New England Conference this weekend

Well folks, this weekend is the annual New England SCBWI conference. I look forward to this one all year long. After attending the New York conference I appreciate this one even more. The workshops are especially helpful and I always feel that I've learned a lot and can come back to the studio with some new information.

This year I'm focusing more on my illustration since that has been a lot of my work this year. I will have a portfolio critique and I am making a poster to display my work. Hopefully the added promotion will pay off. I will also have manuscript on hand -just in case- but I have never known an editor to ask for a manuscript proposal at a conference.

While I create images, I am constantly bringing myself back to a wonderful workshop I went to with Alison Keene who was, at that time, the art director for Barefoot Books but she has since moved on. She explained the criteria that she looks for in a good illustration. Really, a good illustration tells a story. Here are some of the specific things she looks for. I'm publishing these to remind myself of her words and if anyone is out there, maybe it will be helpful for you too.

1. Conveys Emotion: there needs to be a clear relationship present, connections between people and connections between objects (composition) These can often be shown using size color and space.
2. Each image should have a clear focus.
3. Character: shows humanity (even in animal), larger than life, appealing
4. Versatility
5. Storytelling: adds dimension to the text.

Have a great weekend. See you at the conference.