Category: Tami Traylor

Saying Goodbye to a Five-Year-Old Friend

10/15/2021

2017-2021 Highlighter team drawn by AMY MULLEN, mintparcel.com

HIGHLIGHTER
Ezine Serving the Mid-Atlantic Region of SCBWI

After five years of curating the content for the Highlighter, the ezine serving the Mid-Atlantic region of SCBWI, I've decided to hand my precious baby over to another caretaker. It was a hard decision. I so enjoyed discovering (and uncovering) all the amazingness that belongs to the collective of kidlit creators that live in my neck of the woods.

Each quarter there were so many amazing books being published! So many awards being won! So many industry professionals to learn from! And I attempted to capture it all in our SCBWI newsletter! A maddening thing to attempt for a volunteer, but I tried. Hearing our members express appreciation and gratitude many issues over, made it worthwhile.

I was blown away when as a thank you the amazing Meg Medina had her publisher send me a copy of her lovely book EVELYN DEL REY IS MOVING AWAY, and when the talented Jacqueline Jules did something likewise! How cool is that!

Curating the content for an amazing SCBWI publication for five years!

Honestly, I won't miss spending all those tremendous amount of volunteer hours obsessing over every feature, every article, every iota of member good news. But I will miss working with my amazing coeditors, Susan VanHecke (who rocks socks with her red pen), and Tami Traylor (who rocks all things layout and design). They are simply FANTABULOUS.

If you're a member, you won't regret logging into SCBWI and checking out our not-so-little newsletter. You'll find our final one--the Fall 2021 Highlighter--on the Mid-Atlantic SCBWI website.

On its pages you'll discover:

a fun article about school visits with Tom Angleberger
a partnership piece with coauthors Wendy Shang and Madelyn Rosenberg
an author spotlight on Kathryn Erskine
a Meet-the-Artist segment with Robert Meganck
an article by Gabriella Aldeman about our members' books being produced for the stage and screen
a craft article by me about lessons learned from watching the reality show Chopped, and so much more!

Click the Highlighter tab on the right. Every issue produced by our team from 2017 through 2021 can be found THERE.

Goodbye, HIGHLIGHTER, my five-year-old friend.
Every one of your issues took my breath away.
Live long & prosper in the hands of another!

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Welcome, Tami Traylor, Kidlit Illustrator!

3/30/2020

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Thanks so much for stopping by, Tami, and for sharing a little bit about themed illustrating prompts that kidlit artists might share on their social media accounts.

Happy to share, though I must confess, I really feel like quite a failure at daily prompt illustrator challenges.

Your work is no fail in my book! So exactly, what are these illustrator challenges and how many have you tried out?

I’m referring specifically to thematic art challenges that encourage participants to create and post to social media a prompted artwork each day of the month using the hashtag of the challenge. I began a great number of these hashtagged art challenges with high expectations but never seemed to make it past the first ten days. I could blame my failure on being a mom and a freelancer. As much as I’d love to spend endless hours at my drawing table, I still have to pay the bills, cook meals, feed hungry felines.

Life is busy.

True this. So why bother doing these challenges at all? Why not find something else to put your creative energy into, especially if you feel like you fail at completing them?

Those short bursts of concentrated work I've done over the past five years always marked some big turning points in my artistic growth. For example, attempting #kidlitart28 in February of 2019 helped me polish my digital techniques. The short timeframe I had to work within to post an illustration every day forced me to be very deliberate with the tools I used.

My #inktober artwork a few years back sparked a story about some raccoons that eventually morphed into a character-driven picture-book dummy. Last year’s #inktober helped me flesh out the two main characters in a middle-grade historical mystery also under development. In addition, quite a few challenge pieces eventually made it into my portfolio after I further realized the artwork. A couple designs even became promotional postcards.

What advice do you have for kidlit illustrators out there who might be on the fence about doing these art challenges?

On one hand, challenges can be a great way to exercise and grow your skills and creativity. They provide an opportunity to experiment and a chance to connect with a community of like-minded artists. If you’ve never tried a daily art challenge, I recommend you give it a shot. Even if you manage only ten posts, you’ll still see benefits. On the other hand, if doing a challenge is not enjoyable or is too stressful, then don't do it. You have to do what works for you as an artist.

Any tips for those giving a challenge a whirl?

I have five.

1. Polish your illustration technique.

Whether you use a dip pen or a stylus, you can use a daily challenge to perfect your mark-making. The repetition of drawing daily helps hone skills and build muscle memory.

2. Get familiar with drawing/painting a particular subject.

One of the best ways to improve at drawing a thing is to actually draw that thing...a lot! For example, if you have trouble drawing dogs, try doing a dog a day for #doggust during the month of August. Or for #inktober, choose your own topic, like houses, vehicles, or marsupials during the month of October. The sky’s the limit and I guarantee you’ll feel more confident drawing the thing once you’ve churned out thirty of them.

3. Make your own rules.

If daily posting makes you cringe, set an every-other-day goal or post once a week. No one will judge you. I promise. Folks will be just as happy to see what you’re sharing weekly. You can even challenge yourself to do one fully realized portfolio piece in the theme of that challenge by the end of the month.

4. Use the challenge to develop a story.

Imagine the possibilities of writing a picture book centered on the challenge theme or your own chosen theme. Some artists will use prompts to develop a running, daily narrative tale, which builds suspense and brings viewers back to their social media page.

5. Do the heavy lifting ahead of time.

There’s nothing to prevent you from storyboarding and sketching ideas for a challenge before the challenge month begins.

Good tips! Would you please share some monthly challenges that are out there for anyone to try?

Sure! Here are ten:

For February, post what you love: #kidlitart28
For March, post robots: #marchofrobots
For May, post mermaids: #MerMay
For June, post unicorns: #junicorn
For August, post dogs and/or dragons: #doggust and #smaugust
For September, post your sketches: #sketchtember
For October, post inked sketches: #inktober
For November, post fictional maps: #mapvember
For December, post anything you draw: #drawcember

Thanks for those, Tami, and for stopping by to share your not-fails with us!

My pleasure.

Tami Traylor is an illustrator and graphic designer living in Chesterfield, Virginia, with three cats, two kids, and one husband. She's been drawing and telling stories since she could hold a pencil. Her love of books and drawing goes back to her earliest memories. Those early books love drove her to pursue the study of design and illustration in college. She's been a member of SCBWI since 2005, and the graphic designer of the Highlighter, the quarterly newsletter of the Mid-Atlantic regional of SCBWI, since 2007. She’s the illustrator of THE 12 DANCING PRINCESSES by Carly Graf (ustyme, 2015). Check out Tami's art-themed posts on Instagram @traylorillo or on her website traylorillo.com.

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HAPPY BLOG HOPPING!

5/12/2014

1 Comment

Glad you could hop over to my spot along the Blog-Hop Trail. What a fun way to share with you some fantastic writers and give you an update on my latest writing news.

First, let me introduce you to Kathryn Erskine, a wonderful writer of meaningful yarns for children, and nothing less than a fantastic person. When Kathryn asked me to participate in this blog hop, I just had to say yes! It's an honor to have my name alongside hers.

Kathryn Erskine grew up mostly overseas and attended eight different schools which gives an interesting twist to her writing. She draws on her life stories and world events to write her novels including Quaking, an ALA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, Mockingbird, 2010 National Book Award winner, The Absolute Value of Mike, a Crystal Kite winner, and Seeing Red, a Jane Addams Peace Award Honor Book set immediately after the Civil Rights era that questions who we were then and who we are now.

Her upcoming novel, The Badger Knight, is a Middle Ages adventure about a small, sickly teen with albinism who runs off to battle to prove he's a man -- which he succeeds in doing, but not in the way he thought. She is currently working on several more novels and picture books.

She loves travel, taking walks, being in nature, exploring places (any places), laughing, playing games, learning languages (or anything, really, just learning) and eating chocolate. You can learn more about her here at kathrynerskine.com, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on her blog.

Thank you, Kathyrn, for asking me to participate in this blog hop! Now I'll answer those Blog-Hop questions you asked me:

1. What am I working on?
I just completed two middle-grade projects. One is an adventure entitled JELLYBEAN QUEST. It's about a self-centered squirrel named Cassius and his chipmunk guardian, Vox. Cassius is on a quest of find a perfect jellybean while Vox, with his annoying voice, tries to keep Cassius out of trouble. My second just-completed project is a revision of a middle-grade entitled MAMA'S CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS. Its main character, Allie, is on the hunt for a husband for her Mama. I love both of these stories and the characters that bring them to life.

2. How does my work differ from others of this genre?
Since my stories stem from my own life, I always thought they'd be uniquely told. But I have found that for every new project I complete there is someone who has written a similar book. To be honest, I find this quite annoying. So, I hope my work will differ because I strive to tell my stories with an authentic voice, one that has my voice-print. (But, oh, if I were to weave a story as beautiful as The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, I'd be thrilled!)

3. Why do I write what I do?
I write when a character comes to me fully clothed and yells, "Bring me to life, you writing fool!" It's really an interesting thing when, all at once, I know who my character is and what it is he or she has to say. When this happens, I cannot write fast enough to get the story out on paper.

4. How does my writing process work?
I'd like to say that I write from a detailed outline with all my story's plot points, the character arcs, subplots, and sequence of events all figured out like an algebraic equation. But when I begin, I know only who my character is, what they want, and what the outcome will be. How the character gets there comes to me as I delve into the character's world and imagine myself as that character. In other words, I write one scene at a time, one paving stone along the story's journey.

Well , that was fun! Thanks again, Kathryn for asking me to hop with you!
Now I've tagged the blogs of Kell Andrews, Tami Traylor, and Anna Staniszewski. They'll be next on the Blog-Hop Trail. Sure hope you'll hop along next Monday to see how these talented writers and illustrators will answer the Blog-Hop questions!

Here, let me introduce you:

Tami Traylor grew up running around the woods of southern Virginia. When she wasn't exploring some abandoned, ramshackle barn or unknowingly rolling in poison ivy, she was reading and drawing. There was always a connection to stories from her earliest memory and her mother and grandmother cultivated her artistic and literary endeavors by keeping her in constant supply of books and paper. She was the kid all the librarians knew by name and she knew from an early age she wanted to share her own stories and ideas with others.

She earned a BFA in Illustration and Graphic Design at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1993. After graduation, she worked in graphic design for fifteen years in the commercial and government sectors.

In 2005, she became a Mid-Atlantic SCBWI member to learn everything there was to know about the business of creating books for young readers. She is an active SCBWI volunteer who co-edits the region's newsletter. Today she is a freelance illustrator that divides her time between writing and creating illustrations for young audiences in both digital and analog media. She especially enjoys working in graphite, acrylic and gouache.

Tami still lives in southern Virginia with her husband, two children, one diva cat, and two guinea pigs. She still loves the woods and finds inspiration in mid-century illustration, Russian folk painting, abandoned buildings, vintage books, animation...but, most of all, she is inspired by stories.

Tami can be found at traylorillo.com, on her blog, and on Twitter.

Kell Andrews writes nonfiction for adults and fiction for children. A little bit of "magic" helps with both. Deadwood, her middle-grade contemporary fantasy comes out from Spencer Hill Middle Grade in June 2014!

Growing up, she spent a lot of time reading, writing, drawing, and looking for treasure in the woods and on the beach. She still does. Kell holds a humanities degree from Johns Hopkins University and a master of liberal arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania. A lifelong Philadelphian, she lives with her husband and two daughters in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, right next to a park a lot like the one in Deadwood. Kell is represented by Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

Kell can be found at kellandrews.com, on Twitter, and contributing helpful posts about writing on Operation Awesome.

Born in Poland and raised in the United States, Anna Staniszewski grew up loving stories in both Polish and English. She was named the 2006-2007 Writer-in-Residence at the Boston Public Library and was a winner of the 2009 PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award.

Currently, Anna lives outside of Boston, Mass. with her husband and their black Labrador, Emma. She is the author of the My Very UnFairy Tale Life series and the Dirt Diary series, both from Sourcebooks, as well as the occasional robot picture book. When she's not writing, Anna spends her time teaching, reading, and challenging unicorns to games of hopscotch.

You can visit her at www.annastan.com, on her blog, and on Twitter.

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Saying Goodbye to a Five-Year-Old Friend

HIGHLIGHTER
Ezine Serving the Mid-Atlantic Region of SCBWI

Curating the content for an amazing SCBWI publication for five years!

Goodbye, HIGHLIGHTER, my five-year-old friend.
Every one of your issues took my breath away.
Live long & prosper in the hands of another!

Welcome, Tami Traylor, Kidlit Illustrator!

HAPPY BLOG HOPPING!

About Me

Archives

Categories

Saying Goodbye to a Five-Year-Old Friend

HIGHLIGHTEREzine Serving the Mid-Atlantic Region of SCBWI

Curating the content for an amazing SCBWI publication for five years!

Goodbye, HIGHLIGHTER, my five-year-old friend.Every one of your issues took my breath away.Live long & prosper in the hands of another!

Welcome, Tami Traylor, Kidlit Illustrator!

HAPPY BLOG HOPPING!

About Me

Archives

Categories

HIGHLIGHTER
Ezine Serving the Mid-Atlantic Region of SCBWI

Goodbye, HIGHLIGHTER, my five-year-old friend.
Every one of your issues took my breath away.
Live long & prosper in the hands of another!