Lost in (work)Space by Jason Kirschner

My workspace. I know I'm a mess. But it's MY workspace.

Workspace, and more importantly, workflow is something I've been mulling over a bunch lately.  According to definitions I just made up, workspace is the physical space where you work and how it's setup and workflow is the way you do your work and the tools you use to do that work.  I want to be turning out new and exciting work and I want to be working in the most efficient manner. Time is, after all, money. (I'm pretty sure I made that up too.)

For those reasons,  I get antsy every once in a while and want to change everything about the way I work. I want my desk on that wall instead of this one. I want to use watercolor instead of digital color. I want shade with markers before I scan my sketches. I want to draw on an iPad Pro instead of my Wacom tablet.  As I think these things, I’m quite certain that these changes will help me work faster and/or make my work more vital. And they might? Or they might not, I guess.

There's also something to be said for comfort level and familiarity.  Knowing how to work the scanner with my elbow does help me speed things along. I’m very comfortable with my grayscale Copic markers and I know just how hard to press when shading so I don’t screw up my drawing.  I’ve also memorized the Photoshop shortcut keys to the point that my brain couldn’t tell you which key to press but my fingers know all on their own. 

Changes are good though.  I tend to make them incrementally instead of all at once — mostly because I’m cowardly and lazy but also because I like where I’m at artistically.  Some people bounce all over the place and I must admit that both fascinates and terrifies me at the same time. 

When it comes to workspace and workflow, I also feel that we, as a community, should share more. When I flip through other people’s work online  (yes — I keep tabs on all of you. ) I am always SO curious as to how they achieved this look or that effect.  I also think people are too timid to ask one another how we did things or why we did them that way.  We should share more. 

In that spirit —not that anyone asked— here’s my workflow.  I always draw using a Prismacolor PC943 pencil (Burnt Ochre) because I think its a great middle tone. I more sculpt than draw with the pencil because I draw so many damn lines to get to the right one.  I then draw over my mess with a Prismacolor PC935 and find the right lines to punctuate.  The brown falls back to a sort of shading.  I then scan into Photoshop and color digitally.  I do adjust levels but I try to leave some of the mess underneath so it still looks “homemade.”



(Here’s the interactive part)
If you have the chance to share how you make your work, do so. (Hint: There’s a comments section here.)  Also, tell us about any changes you've made recently to your workspace or your workflow and how it worked out.  I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s amazed at how you do what you do.


By day, Jason is a 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 twitter @jason_kirschner. 

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

Q&A - Diana Ting Delosh

Before I introduce myself via the Drawn to Picture Books' Q&A, I'd like to say how happy I am to be a part of this group. FYI: we will be posting weekly on wednesdays by noon, introducing ourselves over the next few weeks.

What are you working on?
Currently, I'm working on a few stand alone illustrations, sort of as a warm-up before I dive into my picture book dummy.

Groundhog Waltz

© Diana Ting Delosh

What is your medium?
Ink, Watercolor, Pencil and Photoshop. Currently, I make my lines with: brush pen, marker, Rapidiograph pen. Sometimes there's pencil showing through for texture and subtle delineation. I mostly paint in the colors with water soluble colored inks. Sprinkle in some Photoshop magic and voila!

Little Red

© Diana Ting Delosh 

Who are your creative influences?
To name just a few, on the illustration side there's Beatrix Potter, Richard Scarry and Maurice Sendak. I think you can see some of their influence in my art.  Then on the writing side, there's Jane Yolen and Ray Bradbury. This is not to say I write like them just that I aspire to beautiful lyrical writing. There are also gazillion other illustrators and authors whose works I adore but I think the artists and writers of my youth are the ones who made the strongest impression on me. My childhood art heroes definitely helped me develop my visual language.

Nerdy Chick
© Diana Ting Delosh

Your picture book process: do the words come first or the images or both?
I tend to daydream my stories until they're more concrete. And then it depends on the story, which comes first: the writing or the drawing. Most of the time when I try to write down the story the words evade me. Sometimes I draw out the story in very rough, hairball sketches and add captions.  Then do more drawings and go back and forth between writing and drawing until I have something cohesive. Every now and then I begin a story with the words. My current project started with the words.

Ballerina Bunny
© Diana Ting Delosh

If you were an animal what would you be?
Rabbit. If I were to draw myself as an animal I would immediately personify myself as a bunny. Perhaps it's the Beatrix Potter influence.

Strawberry & Cream Cupcake
© Diana Ting Delosh
Hope it's chocolate cake underneath that cream.

What is your favorite yummy?

Cake, preferably chocolate.

Fox Dreams
© Diana Ting Delosh

Website: dianadelosh.com

Illustration Blog: The Hare Illustratere

Follow me on Twitter: @dtdelosh