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A bit of color blocking for a 4-page narrative. Book Pacing workshop by Deborah Freedman and Frank Dormer. And *poof* the New England SCBWI Conference is over. Actually it's been over for about two weeks. I'm still working off the inspired energy I picked up from all the workshops. I miss it, but I know it'll always be in my heart… I took copious notes! Other illustrators working-working-working. I still have a small stack of postcards remaining from the portfolio showcase. Those will be mailed out to select Art Directors later this week. I have to admit I still hold my breath a bit when I'm about to send out postcards. It reminds me of the theme of this year's conference: "Be Brave: Make your mark". Though I've become a lot more confident with showing off my work, it's the ceremonial mailings which throw me. It's been a while since I last sent out any promotions and now I'm trying to build it into a seasonal routine. I'...

Portfolio - Spring 2014 We're setting out for the SCBWI New England Conference tomorrow. "We" is me,  Sheli Petersen  and Sheli's mother/author, Patricia Petersen. I'm packed, updated , and eager to meet everyone. I can hardly believe it's already time to head down to Springfield again :->; I am really pumped for this conference and I'm ready to let the inspiration vibes strike me. Above are a few bits from my book assembly from the past week. On the left are some finished snippets from one of my spreads, and the right is the black and white study of my mock mini portfolio. I have to tell you the mock-mini folio helped a LOT. it was great to see the impact of my ills in the small scale and to make sure that my values had enough contrast. Highly recommended. I did a similar study last year for the Infirm Pachyderm poster . This year I combed through my full book in black and white format before taking everything to print. I'm very pr...

Morning collaging - torn papers and glue. I'm still here. Quietly working on my portfolio… neglecting my blog. The past month was filled with doodling and other paper-cutting activities. On top of that I'm slowly, slowly, slowly building out my studio space to make it viewer-friendly. Priority number one is polishing off my portfolio for the New England chapter Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrator's conference . I've only got one more week left on the timeline, but I'm feeling confident with the book organization as it stands. Though I still have oodles of work to complete by next Friday, I'm close to press and assembly, so the deadline doesn't feel scary-close (this time around). Fingers crossed for my postcards. They should be landing some time Friday or Saturday, so let's keep our eyes on the mailbox for them. ~Samantha

Badge by Denise Ortakales - Source Whew-Hooo! I JUST signed up for the New England chapter SCBWI Conference . I can hardly wait to see everyone again :-)

illustrator-sam.com  -- website update! Gone Conferencing! The website has been updated with a fresh coat of (digital) paint, and new pieces born since the New England SCBWI Conference . Now I'm setting off for the West Coast for the Biggie Conference in Los Angeles. Hope to see some of you there, and for those not attending, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators will be blogging and Tweeting the whole shebang here (blog) and here (twitter feed or follow #LA13SCBWI). I'm ready for some learning!

Post-it Notes to self: "Don't forget your toothbrush... or hair stuff!" I will be leaving for the New England SCBWI conference in just a bit. I'm more than ready for an inspiring weekend! If you see me around, don't be shy and say "Hi!" Say "HI!" :-D  I will be toting my portfolio around with me all weekend, so if you'd like to take a peek, I'd be happy to show it off: Portfolio cover. See you in Springfield! ♥

Illustration contest submission for Jane Yolen's "Infirm Pachyderm". As one can see, I have been heavily involved with elephants lately. Nothing wrong with that! The New England SCBWI Conference (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) is only a couple weeks away. I had to pause portfolio preparations to submit to this year's poster illustration contest: Jane Yolen's poem "Infirm Pachyderm". My gut reaction to the first 30 or so reads were all somber. I wanted to gauge other illustrator's responses, so I preformed an image search... same reactions there. Since the poem is written for an audience that's Middle Grade age group at max, I wanted to illustrate a positive spin on the poem's outcome. Construction the illustration was a little less positive. I'm going to admit I have a weakness with Black & White drawing, so naturally I wanted to cut TONS of grey-scale images! Since my technique dwells on paper tex...

Toys coming to life assignment snippet with my portfolio. A few weeks have passed (THREE) since going to Ruth's Studio , so I want to be sure to post a THANK YOU to Ruth Sanderson and Denise Ortakales for their portfolio critiques. I feel as though I have a very clear direction for my body of work now. It's refreshing to have some unbiased eyes peeking at my work, outside of the monthly group sessions. Some mini renovations have already taken place on my portfolio space . For curious eyes, below are a few cellphone shots from the day:  Ruth Sanderson (center in red) browsing our sketches from the assignment. Assignment sketches spread for quick critique. The assignment (while we waited and listened in on critiques,) was "lively"... Living toys! I would like to explore the concept a little closer. It was tough to concentrate on drawing upon the assignment while eavesdropping on everyone's critique, but there was a LOT learned from the experience.  ...

Zoom-Zoom, NYC - February, 2013. Pleased to be home from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Winter Conference, while still trying to recover from my busy weekend. This year's commute is brought to you via Greyhound bus service... not a sponsored post, but yes I was pleased with the commute. I both recommend the bus as a transporting system from Boston to NYC, and will be using them again in the future. Fingers crossed I can return soon. The light of Central Park upon leaving. I was little hesitant about the visit since I was both nervous and excited about attending the Writer's Roundtable this go-around. In short: It made my trip. I got a LOT of great feedback from fellow Roundtable guests. This was an experience to be had. I only wish I had the opportunity to indulge in both the Writer's Roundtable and Illustration Intensive activities! The story for my picture book is currently in "RE-Draft-Mode," thanks to the love...

In a couple days I'll be heading to New York City for the Annual Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Winter Conference, where my portfolio will be on display during the Friday evening showcase. I should be able to exhale at this point... or at least after I've collected my book and any remaining postcards. I feel confident approaching the SCBWI conference than I did last year. I'm not going to lie - it took a lot to get here. It's hard becoming a giraffe! At least it's hard to make one's portfolio into a giraffe, but here's how I did it: Step 1: I planted an Idea seed late in the year 2011. The seed was for marketing materials. Yes. Postcards. Step 2: The idea flourished into "Aww's" and other kudos and encouragements to "turn this  (postcard concept on right) into something. " Step 3: The "Something" became a story. Step 4: The story became a (mild) obsession.  Step 5:...

I'm starting my 2013 with a made up word. Portfolio-izing is the act of "accessorizing" or enhancing one's portfolio. By "one" I mean my own. As you can see in my snippet above, I've transformed my portfolio into a giraffe pelt. The WHOLE portfolio looks like a giraffe now. This is just a close-up of the finished patterning: Lately I've been playfully gussying up my portfolio for the Annual SCBWI NY Conference. I'm beside myself with giddiness to get back into the city to show off my collection. I'm spending my weekend deciding on the interior pages and assembling my dummy book. This is what it looks like for me to "plot" out my portfolio pagination: I've got a lot of work to do, but I'm confident with the pieces I have completed. I can hardly wait to have my completed giraffe portfolio. Some of the "interior" bits can be found in my online portfolio . A few more pages will be making their way into ...

I submitted my illustration for SCBWI's Tomie dePaola, with only 10 minutes to spare. I'm incredibly grateful the drop-dead time was in Pacific Time. I chose to illustrate the famous white washing scene. As you see above, the illustration was intended to be in black and white, but I found I could control the contrast better working in full color and then just "gray-scaling" the finished illustration. Also please ignore any and all "wonky" looking colors. Again, I was pushing for contrast. Fingers are crossed!

This past week I finally discovered how to check books out from the library with my Nook. Yes, it's tougher than it sounds, because Barnes and Nobles doesn't want to you engage in anything that's FREE. There is very little information on library checkouts, except for maybe the Kindle. I finally figured it out through the NH Downloadable Book Consortium  (via the New User blog page). Very helpful (if you're glued to NH library, that is.) My mother surprised me with my Nook for my birthday. (Make a note that my birthday was the end of March - it is now November and I've only had to re-charge the battery once !) I've purchased a few books through B&N, but I've been dying to dabble into the library's system for a cheaper alternative. It does require some extra software with the computer, but with a simple little USB hook-up, the Nook downloads are incredibly easy... and fast. My first library engaged Nook-Book checkout is The Adventures of Tom Sawye...

I've updated my website ! I've changed the overall look of the site and swapped out a few pieces. In other news, I am planning to attend the SCBWI's Winter Conference again... you know if I can sign up. Just remember that 10am PDT = 1pm EST! I will be all over registration on Friday! Hope to meet some of you there! :-)

THRILLED to have gone, but a little bummed I couldn't attend the entire weekend. With work, travel and a tight-tight budget (so that we can attend the LA conference,) I was only able to join for the Saturday workshops. Though I take away a lot from my single day on site, I still wish I could have stayed for the full conference. "C'est la vie!" To really get the most of the conference my advice to myself and other potential goers: 1. DO the poster contest (illustrators) 2. DO the portfolio/manuscript review, especially that quick-query. I didn't meet a single person who felt it was money wasted 3. Don't get the chicken (lunch) 4. Do the portfolio showcase (illustrators) - ALWAYS show that folio when an opportunity presents itself 5. Take more pictures for more visual interest when you go back to Blog about your experience so that you don't just end up hoisting your business card up on the site for recognition The only real negative I take away fr...