredictably to the surgery, probably because of unknown underlying auto immunity in my body. My eyes were so dry for months, I could barely open them and when I did, the vision was a blurry mess. I can’t think of much worse for an artist aside of losing your drawing hand. Then as I was just starting to see some improvement in my sight, I suddenly was afflicted with HUNDREDS of floaters in my eyes that swirled around (and still do) at every eye movement.  I had developed uveitis which in my case is a chronic auto-immune inflammation of the uvea in the eyes. Without steroids, I would eventually go blind. But steroids have their own issues. As months passed, my clarity improved but it’ll never be as sharp as it once was before the surgery. I’ve seen so many eye doctors. And now I have developed cataracts from the steroids. And that’s where I stand now. My vision is starting to cloud up. Hopefully I can remove the cataracts safely with another surgery soon. And I’m hopeful that after that, I can be well enough to undergo a last surgery to remove the many many floaters. From this, I sprouted some scary anxiety that on one occasion landed me at the hospital. Anti-anxiety medicine was a life line, literally. And I’m still very reliant on it as I continue this health journey. The bad news is that I gained 30 pounds since starting this medication, but it’s life (and be bigger for now) or death. Sounds extreme, but it’s true unfortunately.

Also Erica held on, encouraged me, and waited for me to get better.

 

I got a book deal! – Very very good.

But in the middle of all this tragedy (early this year), something AMAZING happened. Erica submitted my book to a handful of publishers and 4 BIG publishers wanted it! It went to auction and sold to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in a 2 book deal! A. Dream. Come. True. I can’t even.

 

I did the job! – very very very good.

I was very nervous about illustrating my book through vision issues, but God stayed near me. There’s no other explanation. This very week I’m working through a final tweaks list and then it’ll be a done deal! I have been so honored to work with Andrea Spooner, Hallie Tibbetts, Jen Keenan, and Saho Fujii at Little, Brown!  I couldn’t have imagined a more wonderful first experience! (I think my medicine helped me deal with this good stress better too.)

 

I’m still standing! – very good!

I’ve never thought of myself as very strong, but I still can’t believe what I’ve gotten through this past year. Good and bad. I’ll continue to trust the Lord. I’m sure I’ll still mourn my loss of perfect vision for a long time, but I know God will deliver me to the other side of sorrow soon. He has already thrown me many lines of hope that I hold onto with all my strength.

 

I have the sweetest husband ever! – so good.

Through this, I’ve seen the love my husband has for me. I knew he loved me before, but I REALLY know now. He carried us when I couldn’t rise from the bed or take care of our girls from depression. He never got angry at me or asked me to “get it together” or “man up” or anything like that. He got it together and manned up in my place. He just loved me. He never lets go of our hope for normalcy again one day. He has tirelessly talked with me over and over reminding me of the hope I have in healing, good doctors, and a career ahead of me. He’s such a good man and daddy. He saved me.

 

Moving onward!

So now I’ve finally written this down. Whew. I hope to be posting happy updates soon. Until then, I’ll keep on truckin’.

 

They say the best story is when a character is faced with the most awful thing that could happen to them, and then we see them grow and overcome it. That’s my hope.

Life is NUTS!

-Shanda

 

P.S. My debut picture book Doll-E 1.0 publishes Spring 2018 by Little, Brown!

P.S.S. I don’t recommend LASIK :)

 

My Favorite Childhood Robot!

Filed under: On My Mind,Shanda's Journey | April 3, 2015

wonder

This is Vicki, my all-time favorite robot character from the 80’s tv show “Small Wonder”! They say the best material anyone has to pull from (for writing children’s books) is from one’s own childhood. As a kid, I thought this was SO COOL to watch. Maybe it’s why I wrote a robot picture book as an adult!

It’s interesting and deep to think about what makes you care about something…even though you know its not human or even an animal.

I get a little teary-eyed when I think about moving my family out of our home that we’ve lived in from the beginning of our marriage. This house sheltered us from so many storms, we raised our babies here, we dreamed our dreams here. I know the house isn’t human, but I can’t help but imagine it feeling like we were abandoning it if we left. It would be sad. I’d probably drive by and check on it periodically to see if the new owners were taking care of it, not that I could do anything about it, but it would feel good if I knew the house was being loved like it deserves. Isn’t it strange that I think those thoughts? Do you care about anything like that?

The new movie, Interstellar, explores this idea of machinery and humanity too!

It’s definitely something for character creators to think about no matter if you are drawing them or writing about them. Your characters are (usually)  not really real, and furthermore, they might be inanimate objects. So, what does a character need to do, say or look like to be loved by the readers?

I dazzled my four-year-old with this show today! The episodes are on Youtube. She can’t wait to watch another episode tomorrow. Go ahead and relive the magic too…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48WCJ84z7vw

Books Are Babies Too!

Filed under: On My Mind | September 10, 2014

photo 2

Strange little drawing of a book-baby.

We often hear writers and illustrators refer to their books as their babies, but after just recently having my second “real” baby, I can see that this is REALLY true!

 

For example…

How exciting! You’re pregnant! What will this little one be like? Dream. Dream. Dream. (Your idea incubates and grows in your heart and head).

Then one day it’s time… to struggle, to cry, to fight and labor to get it out! (Writing the first draft)

Finally she’s born! You are so happy, she’s perfect. You did it! Joy joy joy! (First draft is done!)

Then … comes the torture. You realize this isn’t so awesome. What were you thinking?! You’ve made a huge mistake. No sleep, no schedule, no life, and so many diaper changes! (You read it again, it stinks. Rework, rework and rework. Edit and edit after endless edit.)

Then one day…She smiles at you! (You see a glimmer of hope again in your manuscript.) It’s changed a lot. Oh yeah, this is why I went through all that. It might just be worth the pain. She really is pretty cute :)

Then you keep raising her as best as you can. And it takes a village to raise a child as they say. (Husband, friend, critique group, agent, editor… ).

You feel so unfit to do this job. But you keep going because it’s the task that’s been given to you. No one can be a better mom to this kid than you can. (No one can write your story but you.) So you keep going…. (Doubting your story, doubting your calling, you never knew how much work this would be! But you’ve put in too much to quit now.)

Some days will stink. (Rejections.) Some will bring you so much joy. (Requests!)

You’ll take her to story time and play group. You’ll introduce her to the guitar, let her try art lessons, or dance classes to help her figure out who she is. Turns out, she loves to dance! Her dance instructor may see some real talent in her and even ask her to join the company. (An agent takes you on.)

You’ll always be her biggest fan :)

And hopefully…

She’ll grow up into a lovely person (a good book) because of your labor of love. Someone may even tell you that you’ve done a an outstanding job raising her. Maybe a great college or company wants your kid on their team and takes a chance on her (Your book gets published!)

And even though it was a tough journey and being published is awesome…

you’ll probably miss the days when your baby was little… (the process :)

 

 

-Shanda

 

Lesson #8: Real Paint Soothes the Soul

Filed under: Illustration,On My Mind,Sketchbook | March 6, 2014

color_image by Shanda McCloskey

 

Something has been missing for me lately. I’m not quite sure what it is, but I think it might be real paint. Not that I was ever a master painter, but it bothers me that I’ve gotten so far from painting since I’ve tried working digitally. I’m feeling like I should bring some paint back into my work somehow, at least in the backgrounds.  The Ladybug Girl series is a beautiful example of watercolor backgrounds with flatter characters on top. So is Winnie the Pooh, and some Calvin and Hobbs. I’m not sure to what extent I can do this, but I’m willing to start experimenting. I’d like illustrating to feel good. Lately it has been a real struggle in my heart. Most of what I create, I hate. Is that normal? I hear it’s normal to make more mistakes that triumphs, but it’s getting ridiculous!

I understand why someone would quit now. It’s a roller-coaster ride for your mind, heart, eyes, and brain for what seems like it should be so simple. Ha! Not simple for me!

I couldn’t sleep last night so I put some watercolor down on paper, scanned it, and put it behind a character I drew. Something about it is sort of nice. Next I’d like to try a real scene with characters interacting and details of the setting. Hopefully, I’m on the right track.

Headed to NYC today!

Filed under: Illustration,On My Mind,Shanda's Journey,Sketchbook,Uncategorized | February 20, 2014

Right now, I am sitting in the Atlanta airport waiting on my flight to New York City to attend my first SCBWI national conference.  I have my love, Ben, beside me, which is nice. He works in New York often, so it was awesome that we could travel together!

ny14scbwi

I have always dreamed of attending the NYC SCBWI conference, although now that I’m headed there today, things aren’t exactly as I imagined them being. Not a bad thing, just different, because (if you didn’t know already) I am 5 months pregnant with another precious girl! And I feel really great these days, so I knew I had to seize this opportunity before I have a newborn in my life again :)  I also got to experience a full body pat down for the first time at the airport! I didn’t want to walk through the x-ray scanner being pregnant and all. The lady really explored my maternity pants. I guess you could really hide some stuff in all that extra stretchy fabric!

February has been a busy, packed month preparing for this adventure. My to-do list looked almost impossible for the month of February (March will be the same way), but I did everything! It’s amazing what a little planning can do. Here’s a little bit of what I was working on for this trip:

 

Illustrating a mandatory assignment for the illustrator’s intensive…

Research:

snowwhite_research

Thumbnails:
snow_thumbnails
Character sketches:
snowwhite_sketch
Layout Sketches:
snowsketch
snow_sketch2
Value Study:
value
Color:Snow White by Shanda McCloskey

Preparing my portfolio for the Portfolio Showcase… (I am really looking forward to seeing other’s portfolios and how they crafted and organized them.)

portfolio

It also helped that my 3-year-old started a little preschool program this month. So, for 2 mornings each week I had work time to myself, and it was really fun to see HJ discover school, have a Valentine party, overcome some shyness and anxiety, learn about frogs, learn to write her name, choose a packed lunch or what the other kids were having, and be picked for a table cleaning job. This was all stuff she told me about when I pick her up after lunch.  I also can’t forget about the help and support I have from my mom, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law when it comes to HJ. She is one loved little girl, and I know she’ll be happy and safe all weekend (having 3 different slumber parties with them) while I’m gone.

supermanI miss her though! 5 days is the longest I have ever been apart from her. I know she’ll be just fine, but it feels really strange still. We found PINKY, the owl, in our bed this morning :)  So, I brought her with me!

pinky
Okay, here we go!

What I’ve been up to…

Filed under: Events,Illustration,On My Mind,Shanda's Journey | October 30, 2013

Man, the past few weeks have spun me around! Here’s the list in order of the craziness…

titlepage

 

1. First of all, I vowed to myself that I wouldn’t attend another writing/illustrating conference without a book dummy! So, for 2 months I tweaked my best story, Dollie 1.0, and prepared a sample dummy for the WIK Southern Breeze SCBWI conference in Birmingham, AL. I learned SO VERY much during the dummying process! So much, that once I finished the dummy for the conference, I knew it was just a place holder for much work still needed on it. A little disheartening, but I’m growing tougher. I am still a work-in-progress and so is my book. But it was great to lay even a work-in-progress dummy beside my portfolio display. Definitely a step up in the right direction.

spread1_2 spread2

 

2. The Birmingham conference was nice and familiar territory. But this time I went with a few of my writing group homies! 2-night stay in a hotel and all :)

group

 

3. After the conference, I got some wonderful feedback on my story/dummy from this writing group as well as from Author/Illustrator, Sarah Francis Hardy. Now, I’m about to rework the entire story to focus my message more. I love pulling together the framework of a story. It’s the stringing together of words that intimidates me.

4. We had a Friends Family Pumpkin Carving Shin Dig!

photo 1 copy

spider cookie

5. Ball Ground Public Library asked me to fill their display cases with my artwork to share it with the community! I sure do love my local library and the people there. It is a cool opportunity, so I took it!

photo 3 copy

photo 2 copy

6. I helped my mom (NuMe Natural Soap) prepare for the Country Living Fair in Atlanta, GA. She makes natural soap. I helped build displays, wrap soaps in fabric, paint signs, and think strategically, etc. It was a great weekend, and a beautiful distraction!

fairpass photo 4 setup

7. Then I had a scissor accident! I cut a tiny tip of my finger off while cutting string for soap wrapping. You know, I try to do do something nice…

photo 5

8. I sent out a new set of postcards to art directors. Who the heck knows if they ever catch anyone’s eye?! But my options are limited until I have a killer book dummy/dummies to send out.

9. I’m trying to sketch more each day. I joined DOODLE DAY on Facebook for some inspiration and prompts.

Spooky
photo 3

10. I’m registered to participate in Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo)! Where I vowed to come up with 30 picture book ideas in 30 days… should be interesting.

piboidmo2013-participant-214x131
11. And now I’m getting back to my blog! I hope to have a new “A Picture Book & A Project” post soon!

12. Last but not least… I signed up to attend my first National SCBWI conference in New York City in February 2014! This is a huge step for me. I know I will leave with a sense of where to go from here. Benny is going with me! He works with a company located across the street from the conference venue. Cool, right?!

Homepage-banners_conf1

So, that’s what I’ve been up to, but I’m eager to get back to a steady work routine to pump out work… great work I hope.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN with HJ’s pumpkin! I think it’s pretty cute.
photo 2

-Shanda

 

 

Lesson #4: Attempt Being Friends with Technology

Filed under: Growing Up Artsy,Illustration,Lessons of an Artist,On My Mind,Shanda's Journey,Sketchbook | June 27, 2013

Work in progress… painting in Photoshop.

Work in progress. Painting in Photoshop on screen.

Work in progress. Painting in Photoshop on screen.

I’ve felt in my gut for a while that I needed to learn some more computer art skills. I already have a good foundation knowledge of Photoshop and I use it often to enhance photos for the  blogs and websites that I help with. Up until now, I’ve only used Photoshop to brighten my artwork before printing it or posting it.  CREATING with it is over my head. But… I took a little course called “Digital Painting in Photoshop” by illustrator Will Terry. He is a great teacher, and this course has eased my concerns so much. I’ve just started my first digital illustration painting in the style that Mr. Terry demonstrates. I literally just started, so… stay tuned- I’ll post my progress :)

I am aware that the competition in children’s illustration is fierce. There are so many really talented folks sending out to the same publishers and agents that I am. So, I feel I can’t be a stranger to the technology that could potentially help me work FASTER to create MORE work for my portfolio. The more I create, the better I will become. Also, I think it’s increasingly more appealing to work with artists who are technically-able, even if just for scanning and sending high res images over the internets :)

My Ben snagged me a Wacom Tablet for my birthday, so I could really give this a fair shot. I must say, I really like it! I would have bet money on me mostly hating it, and that I would have to force myself to use it. But I found that it’s easier! That’s all I need.

Computers in the studio

Computers in the studio

My almost 3-year-old embraced digital painting before I did, so I’m already behind…

 

 

photo 4

Thanks for stopping by!

-Shanda

 

 

 

 

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Shanda McCloskey, Children's Illustrator & Author