Check Out the Portfolio Showcase: Lee's Highlights

When I asked the illustrators on SCBWI Team Blog (Debbie Ohi, Don Tate, Jaime Temairik, and Justin Campbell) to check out the 150+ illustrator portfolios from this Summer Conference and share a few that caught their eye here on the blog -- so we could encourage you all to explore the art there -- I apologized to Jolie Stekly that as she and I weren't illustrators as well, I thought it was something just the illustrators should do. 

To my surprise, everyone thought the writers of the group should participate as well -- and when I thought about it, in my own experience (two out of four of my picture book editors) sometimes we writers get asked if we have any illustrators we want them to consider for our picture book. So, I happily went to the online portfolio showcase to explore...

(you can go now: https://www.scbwi.org/submissions/summer-virtual-conference-2024-portfolio-showcase)

Because I imagine most folks are going to start with page 1 and make their way through to page 14, I did the opposite. There were certainly many accomplished and beautiful pieces in the show, but not all of them told a story, and I'm really drawn (pun intended) to story. Please note that as with everything in publishing, this is really subjective.

Okay, with no further ado, here are 11 illustrations that really captured my eye and imagination:

Jason Crowley

Jason Crowley's illustration

Heather Bell

Heather Bell's illustration

Hollie Michaels

Hollie Michaels's illustration

Shannon Brady

Shannon Brady's illustration

Kate Phillips

Kate Phillips's illustration

Pranami Bora

Pranami Bora's illustration

Nyrryl Yrrah Cadiz

Nyrryl Yrrah Cadiz's illustration

Sarita Rich

Sarita Rich's illustration

Danielle Heitmuller

Danielle Heitmuller's illustration

Sy Brontide

Sy Brontide's illustration

Katie Mazeika 

Katie Mazeika's illustration

It's so fun to check them out. Go now while the portfolio show is still online!

Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee