KidLit Connection: Getting to Know Author-Illustrator, Angela Quezada Padron

A banner with white background featuring colorful illustrations of a girl with wings over the water, an older couple smiling, green hills, a blue house with fence, instruments, and palm trees. Text read: Angela Quezada Padron. Author/Illustrator. Children's Books. Fiction. Nonfiction. Educational.
A headshot of Angela Quezada Padron. She has long brown hair, brown eyes and is smiling while wearing a pink and purple floral blouse. There are palm trees and a city in the background.

Welcome to the latest KidLit Connection interview! I’m so pleased to introduce Angela Quezada Padron, an author and illustrator of children’s books, including picture books, board books, and novels. Her debut author-illustrated picture book, AS THE SEAS RISE: Nicole Hernández Hammer and the Fight for Climate Justice (Atheneum Books for Young Readers) just released this June! She’ll share more about this book in the interview.

Angela writes and illustrates both fiction and nonfiction stories. Her nonfiction work celebrates people in the Latino community who have made a difference in the world and within their community. Angela has worked as a freelance writer, illustrator, fine artist, and curriculum designer for educational publishers. She is a lover of nature, music, and sports. When she’s not writing, drawing, and painting, you can find Angela creating music, collecting seashells, and enjoying the natural world.

An Interview with Children’s Book Author and Illustrator, Angela Quezada Padron

First, we’d love to hear more about you as an illustrator and author. Can you tell us more about you and your work as a creator of books for kids?

Thank you so much for this opportunity to interview with you and share about myself. I write and illustrate fiction and nonfiction children’s books, mainly picture books but also board books and novels. In 2007, I started an illustration master’s program through the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and I graduated with my MFA in 2011. In 2012, I illustrated a few books for McGraw Hill, an educational publisher. Then in 2014 I was hired for two books—THE HERO IN YOU by Ellis Paul (Albert Whitman & Co.) and MY BODY BELONGS TO ME by Jill Starishevsky (Free Spirit Publishing). I was also a semi-finalist in the Tomie de Paola contest through SCBWI in 2014, and I was offered the chance to illustrate a story called FIREFIGHTER MOM in Cricket Magazine in 2016. I felt like I was on a roll! Then things died down and I didn’t have any luck until 2021 when Atheneum Books picked up my first author/illustrator book, AS THE SEAS RISE. Since then, I’ve had some other illustration projects with educational publishers, and sold three other books due out between 2025-2027.

An illustration of a kitchen scene. Two older women cook on a stove to the left. Two younger children cook at a countertop to the right. One of them looks concerned about what's inside the pot she's opening. Art by Angela Quezada Padron.

How did you start creating children’s books? Was there anything in particular that inspired you to pursue it?

A photo of Angela Quezada Padron as a little girl, smiling and holding up a picture she drew.

I’ve actually been creating books since I was little. My mom saved many of my “books” that I wrote and illustrated as early as four-years-old. Most of the books were about her when she was pregnant with my younger brother, me meeting Santa Claus, or Snoopy. I also saved my stories from my seventh-grade creative writing class. I didn’t realize, though, that this could be a legitimate path for me until I began teaching in my mid-20’s. Working in schools exposes you to more children’s books. As I read more books, I became more interested in studying about the authors and illustrators and how they got their books published. Some time in my early 30’s, I came up with a story idea but wasn’t sure how to format it or where to even get eyes on it to try and publish it. 

I joined the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) in 2004, and I’ve been on this path ever since. I joined a critique group, of which I am still a part of (shoutout to the Aventura Critique Group in Florida)! My writing friends and critique partners have helped me so much with telling me what works and what doesn’t in each of my stories. They’ve shown me how to strengthen my work and tighten my word choices. Without them, there is no doubt I would never have been published. 

A book cover for AS THE SEAS RISE: NICOLE HERNANDEZ HAMMER AND THE FIGHT FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE by Angela Quezada Pdron. An illustration of a woman with long dark hair, wearing glasses and a white button-down shirt. She is surrounded by different children working together to build a diorama. Behind them is the ocean.

Your most recent book, AS THE SEAS RISE: NICOLE HERNÁNDEZ HAMMER AND THE FIGHT FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE (Atheneum Books for Young Readers) just came out in June—congrats! This is a powerful, lyrical biography about a Latina environmental scientist and climate activist who has worked for climate justice in vulnerable communities.  Can you tell us more about this story and what inspired you to write and illustrate it?

Thank you so much! It truly was an honor to create this book about Nicole. After attending a 2020 SCBWI online conference about nonfiction children’s books, I became interested in writing a children’s book biography about a Latina figure who was involved in science in some way. After doing some searching online, I came across an article about Nicole Hernández Hammer where it stated that she was invited by First Lady Michelle Obama to attend the State of the Union address in 2015. Nicole was recognized due to her work advocating for climate justice in communities of color and educating others about how climate change was affecting the health of people in Latino communities. That inspired me to learn even more about her, as well as about sea level rise and climate justice. I wouldn’t call myself an advocate for climate change or justice, however I am conscious about how I’m contributing to climate change and climate justice and always looking for ways to support, adjust my ways and beliefs if needed, and learning what actions I can take to make this world better. 

A spread from the book AS THE SEAS RISE by Angela Quezada Padron

When I was writing the book, I found her on LinkedIn and took a chance to message her and said: ‘Hi, I have this story. I would love to interview you.’ And she said, ‘Sure.’ So we set up a time on Zoom and we chatted. I wanted to verify things that I had read. She gave me other insight, too, that had not been in any articles. I told her I would share this story with her once I had finished writing it, which I did. Within two or three months I got an offer from Atheneum (Books for Young Readers). I kept Nicole in the loop the entire time. I paid her a consultation fee, to consult throughout the book. We stayed in contact throughout the entire creation of the book, which obviously lends more credibility to the book.

Angela painting for AS THE SEAS RISE

When working on AS THE SEAS RISE, what was one of your favorite parts of the project?

I really enjoyed my conversations with Nicole and learning about her life. Throughout the process, she sent me photos of her and her family to use as references for the illustrations. She also taught me a lot of the correct terminology to use when speaking about climate justice (for example, we shouldn’t say we want to “help” frontline communities but rather “partner with” frontline communities so they can get the services and support they need to stay resilient against climate change). 

What was one of your biggest challenges when working on AS THE SEAS RISE?

A nonfiction 48-page biography is probably one of the hardest books to make, especially as my author/illustrator debut. Most books are 32 pages, with fictional stories you can make up the characters and places, and you have more freedom to stylize the characters and backgrounds. With biographies, you have to be as accurate as possible with the facts and the depiction of the person. And, when the person is still alive and you’re communicating with them, you want to be EXTRA exact to do them proud. I had the pressure on myself to try to make it as perfect and accurate as possible.

In addition, my father was ailing and passed away in 2021, right in the middle of me working on the final text. Then I was dealing with some health issues in the spring of 2022 that affected me finishing the art. But I pushed through it and got it done!

From reference photo, to line drawing, to finished color page from the book AS THE SEAS RISE.

We’d love to hear more about how you work! What sort of process and tools do you use to create both your illustrations and writing?

In the past, including for AS THE SEAS RISE, I would do most of the illustrations by hand using pencil. First, I do a lot of research and find photos that will inspire some or all parts of a drawing. Sometimes it’s the right background or object I needed, and sometimes it’s just a pose I needed. I often look at videos and then take screenshots while videos are playing because that allows you to capture a person in action rather than a posed shot. For the cover of SEAS, I saw a Twitter post about kids making models of their communities protected for climate change. Nicole and I thought that would be a good theme for the cover, and the editor agreed!

A series of thumbnail sketch line drawings by Angela Quezada Padron.
Thumbnail sketches from AS THE SEAS RISE

After I had my ideas, I would draw thumbnail sketches to get a sense of layout and how to paginate the text. Then I did more refined thumbnails. Once I had the layouts decided, each part of an illustration was drawn by hand on vellum using Prismacolor Col-erase pencils. I find vellum to be a beautifully smooth surface that doesn’t smear, and the col-erase pencils have a nice texture as well as don’t smear like regular pencils. I would scan them into my computer, clean them up and adjust as needed. Once the editor saw the sketches and gave feedback, I made necessary adjustments and then drew the final outlines.

Then I would print all of the parts – people, objects, backgrounds – onto several pieces of BFK Rives paper which is mainly used for printmaking. It’s thick, doesn’t really warp and can hold a lot of layers of paint and coloring. Plus it has a nice texture to it. I would tape the paper down onto wooden boards and then color in the drawings with gouache, watercolor, pastel and/or colored pencil. After that, I would scan all the painted papers back into Photoshop, put each part on its own layer (meaning, the people and objects would be placed on individual layers in Photoshop) and then add in my original sketches as overlays to make sure the lines were clean. I would then finish in Photoshop to clean up, resize, and change color of any part if need be. 

From AS THE SEAS RISE:
A scanned in drawing, background painting, and painted figures before they are assembled together digitally.

However, after doing a 48-page picture book like SEAS in this style, I realized that I need to work digitally more to save time and to save my aging hands from tiring out! So, now I tend to draw parts by hand still on vellum, scan them in and then redraw over them in Photoshop or Procreate. I do a combination of coloring digitally and scanning in painting or textured paper to fill in the illustrations like digital collage. Some of my work on my website was created with digital collage in this manner, and some were done by drawing and coloring by hand, then scanning in and putting them together digitally.

A peek into Angela Quezada Padron’s creative workspaces

You have three other books you’re currently working on which will be out in the future. Can you tell us more about them?

I would love to! FROM THE FIELDS TO THE FIGHT: HOW JESSICA GOVEA THORBOURNE ORGANIZED FOR JUSTICE comes out with Atheneum Books in 2026. Jessica worked with Cesar Chavez during the grape boycott to fight for equal rights for farm workers and labor unions. That is being illustrated by the talented Sol Salinas. The next book, AN ISLAND CALLED HOME (Eerdman’s Books, 2026) is a fictional story about a girl who visits her father’s home country for the first time and learns about her extended family and her bilingual and bicultural heritage. It’s based on my life with my father who is from the Dominican Republic, and I will be illustrating that one. Lastly, LUCIA’S GOALS (Lee & Low), which is being illustrated by Christina Barragan-Forshay, is about a girl who wants to play soccer but battles through sexism, racism, and inequality to make her dream come true. The publication date is not finalized yet but should be out in the next couple of years. 

Some people might wonder why an illustrator wouldn’t illustrate all their books. The truth is my style doesn’t always fit with the stories I write, and I don’t want to be limited to only pursuing books that I could best illustrate. 

What is your greatest wish for your work as an illustrator and author?

What a great question. I focus on the stories that have an emotional tie-in that will allow readers to connect to the story in some way. I think about how a particular story will inspire and impact kids and encourage them to read more. For example, I hope books like SEAS and FIELDS inspire kids to take action against injustice, while LUCIA can show what perseverance is, and ISLAND can show readers another culture or family situation they may never have known about. Some of my other stories I hope to publish will just make kids laugh or entertain them and others may warm their hearts. In the end, I create the stories because I love to and want to share my ideas and creations with the world. But to me, it’s most important that the kids enjoy reading them and connect with the stories. Otherwise, there’s no point in doing them at all. 

Is there something you would like to tell aspiring children’s book illustrators and authors who hope to be published someday?

Definitely look into organizations like SCBWI to learn about the industry and connect with others. Do your research before submitting to agents and editors to make sure your style and goals match with theirs. Write and illustrate what you love, not what the trends say you should do. Illustrate in the style and medium YOU want to, not in the style others tell you you should. BUT, always be open to feedback and suggestions. Find other creators to connect with so you get that honest feedback and encouragement. Most importantly, never give up. It can take years to get your first book deal or project and when you do, all the hard work will have been worth it!

I also want to acknowledge Giuseppe Castellano from The Illustration Department. A few years ago, I was feeling like my work wasn’t good enough and doubting myself. I signed up for a portfolio review and mentorship with Giuseppe, whose advice and encouragement were essential to help me rebuild my portfolio and come up with ideas for the compositions for AS THE SEAS RISE. Publishing really is a collaborative effort!

Learn More About Angela Quezada Padron

To learn more about Angela Quezada Padron and to see more of her work, follow her on social media and visit these links:

Angela is represented by Sera Rivers at Speilburg Literary.

Are you a published or soon-to-be published illustrator or author/illustrator who loves creating books about nature, animals, the environment, social justice, or mindfulness? I’d love to chat with you for a KidLit Connection interview! Send me a message.

KidLit Connection: Getting to Know Illustrator, Acamy Schleikorn

Two children play in a living room with a space ship made out of a cardboard box. A playful illustration by Acamy Schleikorn.
Illustration by Acamy Schleikorn
Illustrator and author, Acamy Schleikorn smiles in an outdoor garden backdrop. Academy is a Black woman with glasses, hair in locs, and in this photo wears a floral blouse.

The latest KidLit Connection interview is here! And I’m so excited to celebrate a very happy book birthday with illustrator, Acamy Schleikorn! This past week, Acamy celebrated the release of her debut book, NOT MY CAT, written by Stacy Patton, published by Simon & Schuster for Young Readers. Acamy is an illustrator and writer from Las Vegas who creates stories and art that celebrate diversity and joy in the Black community. Her illustrations have a focus on family, friendship, joy, and imagination with a unique and playful style, using digital tools with a textural, traditional feel.

In this interview, Acamy shares more about her process, what inspires her, and more about her new book and upcoming projects. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Acamy as a critique partner in the past and it’s been a joy to see her grow and bloom in her picture book career. I can’t wait for you to learn more and read her new book!

An Interview with Children’s Book Illustrator and Author, Acamy Schleikorn

Can you tell us more about yourself? What do you love about illustrating books and what inspires you and your art?

For those that don’t know, my name is pronounced uh-kay-me and I absolutely love my name! I’m a wife and mom. When I’m not illustrating, I’m spending time with my family, practicing piano, or baking anything sourdough. My favorite thing about illustrating picture books is that I get to include snippets of my own world into my art. I love expressing myself in that way. The very things that make me who I am can be seen sprinkled throughout a lot of my art. For example, I love laughing, so you’ll see a lot of joy and heartwarming scenes depicted in my art. I think it’s awesome because we can never have too much joy in our lives, right?! It’s truly my favorite thing to illustrate. Honestly, all kinds of things inspire me like nature, my family and other art. I like reminding myself that there is inspiration all around me if I take the time to notice it. 

How did you get your start illustrating picture books? We’d love to know more about the path you took to get here.

Before I was an illustrator, I was a hand lettering artist that focused on weddings. I’d hand letter wedding welcome signs, seating charts, table cards, and all kinds of other things. It was cool, but it became repetitive for me, and I just wasn’t fulfilled. Once I discovered the world of picture books, it was a wrap. I was hooked and in love. I have a heart for children, so this was a perfect way for me to do something that would impact them in a positive way. I posted a lot of my artwork on social media when I was just starting out. My agent actually found me using the #PortfolioDay hashtag on Twitter. It was truly a blessing, because I didn’t even realize I had that kind of potential at the time. My agent is awesome, because she is able to draw out the gold in me that I didn’t know was there. When my agent emailed me about an inquiry she received for me to illustrate NOT MY CAT for the first time, I was shocked! The amazing journey I was on became so much more real!

Your debut picture book, NOT MY CAT (written by Stacey Patton and published by Simon & Schuster), is a funny story about Staceypants who says she doesn’t want a cat, but somehow finds herself with a cat who chooses to adopt her. Can you tell us more about this book?

The book cover for NOT MY CAT by Stacy Patton and illustrated by Aacamy Schleikorn. A Black woman with locs sits on a sidewalk with a grey cat leading up to a yellow house.

Absolutely! The thing I love about NOT MY CAT is that it is based on real events that happened between Stacey Patton (AKA Staceypants in the story) and the cat who “wasn’t hers”. This made me feel as though I was putting a new lens on reality with my illustrations as opposed to creating my own world. There’s definitely a greater level of care that goes into projects like this because you want to represent the things that happened both accurately and creatively. The publisher sent me several images of Stacey with her cat, so I took it upon myself to bring some of that to life. The cat yoga scene in the book is based off of a real photo! So fun!

What were your favorite parts about working on NOT MY CAT? Was there anything you found challenging with this project?

I actually enjoyed so much about working on this book! But if I had to narrow it down, I’d say I loved the fact that the main character had locs and crazy pants! I also have locs, so it was a connection point to the author for me. And drawing crazy pants… well, that’s just fun! I was really able to let my creativity shine and come up with different patterns and colors that I could only dream of having on my pants. 

The challenging thing about this project is that… believe it or not, I had never really illustrated a cat before this! It’s one thing drawing a cat, but it’s another thing drawing the same cat in different poses and making sure it’s consistent throughout. Sometimes the body would be too long or wouldn’t be hairy enough in some scenes. So it was basically trial and error for me to figure out what worked best. I actually love these types of challenges, though! You say yes and figure out the details along the way!

Two pages from NOT MY CAT. On the left a woman does yoga on a porch with her cat. On the right, the same woman lies on a blanket outside with her cat. Illustrated by Acamy Schleikorn.
A spread from the book NOT MY CAT, by Stacy Patton and illustrated by Acamy Schleikorn

You also have another book you illustrated coming out at the end of the year called I’M ALWAYS LOVING YOU (written by Kathy Wolff). Can you tell us more about illustrating this book?

Of course! This book is so personal to me. Once I read the manuscript, it was an immediate yes to illustrate this book. As a mother myself, I could relate to every single word (well almost, because there is a line about coffee in there, and I am definitely not a coffee person at all, haha). For the illustrations, I decided on following three different family units throughout the story. I wanted to be as inclusive as I could because all families are different. The first family is a family of four that consists of a mother, father, son, and daughter. The second family is a single father with his daughter, and the third family is a grandmother with her grandson. I cycle through each of these families throughout the pages to show how love expresses itself in different ways. Some of the scenes have a bit of humor that I believe many parents/caregivers can relate to while other scenes are very sweet. I poured my heart out onto those pages!

How would you compare illustrating your first book to your second book? How were the experiences different or similar?

I loved both experiences, but they were very different! For NOT MY CAT, since it was based on a true story about the author, there were certain qualities about the main character, the cat, and the surrounding environment that I needed to make sure I incorporated into the art. So I had a little bit of art direction with that one, but it wasn’t so much that it was overbearing. I was still able to pour myself into the art like I usually do. I really enjoyed it!

For I’M ALWAYS LOVING YOU, it was more of a free for all! I was able to simply read the manuscript and illustrate whatever I wanted to. That felt like a lot of freedom compared to my first book and allowed me to incorporate even more qualities from my life into the story. For example, one of the family units shown in the book… is a direct reflection of my own family! I was very intentional about every little detail and finding ways to tell a separate story from the manuscript itself.

A wooden desk with an iPad and MacBook on top with a black chair and some white filing drawers below.

We’d love to know more about how you work and make your art. Can you share more about your creative process and tools?

All of my illustrations are created digitally using an app on my iPad Pro called Procreate. It’s a powerhouse! My favorite thing about it is the ease of working anywhere. If I want to work at my desk, cool! If I want to work on the couch, also cool! It’s convenient because I don’t have to worry about cleaning up any art supplies; I can easily grab my iPad and go! I recently just built my own desk out of butcher block, and I absolutely love it. I’ve fallen asleep way too many times on my bed while “working” on my iPad, so this will be helpful. It’s way easier to focus at my desk!

What is your biggest hope for your work as a children’s book creator?

Honestly, my biggest hope for my work is that children will be able to see themselves in my art. I am a firm believer that representation in picture books is so important. I didn’t see enough of myself growing up and I want to ensure that children today have a bunch of options! And as a Black woman, I want to be able to connect to Black girls specifically. That’s also why I love drawing natural hairstyles! I want to remind them that however their hair grows out of their hair is perfect and beautiful! Another one of my dreams is to have my author-illustrator debut! I don’t yet have a polished story for my agent to start querying yet, but I’ve been trying to work toward that.

What is something you’d like to share with other illustrators wanting to break into this industry?

Be yourself! Your art should be a reflection of you and have a unique voice. If you are weird, show that in your art! If you love drawing food or astronauts, make sure those specific things can be found in your portfolio! And don’t include anything you aren’t 100% happy with or anything you don’t enjoy drawing. Always keep working on your craft and asking the right people for feedback! Be okay with making mistakes and creating art you aren’t proud of. It’s all a part of the process, and sometimes you have to crawl through the mud to find some gold.

Learn More About illustrator and author Acamy Schleikorn

An illustration of a young Black girl with vitiligo and her hair in bantu knots, wearing a red jumper. Art by Acamy Schleikorn.

To learn more about Acamy,  see more of her work, and follow her on social media, check out these links:

Acamy is represented for children’s books by Claire Morance at Painted Words.

Are you a published or soon-to-be published illustrator or author/illustrator who loves creating books about nature, animals, the environment, social justice, or mindfulness? I’d love to chat with you for a KidLit Connection interview! Send me a message.

KidLit Connection: Getting to Know Author-Illustrator, Julia Mills

An illustration self-portrait of author-illustrator Julia Mills. Julia wears a handmade hat, has pink hair, wears pink glasses, a hoodie, and is shown painting at a desk with watercolors and a cup of tea.

Welcome to the first KidLit Connection interview of 2024! I’m so pleased to have been able to talk with Julia Mills, an illustrator and author of picture books with fun animal protagonists, a warm heart, and a touch of whimsy. Julia’s debut picture book I AM STUCK, published by Clarion Books, came out in September of 2023. This adorable story about a turtle who is stuck on their back shows readers and their grown-ups how a friend can help in a difficult situation just by being there for them.

Julia’s illustrations are playful and colorful with a soft simplicity perfect for storytelling. She loves creating books with animals characters because of the joy she finds from researching more about each critter. When she’s not writing and illustrating books for kids, Julia is a school art teacher, mom, and knitter. She lives with her family near the shores of New Jersey.

An Interview with Julia Mills

A chipmunk lounges on their back in a hammock while holding a book under big green leaves. A ladybug peaks from a rock in the corner. Art by Julia Mills.

We’d love to know more about you and your work as a creator of books for kids. What inspires you and what do you love about writing and illustrating picture books?

I think my biggest inspiration is that I vividly remember what it is like to be a kid. I remember the magic of playing with toys all day. I remember the joy of painting whatever I wanted to paint just because painting is fun. 

How did you get your start creating picture books? We’d love to know more about your path to being a published author and illustrator. 

I wanted to be an illustrator and an art teacher when I was four years old. I ended up studying illustration in college but soon thereafter veered down the path of fine art. I studied in a atelier and then got an MFA in visual art. After all that school I realized that illustration was what I really wanted to do. By that point I had two small children so I was reading a lot of picture books. I took a workshop at the Highlights Foundation which really opened my eyes up to the publishing industry. From there I joined SCBWI and started building my portfolio and making connections with other illustrators.  I was simultaneously going back to school to become a certified art teacher! In 2020 I realized that if I wanted something to illustrate I should write it. I AM STUCK was my second dummy, and when I finished it I knew it was the one that would get published. I pitched it during a Twitter event which is how I ended up working with my agent, Rebecca Sherman. She sold I AM STUCK to Clarion and it was published in September of 2023. I’m now working on my second book for Clarion which is set to be released in Winter of ’25. 

Your debut picture book, I AM STUCK (Clarion Books), is an adorable story about a turtle who gets stuck on their back and the variety of critters they meet along the way (some more helpful than others). Can you tell us more about this story and how it came to be?

A stark white background with black hand drawn text that reads, "I am STUCK". The U in "STUCK" is a turtle upside down on their back. Book cover by Julia Mills.

This story actually started with Tara Lazar’s Storystorm!  This is an event where you try to brainstorm an idea for a picture book every day in January. Well I got to the last day and I couldn’t come up with anything. So I wrote “stuck” on the page. In the letter “u” I saw …TURTLE! I immediately started writing (and checking to make sure that book didn’t already exist). I knew that I wanted to explore how hard it is to feel stuck. This was winter of 2021, and at that time many of us were feeling stuck. I wanted to create a story that honored that feeling but also opened the door to getting “unstuck”.

What was your favorite part about working on I AM STUCK? And what was something you found challenging during this project?

My favorite part about working on I AM STUCK was experimenting with techniques to make Turtle’s shell.  I knew I wanted a simple design but I also wanted to echo turtle shells in nature. I ended up layers dark green over bright yellow paint and then sprinkling it with coarse salt. I probably painted that shell 15 times to get it just right! I still love the combination of randomness and structure. The most challenging part of this book was probably the page where Turtle almost rolls over. I actually did this page first because I knew if I could draw him perfectly 18 times I would be set for the rest of the book! I ended up drawing it like animation, layering paper over each previous layer.  I also had a model of Turtle I made with air dry clay to help me visualize how his body would move. I’m really proud of that spread.

A test spread from I AM STUCK where Julia experimented with positions and coloring.

You seem to really love animals! Can you talk more about your connection to animals and nature in your work?

A white squirrel holds an acorn among some autumn leaves. Art by Julia Mills.

I never set out to be an author who wrote about animals, but here I am! I like using elements of how animals act into the personalities of my characters. I knew that I AM STUCK would feature a turtle, but when it came to the secondary character I pretty quickly settled on a possum. I think possums are really cute but a lot of people don’t like them. So I wanted some good press for possums! Right now I’m working on a book that features a raccoon.  I guess I better write one about a skunk to complete the “trash panda” trifecta! Growing up my Mom always told me a lot about the natural world. I learned about names of plants, behaviors of bugs and how to spot birds from a very young age.  I hope that the children who read my books become curious about the animals and seek out more knowledge about the natural world.

Shop talk time! We’d love to hear more about how you work. Can you share more about your creative process and tools?

The best way I could describe my work is traditional materials with digital collage. I like to use lots of different materials but mainly I use black colored pencil and watercolor. After I create my watercolors I scan them and put them in Photoshop. From there I clean the watercolors  (remove the paper usually) and add other elements like digital drawing, layers of pastel or even children’s paint sticks! I tend to choose my materials based on the story. I AM STUCK has a very simple, graphic look because I wanted Turtle to really pop on the page. My next book has more natural elements, including a lot of grass that I’m creating by layering watercolor, colored pencil and digital drawing. 

A Black man holds his smiling daughter up to look at a butterfly on a red flower in a garden. Art by Julia Mills.

What other types of work have you done that relate to your work as an artist and author?

To start off I’m an elementary art teacher. I get a lot of art inspiration by playing with different art materials that I present to my students. I also get writing inspiration from my interactions with my students. Being a teacher reminds me that kids are the reason I write. I want to write books that they will be excited to read. Prior to being a teacher I created a lot of “traditional” art like landscape and portrait paintings. While I enjoyed working on my skills, that kind of art never brought me the joy that illustration brings me. To me there is no higher art compliment than a child telling me they love my book. 

What is your biggest dream for your work as a children’s book creator?

Honestly I just want to keep making books and reading them to kids. I absolutely love school visits and hope to do more of them. I just hope to keep creating stories that make kids laugh and make them think. 

What is something you’d like to share with your readers?

I think honoring your creativity can be so hard. We often feel like we need to do BIG things to be artists and creators. But sometimes being creative means scribbling on a sticky note. Sometimes it means letting yourself write or draw something terrible. So dear readers, if you feel like the mountains are too big to climb, don’t be afraid to study some pebbles. Who knows where they might lead you?

A possum sticks their tongue out in the snow, wearing a blue and purple snow suit. Art by Julia Mills.

Learn More About Julia Mills

To learn more about Julia Mills, her art, books, and latest projects, be sure to check out her website and follow her on social media:

Visit Julia’s book page on her website to find out more about how to order your own copy of I AM STUCK!

Julia is represented for children’s books by Rebecca Sherman at Writers House.

Are you a published or soon-to-be published illustrator or author/illustrator who loves creating books about nature, animals, the environment, or mindfulness? I’d love to chat with you for a KidLit Connection interview! Send me a message.

Victoria’s 2024 Birthday Fundraiser & Art Raffle for The Highlights Foundation

Six flat stones sit on top of pebbles. Each stone contains a carved word. The stones read, "open your soul and learn happiness". Photo from the Word Garden at The Highlights Foundation, taken by Victoria K. Chapman.
Highlights Foundation Logo

In early March I’ll have taken another turn around the sun, which means it’s time for my annual birthday fundraiser! This year, I’m asking you to help me celebrate my birthday by donating to an organization close to my heart—The Highlights Foundation. The Highlights Foundation’s mission is to “to positively impact children by amplifying the voices of storytellers who inform, educate, and inspire children to become their best selves”. They help creators of stories and art for kids get to the next level and grow.

How the Fundraiser Works

I’ve set up three ways to donate—use whatever works best for you!

  1. Donate through the Facebook fundraiser page
  2. Donate through the Instagram fundraiser page (viewable in the Instagram app)
  3. Donate directly through the Highlights Foundation Website

For everyone who donates at least $10, you can be entered into a raffle to win one of my art prints and an art greeting card! I’ll pick 2 winners once the fundraiser ends. 

Here’s how to get entered:

  1. Make your donation of $10 or more
  2. Save or take a screenshot of your donation receipt
  3. Share this fundraiser with friends and family through email or social media for an extra entry!
  4. Fill out this Google form to let me know you donated, share your receipt, and let me know if you shared this fundraiser
  5. NOTE: The fundraiser ends after March 16, 2024!

Once the fundraiser has ended, I’ll pick two winners and reach out via email to let you know if you’re a winner! You can pick your choice of certain prints. I’ll ask for your address so I can mail you your print and card.

NOTE: You don’t have to enter the raffle. You can just donate too. But, if you’d like to enter the raffle, please follow the steps above so I can include you.

More About My Experience with Highlights and Why I Want to Support Them

You all know Highlights for Children magazine, right? Well, the Highlights Foundation is those same amazing people, but from the side of working with the people who actually make stories for kids. Highlights has been an inspiring and life-changing place for me. I first visited the Highlights Foundation retreat center in Pennsylvania in 2022 for their illustration summer camp. If I can, I plan to return every year. The experience was that great!

At Highlights, I was able to connect with other authors and illustrators and industry professionals, work on improving my craft through critiques and workshops, and find the encouragement and inspiration I needed to keep going. Creating books for children isn’t just sunshine and rainbows. It’s a long, grueling process, with a lot of rejection and work before your stories even make it out into the world. Having a supportive community at a place like Highlights has been so transformational for me.

I would love to raise money for Highlights to give other creators the opportunity to go there. Highlights has some amazing scholarship opportunities for those who can’t afford to go on their own, and for those from underrepresented groups. Helping storytellers from all sorts of backgrounds get their stories into the world is so important for our children and families. And being able to go to Highlights is an amazing way to help make that happen for these creators.

Whatever you can donate, I appreciate it! And if you can’t, sharing is amazing too!  Thanks for making my birthday awesome by donating and sharing this fundraiser!

Scenes from my first trip to The Highlights Foundation in 2023.

KidLit Connection: Getting to Emma Reynolds—Author, Illustrator, and Climate Activist

Author-illustrator, Emma Reynolds stands outside of the Wonderland Independent Children's Bookshop in Retford, UK. She is smiling and holding her two books, AMARA AND THE BATS, and DRAWN TO CHANGE THE WORLD. The logo from DRAWN TO CHANGE THE WORLD is in the window of the bookshop.
Emma Outside Wonderland Independent
Children’s Bookshop in Retford, UK.

It’s the end of 2023 and time for the final KidLit Connection interview of the year! I’m so thrilled to share this conversation with author and illustrator Emma Reynolds. Emma is a talented creator who advocates for environmental conservation through art and stories. Her debut author-illustrated picture book AMARA AND THE BATS (Atheneum) is an award-winning story that shows children how they can make a difference to creatures big and small through peaceful protest. And her latest book DRAWN TO CHANGE THE WORLD (HarperAlley) is a collaboration with other artists who illustrate powerful stories of climate justice from around the world. Emma also founded #KidLit4Climate, bringing authors and illustrators from around the globe together in solidarity with youth climate strikes.

Outside of her work as an author and illustrator, Emma volunteers for her local bat conservation group and loves spending time outdoors. She lives and works in Manchester, UK. Emma can sometimes be seen running interactive workshops for kids and families, speaking at events, and sharing her work at conventions and conferences. In this interview, Emma shares more about her books, her process and inspiration, and what it takes to be a creator in the KidLit industry. I hope you enjoy hearing from Emma as much as I did!

An Interview with Children’s Book Creator, Emma Reynolds

First, we’d love to hear more about you as an illustrator and author. Can you tell us more about you and your work as a creator of books for kids?

Hello! I’m a children’s illustrator-author from Manchester, UK. I make books about nature, activism, and hope through action—showing readers the powerful tangible things we can all do to make a difference in our communities.

I love creating characters and imagining their worlds, how they think and feel, and showing empathy as they navigate the challenges and emotions they experience throughout their journeys. I’ve always loved books with pictures in them most, and after thinking ‘Oh no I should be reading long adult books but I don’t enjoy them’ in my teens and stopping reading for a little while, I discovered graphic novels in my school library and this re-invigorated my love of reading. Now I’m a huge advocate for visual literacy and that picture books and illustrated books are for all ages, not just for children. I even wrote my University dissertation on the power of visual literacy in increasing student’s confidence and abilities, and how this should be taught from primary age all the way to adulthood.

How did you get your start creating children’s books? Was there anything in particular that lead you to pursue it?

I’ve always loved drawing and making art my whole life—in school my favourite subjects I loved were English, Media Studies and Film Studies. I found art classes too prescriptive and uninspiring in secondary school but I still continued to draw in my free time, and I pursued Illustration with Animation at university—and while there I learnt about the picture book process, and this re-invigorated my childhood dream of being a picture book illustrator and author!

Your work is very focused on advocating for the Earth and shedding light on climate change through the eyes of children. I love this! Can you tell us more about what inspired you down this path?

Yes! This wasn’t an intentional path I set for myself but it has happened naturally relating to my interests and the stories that were inside me ready to be told. When I was in primary school I was really interested in science (but felt I wasn’t good enough at maths to pursue it, and the lessons in secondary school were so dry), and I love that I’ve managed to honour that interest in my dream job as an author-illustrator by making accessible science communication books.

I have other stories inside me waiting, and I’ll know when they’re ready to be told.

A full-page illustrated spread from AMARA AND THE BATS by Emma Reynolds. Different children and grown-ups together are planting trees and plants and setting up various things to help with bat habitat. There is text about how the people made the environment more bat-friendly.
Spread from ‘Amara and the Bats’ by Emma Reynolds, Published by Atheneum/Simon & Schuster

Your most recent book, DRAWN TO CHANGE THE WORLD, is an amazing collaborative project with other illustrators, bringing to light the stories of young climate activists from around the world. Can you tell us more about this really important book?

We worked on Drawn for three years, after I pitched it in 2020. Drawn to Change The World: 16 Youth Climate Activists, 16 Artists is a middle grade graphic novel with each activist biography illustrated by a different acclaimed artist from around the world. It has extensive backmatter including activist interviews on the power of community, and illustrations to explain the science. Drawn focuses on the need to centre Indigenous solutions and intersectional climate justice, and also speaks on how we need more artists to transform society and tell new stories about our future—allowing us to manifest them into reality. Drawn features Indigenous, Black, Latina, Asian, LGBTQ+, disabled and neurodivergent climate activists, illustrated by incredible artists from all over the world, it was such an honour to work with them.

‘Drawn to Change The World: 16 Youth Climate Activists, 16 Artists’ Published by HarperAlley.

Creating DRAWN TO CHANGE THE WORLD obviously involved working with lots of other people. Can you tell us more about that process and what it was like compared to other books you’ve done?

Yes so it was very different from how I would create a book normally, as I plan everything visually and work on the illustrations and text in tandem when I’m the author-illustrator. But as I was writing the script for other artists to illustrate, I had to prepare the script in advance. As each artist only had 4 pages (2 double page spreads) per activist, I actually thumbnailed them out to scale to check everything would physically fit, and then reverse engineered this into a script for the artists. I didn’t share my rough thumbnails with them though, as I wanted them to be able to freely express themselves in the panels and lay it out as they see fit.

The process as a whole involved a lot A LOT of admin and emails and back and forth haha. I absolutely could not have done it without my editor Megan Ilnitzki and publishing team taking on the lion’s share of that labour as my advance only goes so far, and I still spent an enormous amount of time checking everything and going through PDFs to check every line, speech bubble and word was right.

Photo of Emma Reynolds in 2021 working on thumbnails and research for ‘Drawn to Change The World’.
Melati and Isabel Wijsen comic biography, written by Emma Reynolds and illustrated by Ann Maulina.
Ou Hóngyì comic biography, written by Emma Reynolds and illustrated by Jade Zhang.
Dara McAnulty comic biography, written by Emma Reynolds and illustrated by Victoria Maderna and Federico Piatti.
Dara McAnulty comic biography, written by Emma Reynolds and illustrated by Victoria Maderna and Federico Piatti.
Greta Thunberg comic biography – Global Week for Future spread, written and illustrated by Emma Reynolds.
From left to right and top to bottom:
1. Photo of Emma Reynolds in 2021 working on thumbnails and research for ‘Drawn to Change The World’.
2. Melati and Isabel Wijsen comic biography, written by Emma Reynolds and illustrated by Ann Maulina.
3. Ou Hóngyì comic biography, written by Emma Reynolds and illustrated by Jade Zhang.
4. Dara McAnulty comic biography, written by Emma Reynolds and illustrated by Victoria Maderna and Federico Piatti.
5. Science front-matter from ‘Drawn to Change The World’.
6. Greta Thunberg comic biography – Global Week for Future spread, written and illustrated by Emma Reynolds.

Your debut author/illustrator picture book, AMARA AND THE BATS, which came out in 2021 is another great story about a child activist who speaks out for bats in her community. Can you tell us more about what inspired this story?

The book cover for AMARA AND THE BATS by Emma Reynolds. An illustration of three children in the evening next to trees holding up signs with images of bats and one that says "save the bats".
The book cover for ‘Amara and the Bats’
by Emma Reynolds

Yes! So I’ve always loved bats, and I drew this character Amara back in 2016, and I knew I wanted to tell her story! I thought she looked like she was looking up curiously at something, and I decided it would be a bat. And through researching more about bats throughout the book, I became even more fascinated with these amazing creatures. I joined my local bat group, and my bat group leader Steve Parker kindly fact checked my book for me, and I’ve been involved with the group and with Bat Conservation Trust and other bat charities and organisations around the world ever since. Amara and the Bats holds a special place in my heart, and I’m so, so happy I was able to make my dream come true and it wouldn’t have been possible without my agent Thao Le and my wonderful editor Julia McCarthy. Amara’s character is inspired by me and my best friend as kids, we were passionate about saving and advocating for overlooked and misunderstood animals.

Two pages of AMARA AND THE BATS by Emma Reynolds. On the left is an illustration of a little bat wrapped in a towel. On the right is Amara and her family waving to a man with a wildlife rescue truck.
Two pages from the interior of ‘Amara and the Bats’ by Emma Reynolds

On the shop-talk end of things, we’d love to hear more about your process when you create illustrations for your books. Can you tell us more about your tools and the steps you take to go from an idea to a finished book?

A pencil sketch of a child with long, dark hair, smiling, and standing with her hands behind her back. By Emma Reynolds.
A pencil sketch of Amara by Emma Reynolds

That’s a great question, I’d love to tell you more about it.

So I usually start by sketching, whether that be in an actual sketchbook (I go for non fancy covered ones as the pressure it too great! But the paper is good) or around my puzzle books while I’m relaxing and unwinding. I like sketching with polychromos colouring pencils in my sketchbook, and in my puzzle book it’s whatever I happen to be filling in the puzzle with – sometimes a ballpoint pen, sometimes a biro.

For final art, I do my outlines in Procreate on the iPad, using the 4B brush that comes with Procreate, and then I use Photoshop to colour my books as I need a large canvas and high layer count, plus muscle memory makes this a quicker process for me at this stage.

If there is one wish you could have for your work as a KidLit author/illustrator, what would it be?

Stable money (preferably universal basic income! *stares at governments who know it would cost them less than the benefits system in place now*), so I have more time to spend thinking, dreaming and creating books, rather than worrying about money all the time.

What is something you would like to share with aspiring illustrators and author/illustrators who have hopes to be published someday?

The biggest thing is not giving up, and I don’t say this lightly. Publishing is extreeeemley slow, because of the nature of the business. This was really odd to me at first as I came from a very fast-paced animation job, and this takes getting used to. And this advice of not giving up applies to all stages of the process—from submitting to agents, having your book out on sub when your agent is pitching, to waiting for feedback from your editor once you have a book deal. Patience is key—fill your time with either rest, re-filling your creative well, or cracking on with your next project. And of course, part-time work if you need to, as this industry is very hard to make a living—but it is possible. It just takes time and planting the seeds to build up. 

If you write and illustrate, I recommend getting a literary agent, rather than an illustration agent. Literary agents take around 15% instead of 30% like an illustration agent, and they are experts on the book industry and pitching your work to editors. They more than pay for their cut in their expertise, access, support and negotiation in getting you a good and fair book deal.

Most of all—create work that you enjoy! I am guilty of this sometimes, but sometimes I forget that art is supposed to be fun, and that we create our best work when we are enjoying it, and that always, always shines through to others. I wish you all the very best on your journey! It’s a marathon not a race.

Check Out All of Emma Reynolds’ Books

Emma has three published books that she’s illustrated, two of which she also wrote. Check them all out on her website and follow the links to purchase your own copies!

Book cover for 'Amara and the Bats' by Emma Reynolds. Click to view more.
Book cover for 'Drawn to Change the World" by Emma Reynolds and participating illustrators. Click to find out more.
'Rescuing Mrs. Birdley' book cover. Written by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Emma Reynolds. Click to find out more.
From left to right: Amara and the Bats, Drawn to Change the World, Rescuing Mrs. Birdley

See More from Emma Reynolds:

Graphic Novel Artist Panel. Book process, inspiration, fav books, and advice. Hosted by Indie Bookshop. Second Star to the Right. Click to view the YouTube video of the artist panel.

To learn more about Emma Reynolds, her books, art, and latest projects, be sure to visit her website, social media pages, and join her newsletter. Plus, more fun information below:

Learn more about Drawn to Change the World:

Emma is represented by Thao Le at Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.

Are you a published or soon-to-be published illustrator or author/illustrator who loves creating books about nature, animals, the environment, or mindfulness? I’d love to chat with you for a KidLit Connection interview! Send me a message.

KidLit Connection: Getting to Know Illustrator Heather Brockman Lee

An illustration of different children of all shapes, sizes, and colors holding hands. One child at the front is reading a book. Art by Heather Brockman Lee.
Illustrator Heather Brockman Lee smiling for the camera in front of a bookcase.
Heather Brockman Lee

I’m delighted to bring you another KidLit Connection interview with an illustrator I adore. This month, I chatted with Heather Brockman Lee, a picture book illustrator (and soon-to-be author/illustrator) and licensing illustrator. Heather’s work is whimsical and soft, inspired by nature and magic. She has three books she’s illustrated that are on the shelves for you to enjoy now (check them out on her website), and two more on the way this coming year! Plus, more in the works. In the interview, we chatted more about those books.

Heather has been the winner of multiple awards, including the portfolio showcase award from SCBWI in 2021. She is also a mentor through the Michelle Begley Mentorship Program as part of the Rocky Mountain chapter of SCBWI. Heather lives in Colorado with her family and when she’s not painting in her studio enjoys spending time outdoors and keeping active. Not surprisingly, she is a lover of books and animals.

I’m so happy to share this interview, as Heather had some great insights and fun behind-the-scenes peaks at her work and process. I hope you enjoy hearing from Heather as much as I did!

An Interview with Children’s Book Illustrator, Heather Brockman Lee

A fairy sits inside a plant pot and flowers grow from their head. The flowers are yellow, orange, and green. The fairy wears a red jumpsuit and has grey/brown wings. The pot is a terracotta pot shown in a cut cross-section. Art by Heather Brockman Lee.


First, we’d love to hear more about you and your work as an illustrator. Can you tell us more about yourself as an artist of books for kids?

Yes! And thank you so much for having me. Books and art have always played a huge role in my life, and I feel so lucky to be building a career making books. When I am not working on a book that is under contract, I am usually painting and sketching for projects to send to my agent that will hopefully become future books. I also love to experiment and push myself with personal work, constantly trying to improve. I am very fortunate to know a lot of other illustrators and I love sharing work with them and talking art. My favorite pieces to make are ones that hold a little magic, and I try to include that feeling in realistic scenes also. 

How did you first start creating art for children’s books? What led you to this particular career? 

I graduated college with a BA in Fine Art, and I had some really cool jobs but they mostly centered around doing art for spaces that required wealth to create. This makes sense, because it is usually expensive to have custom textiles or stained glass made. But I wanted to make work that was more meaningful and accessible. I have always loved books and story so being an illustrator is a perfect fit, but it took me a long time to get started because I really didn’t know how a person got work in publishing. Finally about 7 years ago I literally just googled “how to illustrate children’s books” and that took me to the SCBWI website, which lead to me learning so much about the industry, and meeting my critique group, who have all been formative to my career. 

A fairy peers out from behind some plants, watching a woman pouring tea from a pink polk-a-dot tea pot in a garden. The woman stands at a block iron table and chair on a blue brick patio. There is a small house in the background. The art is whimsical and colorful in greens and blues. Illustration by Heather Brockman Lee.

Shop talk! Can you tell us more about how you work as an illustrator? What are the different ways you approach your pieces and various tools you use to create them?

This might be my favorite subject to talk about! I love working with traditional materials and doing a lot of experimentation combining different techniques and media to get the exact look I am going for. When I start working on a new book project, I think a lot about the medium I want to use to best express the mood of that book. The mediums I use the most are gouache, watercolor and colored pencil on a variety of papers meant for watercolor or mixed media. My current favorite is Arches 300 lb hot press- which is pricey but so worth it (and I can paint on both sides!) I also really love using textured papers and ephemera in my images. While the bulk of the work is done traditionally, I also use procreate on my iPad for sketching, and photoshop to edit or create digital collage from my scans. 

"When You Love a Book" book cover by Heather Brockman Lee. Book text by Kaz Windness. An illustration of a child opening a book with all kinds of objects popping out, including a train, a dog house, a boat, spaghetti, a mouse with a cookie, Little Red Riding Hood, birds, and a moon.
The new cover for “When You Love a Book”

I’m so excited for your next book that’s set to come out in May of 2024, WHEN YOU LOVE A BOOK, written by Kaz Windness (who I interviewed last year) and published by Penguin Random House! This is an extra special collaboration because you and Kaz are also critique partners. Can you tell us more about this book?

Yes we are so excited about this book! Obviously most people that go into publishing do it out of a love for books so it will be no surprise that books have meant so much to both of us throughout our lives. We have had conversations about books being friends to us when we really needed them, and when Kaz wrote the manuscript she asked if I would consider illustrating it. Of course Kaz herself is a very skilled and talented illustrator, but she felt that her style might lean a little too edgy for the project, and she also wanted the experience of being on the writing side only. I loved the manuscript and agreed immediately! We like to say it is a book about friends being books made by friends who make books.  The book itself is a beautiful tribute to classic stories that shaped so many of our childhoods, and that many of us continue to pass down to our own children and grandchildren. 

Since you personally know the author of WHEN YOU LOVE A BOOK, how was your experience illustrating this book different from other books? Was there a more direct collaboration than other projects? Or did you still work primarily with the art director without author feedback?

As you mentioned, Kaz and I are in a critique group together, so we are very used to giving and receiving feedback on projects. While we were getting the book ready for submission, we treated it as we do all book dummies in the critique group. She had great feedback on the sketches, as did our other critique partners, but was very careful to respond to my ideas as opposed to telling me how she would illustrate it. As a fellow illustrator, I really admire her restraint! I think a collaboration like this really needs to have a mutual trust and respect in the other’s skillset which fortunately we have. Once the book sold, the publisher treated us as they would any author and illustrator, with separate contracts, and my interaction was mostly with the Art Director Sophie Erb (who is wonderful to work with!) 

What were your favorite parts about illustrating WHEN YOU LOVE A BOOK? In contrast, what was something you found challenging about the project?

My favorite part was collecting and using old library cards signed by children and collaged throughout the book. I found most of them on Etsy or Ebay, and just loved feeling that connection to generations of readers. I didn’t want to cut up the actual cards, so I scanned and printed them on a rice paper meant for printmaking. This allowed me to use my favorite sections more than once, and the thinner paper was easier to work with for cutting and gluing. 

The most challenging part by far was trying to live up to my own expectations for the illustrations. I think most artists can never totally satisfy ourselves. I am really proud of this book though and I hope people will enjoy reading and looking at it as much as I did painting it.

The publishing announcement for the book City of Jasmine. Text reads: Luana Kay Horry at HarperCollins has bought world rights in a three-book preempt, The City of Jasmine by debut author Nadine Presley (1.), illustrated by Heather Brockman Lee. In this picture book, a Syrian girl holds on to the beauty of her hometown infused with the sweet scent of jasmine. While the world carves ruins into her memories, she stands up: Damascus is no pile of rubble. Publication is slated for winter 2025; Allison Remcheck at Stimola Literary Studio represented the author, and Deborah Warren at East West Agency represented the illustrator.
Publishing announcement for “City of Jasmine”

You also have some other projects in the works, including another book you’re illustrating and your debut book as an author and illustrator. Can you tell us more about them?

Yes! Right now I am working on art for City of Jasmine, by Nadine Presley. She is a debut author (with more books on the way) and has written a beautiful book honoring her beloved city of Damascus. I am working closely with her and our publishing team at Harper Collins to bring her vision to life. This is another example of a less than common setup, as this is such a personal story for Nadine we all want her to be very involved in the creation of the art. It is scheduled to release in winter of 2025.

I am also working on my debut as an author/illustrator, about a little girl and her umbrella that helps her feel safe and secure, which will come out the following year, also with Harper Collins. 

What is your biggest hope for your work as a children’s book creator?

My biggest hope is for longevity and to make a positive impact on the children who read the books. I love this job so much and never get tired of painting and stories. I want the books I work on to reach children and readers who will enjoy them, and hopefully some will even love them. I think stories are the foundation of our shared humanity and can bring people together in unique ways. 

A little boy holding an umbrella walks a tiny dog on a leash, A taller man with a white beard in a yellow suit holds many leashes with a menagerie of animals behind him. The animals include a horse, a cow, a dog, a pig, a turkey, and a goat. A watercolor illustration by Heather Brockman Lee.

If you could share something with aspiring picture book illustrators, what would you tell them?

I think this advice is given a lot, because it is still true. Don’t try to be like everyone else, don’t just copy the most successful or popular trends. Really dig deep and look inward to figure out what you want to say to the world, and how to say it. Most paths to becoming a picture book illustrator are long and challenging, so it’s really important to be making work that you love and is authentic to you—because you will need to make a lot of it. 

Check Out Heather Brockman Lee’s Books

Heather has three books out NOW for you and your family to enjoy! Plus, you can pre-order When You Love a Book to get it as soon as it hits shelves in 2024.

You can also ask your local library to order the books for you and your whole community to enjoy!

A Poem Grows Inside You. Story by Katey Howes. Pictures by Heather Brockman Lee.
Hattie Hates Hugs. Words by Sarah Hovorka. Illustrated by Heather Brockman Lee.
She is Mama. Words by Mackenzie Porter. Illustrated by Heather Brockman Lee.
Heather Brockman Lee’s current books available now.

See More From Heather Brockman Lee

A fairy looks over her shoulder as she wears a fancy red and green coat of flowers. The fairy's wings are translucent yellow with peach spots. Art by Heather Brockman Lee.


To learn more about Heather Brockman Lee, see more of her work, and stay up-to-date on the latest about her projects, visit her website and social media pages:

Heather is represented for children’s books by Deborah Warren at East West Literary Agency.

Are you a published or soon-to-be published illustrator or author/illustrator who loves creating books about nature, animals, or the environment? I’d love to chat with you for a KidLit Connection interview! Send me a message.

October Art and Illustration Prompt Events in 2023

Since social media became a regular part of our lives and especially in recent years since the pandemic kept many of us at home, it has become a trend among artists that October is a time to share art prompts. Inktober, created by illustrator Jake Parker in 2009 is one of the most well-known of these art prompt events. It was designed to give fellow artists subject matter to practice their ink drawing skills with. 

But, there are many other art prompt events as well, all of which have different themes and different artistic audiences they appeal to. For the purposes of this post, I’ll be sharing ones specifically of interest to illustrators. The question is… which prompt list(s) should you do? Let’s take a look at just a few of them to get an idea of the options.

Inktober

Inktober 2023 Official Prompt List. Click to go to the Inktober website.

Website: https://inktober.com/rules
Instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/inktober/
Hashtag: #inktober2023

Inktober was started in 2009 by illustrator Jake Parker. He wanted to give himself motivation to practice working on his ink drawings and develop better drawing habits. Soon enough, others joined in and it became an annual event.

But, in 2020, some controversy arose as Jake decided to trademark the Inktober name, which caused some confusion with a lot of other artists who had been using the name on the pieces they had created. Jake himself explains his reasonings, which includes things like fighting racism and hate. In addition, there were accusations of plagiarism when he tried to publish a book about drawing with ink called Inktober All Year Long that was similar to a book by Alphonso Dunn, Pen & Ink Drawing: A Simple Guide. The publishing of Jake Parker’s book was put on hold. Between the two incidents, many people decided to stop doing Inktober and either started their own art prompt events or joined others.

Nonetheless, Inktober is still going and many people still participate. It’s something to consider doing if you’re looking to improve your inking skills and gain some visibility through a very well-known event. I have friends who have done it and quite enjoyed the prompts and community.

This year’s hashtag is #inktober2023.

Peachtober

Peachtober 2023 Prompt List. Click to go to the Peachtober website.

Website: https://www.furrylittlepeach.com/peachtober
Instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/peachtober/
Hashtag: #peachtober23

Peachtober was started by artist Sha’an d’Anthes (also known as furrylittlepeach). She wanted to create art prompts that sparked imagination but didn’t require any specific medium. Artists can choose whatever medium they like to create their pieces. Her main goal is that they have fun with it. And you’re invited to share your pieces on social media. I did this one in 2021 and it was a lot of fun! I did find it challenging to keep up with the every day prompts, being as busy as I am. But, I managed it and came out with some really cool portfolio pieces in the end. One of my favorites is Love is Love Birds from the prompt “Heart”.

This year, use the hashtag #peachtober23 to participate.

SCBWI Artober

SCBWI Artober Prompt List. Click to view the list on their website.

Website: https://www.scbwi.org/artober
Instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/scbwi/
Hashtag: #scbwiArtober2023

Many of you may know of SCBWI, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. This is one of the largest organizations dedicated to the creation of books for kids. SCBWI hosts a monthly illustration prompt event called SCBWI Draw This (use the hashtag #scbwidrawthis) to help illustrators come up with new pieces and share them on social media. In recent years, SCBWI also started their own October art prompt event, SCBWI Artober. They provide a list of daily prompts that are autumn-themed for every day in October that you are invited to draw and share. If you’re a children’s book illustrator, I definitely recommend this one, as it will get eyes on your pieces specific to the KidLit industry. 

This year, you can use the hashtag #scbwiArtober2023.

Undying Tales

Undying Tales Art Prompts for October 2023. Click to view website of the prompts.

Website: https://www.undyingtales.com/
Instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/undyingtales/
Hashtag: #undyingtalesproject

Undying Tales is one of my favorite prompt lists because of its focus on nature and endangered or rare species in the wild. This October art prompt event was founded by illustrator Stephanie Law, who I’ve been a fan of for many years. A nature-lover and advocate for preserving and protecting endangered wildlife and plants, Stephanie Law has a series of books containing her own art from the Undying Tales prompts. She always offers her original pieces for sale at the end of the event too. But, she invites other artists to join in too, and share their work on social media. She provides a name of a rare species to draw every-other day rather than daily. I participated last year with a couple of the prompts and really enjoyed it. My favorite piece that came out of it was the Sierra Nevada Red Fox. And I learned a lot about these rare species too!

You can share your work with the hashtag #undyingtalesproject.

Drawtober

Drawtober 2023 spooky prompt list. Sponsored by xencelabs. Click to view more.

Instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/drawtober/
Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/qSP8hgB7RC
Hashtag: #drawtober2023

Drawtober is an October art prompt event that specifically focuses on Halloween-themed prompts. These prompts are short phrases that are spooky-themed. Instead of daily prompts, they offer a couple of prompts each week to give artists more time, for a total of eight prompts. This is primarily an Instagram-focused event where everyone in the community is invited to share their own pieces and enjoy each other’s work. You can use any medium you wish, as long as you post it within the window for that prompt. They also pick daily winners and a grand prize winner at the end if you participate on their Discord server. 

This year, use the hashtag #drawtober2023.

There are many other October drawing prompt events all over Instagram, Deviantart, and social media in general. Just do a search and I’m sure you can find a plethora. Whichever you choose, it’s a fun way to improve your drawing skills and share with your community. You don’t have to dedicate yourself to the whole month either. Do what you can. Either way, you’ll get something out of it. 

What are your favorite drawing prompt events to do? Drop a link in the comments below!

KidLit Connection: Getting to Know Author-Illustrator, Sarah LuAnn Perkins

A spread from the picture book, On a Rainy Day, by Sarah LuAnn Perkins
A black and white self-portrait linocut style illustration of artist, Sarah LuAnn Perkins.
A self-portrait by Sarah LuAnn Perkins

It’s time for another KidLit Connection interview, and I’m so happy to share this month’s author-illustrator. Sarah LuAnn Perkins is a traditional linocut and digital illustrator and author of children’s books. Her debut picture book, On a Rainy Day (published by Viking Children’s Books/Penguin Young Readers), which was inspired by the sounds of rain storms while caring for her own child, came out in March of 2022. Sarah LuAnn’s art style is unique for today’s picture books, but resembles that of classic printmakers through her use of linocut block printing and digital illustration that is inspired by it. 

In this interview, Sarah LuAnn discusses how she got started in illustration, what inspired her current style of art, and more about how her book was made. Plus, we’ll hear a little bit about a work-in-progress and some inspiration for pre-published and aspiring book creators. Thank you to Sarah LuAnn for joining us!

An interview with artist, illustrator, and author, Sarah LuAnn Perkins

"Tea Party", a color illustration of animals wearing clothes having tea together. Art by Sarah LuAnn Perkins.

We’d love to know more about you and your work as an illustrator and author. What brings you inspiration and what are some of the things you love most about making books for kids?

I’m inspired by all kinds of things! There is inspiration for stories all over the place, even just the sounds you hear on a rainy day. I love books and stories and think they’re a great way to learn and connect and explore ideas. 

I love making books for kids because it helps me to look at things more closely, or in different ways than I’m used to. I try to remember what it was like to learn or experience something for the first time and create from that space. 

How did you get your start creating children’s books? Was there anything in particular that lead you to pursue it?

Ever since I was little, I wanted to be an “artist” when I grew up, though my idea of what that would involve looked mostly like on painting canvases in a sunlit studio. I also always loved reading, and devoured novels in all my spare moments… and then of course I would make fanart based on them. Books and Art, Art and Books, those were always my two favorite things. However, it wasn’t until I was looking at college major options that I fully realized that Illustration was an option, and the perfect combination of those two interests. It seems obvious in retrospect, its funny it took me that long to get here! But ever since I did arrive at illustration, I haven’t looked back. 

Your debut picture book, ON A RAINY DAY (Viking Children’s Books, Penguin Young Readers), creates a fun look at the sounds and activities that can happen when the weather suddenly changes. Can you tell us more about this book and how it came to be?

The illustrated book cover for On a Rainy Day by Sarah LuAnn Perkins. A child and her father jump in puddles outside after a rainstorm.

ON A RAINY DAY took years to make–from January 2017 to publication in March 2022. There were lots of ups and downs along the way, but I’ll try to stick to the important/interesting bits:

I first got the idea for this book in January of 2017. I was participating in the Storystorm challenge, where participants come up with a picture book idea for every day of January. My baby was napping and I was appreciating the sounds I could hear through the window in my mostly-silent house and I thought, what if I could use sounds to tell a story? I had many other ideas already listed, but I was more excited by this one than any of the others. I was so excited about it that I wrote a rough draft that night. 

It went through many more drafts after that, of course, and I took many breaks–I had my first baby in 2016 and my second in 2018, so I was consumed in parenting for months at a time and then I would find some time to work and make some edits, only to set it aside for a few more months again. Having little kids made working harder in some ways, but was helpful in others–watching my husband playing with our daughter directly informed the father/daughter relationship I decided to center the story on. 

Finally, in early 2019 I felt like I had a dummy book polished enough to query agents. I signed with my agent, Adria Goetz, a few months later, and she had suggestions for even more edits which I got to work on. I took the partially edited dummy to the Rutgers One-on-One conference in NJ. There I met with an art director from Viking Books, Kate Renner, who loved the book and the edits I had started making to it, so once I had the edits finished Viking was on the top of our list of imprints to send it to. After a couple rounds of “revise and resubmit” (which also took months to complete… are you sensing a theme here?) Meriam Metoui from Viking made an offer for it–her first offer as an editor–in August 2020. 

And then of course there was more revision, finishing the art, editing the art, finishing touches such as hand drawn text and endpapers… until, finally it was a real printed book I could hold in my hands and share with book lovers, just over 5 years after I wrote the first draft. 

Thumbnail sketches for the picture book, On a Rainy Day, by Sarah LuAnn Perkins. Rectangles show small versions of the book layout to inform how the final book might look.
Sarah LuAnn’s thumbnail sketches for On a Rainy Day before final art and layout.

What was your favorite part about creating ON A RAINY DAY? And what was something you found particularly challenging while working on this project?

A final sketch for the cover of On a Rainy Day
before the color version was created.

Ooh, this is really hard to choose! I do have to say, it was very satisfying to be at the point where all of the major text/sketch edits were done, and I just got to dive into completing the art. All of the difficult decisions were made, so I got to lose myself in the part of the process I have the most experience and confidence in. The biggest challenge was sticking with my story long enough to get it to that point!

The style of your work is inspired a lot by linocut and woodcut printmaking. Can you share more about your art processes and how you work?

In college I experimented a lot with different styles of illustration, especially in my campus job illustrating online courses. For every course I was assigned to illustrate I would think of a different style to use, related to the course subject if possible. I was assigned to illustrate a history course and I thought that a linocut-inspired style (done digitally) would have a old-timey feel that would fit with the subject matter. I had a lot of fun illustrating that course, but moved on to different illustration styles for other projects afterward and didn’t think much about it. 

After graduation, I was working on putting together a portfolio that I could feel confident putting in front of art directors. I looked back over all the projects I had done while working on my illustration degree and remembered how much fun I had making linocut-inspired illustrations and decided to try that again for fun. I studied actual printmakers so I could get the look just right.

A black and white linocut print of Rapunzel dragging her hair in a wagon, shown with the inked linoleum cut, roller, and cutting tools. Art by Sarah LuAnn Perkins.
The process of a linocut with Sarah LuAnn’s Rapunzel art.

A linocut is created by carving around a design on a linoleum block. The pieces of the design that will be printed are left while the places where you don’t want ink are carved away. Ink is then rolled over the top and paper pressed on top of it to make your print. It is similar to a stamp, but larger. The carving process results in a texture and line quality that is distinctive. 

I made a “digital linocut’ and loved it, so I tried it again. And again. And Again. I perfected my process to the point where I’ve had actual printmakers assume my digital work is an actual hand-carved print.  I found I really loved the subtractive process, the bold shapes, and the interesting textures that resulted, so what I originally assumed was just a fun style experiment quickly filled my entire portfolio because the process and resulting illustrations were so satisfying to me.

After filling my portfolio with digital imitation-linocuts, I was gifted a small printing press from a local artist and finally had the excuse I needed to carve prints for real! Now I jump between digital and traditional printmaking, but my style in both is basically the same. 

A black and white illustration of a bonsai tree with somebody reading a book while lying on a branch. Art by Sarah LuAnn Perkins.
A drawn and partially cut linoleum block by Sarah LuAnn Perkins.
A close-up of a cut linoleum block by Sarah LuAnn Perkins.
A print of a bonsai tree with somebody reading a book while lying on a branch. The print is hung by clips on a line to dry after printing. Art by Sarah LuAnn Perkins.
Sarah LuAnn’s process for creating a linocut print. From the digital sketch, drawing on the block, to cutting, then inking and printing.

You also have a new graphic novel you’ve been working on. Can you tell us more about that project?

Its still in the early stages, but I’m really excited about this story! Its about a house-cleaning robot who is not too pleased when its family adopts a cat. It has definitely been a challenge to shift from thinking in picture book terms to graphic novel terms, since the scale of the story and the way it is told is partially the same but also different in significant ways. 

The Lonely Dragon. A page from a graphic-novel style spread created by Sarah LuAnn Perkins. A dragon laments that they are lonely, but can't stop being greedy.

What are some of the big differences you’ve found between working on a graphic novel versus working on a picture book?

With a picture book, I can hold the whole story in my head at once. Creating a written outline never seemed entirely necessary because the story was short enough that I could hold the outline in my head. 

With a graphic novel, I’m finding that if I just try writing without having a full idea of where the story is going I get completely stuck. I thought I didn’t need outlines, but it turns out I actually did have outlines for my picture book projects, I just didn’t write them down. Once I realized this and wrote out an outline for my story things started working. 

What other types of work have you done as an illustrator that relates to your work as a book creator?

My first job after college was working for Cricut making art for die-cutting machines. It taught me to keep my files organized and understandable for other people who might have to use them further along in the process. Working as a team and seeing myself as just one contributor to a project created by a group was a great skill to learn. Even though as an author-illustrator more of the process lands on me, keeping that mindset not only helps me work with my agent, editor, art director, etc, but it also helps me make things easier for myself down the line in the project. 

A linocut inspired image of a mermaid trapped inside a fish bowl vase, looking out into the world. Art by Sarah LuAnn Perkins.

What is your greatest wish for your work as a children’s book creator?

Grandiose as it sounds, I want to change people through my stories. It feels really bold to say that, but as someone for whom reading books lead to important and life-changing realizations, I think its entirely possible. Books were and still are instrumental in teaching me to think for myself, understand other diverse experiences, and feel validated in my own experiences. My dream is to make books and stories that can do that for other people.

What is something you’d like to tell aspiring picture book illustrators and author/illustrators?

Give yourself the time and space to experiment, to find the creative approach that gets you excited and feels like you. Figure out who you’re creating for and don’t worry about pleasing anyone else–no book is for “everybody”. Find people who will cheer for you and get what you’re trying to do, and who you can also cheer for. Breaks are not only ok, but necessary. 

Learn more about Sarah LuAnn and her work:

To learn more about Sarah LuAnn Perkins and follow her latest projects, connect with her online through her website and social media:

Sarah LuAnn is represented for children’s books by Adria Goetz at KT Literary.

Are you a published or soon-to-be published illustrator or author/illustrator who loves creating books about nature, animals, or the environment? I’d love to chat with you for a KidLit Connection interview! Send me a message.

KidLit Connection: Getting to Know Author-Illustrator, Rebekah Lowell

A watercolor illustration of a variety of North American songbirds flying through a field. Art by Rebekah Lowell.
A spread from Rebekah Lowell’s debut picture book, Catching Flight

I’m thrilled to share this month’s KidLit Connection interviewee! Rebekah Lowell is an author/illustrator of children’s books from Maine whose work has a focus on nature and how our own lives connect with the natural world. She writes and illustrates both picture books and middle grade. Her debut book, The Road to After (2022, Nancy Paulsen Books) is a middle grade novel in verse about learning to survive and thrive after fleeing abuse and how nature can be a source of healing. And just this year, Rebekah’s debut picture book, Catching Flight: Soaring on the Wings of Birds (2023, Doubleday Books for Young Readers) was released! We’ll talk more about this beautifully illustrated book in the interview.

Author/illustrator, Rebekah Lowell in a field of wildflowers, looking down and holding a wide-brimmed hat.

Rebekah is an amazingly kind soul full of compassion and empathy for fellow humans and our beautiful Earth. She earned her bachelors in Fine Arts at Rhode Island School of Design in 2004 and later completed her masters in Children’s Literature and Illustration at Hollins University in Virginia. When not working on books for children, Rebekah practices and teaches nature journaling, is a Maine duck stamp artist, and a surface pattern designer. She also rescues monarch butterflies from hay fields and raises them to release. Among all that, she is a mom and homeschools two daughters.

I had the pleasure of meeting Rebekah in-person for the first time at the New England SCBWI conference this April and I attended her session about storyboarding picture books. I was so happy when she agreed to be interviewed for this blog! Thank you, Rebekah for sharing more about you, your artist story, and your insights with us.

An Interview with Author-Illustrator, Rebekah Lowell

We’d love to hear more about you as an illustrator and author. What inspires you and your art and what things do you most love about your job as a creator of books for kids?

Rebekah Lowell working on pond studies in her nature journal

I’ve been making art since I was a kid, so doing anything else never really occurred to me—unless it had something to do with plants or nature. I think I had considered horticulture at one point, but if I had done that, I would have painted every flower I grew anyways, so I don’t figure my time would have been spent much differently. I love making books for kids because I get to continue exploring the world and following my curiosity to share with others. It feels like by sharing what I am passionate about I’m bringing young readers closer to nature through words and pictures. I love the format of a book because it’s a story you can hold, it’s tangible, it’s precious, it means something. 

How did you start illustrating and writing for children’s books? What inspired you to pursue this type of work?

I started creating books for kids in 2004. I made my very first picture book dummy in a class called Picture and Word taught by Judy-Sue Goodwin-Sturges at RISD and I was hooked. And yes, my first picture book idea was about a bird. I always knew I wanted to make art forever, but it was during that class I realized I wanted a career in children’s literature.  

Your most recently published picture book, CATCHING FLIGHT is a beautifully illustrated poem about hope, highlighting different species of native birds. Could you tell us more about this book?

Book cover for Catching Flight by Rebekah Lowell. A variety of wild birds fly through a blue sky.
Catching Flight: Soaring on the Wings of Birds

Thank you! Yes, CATCHING FLIGHT, came into this world in a way that wasn’t conventional for me. I shared an illustration on Twitter of a feather with birds flying out of it and my now editor, Frances Gilbert, messaged me asking if I had a book to go along with that project. I immediately wrote her a poem and sent her a photo of the handwritten scribbles and she asked if I could type it up and send it to her. She and I had met at Hollins in 2014 and had relationship prior to her seeing my artwork, so her message wasn’t the first time she had seen my work. We both already knew each other. But it’s proof that you should keep making art and keep showing your work because you never know what will happen.  

When I wrote the words for CATCHING FLIGHT, I wanted to capture a feeling of freedom and lightness. We were in a hard time, during the pandemic, and we were all experiencing a global hardship together. I wanted to bring a message of hope to the world through a picture book. Birds felt like the natural solution to a problem. They always make me feel better. 

What was your favorite part about working on CATCHING FLIGHT? Additionally, what was one of your greatest challenges working on this project?

A stack of Catching Flight books by Rebekah Lowell on a table with a pair of bird-watching binoculars on top.
Copies of Rebekah Lowell’s debut picture book, Catching Flight

One of my favorite parts was getting to work with both Frances Gilbert and Nicole de las Heras, who I had previously met in person at Hollins. They are both amazing humans and wonderful people to work with. 

One of my biggest challenges was making sure I was drawing the feathers correctly. I watched webinars with Liz Clayton Fuller, looked at art by Jane Kim of InkDwell and refered to books by John Muir Laws and of course, Sibley Field Guides to be sure I was drawing the feathers accurately. 

Nature seems to be a huge inspiration for your stories and art. Could you tell us more about how nature inspires your work and what role it has in both your art and your life?

I am a better person inside and out if I spend enough time outside. What is enough? At least some time where I’m not talking, and I’m present, and I’m noticing what is around me outside. I like to listen to birds, look at plants growing and notice the changes that happen in my yard and seasonally in the natural world. If I don’t get to do that, I start feeling lost, overwhelmed, and unsettled. One of my favorite things to do is nature journal outside. Nature is a never-ending source of inspiration, and one idea can lead to the next. My problem is not having enough ideas, it’s having too many ideas. 

We’d love to hear about your process as a kids’ book creator and how you work as an author and artist. Could you share more about that?

Rebekah Lowell's nature journaling materials by the water. Brushes, watercolors, and a journal.
Rebekah’s nature journaling setup for watercolor painting outdoors

My process is observe, create, revise (if it’s a book project), and revise again. 

If it’s a nature journal spread, I don’t revise, but I draw and paint with intention and observation. 

I use traditional materials such as watercolor, acrylagouahce, colored pencil, pencil, graphite dust, acrylics, oils and more. Book work is mostly water based and commissions or duck stamps are often in oils. 

Going back to books, I often write first, then sketch starting with blank paper, and just get a few ideas out, but I always use thumbnails for the early ideas of a picture book, and then those get bigger as I refine my sketches. 

I use Photoshop right now to create my PDF dummies, but I am transitioning to using InDesign for picture book dummies next. 

In terms of middle grade books, it’s always many rounds of revision before we start final art. I usually do some sketches though that don’t make their way into the final book, but it’s because the sketches help me get a feel for the story and they inform the words. It’s a constant back and forth between picture and word. 

Do you have other book projects you’re working on that you can tell us more about?

I have a picture book on submission right now with several others in my back pocket. 

I’m also working on edits for another illustrated middle grade novel in verse. 

What other types of work have you done as an illustrator that relate to your work as a nature artist and kid lit illustrator?

Rebekah Lowell's monarch butterfly surface pattern drawn in a book and printed on fabric.
Rebekah Lowell’s monarch butterfly pattern design on fabric

In addition to the Nature Journaling that I mentioned, I have an online shop with notecards, stickers, pins, prints, and more. I’m also a surface pattern designer and my first fabric collection, featuring monarchs, will release this fall with PBS Fabrics. I hope to offer more with surface pattern design in the future. I would love for my work to be on journals, wallpaper, kids clothing, towels and more. 

I’m also a five-time Maine Duck Stamp artist and this year’s Maine Common Ground Fair artist. 

What is your biggest hope for your work as a children’s book creator?

The Newbery, and the Caldecott, and a movie. There I said it. 

But on another note, I hope that my work as a creator helps connect others to nature because we need to care about nature so that we care about protecting it. We absolutely need to protect nature. 

What is something you’d like to tell aspiring picture book illustrators and author/illustrators?

This is a very long game. Make the work because you love making the work. Create from your heart and others will feel it. Be willing to fail. Don’t be afraid of rejection. Be willing to succeed too. I think sometimes we can be afraid of success and not even realize it. We want it, but we are also afraid of it. In making this work, we learn more about ourselves, so no matter the outcome the journey is worthwhile. 

Learn More about Rebekah Lowell

To learn more about Rebekah Lowell and keep up with her latest art and events, check out her website and social media:

Rebekah is represented by Paige Terlip at Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

A nature sketchbook pond study in watercolors of cattails and water by Rebekah Lowell.

Are you a published or soon-to-be published illustrator or author/illustrator who loves creating books about nature, animals, or the environment? I’d love to chat with you for a KidLit Connection interview! Send me a message.

An Artist’s Toolbox: Art Reference & Research

Many times through my life, I’ve heard this myth about artists: A true artist doesn’t need to look at pictures to help them draw—they can draw anything right from their own imagination. But, contrary to this tall-tale, reference images and research are wonderful assets for most artists, especially illustrators. And really, how many people actually have a photographic memory? Very few, if any.

Think about art schools. Life drawing is a basic foundation class most artists take. And what do they draw from? A live model—not just their imaginations. Artists don’t draw or paint in a void. Reference images and research are key tools to keep in your artist’s toolbox.

Collecting Reference Photos

Like many artists, you may first have an idea about something you want to draw or paint, and perhaps you’ll scribble a few rough sketches and jot down some notes to flesh it out. But, once you’ve got an idea, you need to develop it into a cohesive composition, whether it’s a one-off piece of art or part of a larger project, like a picture book or gallery series. This is when I turn to reference photos.

Reference photos are images you may find or take yourself to help you with accuracy in your drawing or painting. I usually use a mix of images found and images I’ve taken myself, depending on what I’m able to find and what my specific subject is. Once I have an idea of what the elements of my piece will be, I’ll start collecting reference images that help me accurately portray those elements. 

Final art of a woman floating underwater with moon jellyfish. Next to the final image, two reference photos taken for the piece: one photo of moon jellies at the Mystic Aquarium. The other photo is the artist posing herself with lines to help with perspective.
Final art of “Falling, Floating, Free”, next to two reference photos taken by me. Moon jellies at the Mystic Aquarium and me posing myself with lines to help me figure out perspective.

Taking Your Own Reference Photos

If part of my piece includes something I know I can find locally, I’ll go out and take some photos myself. Or if it involves a person in a specific pose, I’ll often pose myself or one of my family members to make sure I’m drawing that pose accurately. Sometimes, I’ll even use my dog as a reference (dogs are some of my favorite characters to add to a visual story). If a stranger were to look through some of the photos on my phone, they’d either think I’m a very interesting person, or downright crazy. Don’t worry though—it’s just reference photos.

A pencil drawing of a girl running next to a photo of the artist's daughter running used as reference.
A pencil drawing for a picture book dummy and one of several reference photos of my daughter running taken from the ground.

Drawing From Live Reference

Another option for reference images is drawing from a live reference. You can have a friend or family member hold a pose for you while you draw. Or, go to a zoo to draw the animals you’re hoping to capture. You could even sit in your back yard to observe the birds or flowers. 

Often it’s easiest for most artists to take photos of live references, so you still have that image to use back in the studio. But, sitting and enjoying the slow-down time of drawing a live reference can be a lovely experience in itself. I’m lucky to have places like the EcoTarium and New England Botanic Gardens at Tower Hill near me which I visit to find inspiration and references. 

I recommend exploring local opportunities near you that can provide some surprisingly wonderful reference opportunities. Here are some resources to help you find great places near you.

A sketchbook with ferns drawn in pen in front of ferns in the woods. Image by Victoria K. Chapman.
A sketchbook drawing done from live reference in the woods of a species of wood fern while at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill

Collecting Found Images

For some subjects, it’s not always easy to go out and take or draw from live references. As nice as it would be to hop on a plane and travel to Hawaii to take reference photos of volcanoes, it’s usually not realistic, unless you live there. That’s when the internet comes in handy.

I don’t condone the stealing of other people’s images by any means, but looking at photos and other images for inspiration and to get a sense of what something looks like can be very helpful. As long as, in the end, your final piece of art isn’t a direct copy of somebody else’s work. Found reference photos are a means of practicing and finding inspiration, not plagiarism. Don’t steal the images—practice and learn from them, but then create your own composition from what you’ve found in your own style.

A northern saw-whet owl in a pine tree. Royalty-free photo by Chris Tolman via Pixabay.
"Happy Owlidays"! Three illustrated saw-whet owls wearing winter scarves on a tree branch.
An example of a reference photo used to help me learn what northern saw-whet owls look like, next to the final piece of original art. This photo is a royalty-free photo from Pixaby taken by Chris Tolman.

Keep it Legal!

If you love a particular pose or way of lighting a figure that you want to borrow to use in your art, there are ways you can legally do so without violating copyright laws. There are a number of royalty-free reference photo websites out there that won’t step on any photographer’s toes, and can also support them and their art. Some are completely free, but it may be harder to search those and they may not always have what you want. Others have a nominal fee to give you access and you support photographers and their art through that. Artists supporting artists. Its’ a win-win. 

Alternately, you can also reach out directly to a photographer and ask them for permission. Just make sure you get a clear “yes” and what their terms and restrictions are.

Here are a few pay reference photo websites:

And here are some free reference photo websites: 

IMPORTANT: Always be sure to check out the terms for use. Some photographers require attribution if you directly use their work. Others require you pay an additional fee if it’s something you’ll be selling commercially.

Lisa Clough from Lachri Fine Art also has this great video about using reference photos legally that you can check out:

Doing the Research

Often times, I’ll realize I simply need more information before I can finalize part of my composition. I started to draw a child lying in a field of flowers, but realized I wasn’t sure which flowers actually bloom at the same time. Sure, many people wouldn’t notice if you drew a spring daffodil blooming at the same time as fall mums (unless they’re like me), but you might feel better knowing that your piece doesn’t contain gross inaccuracies.

Places to do the research

There are a lot of ways to research your subject matter, a classic place to do so being your local library. Books are an excellent resource if you can find a book about your subject. Libraries also have access to newspapers, magazines, and sometimes videos, microfiche, and photo slides. Libraries are an important local resource for so many reasons.

There is also, of course, the internet. But, you also need to be careful that your searches make use of reliable resources. Here are some of my favorite reliable sources of information for my nature research:

A lot of reputable newspapers, magazines, and education organizations have websites with free information. Just be careful of where you find your information and double-check it against other sources.

Watercolor and colored pencil illustration by Victoria K. Chapman. A smiling Black child lies in the grass among dandelions, asters, and clover with a ladybug on their shirt.
For this image, I did some research to make sure dandelions, white clovers, and asters all bloom around the same time.

An example of why to do the research:

Perhaps you are drawing an echidna, a curious egg-laying mammal from down under as part of a non-fiction book you’re working on. It’s helpful to also find out where the echidna lives, its general size, its behavioral characteristics, and what its habitat looks like. If you draw an echidna in a New England forest, it’s going to seem awfully out of place. They’re actually from Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. Or if, for example, you draw an echidna next to a horse, but you draw them the same size, it’s also going to look rather odd. Echidnas are closer to the size of a large house cat.

A rough sketch of an echidna next to a horse, roughly the same size. The text reads, "Yeah, we're confused too..."
A rough sketch of a horse-sized echidna next to a horse. Or…maybe it’s a tiny horse? We’re all confused here.

Doing the research will save you a lot of headache later when you find you included some innocent, but terribly inaccurate detail. It may be a little extra work, but I personally find it to be one of the most interesting parts of my job as an illustrator. And if you do have the opportunity to go on-location to do research for a piece of art, do it! That is, if you enjoy traveling and learning. I sure do.

Reference is Your Friend

Reference images and research are amazing tools that can help your art not only be more accurate, but more interesting as well. Research can help with precision, but it can also help with inspiration. And what artist doesn’t like feeling inspired? I love looking at photos, going out into the world to see new things, and spend time really looking at the amazing things around me. Plus, learning something new in the process can bring a whole other level of joy to your work.

Just remember that it’s okay to learn from other artist’ images, but stay away from plagiarism. Learn and practice, and then create something new and original that’s yours. If you want to copy another image, make sure to do so legally. And most of all, enjoy the time spent really looking at the world around you. This Earth is an amazing gift and there is so much to see!

Do you have other resources relevant to reference images and research that you’d like to share? Leave a comment here.

Do you have an art-related topic you’d like to hear about from me on this blog? Let me know!