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Oh, boy!—what an abundance of information Debbie Ridpath Ohi offered to illustrators. Debbie is a social media guru, but she's also a successful illustrator and an SCBWI success story. She won the portfolio showcase at the 2010 SCBWI LA Conference, and has gone on to illustrate several books, including Sam & Eva and Where Are My Books? (Simon & Schuster), more. Fortunately, most of what Debbie offered in her workshop is also available on her website, including  BONUS MATERIALS!

Lily Malcom is Vice President and executive art director of Dial Books for Young Readers. She's art directed many great books and talented illustrators including Corinna Luyken, Judy Schachner, David Small, Zach O'Hora, Erin Stead, Jerry Pinkney, and Jon Agee. Lily shares a number of awesome tips to make your characters unique and bursting with... character. Here are a few: Main characters can convey emotion through their eyes, yes! But be sure that emotion spreads to their eyebrows, too. And what other accessories can be emotive? Think of Ladybug Girl's wings for a start. The size and placement of your characters on the page are hugely important. You can use that space that they take up on the page and the way it changes page to page to make a huge impact. A big change in size or placement of a character page to page results in a powerful page turn that shocks the reader.  You can also speed up the action this way, or slow down the action with spots and vignettes. Visual n...

This session is so much more than best digital art tips! Vanessa talks a bit about how she started to learn how to illustrate. She followed every possible illustrator and animator blog, did all of the Illustration Friday prompts. She copied her favorite artists like Sasek and Blair, but then adding her Vanessa interpretation. She works both traditionally and digitally, and is a perennial student in both. Vanessa stalks Youtube and still enrolls in things like Lilla Rogers classes. She tells us to make a lab for yourself, take a day to learn how to do something on Youtube and improve all your illustration weaknesses in this customized fashion. Paint your own textures and papers so you have your flavor in those textures and also so you don't need to rely on stock sites or worry about copyright. To Vanessa, the ideal is: You want to get to that point where people can't tell, even art directors, if it's digital or traditional. Dyslexia made Photoshop and Illustrator's compl...

Javaka Steptoe is an award author/illustrator whose most recent book Radiant Child , a beautiful biography of Jean-Michel Basquiat, was this year's Caldecott recipient. Other notable titles include What's Special About Me, Mama? and Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow. Javaka uses everyday object in his art. "I come from a place of trying to not just create an illustration but to create an experience." Javaka remembers as a child he didn't sit and draw quietly, he made noises and felt emotions. "I don't want to draw you a map, I want you to be immersed in whatever I'm creating for you." The materials Javaka uses to illustrate are ones that will help bring readers into the world he's creating. For kids it's amazing because they feel like the materials might be something they also have access to. The materials act as a bridge. Javaka says that when writing you have to find an idea that sustains you throughout the project. Ideas can come from anywh...

Bologna Members' Choice Award Billy Goats Gruff Nicola Robinson Future Bologna opportunities at bologna.scbwi.org Summer Student Illustrator Scholarship Irena Freitas Julie Kwon Each year, the SCBWI sponsors four conference scholarships for full-time graduate or undergraduate students studying illustration. (Two for the New York conference, two for the Los Angeles conference) Many of our SIS winners have gone on to be represented by agents, get illustration work, publish books and win awards. Julie Kwon and Irena Freitas pictured here with Director of Illustration and Artist Programs, Sarah Baker 2017 Illustrator Mentorship Amber Alvarez Irena Freitas Diandra Mae Shannon McNeill Alexandra Thompson Heidi Woodward Sheffield The goal of the mentorship award is to identify, develop, and nurture illustrators whose work shows potential and may benefit from mentorship. Portfolio Showcase Honors Irena Freitas Andy Musser Shannon McNeill Grand Prize Ashlyn Anstee Many, many thanks to the ...

Javaka Steptoe , once a model and inspiration for his father, the late award-winning author/illustrator John Steptoe, New York Times best-selling author/illustrator Javaka Steptoe has established himself as an outstanding talent in his field. His beautiful biography of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Radiant Child, was this year’s Caldecott recipient, and winner of the Coretta Scott King Illustration Award. Other notable titles include What’s Special About Me, Mama? and Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow. Javaka uses everyday objects to deliver reflective and thoughtful collage creations filled with vitality, playful energy, and strength. www.javaka.com Javaka began his breakout session with the disclaimer that anyone setting out to write a book to win a Caldecott is setting themselves up for agony. There are lots of rules and committees, and that's really not what picture book-making is about, is it? (My words, not his!)  He believes it's far more important to have a child-appropriate story yo...