In the Mud by Jason Kirschner

I haven't posted on this group blog in a while. I've been off in the "dayjob" world and my fellow bloggers have been kind enough to deal me out of the rotation for a bit. (I mixed metaphors. I know. I'm ok with it.) But it's my turn today, and since we all know that I consider this blog the closest I get to therapy, I thought I'd share what's on my mind.

I have recently been taking a break. Not only from this blog but from creating kidlit altogether. Since the end of the summer, I haven't really written or drawn anything that could potentially end up as a book of any sort.  I was tired and I felt I was spinning my wheels but getting nowhere. I started a new season of tv at "dayjob world" and told myself I just didn't have the time but I think I was making excuses. I think I was just a bit burnt out. I doodled a bit here and there and wrote down random story ideas or plot points but nothing really constructive.

And then October rolled in. I forced myself to try Inktober as a way to start drawing daily again. Now I would consider myself a pencil guy. I draw with pencil on cheap paper and mostly color my stuff digitally. Ink doesn't really enter into my process. Plus, I've tried Inktober before and never gone further than 8 or 9 days. But it seemed like an escape ladder out of the small muddy pit of not-drawing I'd dig for myself. I don't know why it was muddy-- that's a mystery to me too.

SO...Inktober day 1, I posted something I wasn't entirely happy with but I felt an ounce of satisfaction at having completed something. I made a decision to do no erasing or digital doctoring.
"Don't be fussy," I found myself saying as a mantra.  Day 2, I started to try to explore the different things I could do with the few ink pens I found in my bucket o' art supplies. Maybe a teensy bit more satisfying.

Day 3.

On day 3, the prompt reminded me of a character I had written a picturebook manuscript about. It was the project I was spinning my wheels on earlier this summer. Day 3 was the turning point for me. On day 3,  I decided to make my Inktober about the bunnies in the book I wanted to finish. I christened it "Bunntober."

It started to be fun to visit the characters each day. And the ink became fun too. I got a few more markers and pens at my local art store. Now I could do grey washes with Copic wide markers and really teeny details with Micron pens. I still did my layouts in my very comfortable Prismacolor pencil #943 and then inked over it. The prompts gave me aspects of the characters to explore that I hadn't yet and the ink somehow made the drawing fun again because I got semi-finished sketches that did, but also didn't, resemble the work I was familiar with.

And people were commenting and liking my stuff. I wasn't an Inktober star like fellow D2PB'r Mike Ciccotello but I got a bunch of new followers and some really lovely comments. I know that's not why we make the art but encouragement is always lovely.  Most importantly, I think I've dug my way out of the pit and I'm ready to start my dummy. I've actually already started roughing out some pages and I think I might be finishing the finals in ink!

Day 24.

Day 31.

Day 25.

Day 27.

I guess this is a super duper, barely coherent, long winded way to say...if you're stuck in the mud, try something new.  A new medium, a new color scheme, heck...sometimes just a new sketch pad or a sharpened pencil might be the answer. It just might help you climb back out of the mud. Geez --there's the mud again. I'm going to go wash my hands.

Day 9.

BTW, if you haven't checked out the amazing work people have posted as part of Inktober, you really should. Superstar Mike Ciccotello is on Instagram @ciccotello and if you want to see more of my #bunntober experiment, you can find me on IG at @jkirsch118.  Our other D2PBrs are posting art on social media too...check out the links in their profiles.

By day, Jason is an emmy nominated set designer for television, with credits that include Harry, The Meredith Vieira Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and The Late Show with David Letterman. By night, Jason is an author and illustrator of children's books. You can find his debut picture book, Mr. Particular: The World's Choosiest Champion on shelves in bookstores everywhere. See Jason's work, both illustrations and set designs,  at www.jasonkirschner.com . Follow him on instagram @jkirsch118. 

Sketch-play/Character development- By Deborah Cuneo

Dog Characters-Development Sketches

 
While I love all aspects of being an illustrator, my most favorite part is creating visual characters. And for me, because I tend to be my most creative while I'm multitasking, character development always starts with a lot of  random "note taking" and short bursts of sketch-play. 

As soon as I get a project, I immediately commit the list of potential characters to my brain, so I'll remain subliminally mindful of that list at all times. Inspiration for the characters often strikes in fits and spurts and always at the most random, inopportune time, so I've gotten used to recording my reference information quickly. Sometimes, in the form of an artistic shorthand, usually on assorted pieces of loose papers, a couple of random notes in a notepad I keep in my purse or I'll snap a quick photo or two for reference. 
 

Met a New Friend at the Pet Store!

Later on, as I have little blocks of time, I gather up everything and do a little sketch-play based on my notes, which is simply allowing myself total freedom to draw "whatever", be silly and not worry if it's pretty or not.  It's the artistic equivalent of taking really sloppy, fast notes. This way, I build on all the bits and bobs of inspiration while the sparks are still fresh in my mind.

Sketch-Play

After a while of this sporadic, freestyle, sketchy-note taking, the character starts to reveal him or herself to me and I have my starting point.

Small dog character coming to life - Early stages

St Bernard dog character coming to life - Early stages

Doing it this way is not for everybody, but it fits my sometimes chaotic, creative state and gets the job done in spite of it! I'm really looking forward to getting to know these new "friends"!!

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

Twitter: @debcuneoart 

 Instagram: @ataleof2studios

What's next? by Jason Kirschner

“What's your next book going to be about? Where do you come up with the ideas?” Someone asked me this recently. I’m sure each of you has been asked some version of this at one time or another.  I’m snarky so I usually just make up some answer about my cats writing most of my stuff and move on.  But my first book launches really soon,  (May 10th --7 weeks and counting people.) and I’ve been in the planning stages of my next project(s). I find myself asking “What’s my next idea? What do I want to work on?” 

This is the book people. Took me 2 1/2 years.
I'm still sweating.  

One of my biggest takeaways from the whole experience with Mr. Particular: The World’s Choosiest Champion is that writing and drawing a book takes a LONG time.  I can say I’ve truly loved just about every second of it but…it’s a tremendous amount time, 2-3 years or longer from inspiration to publication.  I’ve drawn Mr. Particular about 40,000 times this year.  But –I still love him. In my mind, the only way to make it through this process is to LOVE LOVE LOVE what you’re working on. You should know and love your characters because of or despite their little quirks.  

I think 40,000 times might be underestimating.

So – where do I get ideas I love so much that I won’t lose interest?  How do I decide what I want on my drawing table for next for the next 2-3 years?  I start with a few things.  

I tend to think about my kids a lot. They are a breeding ground for good ideas. If you don’t have kids, consider renting.  I try to look for bigger concept rather than specific incidents. Specific happenings tend to weigh me down and make me inflexible about changing details for the good of the story.  Mr. Particular is based on the choosiness of my kids but not really any one occasion.  I’m now in the middle of a manuscript about my daughter’s tendency to throw tantrums, but not on any one specific tantrum.

Here's two elements right here - kids + sci-fi.
 Hmmm.  I just got an idea for another book. 

A good title is also a great starting point for me.  I like puns a lot. Too much, probably. I recently heard a story on NPR about Witzelsucht (a mental condition marked by the making of puns and poor jokes http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/witzelsucht) and I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that they were talking about me.  But, I digress.  I try to think of playful jokey titles that will set me on a path towards a good story.  I know a funny title will always make me pick up a book to investigate and I hope others will do the same with my books.

I’ve previously mentioned my membership in Nerds of America, so I feel no shame in saying that there are certain genres I love. I love outer-space adventures, superheroes, time-travel stories, and monster movies.  Elements from these types of stories float through my head at all time.  They take up a LOT of room.  Its why I forgot your last birthday, I assure you. When I can, I like to tailor my stories to include fantastical things because I tend not to lose interest in these things. 

Seriously- these are my doodles. Space girls, space dogs and,
apparently, guns that shoot bubbles.  Very effective 

I also keep a file on my phone’s notebook app so I can write down any of the gems that occur to me so I don’t forget them.  My memory is awful.  I have forgotten the topic of this blog at least twice since I started typing.  The odds that I’ll remember today’s brilliant idea tomorrow are slim to none.  Write them all down.  That way when you are considering your next project you can refer to an amazing list of ideas that you can’t for the life of you remember having.  Its like magic.

So in short, I try to find something about my kids (who I love) that I want to write about.  I mix in some nerdy sci-fi elements (that I love) and find a funny title (that I also love) to wrap it all up. It will keep you interested and invested for the long haul. And if you’re blocked, refer to a list of all the ideas that you loved when you wrote them down, but just can’t remember.  As always, I hope you find something useful here and anything you hated was written by my cats.

(Mr. Particular: The World's Choosiest Champion is available for pre-order at Amazon.com, B&N.com or grab it at your favorite bookstore on May 10th.)

Evil little buggers aren't they?

Website:  jasonkirschner.com

Facebook:  Jason Kirschner

Twitter: @jason_kirschner
Instagram: @jkirsch118