The biggest a-has from this year's SCBWI-Carolinas Conference, for me, were:
1. Sketch more!!!!!!! Do it daily.
2. Sketch what you love, the way you love to sketch it.
3. Make the characters your own (translation: see the hippo, elephant, kid, your way & commit them to paper)
4. Be willing to make mistakes. That is how you grow as an artist.
5. Know your characters FIRST, then create the image.
6. Don't worry about where any of this goes...you just never know where the sketching process will take you.
All of this was such a liberating breakthrough for me.
awesome to sketch daily! Love the crocodile!
ReplyDeletexx
These are great reminders!
ReplyDeleteI can hear your enthusiasm in this post - Hooray!!!
xo
Kristin
Those are some great 'a-has', Jen! Sweet sketches. I love the fairy! :)
ReplyDeleteOooh, some very good A-has indeed. Sketching is so much fun to do before going to sleep. ^_^ I adore that little hippo...so cute!!
ReplyDeleteI think #1 is the most important habit to get into, by far. Constant drawing builds skills, confidence, and even character development. The 5 other points will follow naturally, with relentless sketching. You have the right attitude. But I'll deny it all if you start passing me up, of course. haha.
ReplyDeleteThat's great advice. I love the crocodile sketches :)
ReplyDeleteI agree! I have been working on sketching daily, sketching from life and gesture drawing as much as I can and the difference I pick up is a confidence in making my marks and less second guessing myself or thinking about it too much.
ReplyDeleteI too love you fairy & the two croc's most of all but they are all great.
Sorry for the late reply to everyone. Every hour of every day seems jam packed and my blog is suffering. Trying to unplug more and create more often. I appreciate all the feedback and lovely comments. Look for another sketchbook dump soon.
ReplyDeleteHappy Creating.