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This is the blog home of #kidlitart, a live Twitter chat Thursdays at 9:00 pm Eastern, for children's book illustrators, picture book authors, author/illustrators and friends. Check back weekly to read transcripts, comment on previous chats and suggest topics for upcoming chats.


Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Critique Groups!

Last week we discussed Critique Groups on our weekly chat, and it was a lively discussion (as most of them are.) You can read the transcript here

We thought it'd be helpful to our #kidlitart community if we listed folks interested in getting together with other illustrators to form a critique group, whether face to face or online, the parameters are up to you, dear chatters.

Remember, to make the most of your group, set a regular deadline: weekly, bi-monthly, etc. at a regular time. Decide on the number you want to cap your group participation at, and state what you hope to get from the group up front so you guys are all on the same page. Deicide what form works best: Skype, Google+ Hangouts, email, private blog, etc.

And don't forget, when performing your critiques, use the 'Sandwich': Start with a positive assessment, move on to something that needs improvement (suggest a possible technique or approach to help with this if possible), and close with a positive comment. Remember, you're not supposed to tear each other down, but you're not supposed to blow smoke up each other's bums, either!

In no particular order:
(Click on their name to contact)

Rubin Pingk
Andi Butler
Mary Flynn
Tami Traylor
Sue Rankin Pollard
Chris Jones
Eliza Kinkz
Dustin Hansen
Christine Mix
Scott Soeder
Emily Wayne
Lisa Thompson
Erika Barriga
Dani Duck
Takako Fisher
Autumn Seybert
Jo Swartz
Paul Weiner

If you're looking for a group, and your name is not on this list, add it in the comments section along with your twitter handle!
Happy Critiquing!

-Diandra

12 comments:

  1. I'd love something where we get together online and chat. Depending on how video is for everyone it would be nice to do a video chat... rather one person on video showing their piece and other people commenting. If not still a live chat is best for me. I hate things sitting around and me thinking about finding the time to critique them!

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  2. I'd be interested! Add me please!

    Rachel Dougherty
    www.racheldougherty.com

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  3. How vexing! My browser totally had a brain toot and my comment got lost in the ether. Dani, I'm with you on having live chats. I've never done video chat so yay for new experiences. It's nice to have a live conversation-look how well #kidlitart works. What about setting up a Google+ community? We can leave notes for each other between chats and then have a Hang Out for the meeting. As far as group size and frequency of meetings, I am flexible as long as everyone gets a chance to share when they need to.

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  4. I'm interested in joining a group :)

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  5. I need to update my website so you guys can see what I've been up to lately. Which is another matter, I could use a few pointers on making a better portfolio site with WP.

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  6. At the risk of finding out I'm on the island of misfit toys, does everyone have a group? It seems there is a reluctance to have a huge discussion here on the blog, so why don't you each email me at seybertah @ google . com and list the stuff Diandra mentioned as well as the times you can meet. Don't forget to add time zones to your availability since we live everywhere :-D What I can do from there is organize the data and help all the matching illustrators to connect and form their groups if we're not all able to meet as one big group, okay? If you are already in a group, you can email me or just ignore this. :) I'll wait until July 31, 5pm EST to hear from everyone and then give you the results the next day!

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  7. Oh, man. I could REALLY use a critique group. Please add me to the mix.

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  9. did anyone start a critique group from this list?..or still looking for a critique group or partner?

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  10. I've gotten some messages from folks in the last couple days asking me to get them into a critique group. I am sorry to tell you, but no one wrote to me by my deadline July 31 and I've got too much on my plate now. Email doesn't seem to be the best way to get in touch with everyone. I recommend that you stay after #kidlitart twitter chats 9pm EST on Thursdays to talk about getting into a critique group.
    Best of luck everyone, and Happy Critiquing!

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  11. @DianeGronas - How do I register for the Picture Book Dummy Challenge? Are there guidelines posted somewhere? Will there be any posted communication throughout the 6mos. challenge? -- I'm finding it very difficult to contact anyone at KidLitArt. (Author of Starseeker) E-mail - dianegronas@zoomtown.com -- Website/Blog - http://dianegronas.com/ Is the Thurs. Twitter Chat the only time to contact you? 9PM in Cincinnati area?

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  12. Diane, we are primarily a Twitter chat group. The monitors are volunteers, and the challenge was something created because many of us in the community needed a boost to complete personal projects.
    The majority of our interactions are though twitter and our primary time to speak to the community is Thursday at 9pm EST. I'm not sure why we're getting people jumping on the Dummy Challenge, as we haven't discussed it at our chats yet, but the information will be posted in January 2016 when we officially announce it.
    Communication will happen via the Thursday chats, with a loose schedule included on our announcement posted. This is a self-monitoring challenge. It's not a class or online workshop. We won't be holding anyone's hand. We will post milestone goals to hit throughout, and discuss overcoming obstacles, lessons learned, etc. as we work through the challenge, but critiquing or one on one feedback for the projects won't be happening through us. There may be one or two chats where folks can share illustrations related to the project, but that is all.

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