SKETCHBOOK 88 COMPLETE! This book was my companion for nearly a year, as I developed work for: …and much more! Sketchbooks are my private playground, where I can explore, discover, and think out loud on paper. What do you like about keeping a notebook/sketchbook/diary? Is it helpful? Practical? Have you used your sketchbook to develop…
I’ve spent the last 6 months working in this sketchbook. Scribbling my last page of character designs, story notes, and testing out new drawing tools felt surreal, since I’m still very much in the thick of everything happening on these pages. It’s a conversation I haven’t finished, though the pages they occupy have been filled.…
The Sprite and The Gardener Written by Rii Abrego Illustrated by Joe Whitt A stunning, glittering, enchanting visual feast, focused on magic, gardening, and friendship. A simple and flowery tale for tweens. What’s better than marveling at beautiful, completed illustrations? Getting a glimpse into the creative process! The back of The Sprite and The Gardener…
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’m at an interesting point in my life right now. While I can’t get into the juicy details via this blog, I can say that there are some exciting projects underway and that I’m learning a lot of new skills I’ve been wanting to dive into for years now. These projects, while still very time-intensive…