SCBWI

Society of
Children's Book Writers
and Illustrators

California: SoCal

California: SoCal

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  • Hannah Sease is especially fond of drawing animals and comfortable furniture, usually together. Much of her time is spent seeking coziness in all its many forms; from campfires to chicken pot pie, to a nap on the couch, a quality that has also found its way into her art through themes of folklore and rural aesthetics. Stemming from a childhood of reading Beatrix Potter, exploring holes under rotten trees, and keeping a roadkill journal, Hannah enjoys being outdoors camping, biking, swimming, and collecting ideas for her art through woodsy adventures. A good adventure calls for a return to home, a familiar hearth, and a cup of tea, a balance that inspires and focuses much of Hannah’s work.  Nurtured by her younger years spent living around the world with her family, she has garnered a fascination for what we define as home and finding ways to feel at home anywhere. You can visit her at www.hannahsease.com or on her Instagram @hannahsease.art  
  • How long have you been a member of SCBWI? What’s the most impactful thing you have learned from being in SCBWI?     It seems like I have been a member forever. I joined SCBWI in its early days. I know it was before 1978, so it was probably at least 44 years. It's hard to boil
  • How long have you been a member of SCBWI? What’s the most impactful thing you have learned from being in SCBWI?  I joined SCBWI in the winter of 2021. I haven’t been a member for too long, but so far I’ve been really enjoying the peer critique meetups. Before joining SCBWI I felt quite isolated and was missing a community where I could exchange constructive feedback and motivation amongst fellow artists. What medium(s) do you use to illustrate? Mainly I use watercolors with a little bit of gouache and colored pencils for some texture. About 5 years ago I invested in a Wacom Cintique to force myself into practicing digital art, but unfortunately I rarely used that expensive device and my digital painting skills are still the same- almost non-existent. Then I bought an ipad pro last year on black friday- feeling guilty but hoping it’ll improve my workflow- and it was one of the best purchases ever. My biggest weakness was that I don’t like to sketch or plan out a piece, I just always want to dive into painting. But composition, layout and structure are crucial for my illustrations and since I’ve gotten used to sketching digitally, I’m refining and editing my sketches a lot more which is a good thing. Now I even think I’m fiddling too much around because I’m very indecisive. ^-^; What is your illustration process? As mentioned above, I do my sketches and drawings on the ipad using procreate which I then print out in the size of the actual artwork. I transfer the sketch onto watercolor paper using a light pad and paint with watercolors and some gouache. If it’s a more elaborate piece I sometimes do a rough color study digitally or using colored pencil on a thumbnail sketch. In the very first stage when I just dump out ideas I still grab my sketchbook and a pencil and scribble super rough drafts which I then photograph and refine on the ipad. Recently I’m also trying out different masking techniques using masking fluid, masking tape and double sided tape.   It takes me forever to get warmed up for a new project, which I’ll start by browsing on Google image for ages, hoarding a million images just in case. (sometimes I go to the library for reference images) Then I go back to look at artist’s work that I admire or search for new artists to get inspired. THEN I finally pick up the pencil. Getting the ball start to roll is the hard part but once it’s rolling usually I can focus. If you’d like to know more, I have a youtube channel where I show my creative process in detail- if I may add a shameless plug. Although the last video I uploaded was a year ago, lol…   How long have you been illustrating? How did you first get into illustration? I was an avid illustrator as a child, enjoying making my own illustrations for the fairytales and children’s stories I’d come across. That’s why my parents thought I should become an artist so I started to get formal art education from middle school all the way to college. I majored in fine art painting and later in media arts, painting on big canvases and making short films with paper puppets. Somewhere along the way I lost my passion for art, tried to work a 9-5 job and for a while just did not do much at all. Then I happened to go to the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in 2011 and that’s when I knew I wanted to make children’s books. [caption id=
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About Us

Twitter: @SCBWI_SoCal
Instagram: @SCBWI_SoCal

Our region includes Orange County, San Bernardino, Riverside and Long Beach. We have sunny beaches, snow-capped mountains, and scenic deserts. We are also home to incredible writers and illustrators who mingle and hone their craft at monthly meet-ups and critique groups, an annual retreat and an

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