ICON 12

I learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed myself at ICON12 at MIA in Minneapolis, MN!

Here are some key takeaways:

John Hendrix, Washington State University, St. Louis, MS

Dynamic husband and wife team: Rudy Gutierrez and DK Dyson

Even tough my photo caught these two with their eyes closed, this was an envigorating finish to a wonderful conference. Rudy Gutierrez shared images about his amazing illustration career and DK Dyson sang and shared insightful knowledge.

Advocate for yourself

• Invoice immediately.

• Don’t burn bridges; it’s a small industry.

• Take breaks: every 20 minutes focus on something distant for 20 seconds.

• Meander down different paths to try new things.

It was refreshing to hear several presenters discuss and showcase “mental health” and “burnout” in their presentations. You can’t do good work if you don’t take care of your brain and body.

• What are your rituals for self-care?

• How do you find a balance between work/life?

• How do you build resilience?

Take two!

I recently posted my standing/walking/reading desk. Well, I took it all apart and redesigned it to stand completely free of the treadmill. When I walked, the treadmill jiggled and made reading the bouncing words on the page too hard. Look! Now with my new design, it’s easier to see the numbers on the control panel.

Why go through all this trouble? I want to read more, but I’m sitting too much. And, I need to exercise more, but exercise is boring. The desk for this treadmill is below my waistline and makes reading down there impossible. So, I made the desk really tall so I could read with my type of glasses without looking down.

I repurposed plumbing traps as feet to keep my reading tower from tipping over. I love it!

Thumbnail template for 40 page self-ended and 32 page picture books

Recently, my cp’s (critique partners) and I were discussing picture book story boards. There are two main types and it is confusing at first but hopefully this will make it more clear. The math for the number of pages is always divisible by four. One sheet of paper has two sides. Folding it in half creates four pages.

Both examples are of a tall picture book, but some picture books are square shaped while others are wide format.

For the 40 page self-ended storyboard, page one starts on the endpaper that is pasted down onto the board of the cover. This is how the inside pages attaches to the cover. In this version the story begins on pages 6-7 and has 16 spreads.

For the 32 page storyboard, page one starts on the title page. In this version the story begins on pages 4-5 and has 14 1/2 spreads.

IT FELL FROM THE SKY by the award-winning Fan Brothers is a whopping 52-page self ended picture book.

October is magical!

The leaves are changing color. Animals scurry to prep for winter. Pumpkins are carved and lighted. October is magical! http://aliciaschwab.com #scbwiARTober #kidlitart #art #design #artistsoninstagram #inspiration #amillustrating #portfolio #digitalcreators #drawtober #work #digitalart #DigitalArtist #multimedia

STEM/STEAM: Earthquake Book

I feel for the people of Haiti. They were recently hit again by a major earthquake and are suffering. To better understand the situation, I illustrated, designed, and heavily edited an earthquake book from a public domain book to make it an up-to-date STEM / STEAM middle grade book for kids.

IN ONE DAY

On August 25, 2021, the Hawaii Volcano Observatory reported 140 small earthquakes (1 to 3.3). Fortunately, no-one was hurt. But it may indicate that Mount Kilauea will start erupting soon.

THE CARIBBEAN PLATE PUSHES EASTWARD

But earlier on August 14th, 2021 a major earthquake (7.2) struck Haiti. The small country lies on the western end of the island of Hispaniola. Haiti was devastated by an earthquake in 2010 (7.0) from which it still hasn’t fully recovered.

There are two faults in this region of the Caribbean, one is “dominantly strike-slip and the other is a small component of subduction plate.” This strike-slip fault is extra destructive because as the two plates slip past each other they get stuck. However the Caribbean fault continues to push east while the tension increases until it breaks free, (like when you snap your fingers). The people in Haiti are starving and desperate for aid. There’s lots of ways to help. Google “how to help people in Haiti” for suggestions. Educate yourself. It’s always good to learn something new.