by jdsmeaton | Mar 20, 2024 | 3 Questions With...
Tim Probert I came across Tim’s work through The Ballad of Bea and Cad, a 5-minute cartoon pilot that he created with Nickelodeon. It’s fantastic. (I thought the needlefish darts were quite clever.) Unfortunately, it didn’t get made into a series. Then a few...
by jdsmeaton | Mar 1, 2024 | Behind the Scenes, How To, Recommendations, Writing
Making A Comic Page: From Script to Final Art Last year, my book agent asked me to share how I break down a comic page for her blog. I love to hear other creator’s processes, so I was happy to do it. I figured I’d share that with you here. Step 1: The Script I...
by jdsmeaton | Feb 21, 2024 | 3 Questions With...
Lucy Knisley I’ve been a fan of Lucy since back when Live Journal was popular. I don’t really know Lucy but having read her slice-of-life comics for (jeez) 20ish years now, it sure feels like I do. Her work offers just about everyone something relatable to their own...
by jdsmeaton | Feb 7, 2024 | Writing
The Most Amazing Song Never Written I read Tom Petty’s biography a few years back. I had been a fan since high school but reading the book gave me a greater appreciation for the music I’d been listening to for years. But if things had played out a little differently,...
by jdsmeaton | Jan 17, 2024 | 3 Questions With...
I heard about Doogie Horner through his interview on the 3 Point Perspective podcast. He’s the author and illustrator of a number of books including This Might Hurt a Bit and A Die Hard Christmas. I liked the interview so I looked him up. I appreciate his outlook and...
by jdsmeaton | Jan 3, 2024 | Recommendations
My 4 Favorite Graphic Novels of 2023 I’ve seen a bunch of fantastic lists of people’s favorite books of 2023 but I haven’t seen anyone’s favorite YA & Kids graphic novels. So here are my absolute favorites. First up is Forest Hills Bootleg Society by Dave Baker...
by jdsmeaton | Dec 20, 2023 | 3 Questions With...
Sometime in the early 2010s I read an article about an artist who turned down a lucrative job with Google designing “Doodles” for their homepage. Instead, he decided to pursue his dream of illustrating children’s books. I remember thinking “Wow, that’s awesome,...
by jdsmeaton | Dec 6, 2023 | Storytelling, Writing
The Evolution of Charlie Brown (And Your Own Work) Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I got to go to the Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California. It was wonderful and inspiring. I lucked out with my visit coinciding with the current exhibition of Peanuts Evolution...
by jdsmeaton | Nov 15, 2023 | 3 Questions With...
I came across Michael Grover’s work through Super Punch, a website I frequent that shares fun and interesting things. It recommended the short webcomic, Hamburglar Goes To Hell. It’s wonderfully creative and ridiculous. Everything you could hope for with that title....
by jdsmeaton | Nov 1, 2023 | Writing
The Surprising Key to a Child Prodigy’s Artistic Greatness I came across musician/singer Ethan Bortnick on TikTok. He performs these insanely impressive pop/rock piano songs. I liked his work so I looked him up. He’s in his early 20s now but turns out he was a...
