Interview with 2016 LA mentee, Katie Carberry

Katie Carberry was the recipient of the SCBWI Mentorship Award at the 2016 Summer Conference. Kidlit Artists would like to officially welcome Katie to the blog, and ask her a few questions about the Mentorship experience, and about what she is up to these days.

Did the feedback you received during the mentorship critiques either change or confirm the direction of your illustration?

The critiques were very constructive and helped me in two specific ways. First they helped direct me to areas that needed a little more attention so I can refocus my time are energy on those areas and allow me to be more efficient. Secondly, and most importantly, it gave me confidence in my work and helped show me where my strengths are and how I can showcase those even more in my illustrations. I was told how important it is to focus on consistency of style in all of my pieces but still allow myself to be playful and experiment with line work and texture. Taking these things into consideration will help me move forward as an illustrator and develop a stronger portfolio.

What kind of projects are you working on now?

I have taken the feedback from the mentorship critique and am working on expanding my portfolio. I have joined with a group of artists who all share a love of children's illustration and formed a collective called Puddle Jump Collective in which we just finished a collaborated project illustrating the story of Alice in Wonderland. I also have been doing illustration work for a new social media platform called Imzy.com. In addition to the above projects I have been working on my own manuscripts and book dummies.

Is there any type of illustration (or other work) that you’re hoping for in the near future?

My dream is to write and illustrate my own children's book. I would also love to be commissioned to illustrate picture books, chapters books, and children's magazines. Another fun project would be to create artwork for a children's board game or card game.

Is there one really helpful piece of advice that you’ve gotten since pursuing illustration?  Any one piece of bad advice?

The best piece of advice I've heard is to never give up. I was told that children's book illustration can be a difficult field to get into but that I need to persevere and maintain the passion that drew me to this career choice in the first place. 

What was one of your favorite quotes or lessons from the SCBWI Summer Conference?

The most important message that I got from the conference was to always be true to yourself, your voice is what got you there and your voice is what the world needs. Don't get caught up in the idea of what others want to see but rather what it is you want to share with the world. 

What were some of your favorite books when you were a kid?

Books were a huge part of my childhood, some of my favorite stores were fairy tales especially Czech fairy tales that were sent from our family in Prague. I was drawn to the intensity and darkness, they showed a world that was scary yet exciting to read about. I love Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, but am especially fond of the ones that my mother ready to me A Hole is to Dig and Open House for Butterflies. Other books that my mother read to me that inspired my young mind were The Frog and Toad Series by Arnold Lobel, Fortunately by Remy Charlip and Shel Silverstein's Uncle Shelby's ABZ Book. As I got older I enjoyed reading the Amelia Bedelia books and Roald Dahl's books, my favorite being Matilda.

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See more of Katie's work on her website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or on the Puddle Jump Collective.