32 Comments

As a fellow artist, I love the way you laid out your process--thank you!

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Always fun to peek inside a sketchbook, sometimes the process interests me more than the final product 😊

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I so agree!

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Congrats! A well deserved honor for a wonderful book and author-artist!

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Thank you, Jason! Much appreciated!

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Congratulations! The book looks wonderful and the process of creating it is fascinating (including the playlist)!

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Thank you, Sally!

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Aug 22Liked by Grant Snider

Congratulations. I bought your book on drawing and poetry to give to my ex-husband for his birthday. He is a cartoonist and a poet but he has never combined the two. I hope your book will inspire him to do so. I am an untalented drawerer. Your posts remind me of Lynda Barry’s Syllabus—she gave me permission to own what I drew. Thank you.

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author

I love Lynda Barry's work! Great connection, and thank you for sharing Poetry Comics.

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Aug 21Liked by Grant Snider

“Take an experience from your life that feels both personal and universal.

The feeling of quiet observation.

The feeling of being a passenger.

The feeling of finding the wondrous amid the familiar”

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Aug 20Liked by Grant Snider

dear grant,

a beautiful story! about a beautiful story! thank you for sharing!

i love this first step: "Take an experience from your life that feels both personal and universal."

i love this middle step: "Realize you have no idea how to draw the main subject of your story. Panic."

i love this final step: "Finish?"

thank you so much, and congratulations!

love

myq

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Thank you, Myq!

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Aug 20Liked by Grant Snider

I love the art, beautiful use of color!

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author

Thanks, the colors were one of the most exciting parts of making the book!

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Aug 20Liked by Grant Snider

Great sounds, too - thanks!

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Lovely. Congrats. The buses look great!

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Thank you, Kate!

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Aug 21Liked by Grant Snider

This looks beautiful, and so different (yet similar) to my school bus journeys here in England!🤩 congratulations on the recognition, and I hope it leads to many more readers 🥰

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Are the buses the same color in England? Probably a silly question... Thanks for the note!

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Aug 22Liked by Grant Snider

Not usually. We either go on public transport, or have chartered coaches from local bus companies. There isn’t enough call for local councils to have their own buses anymore, but when I was a kid we did have some big yellow buses (there were 2 at the end of the road I grew up on in the 80s and 90s). I guess they weren’t replaced. 🤷‍♀️

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Interesting, thank you Kathlyn!

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Wow: this enchanting and inspiringly detailed 'candid process' is so encouraging, and your own passage toward creating a Storybook a wonderful read. Thanks so much!

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Thanks Catharine, "Candid Process" would be a good name for a substack :)

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'Twould be, Grant! Its yours to use anytime, as I won't ever. (This is official consent, should you ever do so, and a secret too 😊!)

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Thank you for sharing your process- it makes me own journey feel less lonely🥰

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Glad to hear that, Aditi! The journey is made in solitude, but not alone!

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Thanks for sharing this process Grant, the way you think about how ideas becoming books has guided me over my very short career as an illustrator!

I was once told have a system, if you don’t have one, find a system and use that.

I’ve been trying to write, i’ll try these steps!

I think step one is so briliiantly thoughtful

Ps: Congrats on representing your state!

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Glad to hear that, Adam! I enjoy your picture book insights, best wishes on the writing. That's a great subject for another post.

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Well done, Grant.

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In love with your drawings! Orange and blue, the contrasting fellows yet always so perfect together. Congrat💎

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It's beautiful! Love love all of the colors (and smiled at the "Panic" text). Congratulations on your book being chosen for the Great Reads. My children's book was also chosen (from New Hampshire!) but I did not do any of the illustrations...I'm working on that part!

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