Tutorial Art Design: portfolio-advice

Portfolio: The Importance of the Series

A couple of weeks ago, SCBWI Insight included a bunch of portfolio tips from the KidLitArtists, and a number of them mentioned including sequences of related images in your portfolio. When developing a portfolio for the children’s book market, you want to demonstrate your ability to tell a story, and a series of images is a key way to do this.

Pick a picture book, and then select 3 of the images from it – they will all look related. They will have a similar feel, palette, and usually show the same characters, just in different situations. Putting a similar set of images in your own portfolio shows art directors that you can maintain consistency with your characters and that you can develop a narrative. Those are both very important skills in picture book illustration. It can be good to have not just one, but several series of images in your portfolio. (When Juana Martinez-Neal won the portfolio showcase in SCBWI LA 2012, her portfolio was a set of 4 different series of images, with one stand-alone image at the end. You can see it here.)

What kind of illustrations you include in your series is up to you, but they should all vary from one another. You want each individual image to show the widest range of your abilities. If you have two in a series that are very similar to each other, it’s just redundant. I’ve done this myself. Here is an example of two images that go together which are essentially the same. Although the composition and color palette are different, the perspective and scale are the same, and the actions and emotions of the mice aren’t significantly different either.

Redundant images in a series © Jen Betton 2016

Here is a series of images I have in my portfolio that I think is successful: There is an environment shot, establishing where the characters are; a closeup, highlighting the relationship of the characters; and an action shot. Each one is different in composition, scale, pose, and perspective.

Varied images in a series © Jen Betton 2016

In the end, it is all about telling a story, in the most interesting way you can.

.............

Jen Betton writes and illustrates for children.

You can find her work at www.jenbetton.com

@jenbetton on Twitter

www.facebook.com/jenbettonillustration on Facebook

She is currently illustrating TWILIGHT CHANT, by Holly Thompson,

which will be published by Clarion in 2018.

Portfolio Tips

The SCBWI LA conference is coming up quickly, and I know many of us are squeezing out a few more paintings, and starting to agonize about portfolio flow and presentation so as to put together the absolute best package of work!

This post is a combination of my own thoughts, the great advice of Lauren Rille, an art director at Beach Lane Books, and remembered comments of various other art directors and art school instructors.

Audience:
Who is going to see it? A children's book portfolio is different than an editorial portfolio. Put in your portfolio the kind of work you are trying to get. If it is a children's book portfolio, be sure to show kids! Include narrative images, and series of related images – tell a story with your pictures.

At my very first conference, I was told that my kid's book portfolio didn't have enough kids in it! It's important to know your audience and what is important for that type of portfolio. © Jen Betton 2015

Technique:
Show you can draw! Show good composition, values, color, consistent style, good control over media, and varying points of view. Be accurate with your perspective and anatomy, don't fake it. Show emotion in your characters, and interaction or connection between characters.

Consistency: Quality
The quality of your work should be very consistent. Ideally, all your pieces will be exceptionally good, but be sure to put some of your best pieces up front. Also make sure that the last piece is strong. Bob Dacey uses the fence analogy: support your planks (weaker pieces) with posts (strong pieces) interspersed. Eventually, your portfolio should be all posts!

Less can be more; don't succumb to the temptation to leave something weak in – I did this a few years ago with a couple pieces I knew were not as strong, but I wanted more kids in the folio. Bad idea, the art directors who looked at my folio said "take them out"! Art director Cecilia Yung says "If you leave in weak pieces art directors will think you can't discriminate between good and bad work." Yikes!! When in doubt, throw it out!

Consistency: Style
Pick a style and make sure you love doing it. Have a clear "voice" and show good visual continuity. Starting out, focus on mastering one style. If you display more than one style, both styles should be equally well developed. If you have work in a totally unrelated field (fine art vs. children's book illustration) don't put it in the same portfolio – on the web this means a separate website (ex: Skip Liepke goes by Malcolm Liepke for his fine art work).

Amount:
Advice about this varies, somewhat up to individual taste. 15-20 is most often quoted, but you can have less or more. Pat Cummings suggests showing no more than 12 images. Websites – this is again variable, and you may consider different categories if you work in different markets (editorial, advertising, book, etc) or styles.

Example of a series of related images; all three have the same characters and setting, but with different perspectives, scale, and varying emotion. © Jen Betton 2015

Form:
Make it easy to update. My first portfolio was made with carefully mounted boards. However, they were labor intensive to create, and it discouraged adding in new work. The same thing is true of a web folio – whether you have a custom site, or a blog, make sure it is up to date and you regularly edit out your weakest work. Also be aware of whatever size or format constraints there are for any competitions or shows you enter (like the SCBWI portfolio showcase). Whatever you choose, make sure it does not distract from the work, but complements it.

Branding:
Make sure your name is easily visible! Put your contact info up front! This doesn't mean you have to put your contact info on every item, you can also use a cover or title page. It's good to use a consistent font and presentation with your business cards, postcards, website, and portfolio.

Finally, fill your book with what you love to do! What you see is the kind of work you will get! Remember that "good work will always find a way in" – Lauren Rille.

Are You Entering The SCBWI-LA Illustration Portfolio Showcase? Here Are Tips For Before and During the Conference - by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Only a month and a half until the SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles! I can't wait. Not only is it the conference that kickstarted my book illustration career, but I always come away super-inspired by the talks, sessions and chatting with other writers and illustrators.

For those of you entering the Illustrator Portfolio Showcase, here are a few tips from past SCBWI Illustration Mentees who have since gone on to win top prize in the overall Portfolio Showcase:

BEFORE THE CONFERENCE:

A Few Thoughts On Editing Your Portfolio - by Andrea Offermann (2013 SCBWI Portfolio Showcase winner)

Mentee Portfolio vs Grand Prize Winner Portfolio - by Juana Martinez-Neal (2012 SCBWI Portfolio Showcase winner)

Portfolio Comparison: What Made An SCBWI Winner - by Eliza Wheeler (2011 SCBWI Portfolio Showcase winner). Eliza is also doing a portfolio workshop on the Friday 4-5 pm in the Pacific Room; check your schedule for details!

Mentees Roundup: SCBWI Portfolio Showcase Tips - compiled by Eliza Wheeler

For more great advice, do browse other portfolio-related posts on KidLitArtists.com and find out what Mentees have been learning about improving their portfolios.

And here are some of my own tips about what to do AT the conference...

AT THE CONFERENCE:

Once you've handed in your portfolio, stop obsessing about it. Don't start making excuses for it, how you weren't quite sure about some of the pieces but put them in anyway, how you wish you had more time to work on it.

Learn how to take compliments gracefully. If someone says something nice about your work, learn how to say "thank you" instead of immediately lobbing back a "I wish I was as good as xxx" or "I totally suck at xxx." See above.

Do make the time to look at other illustrators' work. Not only is this a sign of professional courtesy, but you can also turn it into a learning opportunity. Some portfolios and postcards will immediately stand out for you; ask yourself why.

Try very, very hard to be inspired and NOT discouraged as you browse other illustrators' portfolios. As illustrator Heather Powers says, don't forget that everyone is at a different place in their creative journey. "Get excited - you are just starting out and have a fun path ahead of you! Learn from the best, they will be all around you during the conference!"

Don't be discouraged if you don't win an award. While winning awards is nice, of course, there are so many other benefits to being in the Showcase. Industry people are looking at your work. I have heard of illustrators getting work many months after an event because an art director or editor liked their work enough to pick up a postcard.

Remember the quote that "80 percent of success is showing up". Persistence is essential in this industry. I have heard art directors comment on how they could tell a particular illustrator was working on his or her craft because of the changes in their portfolio from a previous Showcase. The fact that you're at the conference and entering the Showcase already puts you far ahead of many others.

Come to the Illustrator Social on the Friday from 7:30-9 pm in Olympic I. It's a great place to meet other illustrators as well as some of the faculty. Bring your postcards! Plus do find me and say hello...I'd love to meet you. :-)

Good luck, and don't forget to have fun! And if you're nervous about attending the SCBWI conference for the first-time, these comics might help.

- Debbie

---------------------------------------

Debbie Ridpath Ohi is the author/illustrator of WHERE ARE MY BOOKS? (Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, 2015). Her illustrations also appear in books by Judy Blume and Michael Ian Black. She blogs about reading, writing and illustrating children's books at Inkygirl.com. You can find her on Twitter at @inkyelbows and Instagram at @inkygirl.

Catching up with Brian Ormiston

Brian Ormiston is one of the very first SCBWI Mentees, from the summer conference of 2009, but hasn't been formally introduced here. Until now! Today we catch up with him and ask him a few questions reflecting on the mentorship experience, as well as about what he's up to these days.

Kidlit Artists: Did the feedback you receive during the mentorship critiques either change or confirm the direction of your illustration? Are there any specific examples you can share?

Brian: Once things got rolling we talked a lot about ways to improve our portfolios, self-promotion, and our thoughts about the future. I remember Arthur Levine advising me to create sections or categories in my portfolio, because at the time, I had lumped quite a number of unrelated pieces together. The themes jumped around quite a bit. Cecilia Yung suggested I create a series with the same character or theme that illustrated a narrative progression. It didn’t have to be an epic; it could be as few as three pictures. My portfolio had about twelve pictures but none of them were from the same story. David Diaz had some great pointers on technique, hints to save time and avoid headaches. When I make my paintings I’ll painstakingly ink the line then paint watercolor right on top, but if I make a mistake, the whole painting goes kaput. David suggested I scan and print a nice copy of the inked line onto quality paper. Then if I screw up painting the watercolor I can just grab another copy and start again. Scanning and painting in the computer can help a lot too but I find the process is not as enjoyable as using real paint and paper. Priscilla and I discussed all things children’s books related and about the society. It was my first conference so she brought me up to speed on pursuing the essentials and how to get the most out of the conference.

Kidlit Artists: Getting such specific and direct feedback on your work, did you find the experience enlightening? Affirming? Confusing? Conflicting? _______ (fill in the blank)? Why?Brian: It was very affirming. I had originally gone to the conference on a kind of information gathering trip. I didn’t intend on submitting my portfolio until a good friend encouraged me to do so. I ended up winning a mentorship and a second prize honor so it definitely made me feel like I was doing something right. Nervous too. It pushed me way beyond my comfort zone, out of the safe place of making pictures for myself in solitude into a forum in which I had to take an audience into account. A good thing all around I think.

Kidlit Artists: Have you seen a shift in your work since you were mentored?

Brian: I definitely think more in terms of a series of drawings instead of trying to pack the whole universe into one composition. I love getting lost in detail but right now, with the limited time available to me, I have to simplify my compositions otherwise I’ll never finish a book.

Kidlit Artists: What kinds of projects are you working on now?

Brian: With wonderful encouragement from my very patient agent, Marietta Zacker, I’m developing several stories and getting them shaped into dummy form. Some are further along than others - all picture book stories. I like the challenge of the picture book format. It’s forced me to simplify my ideas. I can sometimes over-complicate my stories, making things much harder on myself.

Kidlit Artists: Is there anything, looking ahead, that you’re excited to be working on?

Brian: Looking beyond the picture book I’m developing now, I have a line up of stories with a lot of visual possibilities that I’m eager to sink my teeth into. I can at times overextend myself, so I have to practice discipline; otherwise I touch lightly on everything but no single story gets done. As soon as I finish the book dummy on my plate now I’ll dive right into the next one.

Kidlit Artists: Is there any type of illustration (or other work) that you’re hoping for in the near future?

Brian: I think it would be wonderful to make pictures for a number of things like: classic children’s stories, literature and poetry journals, theater posters, music posters and puppet theater work. I did a painting for a group show last year as part of a launch event for Sara Wilson Etienne’s book Harbinger. That was a lot of fun. I’d love to do more of that.

Kidlit Artists: Last, please tell us where we can find you online.

Brian: You can check out my website, which is way over due for an update just so you know, at brianormiston.com. My blog, where I post little scenes on post-its for the time being, is brianormiston.blogspot.com. The title of the blog is Roostergator, a nonsense word if anyone is wondering.

Kidlit Artists: Thanks Brian!

A few thoughts on editing your portfolio

my portfolio for the SCBWI winter conference

The SCBWI LA conference is just a few days away and all of you are probably putting the finishing touches to your portfolios. There are already several great posts out there with wonderful information on how to put a great portfolio together. I wanted to post a few of the links to these insightful posts again and add a few thoughts that helped me especially in editing my portfolio for the conference in New York this winter, where I was honored to receive the portfolio prize.

First of all, the links:

- Eliza Wheeler's post on her beautiful prize-winning portfolio, with a comparison of her 2010 and her 2011 portfolio

- Juana Martinez-Neal posted step-by-step information about her process of putting her winning portfolio together, and also shows her entire portfolio before and after.

- Molly Idle , another SCBWI portfolio winner, posted great information of her process here.

- And last but not least I want to recommend taking another look at the advice on putting together a portfolio in SCBWI’s THE BOOK.

Here are the things that stood out to me and that helped me improve my portfolio:

1. NUMBER / ONLY THE BEST:

In the SCBWI BOOK it says on putting your portfolio together:„submit only your best work, 10 to 15 pieces“. Scary? Yes. Especially if you want to cover all the subject matter that should be presented in a children’s book portfolio. And while that is important, I believe it is even more important to make sure that you show your very best work.

But how to decide?

What worked for me in the end was sitting down with a blank sheet of paper and writing down the titles of the pieces I ABSOLUTELY HAD to show. You know, the ones that pop into your head right away. This got me started with an already well-sorted list, and after printing these pieces looking at them in sequence (see 3. FLOW) helped in refining the selection further.

putting together the list of illustrations I want to show...

2. SIZE:

Show the illustrations in the size they are meant to be printed. When printing your images, of course it is vital that the quality is good and the presentation is clean ( Juana posted a lot of great information about choosing and putting together a perfect portfolio presentation ). But something I hadn’t paid enough attention to before was size. This is something Yuko Shimizu said when she talked about putting a portfolio together: if the illustration is meant to be big, show it big.

... consider the size in which you want to show an illustration...

3. FLOW:

You should consider page turns, flow and consistency in your portfolio as much as you consider it in making a book dummy, because it shows how you will solve this issue in your books.

Molly Idle explains this very well in her post.

For my book, I laid out the pages I had printed on a big desk, and looked at them in sequence, taking pieces out, exchanging their place, until it felt right to me:

...lay out the pages of the portfolio like the story board for a book dummy. Consider flow and consistency...

Then, I put them into the book, and went through them again, checking how the page turns worked:

...put the pages together and look at how the page turns work...

Sometimes it makes sense to group your images or divide your portfolio into sections, like Eliza Wheeler did with her portfolio. Because I have a lot of work for MG and YA books, I ended up dividing my portfolio too, into a color and a black and white section.

4. CONCENTRATION:

I also realized when putting this book together, that it took a lot of concentration to make choices and stick to them. After working on it for a while, I felt my resolve dwindling. I realized that for me it was best to work on this at the start of the day, when my mind was fresh and focused, and to take a break when I got stuck.

5. NO-BRAINERS:

And then there are a few little things that I guess should be no-brainers but can get lost in between the big decisions:

- your name and information should be on there, e.g. on the left side when you open the book, or you can start with a lovely introductory page like Molly Idle does.

...include your information at the beginning of the book...

- A flap at the end of the book with cards or printed samples would be nice, so the interested art directors or agents can take away your information:

...and take away material at the end...

- This is your book, you are introducing your work and yourself. Have fun and make it exactly what you want it to be!

... my portfolio and the case I made for it.

I hope this helps, and wish you all the greatest success in putting together your books!

~Andrea

_______________________

Andrea Offermann is an illustrator living and working in Hamburg, Germany. You can see her work at www.andreaoffermann.com.

Catching Up With Andrea Offermann

For those new to the blog, Andrea Offermann is one of our contributors and was a recipient of the SCBWI Mentorship Award at the 2010 Summer Conference. We’d like to catch up with Andrea and ask her a few questions about the Mentorship experience and about what she is up to these days.

Kidlit Artists: Did the feedback you receive during the mentorship critiques either change or confirm the direction of your illustration? Are there any specific examples you can share?

Andrea O: The critiques confirmed my direction. Everybody said slightly different things about the portfolio, had different favorites and different advice, but the overall message I got was a confirmation of what I was doing. All mentors advised me in a different area, specific details I could adjust in my pieces, how I could professionalize my advertising, which area would probably be interested in my work etc. but all of them encouraged me to listen to my own instincts and believe in my work.

Kidlit Artists: Getting such specific and direct feedback on your work, did you find the experience enlightening? Affirming? Confusing? Conflicting? _______ (fill in the blank)? Why?

Andrea O: At first I thought some of the advice was conflicting, because I got contrary feedback on the same pieces in my portfolio, some mentors loved a piece while others advised me to take it out. But after letting the mentorship sessions sit for a while I realized that really a complete picture was developing. I also realized that I had to decide for myself how to interpret each piece of advice and utilize it to fit in with my work and where I wanted to go with it.

Kidlit Artists: Have you seen a shift in your work since you were mentored?

Andrea O: I felt more encouraged through the mentorship program to believe in my work and my instincts, and to trust in my style. All the mentors encouraged me to find my way of working on projects, that really helped me to be more confident when taking on a new project. Also, they all encouraged me to explore middle grade and young adult books, and I have been illustrating several books for that age range since.

Kidlit Artists: What kinds of projects are you working on now?

Andrea O: “Ghost Knight”, a middle grade novel by Cornelia Funke, just came out. I am finishing up work on “The Broken Lands”, a YA novel by Kate Milford and the prequel to “The Boneshaker” and a painting for the “Wild at Heart” show at Thinkspace gallery opening May 26. After that I will start illustrating a picture book for an Austrian publishing house.

Kidlit Artists: Is there anything, looking ahead, that you’re excited to be working on?

Andrea O: Yes, I am really looking forward to illustrating the picture book I just mentioned, it’s a fantastic story and the editor specifically told me that I can experiment and take it where I want, I can’t wait to start!

Kidlit Artists: Is there any type of illustration (or other work) that you’re hoping for in the near future?

Andrea O: Someday I would love to work on a graphic novel type story again.

Kidlit Artists: Last, please tell us where we can find you online.

Andrea O: Here is my website and blog: www.andreaoffermann.com, www.andreaoffermann.blogspot.com

Thank you Andrea!

Catching up with Eliza Wheeler

For those new to our blog, Eliza Wheeler is one of our contributors and was a recipient of the SCBWI Mentorship Award at the 2010 Summer Conference. We’d like to catch up with Eliza and ask her a few questions about the mentorship experience and about what she is up to these days.

Kidlit Artists: Did the feedback you receive during the mentorship critiques either change or confirm the direction of your illustration? Are there any specific examples you can share?

Eliza: The criticism and advice I received was extremely defining for me. My portfolio was separated into mostly two styles – darker, moodier work (the stuff I love), and then brighter, commercial work, drawn more simply (but less unique). My assumption was that it was going to be the commercial stuff that publishers wanted. Yet the mentorship program showed me the opposite was true. And ever since then I’ve still found that most people respond to my darker work the most. This isn’t to say that being dark is particularly in fashion, but at the heart of that work is a strong sense of emotion. It's applicable to any style, people just want to feel something when they see it.

Kidlit Artists: Have you seen a shift in your work since you were mentored?

Eliza: Definitely. The mentors gave me the confidence to re-work my portfolio into one that included dark and light work that can be displayed together and still feel consistent. The year following the mentorship program, I brought my revised portfolio back to the SCBWI Summer conference, and it won the grand prize! It was a really affirming moment for me.

In this blog post, I share my portfolio transformation, so you can see what it looked like the year I was mentored, and the year after: Wheelerstudio.com, Portfolio Comparison

I’m still keeping a constant critical eye on my work, hoping to find ways to grow and make it better. I doubt that will ever change!

Kidlit Artists: What kinds of projects are you working on now?

Eliza: I just finished illustrations for my first picture-book story to be published with Nancy Paulsen/Penguin books in May 2013. It’s about a miniature woman who gathers orphaned seeds, cares for and teaches them about the world before sending them back out into it.

I’m also working on a very exciting project, illustrations for Holly Black’s new Middle Grade novel Doll Bones, through Simon and Schuster. This is my first Middle Grade project, and I’m finding that I’m totally loving this format.

The past 6 months have been really dominated with illustration work (an awesome thing!), but I’m bringing writing back into my daily schedule with the hopes of presenting a new picture book story to my editor, Nancy Paulsen, in the next few months.

Kidlit Artists: Is there any type of illustration (or other work) that you’re hoping for in the near future?

Eliza: I’d like to continue illustrating for Middle Grade stories, and I’ve got a few ideas I’m toying around with possibly in the graphic novel format.

I’m also really excited to get a side project going, a series of illustrations that’s aimed towards adults – which is all I’ll say until it’s more of a reality! I hope these illustrations could perhaps begin to build an editorial portfolio, something I’ve been interested in to supplement my children’s illustration work.

Kidlit Artists: Last, please tell us where we can find you online.

Eliza: My work and blog are both at www.wheelerstudio.com, and I'm @wheelerstudio on twitter.

Thanks!

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