Congrats to Neha Rawat for Winning the SCBWI Portfolio Showcase!
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Wow! Thanks @Coreyartus for such a wonderful and organized post!
THANK YOU to everyone for your wishes! This was really unexpected for me so I was equally shocked at the results!
But most of all, I want to thank @Will-Terry @Jake-Parker @Lee-White for SVSLearn! The day I discovered SVS was pretty much when my career as a children's book illustrator started an upward incline. You are all amazing teachers and the passion and knowledge you, and the other instructors share through SVS is exceptional. I'll be forever grateful to everyone who makes SVS possible!
*** ALERT: LONG POST AHEAD ***
A lot of people have doubts about if it's worth becoming an SCBWI member. I just wanted to share my experience with it.
Firstly, I would like to mention that members from India get almost a 50% discount on their membership/renewal fee in lieu of being from a UN Developing Nation.
My registration fee for the SCBWI Summer Spectacular event also had a 50% discount. For any additional registrations (like the portfolio showcase), I paid the full price.So I've been an SCBWI member for almost a year now and honestly, I haven't reaped many benefits of it because the India chapter is not that active.
As for online resources, they send a monthly and quarterly magazine with articles etc. to all the members, but I've never read one to date
I'd been submitting my work for their monthly "Draw This!" and their Feature contest but I observed the artists who usually got selected had a very distinct style (it's hard to explain) but I felt that my style didn't fit in. Anyway, it's not AS discouraging when you don't know who you're up against, so I just kept on drawing hoping to create a portfolio worthy piece (just like with the SVS challenges). In fact, one of the month's Draw This! topic was "Masks" for which I created a piece that made it to my portfolio for the showcase! (The girl putting on a face mask in front of the mirror - just did a different take on "Masks")
My main takeaway from the SCBWI membership came earlier this year when I had my portfolio ready to share with publishers and agents.
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Their "The Book" publication is a good source for the latest market surveys with names and contacts of all the important ppl in the publishing industry.
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Secondly, their online digital workshops that were made freely available to all members during the lockdown. A couple of them were really informative. Though I'm not sure yet if they will continue this trend post-pandemic.
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You don't need to be a member to attend any SCBWI events, but you do get a discount on the registration fee if you are one. For me, it was this event, but if you're in a region that is active with local events, it should be applicable to those too.
SCBWI is great for networking and getting your work in front of the right people. I personally feel (being from a not-so-active-region) it's more advantageous when you think you're ready to showcase your work (unless you're someone who loves to consume a lot of information that only members will have access to). There are indeed a lot of publishers, art directors, agents who will see your work. You basically have to weigh out your risk-reward ratio.
I will be sharing another long post about how I went about creating my portfolio and any helpful links that I found.
Again, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! This forum has instilled a lot of confidence in me and has helped me grow as an artist.
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@Neha-Rawat Whooooaaaaaaa!!!!! Congratulations!!!
And you totally deserve it!!!And thank you so much for that well-organized post of whether it's worth it to join SCBWI. From what I gather, it would have been useful to join up until now even if one is from a place that doesn't have a chapter, but that moment seems to be passing or to have already passed. Is that correct?
I'm looking forward to reading your future portfolio post as well!
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@Coreyartus i am so happy for you @Neha-Rawat !!!!!
you go girl!!!!! -
Wow! Congratulations!! Thank you for sharing this information with us too! I am so happy for you!!
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Awesome! Congratulations!!!
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Congratulations and well deserved! I always look forward to your submissions in the monthly contest because I love your style.
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@LauraA said in Congrats to Neha Rawat for Winning the SCBWI Portfolio Showcase!:
From what I gather, it would have been useful to join up until now even if one is from a place that doesn't have a chapter, but that moment seems to be passing or to have already passed. Is that correct?
Thanks, @LauraA! Technically, all the recordings of the Summer Spectacular event will be up on the SCBWI website for all of August. But only the people who have registered for the event will be able to access it. Even if you register as an SCBWI member now, I don't know if your registration for the event will be accepted considering it's over, even though the link is still live. Maybe you can email them and find out?
None the less, the next event is scheduled for February 2021. So that gives you good time to work on your portfolio and maybe you could consider joining/attending then!
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@Neha-Rawat well done - that is totally fantastic!!
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@Neha-Rawat Congratulations! It was so exciting to see someone win who I “recognized!” Your portfolio is beautiful and the prize is well deserved!
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Congrats @Neha-Rawat! Your showcase is so inspiring!
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Brilliant news @Neha-Rawat well done. Winning!
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Well done @Neha-Rawat !!!!
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@Neha-Rawat Your illustrations are beautiful. Congratulations!
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@Neha-Rawat Congrats! I'm thrilled every time I hear someone from SVS is out there making waves. Your work is so charming and cute, must feel awesome to win!
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That is fantastic!! Congratulations!
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Congratulations @Neha-Rawat . That is so awesome! You have been such an encouragement to us here on the forums. Its so good to hear news of your success!
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Fabulous job! So much congratulations @Neha-Rawat !
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@Neha-Rawat this is so wonderful, exciting and deserved - congratulations!!
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What a wonderful news. Big congratulations to you
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@Neha-Rawat Wow, congratulations! What a huge achievement. I'm so excited for you
