I Work in the Children's Book Field & Happy To Do So!

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Meet Mandy France!

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© copyright Mandy France

My name is Mandy France and I am children's book illustrator. I work

part time as a graphic designer for the Walt Disney Company in Florida

and the rest of my time is spent illustrating in my studio at home.

What inspires me most is travel. Whether I actually travel someplace

new, read about exotic lands, or watch a documentary, I am truly

inspired by travel. It's just something about new places and spaces

that get my creative juices flowing. When I think of traveling to

distant lands, I just want to get my sketchbook out and start drawing.

My husband and I trekked the Inca Trail in Peru this past September,

and when I got back I filled 3 sketchbooks!

I do all of my illustrations digitally using my Cintiq. I have been

painting in oils and acrylic for years, but now that I have moved to

the digital realm, I feel like I have a lot more options with my

painting style. I paint in Photoshop and I never have to wash my

brushes or figure out a way to store my unused paint! And did I

mention the undo button?

There are a lot of ups and downs in this field of work. I'm a rather

new illustrator, so trying to find an agent and sending samples to

publishers takes up most of my time. Something that has really helped

my transition from graphic designer to illustrator has been joining

SCBW: The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. I

recently returned from the SCBWI conference in New York City where I

met a lot of fantastic illustrators and authors. If you are at all

interested in working in the Children's book field, I highly recommend

joining this society.

Illustrating children's books is my passion. After I lost my mom to

cancer last year, I realized that life is too short not to do what you

love. So I made sure to make illustration a priority in my life.

Although I have yet to illustrate my first children's book, I feel

very connected to this community. Illustrating is what makes me happy

and I want to pass on that joy to children who will someday read the

books I will illustrate.

Blog/Portfolio

Cheers,

--

Mandy France