#NESCBWI12 Poster Contest Winners!

As I mentioned yesterday, the 2012 NESCBWI Annual Conference held a contest to create a poster with the theme of "A Whole New World." Many of my friends participated, and many of them won! Click here to see the guidelines they had to follow.

And the winners are... (I'm still learning who won, so comment below if you know!)

For the Published Category:
1st Place- Russ Cox, winning piece shown here
2nd Place- Hazel Mitchell, winning piece shown here
3rd Place-

For the Unpublished Category:
1st Place- Milanka Reardon, winning piece shown here
2nd Place- Andrew Sabourin, winning piece shown here
3rd Place- Marcela Staudenmaier winning piece shown here

People's Choice Category:
1st Place:
2nd Place:
3rd Place:

Other entries illustrated by my RISD friends:
Kristina Hickman
Cindy Cornwall

Congratulations to all of you!!!
xo
~Melanie

It's Monday already?!?!

Well! This week went by FAST!

I don't have anything super awesome to share with you, however, I did finish sketching out the first two chapters of Little Raindrop's book yesterday. And now I can finally turn those sketches into a nice, clean book dummy which I will be using to get some feedback from Mr. H's third grade group of professionals, and our RISD Illustrator Crit Group!

This is an important step, because I will learn what needs to be changed, and if the layout is working, and the overall book design is going where it should. If it is, I can continue on working the way I have been. But if I end up with a list of things that need work, then I will double back and re-work it a bit before moving on with the rest of the book.

Also, this past weekend, I missed out on the NESCBWI conference in MA. I missed the workshops, the fun, and I missed seeing so many friends win awards! I'm so proud of them! Missing it all bummed me out more than I expected it would. But I chose to spend more time on the book instead, and it feels good knowing that I truly did meet some sort of a landmark in my own way. (I just know better for next time not to consider skipping a conference!)

So, no art today! I've got to get rolling on that dummy!
Have a great week!
~Melanie
p.s. As soon as everyone posts their winning pieces I'll re-post them here! :D Aww, forget it, I'm making a new post for this!

It's Nice To Be Home... from the NY SCBWI Conference!

Hello Friends!

I've just come home from my weekend away at my FIRST EVER New York SCBWI conference, and it was awesome! It all began on Friday with a nerve-wracking Portfolio Showcase submission (complete with Little Raindrop's super-short book dummy), an Illustrator's Intensive with some of my absolute favorite artists (John Rocco, Dan Santat, Dan Yaccarino and Sophie Blackall), wonderful workshops on Saturday with some excellent, and tear-jerking, keynote speakers... and ended Sunday (technically yesterday because it is now after midnight) with prize winners and more awesome presentations!

AND I got to go out for some authentic Japanese ramen! Mmmmmmm.

The icing on the cake was making some new friends, learning that about 300 professionals may have seen my portfolio, and getting my books signed by some super talented artists! I want to go hug them right now, because they are so special to me. (The books, not the people. Okay maybe the people too but that would be weird.)

I would LOVE to write more about it, but I have to go unpack and prepare for a long work day tomorrow. And today, which is actually Monday, will begin my fresh start at blogging once a week. So maybe I'll catch you later after a nice 8 hour nap!

Good Night!
~Mel :D

Little Raindrop's Social Network

Hi There!

Today I spent a crazyyyy amount of time putting together some marketing tools and social networking sites for my client's book, temporarily called "Little Raindrop's Big Adventure." Little Raindrop now has his very own blog, twitter account, facebook account, and even an email account! Now I'm totally tuckered out, (back, neck and brain included), but it will be worth it in the end to have gotten a head start. And you're probably wondering Why is the illustrator doing all this? Because I'm used to doing this sort of thing- it kind of comes naturally, and the author is learning it along the way! Plus, I put it in the contract, as a bonus for signing with me. ;)
So take a gander, "like," follow, and add Little Raindrop to your favorites folder!
http://littleraindropsblog.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @LRaindropsStory
(and Facebook is acting funny today so I'll fix it and get back to you!)


And on a separate, side note...

I'm signed up for the NY SCBWI 2012 Winter Conference! Yay!!! I hope to see some of you there as well! I'm very much excited about it, but thankfully time flies during the school year and the holidays, and it will be here in no time. Plus, in the meantime I'll need to get my portfolio in order, submit a piece of work to the Tomie dePaola Award, and print up more business cards and new postcards, so I'll be super busy as usual!

Keep on creating... I'm off to do some laundry!

Field Trip: NESCBWI Spring Conference, Fitchburg MA

This past weekend, I attended my very first New England SCBWI conference, (you know, that thing I've been talking about for a bit...), and it. was. AWESOME.

Three days in Fitchburg, MA, chock full of stuff. Books and writing and art stuff! And I made a bunch of new friends while having fun hanging out with my RISD pals- what could be better than that? There was a Poster Showcase & Contest (where half of the winners were from our own RISD group!), awesome Keynote Speakers like Jane Yolen, Tomie dePaola (and more), a viewing of the documentary "Library of the Early Mind," , book signings, and even a fun Cabaret show!

And of course, some amazing workshops run by some amazing people. These are the ones I was lucky enough to attend (and funnily enough, this person attended all the same workshops, with the exception of one! I wonder if we met?):

• "Earn Your Poetic License!" by Leslie Bulion 
• "The Search for Singular Style,"  a panel of illustrators that talked about where one's style comes from, by Robert Squier, Susan Savory, Teri Weidner and Andy J. Smith.
• "Picture Book or Magazine Story?" by Harold Underdown, a great lecture on defining you story and where it belongs in the printed world.
• "12 3/4 Ways to Tickle Young Readers' Funny Bones," by Donna Gephart, a very fun workshop on humor.
• "Turning Millstones into Milestones," by Nora Baskin, Elise Broach and Tony Abbot, a panel about the business of the book world.

To top it all off, the most exciting thing for me all weekend was my fifteen minute critique session with Harold Underdown. He gave me plenty of helpful advice and ideas of ways to improve my manuscript (Project #1), and I'm really looking forward to making some significant (but much needed) changes to it. I know it will be much better once I do, and I'm happy to do it! One step closer to publication! I can almost taste it!

I was so busy that I didn't have a chance to take pictures...well, except for this one on the first day:

Other than having a lack of photographs, my only regret is that I didn't participate in the Poster Showcase... but since I this was my first time I really wanted to just absorb and learn, and see what it was all about first. So next year, I WILL do a poster.

And I can't wait!

The Portfolio

In addition to updating my website in preparation for this weekend's SCBWI conference in Fitchburg, I have also been reviewing my portfolio and printing up my best work to carry with me in my little leather folio.

As I was doing so, I started to wonder/worry about what I was putting out there for the world to see. Does this work represent who I am as an artist? Is this truly my best work? Should I (and could I) have done more to prepare for this weekend? So much depends on The Portfolio. And the stress of it all began to bubble up to the surface.

I had to stop and remind myself that, first of all, stress isn't good for anybody. So stop it right now!

And also that if I look at the entire spectrum of my art career, I have only been in the Children's Book business since Fall of 2009, when I signed up for classes at RISD. There is a reason why my portfolio needs so much more work. I'm still learning! I have plenty of non children's book art, and plenty of school-assigned pieces, but not a lot of things that are really mine. Things I've created just because I wanted to, and for the love of the craft. Well of course not- I have been a busy student, still working, and now blogging, and still having (somewhat) a life.

So with that information in the front of my brain, I looked again at what I had to offer the world. And you know what? It made me happy and proud. Yes, I could have done better on some of the projects we were assigned, had I given myself enough time (or watched one less movie with Hubby). And yes, I know not all the images didn't print or scan the way that I would have liked. And, yes, I know there are WAY better artists out there that will get the job instead of me.

But my current portfolio is proof that I'm heading in the direction of my dreams. I am doing what I love to do! It means I will be spending more time illustrating and writing, and getting better at it with each new project. It means I've got a grin on my face that can't be wiped off by my own insecurities, because I know I'm doing the best I can with what I've got.

So, take THAT, Stress, and take your worries to someone who cares. :)

And take this, Readers- some tidbits I've found on building one's portfolio. Maybe they'll help us all shine a little brighter, and do our best a little best-er!
Tips from artist Tony Sansevero
Tips from artist Nina Rycroft
Tips from artist Phyllis Pollema-Cahill
Tips from Harold Underdown
Tips from artist Chris Tugeau
Three Mistakes Illustrators Make in their Portfolios
Selecting Images for Your Portfolio

Gettin' Ready!!!

SO!

The SCBWI Spring Conference in Fitchburg, MA is fast approaching! I've got my new business cards and postcards printed, and I'm working on printing up my portfolio all nicey-nice like (and putting it into my new tablet for a better viewing experience). But my biggest issue had been my old website (still viewable at mlindenart.com, but it won't be the same for long!). It was fun and all that, but I needed a site that allowed actual photo galleries versus the flippy things that 1and1.com offered in their templates. A friend of mine was kind enough to tell me about Weebly.com, and they are just what I needed (I super duper love them)!

A bit of a preview of the new site :)

So now you can visit my new website at melanielindenchan.weebly.com or by typing melanielindenchan.com, and either way you will get to my new and improved site. Much more professional looking with a touch of girly fun! I'm still adding and tweaking stuff here and there, but it is where it should be for the most part.

Let me know what you think, if you'd like. :)
Thanks for reading!

Postcard Designs: Spring 2011

Well it seems I've been pretty productive this week! I'm working on a painting (still in progress, but I'll share it with you soon), and I made up my promotional postcards to send out to potential clients. I wanted them to match my new business cards, so here's what I came up with:

Front of Postcard - © Melanie Linden Chan 2011

Back of Postcard - © Melanie Linden Chan 2011

My only question is about saving room for the bar code at the bottom. I followed Vistaprint's guidelines and it looks all right to me, so I guess we'll see!

New Business Card Designs!

Hi there!

In preparing for the SCBWI conference in Fitchburg, MA this spring, I have made for myself some new business cards! I've ordered them at Vistaprint.com, and they should be delivered within the week. I can't wait to see them in person. I made them all with the same front side, but I have four different back sides.

And to celebrate, I have changed my blog background color to match my new cards. :)

Front side of my new business card!

Back side Design 1 of 4

Back side Design 2 of 4

Back side Design 3 of 4

Back side Design 4 of 4