Jen Betton's Blog, page 2

Advent Process 2: Painting

This is a new piece I painted to eventually be a holiday postcard mailing. I always loved the Advent wreath my family lit every Sunday before Christmas, and I wanted to capture that feeling - all cozy in the lowlight, taking turns to light the candles.
© Jen BettonStep1: Composition and Thumbnails 
I knew I wanted a family, and a round window, but I wasn't sure how many people would be in this scene at first.
© Jen BettonStep 2: Photo reference and sketches
Because this was a more complex sc...

The fox has many tricks...

This  Emerson quote just seemed perfect for my book: "The fox has many tricks. The hedgehog has but one. But that is the best of all."
© Jen Betton, image from HEDGEHOG NEEDS A HUG

Using a Virtual OS to Keep Older Software Running

<!--[if gte mso 9]>

Making a Simple Book Trailer with iMovie

For anyone looking for a simple approach to doing your own book trailer, I was able to teach myself how to create a simple trailer for both my books using iMovie. Here are some of the tutorials and resources I used. 

First, I identified a couple of "mentor" trailers – I was interested in doing something similar to the trailer for If You Want to See a Whale and Beekle . I wrote down how long each image was on the screen, how many images were used, and how long the overall trailer lasted.

Nex...

Favorite Illustration from my Book

Hedgehog Needs a Hug is my debut book as an author-illustrator, and will be published by Penguin Books and on shelves in two weeks! I wanted to share the process for my favorite image from the book. 
Finished image from the book © Jen Betton I worked on the manuscript and images concurrently, and I knew this spread was one where I wanted the Fox to be curling around Hedgehog, closing in. I wanted Hedgehog to feel small, and surrounded. You can see this in my very early thumbnails.&nb...

Autographed Copies of My Book

You can preorder signed copies of my book, HEDGEHOG NEEDS A HUG from my local bookstore,  Interabang Books . You can either call or order online, but either way please be sure to specify "signed copy" in the order comments (or when speaking with a staff member), and include a name if you want it personalized.
Click here to order autographed copies of HEDGEHOG NEEDS A HUG *
Also included with each signed copy are some stickers and a postcard or bookmark, while supplies last!

*HEDGEHOG NEEDS A H...

The Colorful Tale: Storytelling With Color

At the New England Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (NESCBWI) conference this year I got to be on the faculty - woohoo!! I gave a talk about color and it's use in storytelling. Some folks were interested in my lists of resources and my blog posts on color, so here they are. You guys asked some great questions - hope this is helpful to you in your color explorations!

© Jen BettonPOSTS ON COLOR: 
Color Theory Overview: 
Part 1:  Primaries and Elements
Part 2:  C...

Illustrators Who Write: Giving Yourself a Job

I just got back from New England Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (NESCBWI) annual conference, where for the very first time I was on the faculty and presented two workshops! One of those I co-presented with my critique partner, Jannie Ho. We worked together as we both worked on our debut books as author-illustrators (Jannie's first authored book is BEAR AND CHICKEN, published with Running Press Kids, my first authored book is HEDGEHOG NEEDS A HUG, published with Penguin).&...

Common Color Mistakes: #2 Black Shadows

I've taught college art students for 8 years, so I see a lot of folks who are in the beginning stages of figuring out color. Over time, I've seen a few mistakes crop up over and over again – and certainly I have had to learn to avoid them in my own work! All the bad examples here are from my own work – when I was a student.

Color Mistake #2: Black Shadows
Shadows are not consistently black, or gray, or blue. A common pitfall to avoid is mixing black with your color to get a darker version of th...

Illustrating a Picture Book: Part 6 - final paintings

The compositions decided, the drawings complete, a color script pinned to the wall, all that was left was painting the final art for TWILIGHT CHANT! 
My workspace - reference images and color studies pinned up on the window. I had an illustration instructor once say that by the time you do the final painting, 90% of the work has already been done, but it's that last 10% that makes or breaks you. Meaning, all the decisions are done: the composition, the colors, the values, but I still...