Illustrations for the February issue of The Friend Magazine. I had so much fun coming up with different characters and situations to express the idea of friendship and rendering them all in a bright and colorful palette for young readers. Major thanks to Art Director and friend Josh Talbot! Read the article here!
There’s a big difference between a sketchbook and a portfolio. Growing up, I erased, scribbled over, and tore out my mistakes so that only my best work remained. I didn’t know any better at the time, but I could have gotten much more of out of my sketchbooks with a few simple tweaks. What I…
I’m happy to share that I FINISHED WRITING THE ROUGH DRAFT of my gritty sci-fi adventure novel last night! Clocking in at 175,000 words and exactly 700 pages, my sketchbook ideas are now fully fleshed-out characters, creatures, and technologies that make up a single, cohesive story. Is it perfect? YES! Just kidding. Among other things,…
Read on to learn more about: Creating my 224-page rough draft in 3 weeks while stuck in bed Finding beta readers to proofread my graphic novel Setting up surveys and forms to gather feedback from beta readers Using reader feedback to revise my graphic novel Hi! My name is Jess Smart Smiley. I’m an author/illustrator…
I teach comics workshops to children, teens, and adults. Most of my students are new to writing and/or drawing, and come with equal parts excitement and anxiety. I feel like my role is to make the creation process fun and accessible, while allowing the students to pursue whichever styles/genres/approaches interest them most. Week-long comics workshops…
Happy holidays! I drew 12 special elves for you to color–get them all in a single PDF for just $1 here. Get all 12 elf coloring pages for $1 here. Be sure to share with friends, teachers, family, and neighbors. Jess Smart Smiley
SALE / SALE / SALE Happy holidays! This is my first holiday sale and I’m excited to share some brand-new artwork, including my $1 Elves of Christmas Coloring Pages and custom Stick Figure Portraits. Get a closer look at each sale below. (NOTE: portraits are limited and first come, first served!) $1 Elves of Christmas Coloring…
When I was given the opportunity to teach a set of week-long comics workshops at the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, CA, I had no idea it would be such an important week in my life. This summer has been packed with teaching comics workshops for children and teenagers in my home state…
*ONE DAY LEFT! *GET IT NOW!* Last chance to pick up my Look & Find Coloring Book, available on kickstarter.Funding ends tomorrow night, so get it now!
COLORING CHALLENGE Think You Can Color All 10 Scenes? Last week I launched my Look & Find Coloring Book, which features 10 colorable look & find scenes. With over 100 drawings on each page, the Look & Find Coloring Book makes a fun challenge for both children and adults. Check out the Look & Find…