hipmamajen:
(Dusty Higgins in the hat, Van Jensen in the tie and Nick Pitarra on the far right)
Nick Pitarra is the author of the book Red Wing and at one point he referenced the Simpsons. A student asked him about which characters he preferred to draw and he explained that if he’s doing it right, it will be like the Simpsons and all of the characters will be recognizable as being drawn by him but still have their own individual characteristics. When asked about the difficulties of keeping a unified voice when there are two people working on a project (an author and an illustrator) he responded, “When you’re drawing, you’re telling the story. Visually you‘re telling the story. When you’re close to your writer you’re using one voice.”
(Lea Hernandez and Dusty Higgins)
Lea Hernandez is the author and illustrator of several books including Rumble Girls. She was asked what inspired her to become a graphic artist and writer and she explained “I wanted to tell stories that made people think. I wanted to create characters hopefully without false glory that still had a positive and good influence. “ She also explained, “I write what I want to read and what I wanted to read when I was your age.” She discussed the time periods that her books take place and said that Rumble Girls is "Future Retro" and her Steampunk series Clockwork Angels asked the question "What if the future happened sooner?" Shes says that she would never write something blatantly commercial.
Dusty Higgins is the illustrator for the Pinocchio Vampire Slayer series and explained that when he originally conceptualized the story it involved Pinocchio killing a police officer. He and author Van Jensen decided to go another route because “Pinocchio Police Stabber is not as commercial,” Said Van Jensen. That said, both author and illustrator agreed that they wouldn’t work on anything simply for its commercial possibilities. “When we wrote this book vampires weren’t a big thing. We preceded the trend. You fail if you chase trends. Trends always fade,” Jensen continued. Dusty Higgins seconded this sentiment stating, “I wouldn’t work on a book unless I like it.”
Dusty said that his work (and the work of any illustrators of value) is constantly changing and evolving. He said that he is always "Trying to find new ways to improve". Van Jensen explained his theory that Writer's Block is a myth. "It's an excuse. Just write through it and keep writing and eventually you end up where you need to be." He also shared that if you want to be a successful writer, you should write about whats important to you.
There were plenty of laughs during the panel and the panel member s had a pleasant camaraderie, sharing speaking time and needing almost no interaction from the mediator. The audience was so engaged in fact that the panel had to be stopped from continuing so that the next time slot would have a turn.
Dusty said that his work (and the work of any illustrators of value) is constantly changing and evolving. He said that he is always "Trying to find new ways to improve". Van Jensen explained his theory that Writer's Block is a myth. "It's an excuse. Just write through it and keep writing and eventually you end up where you need to be." He also shared that if you want to be a successful writer, you should write about whats important to you.
There were plenty of laughs during the panel and the panel member s had a pleasant camaraderie, sharing speaking time and needing almost no interaction from the mediator. The audience was so engaged in fact that the panel had to be stopped from continuing so that the next time slot would have a turn.
Tune in to blog tomorrow when I re-cap the What's Death Got To Do With It panel!
