Hi SCBWI friends, and live from New York, it’s the Society of Illustrators Original Art Show! *Queue SNL music*
Sorry about that, I’m not Bowen Yang. It’s me, Sibu TP! And this past Friday, I had the amazing opportunity to attend the reception for the Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators.
I had the bonus treat of visiting as a participant in the show. My author-illustrator debut, Home, Home, was selected for the show! Yayy, what an honor. I’ve been submitting to the Society for years and to get in is really so special.
With over 800 submissions, the Society selected around 245 picture books to be represented in the show this year.
The building was packed with so many incredible artists, art directors, editors, agents, and many other folks involved in the wonderful process of picture book making.
I realized something during the show. I saw many faces that I recognized from my time as a pre-published artist. I’m talking about artists I admire, as well as industry professionals I submitted work to and received feedback from. It was nice catching up with a few of these folks, and they were kind enough to remember me and noted my growth over the years.
I realized that all the incremental changes that I made in that time, which always felt like nothing, all added up. That each individual effort that felt like I was moving in place and I was working in a vacuum, actually had real-world effects that meant something. I realized that all these artists that I admire are also my peers and I really need to get better at making small talk lol
But seriously, if you’re reading this and you’re pre-published and things are not looking up. I just want you to know that I was pretty down on myself for a long time. Everything that you’re doing is helping you get somewhere, even if that somewhere is hard to see right now. So please keep working.
With that, I asked around at the show for some advice for our SCBWI readers! And I got some answers from some heavy-hitters. My prompt: if you could give a picture book creative one bit of advice, what would it be…
Alex Gehringer, Agent, The Bright Agency
“Be a ruthless editor on your own portfolio. Don’t include everything...try to relax and have fun, because that’s when the creativity shows.”
Alex is one of the many great agents at Bright. She's also the mastermind behind the Bright Artists Retreat, which was an incredible and transformative experience.
I also had the opportunity to catch up with some fantastic ADs, Chelsea and Nicole, as well as my Editor for Home, Home, Aneeka, and they were kind enough to give some advice as well!
Chelsea C. Donaldson, Art Director at HarperCollins Children’s Books
“Be a good editor of your own work, but also have a section in your portfolio for sketches and for what isn’t your most polished work. Show thinking, show something that’s not fully realized yet, but is inspiring."
Nicole de las Heras, Executive Art Director for Trade Picture Books and Preschool at Random House Children’s Books
“Work on finding your own voice and style. Think about what your dream illustration project is and work your portfolio around that."
Aneeka Kalia, Editor, Viking Children’s Books
“Keep doing stuff that you enjoy in your regular life and that will provide good inspiration for you. Don’t be focused on the market and let your life show through your work.”
And finally, from my wonderful Agent, James Burns(Hi, James!):
James Burns, Agent, The Bright Agency
“You’ve got to be authentic to yourself and not cave to pressures or trends. If the work is forced, it’s compromised.”
If this post interested you, please feel free to reach out and let me know!
You can find me as @sibutp on all the things, mainly Instagram.
I'm a storyteller. I make cultural and societal picture books that are rich, colorful, and touch on universal stories. I work through the belief that we're all connected by those small moments in life that I try to capture in my illustrations.
Born and raised in New York, I am a first-generation child of immigrants from Kerala, India. I spent a great deal of my childhood years scribbling and sketching, dreaming and imagining. I studied English Literature at Stony Brook University and received my MFA in Illustration at the Hartford Art School.
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