Hi! My name is Jess Smart Smiley and I work as an illustrator and graphic designer. I’ve created 18 books for young readers (including picture books, a #1 bestselling comics activity book, a hidden object book, chapter books, and graphic novels), and I have helped thousands of children, teens, and adults in creating their first…
Can You Draw the X House? Draw a square base with an ‘x’ inside and a triangle roof on top, using a single continuous line (no retracing existing lines). Do not lift pencil until finished. How many different ways can you draw the x house? Now Do It Again. And Again! I wish I could…
I’ve been using JetPens’s brushes, pens, and inks for something like 5 years now. I’m a fan! They’re constantly putting out new and quality artist supplies, and it was my pleasure to talk with them last week. Find out about my first failed graphic novel, my favorite artists, and what I’m currently working on by…
I recently came across this great post from Adam Rex on his process for illustrating the picture book Chu’s Day, written by Neil Gaiman, and thought I’d pass it along. The post is a brief overview of the roughly 6-month process that Adam put into creating Chu’s Day. (Adam mentions in the comments that “I can work on…
Since 2006 Pittsburgh-based husband and wife Paul Roden and Valerie Lueth have run the Tugboat Printshop, a traditional printmaking studio where everything is made by hand, starting with the giant slabs of wood into which each of their images are carved. The Moon is their largest hand-carved relief print ever coming in at 36″ x 32″ (91 x…
Excerpts from John Steinbeck’s diary while writing The Grapes of Wrath (via Austin Kleon) In 1938, John Steinbeck began writing what he hoped would be a great novel, and to keep track of his writing progress, he started a daily diary. “Here is the diary of a book…it will be interesting to see how it…
Craig Thompson’s hour presentation at Meltdown Comics on the process of making his graphic novels, Blankets and Habibi.
Here’s an interesting article I read on self-publishing–specifically on self-publishing comics. Although I don’t agree with everything Stef says, and I certainly don’t work in the same format, size, run, etc. she did, a lot of the information is extremely useful for beginners. It’s a great overview of what really goes into self-publishing a comic,…
Trent Kaniuga is the creator of the widely popular web comic (and soon to be game) Twilight Monk. Trent is often asked about his process for drawing, lettering, and composing pages, and he recently created a video to show how he does just that. It’s great insight for anyone interested in creating their own comic,…