Public Speaking... YIKES! By Mike Ciccotello

I can trace my fear of public speaking back to my sixth grade student council elections. As I walked up to the podium, I tripped and fell over a bunch of metal folding chairs. My heart started pounding. I was so embarrassed. I barely got through my speech. The same year, my mind went blank during my piano recital. I could only get through the first stanza of music. After three attempts, I got up, walked away from the piano and started crying my eyes out. Those two incidents set the stage for my fear of being singled out in front of a crowd. 

It's not a comfortable thing to watch. I start talking and inevitably my voice cracks. My eyes glaze over as I stare blankly into the audience, and then my arms start shaking. 

Last year, I insisted on getting over this fear. It took many conversations with friends and loved ones. This past year, I ran a workshop for NJ SCBWI, I hosted a Lunch and Learn at Johnson & Johnson headquarters, I spoke at my county library, and I did a full day school visit for 300 children. I decided that the only way I was going to get over it was to keep doing it. I will be the first to tell you, its not easy, but it's getting better. 

On Thursday and Friday this week, I'll be leading four Character Design workshops for the NJ Teen Arts Festival, hosted by Monmouth County Arts Organization at Brookdale Community College. I'm somewhere between excited and terrified. 

I'm not too worried about the speaking part, I just hope to connect with the kids, and let them know that nurturing their talent and following their dreams is absolutely worth it. 

Don't Let Go, by Mike Ciccotello

Represented by Rachel Orr

For more info contact 

rko(a)prospectagency.com

Prospect Agency Portfolio

Instagram: @ciccotello 

Twitter: @ciccotello 

When Good Eggplants Go Bad (...and other tales of technical woes) by Deborah Cuneo

I don't know about anyone else, but this last few months have been especially challenging. Between kids leaving the nest, family health issues and a reboot on my book, I've been operating at a higher stress level and pace than normal. Unfortunately, real life goes on no matter what disasters are happening around you and there didn't seem to be any relief in sight, so I did what all of us do...worked right through it, cause' we're all professionals, right? (flashback to David Wiesner at njscbwi).  And for a while, I was able to successfully juggle it all and bury my stress in my art.

Burying the Prize - Pencil Sketch

Part of my "therapy"  was working out the palette for the book and spending countless, grueling hours teaching myself how to use my new digital tools. I was now ready to bring my color vision to life for Little Dragon!

 I felt a tremendous sense of satisfaction from the accomplishment  and that had almost completely balanced out all the stress from my personal life... when somewhere between finishing the final sketches and right before turning in the final cover art, the Earth must have shifted its rotation, causing a permanent state of full moon. Out of nowhere, my cover art and almost all my new tools, completely disappeared from my computer.  The ones that remained, well, any time I would select them, they would shut down Photoshop and destroy the file I was working on. Did I mention that the cover art was due the following week?  <Insert stress here!>

MINE! - Pencil Sketch

My hubby, who never met a mechanical or technical device he wasn't able to fix, was more than a bit baffled and no quick fix was in sight.  Panic set in! So what do you do when months of developing digital tools have completely left the universe and the art is due in a few days?  You take a breath, regroup, say lots of prayers and recreate the tools......"old school!!!

Creating Textures

I have to say, it was quite therapeutic  to use all my organic art tools again, after a year of focusing on digital. I didn't realize just how much I missed them.   After a couple of days of work, I was able to recreate pretty close to what  was lost in the computer and  the act of doing so, put my mind back in balance. I also found another way to use the two media together , which made me very happy and I'm thinking that in the end,  the art for the book may be better for having the experience (maybe that was the master plan all along???). 

Life...or at least kid lit, book life, was all good again... and quite randomly, as mysteriously as the programs and the computer in general , stopped working... it all went back to normal and I made my deadline! < insert sun shining and angels singing here!> 

From the book: Little Dragon - Sky Pony Press 2017

 

So, how do eggplants work into all of this?  During one of the days that I was having a bit of an internal, meltdown over the situation, I decided to go to the local farm stand, get veggies for dinner and just try to clear my head. Starring at all the colors and textures of the produce that's out this time of year, is quite inspiring!

 I began to make my way through the little marketplace and I happened to notice all these beautiful eggplants to one side of the wooden bins. On the other side, two eggplants that were every bit as fresh (just a little weird looking) caught my eye. They were seemingly cast off to the other side, rejected, in favor of the new, shinier eggplants.

I decided against eggplant for dinner and started to walk away, but my heart went out to the two rejects. I wondered what would happen to those poor vegetables after being cast  aside like that. Do they start hanging out  with the wrong eggplants and turn to a life of eggplant crime?...what was their story? So, I created a little photo shoot ( yes, right in the middle of the crowded farm stand) to highlight the heartbreaking reality of what happens when good eggplants go bad.

("The Meeting") When Good Eggplants go Bad   By Deborah Cuneo

When Good Eggplants go Bad  By Deborah Cuneo

Website: www.deborahcuneoillustration.com
Blog: Creating Out Loud  deborahcuneo.blogspot.com
Facebook: Deborah Cuneo Illustration

Twitter: @debcuneoart 

 Instagram: @ataleof2studios

NJSCBWI - by Mike Ciccotello

Photo by Tara Lazar

WOWZERS! I just got back from the 2016 NJSCBWI conference. 

The best time for me to review how I prepare and promote my work is right after a major event. The ideas are fresh in my mind and I can find ways to improve my workflow. Maybe this will help a new illustrator that wants to tackle a conference. Maybe it will show a seasoned conference attendee a different view. 

Social Media/Website/Promotional Materials

        Five weeks prior to the conference I updated all of my social media. I created a new profile picture and matched it across all of my social media. I decided to go with Business Cards & Postcards from MOO.com. The quality is fantastic. I designed and ordered my cards about a month prior to the conference. I wound up going with Five different pieces of art for the back, and coordinated those pieces on both business and postcards, as well as my website. The side that had my contact information coordinated with my social media and website.

Postcards Printed at Moo.com

Organization

        I saved all of my workshop documents, SCBWI scheduling information, and digital version of my portfolio as pdfs and put them on my iPad. This worked really well. I was able to have all of my documentation in one spot. If the opportunity presented itself to show my portfolio, and it did, I had it on me at all times.

My iPad with all of my SCBWI documents, portfolio, and sketches for the conference

Print Portfolio

        I went with a 14”x11” screw post portfolio. I originally had 18 illustrations, but cut it down to 14 illustrations, plus a beginning and end page that has my contact information. The images broke down to: 3 pen and ink, 1 black & white value, 10 full color. There was a blend of diverse children and animals, interior and exterior, character designs, and a couple sequential images. To see the post about my portfolio transition from last year, click here.

My Pina Zangaro Screw Post Portfolio

One-on-One

        At the time of registration, I didn't have a manuscript, so I decided to only purchase a portfolio review. I sat with an associate art director from Viking, Nancy Brennan. She had some great suggestions for my portfolio. I learned that having facing images that feel similar is great, but if the character expressions are the same, you aren’t showing emotional range. I will be creating a few new images and moving a couple illustrations around.

Networking

        I made sure to keep refreshing my postcards with my portfolio and with my juried art show piece. I also kept a small stack with me in case I needed to give one out. I was able to meet a whole bunch of new people in the children’s literature community. I even met a few editors, and agents. I’m looking forward to submitting my work soon.

The Saturday Night NJSCBWI Faculty Social

Illustrator’s Intensive

        I attended Nancy Brennan’s illustrator’s intensive. We had a special guest, David Wiesner. I asked everyone about the lighting and perspective. The major points that we discussed were the lighting and contrast. Everyone thought I could go a little darker. Mr. Wiesner pointed out some lighting considerations. I will be adjusting the lighting to improve the focus of the characters and the overall look of the room.

 

My original illustration from Nancy Brennan's Illustrator's Intensive workshop

Juried Art Show

        The theme was the first 6 words of W.B. Yeats’ poem, The Lake Isle of Innisfree, “I will arise and go now.” I took the theme quite literally and illustrated the whole poem. Where I believe that wound up limiting the amount of people that understood what I was illustrating, I learned so much about myself. I really enjoyed researching and world building. I enjoyed hiding clues that could make the viewer appreciate the piece at another level. That will be invaluable as my storytelling and illustration begin to intertwine.

My entry for the Juried Art Show, "I will Arise and Go Now"

For me, the NJSCBWI 2016 conference was all about improving my craft, putting my best foot forward to launch a long career in children's literature, and spending time with friends in the kidlit community. Thank you NJSCBWI, for organizing a spectacular event. I can't wait until next year. 

Website:  Ciccotello.com

Facebook:  The Art of Mike Ciccotello

Twitter: @ciccotello
Instagram: @ciccotello