I’m making a poster for my new interactive graphic novel, Talent Show Troubles, and want to know: which of these layouts do you like best? (You don’t have to know the book or characters, and these drawings aren’t final. I just want to know which catches your eye.) P.S. Signed books will soon be available…
Category: PROCESS
FREE Printable Zine / Short Story
The Seeing-Spectacles of Aberdeen Gray: a Short Story / Zine by Jess Smart Smiley Check out this 8-page mini zine I made out of a single sheet of paper and keep reading to find out how you can print and fold your own copy! What’s Inside The whole story is in this tiny, pocket-size zine…
Halloween Zines by Jess Smart Smiley
It’s spooky season, baybeeeee! I love this time of year. Things seem to turn quieter, more contemplative. AND DON’T FORGET ALL THE SPOOKY! In case my monster look-n-find book, collection of spooky comics, cutesy vampire graphic novels, magical, mystery, maze comic, witchy paper pictures, and series of monster-filled picture books don’t SCREAM my love for…
Treasure in the Lake (Book Review)
By Jason Pamment HarperAlley 208 pages Fantasy Graphic Novel A shimmering, bejeweled adventure for fans of the Hilda series and Over The Garden Wall, packed with memorable characters and rich environments. Treasure in the Lake is a wonderfully-crafted mystery with a whole lot of heart! If you’re interesting in learning how to write and draw…
The Sprite and the Gardener
The Sprite and The Gardener Written by Rii Abrego Illustrated by Joe Whitt A stunning, glittering, enchanting visual feast, focused on magic, gardening, and friendship. A simple and flowery tale for tweens. What’s better than marveling at beautiful, completed illustrations? Getting a glimpse into the creative process! The back of The Sprite and The Gardener…
Getting the Most Out of Your Sketchbook
There’s a big difference between a sketchbook and a portfolio. Growing up, I erased, scribbled over, and tore out my mistakes so that only my best work remained. I didn’t know any better at the time, but I could have gotten much more of out of my sketchbooks with a few simple tweaks. What I…
I Wrote a Novel!
I’m happy to share that I FINISHED WRITING THE ROUGH DRAFT of my gritty sci-fi adventure novel last night! Clocking in at 175,000 words and exactly 700 pages, my sketchbook ideas are now fully fleshed-out characters, creatures, and technologies that make up a single, cohesive story. Is it perfect? YES! Just kidding. Among other things,…
LAST CHANCE to Read My Next Graphic Novel—FREE!
This is your LAST CHANCE to be the FIRST to read my next graphic novel—for free! There’s no catch. This is not a gimmick. I just want to hear your thoughts on my book before I send it to print. Sign up for my First Readers Club here or read on to learn more. NOTE: NEW READERS MUST APPLY…
Making & Revising My Graphic Novel (3/3)
Read part 1 here, read part 2 here, or read on to find out how I used the feedback I collected from beta readers and used reader suggestions to improve my all-ages graphic novel. Getting Feedback From Readers I started getting reader feedback on the same day I sent out the link to the rough…
Making & Revising My Graphic Novel (2/3)
Read part 1 here or keep reading to learn how I found and reached out to beta readers, and shared my all-ages graphic novel before it was published. Finding Beta Readers It might be somewhat easy to find people online who want to read a book for free, but I figured I would need to…
jesssmartsmiley.wordpress.com 