Sketchbook Joy with Lala Watkins

Sketchbook Joy

with Lala Watkins

Lala is a JOY and here at SCBWI for the first time, she came to help us find some Sketchbook JOY! "I'm a Florida girl — Cold is not for her!" But she is excited to see snow and to talk about how to have fun and be playful in your sketchbook!

"Hi My name is Lala, rhymes with Holla! I love laughing till my stomach hurts, ice cream and doing what makes my heart emote the heart-eyed emoji."

"My work is like a summer pool party and everyone is invited!"

Lala's style, voice and career has branched over many different types of art making: from falling in love with lettering in school to finding competitions to put herself out there, she has worked in figurines, stationary, home decor, etc. 

Starting in motion design in school, she transferred into graphic design after a year. "I just wasn't into it." She would make notes for her friends, with little treats and gifts and on their recommendations ("Lala, you should do graphic design") she decided to try it. She had thought it was for "serious things," but soon discovered her own path.

Interning at Cartoon Network sparked her joy to do things for children. That exploration nurtured the seed of imagination and fun. Going on to work for Hello Kitty, it all helped her develop her style and voice. 

Sketchbook Joy: 

Cultivating Confidence through Sketchbook play

Anxiety.  

Anxiety. Anxiety. Anxiety. A lot of her sketchbooking is to prove to her anxiety that she can do it! "I want to make my anxiety a liar." Remind yourself that it's not what you think. You have a job, and you have to build being okay with moving through the discomfort. "Have a cry" and dive in.

The Drawing PEP TALK:
Lala uses her lettering to write out what she is going through. It's her "comfort spot" and helps her loosen up. "Make it messy, and have freedom without judgement." Write notes to yourself in your sketchbook. Make it a safe space. 

Experimentation:
Mess with materials that you've never used. Gouache, markers, color pencils, paper etc. Sketch on Post-Its. They are small, quick, and not precious. She loves working on her experimentation through portraiture. Experiment and see what comes from it. It helped in the development of one of her books, where she used textures she discovered in play and scanned them in to use for her bookmaking.

With a Q&A, and a sharing of her materials and sketchbooks, we got to meet the other attendees and mingle.  What a joy! 

Can't make it to the In-Person Winter Conference in New York City, join us online at the Virtual

Winter Conference featuring inspirational talks, industry panels and deep-dive Creative Labs,

taking place in February of 2026. Videos of all sessions are available to watch for

approximately 30 days after the event.

Lala Watkins (Author, Illustrator) is an author-illustrator extraordinaire whose work is like a summer pool party, and everyone's invited! She makes playful illustrations and lovely stories that make her heart (and yours) emote the heart-eyed emoji. She graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design and Interactive Communications from Ringling College of Art & Design. She has worked as a product designer, product developer, illustrator, and graphic designer at Sanrio, Paper Culture, Cartoon Network and more. Let's be friends! Fun fact: She's in a long-term relationship with the sun so she lives in sunny Florida. Her favorite treat is ice cream and she is a charming hand lettering artist.

www.acaseoflala.com/

Breakout Session #4: Making It Work as an Illustrator: Real Strategies for Freelance Success

Making It Work as an Illustrator: Real Strategies for Freelance Success

with R. Gregory Christie

"Hello from everywhere, from Canada to Indiana. My name is R. Gregory Christie."

R. Gregory Christie is an award-winning children's book illustrator of over 75 books, having worked with all the major publishers. He started his work in 1996 and continues to be entrepreneurial, branching off to create his own LLC, selling his books to the public directly. 

R.Gregory Christie's story begins in the small town of Scotch Plains, New Jersey. Early on he knew he wanted to be an artist. Painfully shy, he had trouble learning how to talk and connect with people, and he found comfort in his art. At a young age, people complimented on his art and in the fourth grade, people told him that he should 

If anyone asked if there was an artist in the room, his classmates would point to him, even if he wouldn't say it about himself. 

"Sometimes the hardest thing to overcome is yourself. Sometimes you have limitations and fears. First overcome the doubt you have in yourself."

By the time he was in his late 20s, that is when he started to feel like an artist and decided to embrace it as a career. That's when he approached his neighbor who was a graffiti artist and asked if he would work alongside him. "Find a mentor. Find somebody that is doing it in a way that you like, that you could take advice from."

Though the graffiti artist was working with materials he's never used before, R. Gregory asked him how do you draw, how do you write, and how do you do graffiti? And he got a crash course in how things worked. Materials, aerosol, etc and even though he wasn't going to become a graffiti artist, he just wanted to learn. 

Though he was shy, R. Gregory Christie would paint in nightclubs in NYC to showcase his art. Just like when he was young, his art helped him connect and it sure did! He caught the eye of a buyer from Malaysia , and it helped launch him into his career.

"There's no one-size fits all for anybody." By sharing, R. Gregory hoped to inspire the attendees but there's no one formula to guarantee "success." "You have to go with your own comfort level and what works for you" You have to discern what is going to be worth your while, in terms of your time. Always remember that throughout your career.

"Time is something you cannot get back." It's important to study and learn the craft but at a certain point, you have to go out, and show your work. Your artwork is like "your child." It is something you've created, you must be proud of it. Don't make excuses for it, or judge it before others do. Make the work, show it and then make some more. "Don't poison what the art is before you even show it." Don't tell people what you "meant" to do, or that it's not "your best work. You have to show your work as though it were your child." And remember, there are a MILLION paintings in you. Don't think you've done your best work. Create and carry on. 

Lessons R.Gregory Christie:

1. Learn Your Materials  

2. Sharpen your Skill Level/Craftsmanship 

2. Discipline 

3. Luck

4. Get an Elevator Pitch

5. Do your Research

As a freelancer, try to find opportunity that bring you income in your sleep. "Maximize you opportunities. Yes, things happen but you have to set it up to happen. Be prepared for those opportunities to appear." Get up and say, I'm gonna accomplish something today. Some people are natural at discipline, some aren't but you have to work at it. " Your style will come, learn your material, and then your artistic voice and the ability to give it a life will come. Don't force it. Let it come."

Throughout his career, he's illustrated:

Album covers

Playbill covers

Picture books

Book covers

Subway Art.

SIp and Paints.

Education.

"Work hard but REST."

Be entrepreneurial. Be confident. Be professional.

"Get your presentation up"

"Don't look at failure as a bad thing. If I always have a perfect career, I wouldn't know have to handle things when problems appear. Embrace those micro failures. Learn from them."

"My work is a legacy. Your work is legacy. Do the best work you can. Do the work that is interesting to you"

R. Gregory Christie (Author, Bookseller, Illustrator) is a celebrated illustrator with credits for over 70 books and numerous jazz album covers. Selected collaborations include artwork created for Regina King, Karyn Parsons, Joe Sample, Bill Withers, and John Coltrane.

He has received numerous honors and awards, notably multiple nominations for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award comittee, a Caldecott Honor, an NAACP Image Award, and six Coretta Scott King Honor Awards. In 2013, he designed the Kwanzaa Stamp for the United States Postal Service, the New Orleans Jazz Festival poster, and art featured on New York City's subway cars for a year.

For more about his work and lectures, visit rgregorychristie.com or find his products at gas-art.com.

www.rgregorychristie.com/

Breakout Session: Six Marks to Hit Before You Submit with Dan Richards

Six Marks to Hit Before You Submit Your Picture Book 

with Dan Richards

About this Breakout Session:

Are you constantly second-guessing whether your picture book manuscript is ready to submit? Do you wish for a way to bring clarity to the age-old question, ‘is it good enough to send out’? Dan Richards will cover six questions that throw back the veil on what agents and editors want. These six questions will expose manuscript weaknesses before you make the mistake of submitting too soon. This session will also demystify rejection letter double-speak (e.g. ‘too thin,’ ‘too quiet,’, ‘lacks break-out potential,’ etc).

"Writing a picture book is like painting a masterpiece with fingerpaint"

you have an idea.

You been to dream and see all of the possibilities. You build it up into what we think it is in our head then-

the rejection comes. 

Dan spoke a bit about his background to illustrate how he came to discovering his "Six Marks."

Dan shared that he had some early successes where his manuscripts sold immediately, which built a false sense of reality where he thought he cracked the code. 

But soon, he went through several years where nothing would sell, causing much frustration. 

\

This led to a conversation with his agent, who gave him many tips and notes to guide him in a new direction. 

At first, Dan was resistant. So much so that he felt like it was impossible to make a change.

But Dan took two or three of those tips and notes, posted them on his desk, and let that help him build his skills, and shape his writing. 

Those little changes eventually helped him navigate his story block, refining his process which led to his recent successes. 

With his newfound approach to craft, Dan created the Six Marks to Hit before you start to submit to agents and publishers, his tried and true method for submission success. 

The Six Marks to Hit

1. Is it age appropriate, child centered, and works best as a picture book?

2. Is there an immediate hook? 

3. Is it a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end?

4. Is there an emotional arc?

5. Does it have an added layer of meaning?

6. Does it bring something fresh that stands out in the crowded picture book marketplace?

STORY TIME!

There is nothing better than sitting back and being read to. Dan read both of these wonderful titles and walked us through each of the Six Marks.

In Ghost Cat, though there are very few words, there is a beautiful emotional arc that has powerful added layers of meaning. 

It speaks to the youngest reader of picture books but even as an adult, this story resonates with you as well as serves the readers who may be experiencing loss.

Different from Ghost Cat, this is more oriented to an older crowd of picture book readers.

In Watercress, the emotions connect so well, where Andrea finds a great hook early in the book, taking a moment in time and telling that specific story. 

She gives it a beginning, middle, and end, weaving the emotional arc through it all, establishing the main character's internal journey and how she connects to the bigger picture within her family. 

I got teary-eyed listening to it, and I've read it many times. That is a sure sign that it hits the marks!

So grab your favorite book or even your personal project and run through the Six Marks!

Dan Richards
Author

About
Dan Richards is a graduate of the University of Washington Writing for Children Program and best known for his humorous picture books and middle grade novels. Recently, NUBBY was selected for the 2024 Dolly Parton Imagination Library and ONCE UPON A GOAT received honors as a Junior Library Guild Selection, Indie Next Selection, and Washington Children's Choice Award finalist. Nearly 700,000 copies of his books are in print worldwide. He'll be presenting his picture book class SIX MARKS TO HIT BEFORE YOU SUBMIT at the 2024 Summer SCBWI Conference. Dan is also a picture book coach who loves working with new clients. He lives in Bothell, WA with his wife and mischievous doodle Arthur. www.danrichardsbooks.com