Ellie has been drawing for years. We came up with the idea of a cute, spicy little girl as a character many years ago. Maybe as I dig through our old stuff (if I have time ….) I will learn when it was that she was officially ‘born’ in our minds. I did come across some versions of Page 1 in our first picture book we were working on. We re-visited this book as Ellie grew and her skills evolved. So here is Bernadette during the 5-8 years ago range:
Bob makes an appearance on one page of the book, but he isn’t keeping her inline as her sidekick yet. Once we got to Version 3, we actually printed a version of the book for us. I’ll find a copy, and we can take a look at that next time.
When I was five, I wanted to be a vet with my best friend. Later, when I was seven or eight, wanted to be a dental hygienist. Then, at age ten, I wanted to be an artist. I spent every spare second drawing, and soon my dad noticed me. When he told me that he wanted to write and publish a children’s book, my first question was: “Will it be real? Like in the library?” That was ten years ago, and Bernadette hasn’t made it into any library’s yet, but neither my dad or I will be giving up any time soon.
The other day I was talking to a friend who also loves art and drawing, and they confessed that they didn’t know what they wanted to do in the future, but their passion was art. Before I even knew what was coming out of my mouth, I responded: “Then do it.” I guess that’s part of the reason I’m doing these comics. I am literally “doing it” every day when I sit down to work on Bernadette. I know not a ton of people are seeing these right now, and that’s okay. This is how I’m starting to learn. And I belive what my dad said in an earlier post. The world definitely needs Bernadette.
In my last post I reflected on ‘why’. Why are we doing this? What are we trying to accomplish? Well, I didn’t quit, I am still going, and I think re-visiting this topic will help me to focus. So:
Why are we doing this? What are we trying to accomplish?
I first think of something I wrote 2 years ago in an earleir post, when we started this website:
The world needs Bernadette. We have lost sight of a lot, we really need to step back and see things a little more clearly through the eyes of a 6 year old. These stories, and Bernadette are our way to make this world just a little bit better.
Me, on a good day
That was two years ago, and the events of the world since then have shown that it is even more true today. The world needs Bernadette.
Yes, a second ‘why’ is my daughter and her drawing/art career. She loves to draw as much as ever, and I want to give her a chance to pursue this as a career. However, aiming for a career where she can solely improve her already incredible life, that’s not how we roll. Can she make a living (and where we are, a really good living) and also help others? Well, that would be right in our wheelhouse. (I think I will make a comic about the phrase ‘in your wheelhouse’ …..)
It’s a familiar feeling, a very familiar one, it’s just not a good one ….
What is that feeling? Well, it’s really a mix of feelings, but it starts by feeling overwhelmed: There’s so much farther we need to go. Then, it moves into being uncertain: I have no idea what to do next. Really, it dwells in this area for a while, for quite a while. I really, really have no idea what to do next. We have some comics posted, and we are getting a good rhythm started. This is good, actually, it is exactly how we wanted to start. But now what? How do we get people to find us? Why do we even want people to find us? What really are we really trying to accomplish?
Overwhelmed, uncertain. Then, after dwelling here for a while, the feeling does finally move on. My brain cannot conceive the next step for us, so my brain figures it’s simply time to ‘can’ the whole project. This stalling, this ‘failing’ isn’t very fun, so maybe we just shouldn’t try at all. The feeling moves to inadequacy. My writing really isn’t that good. Mediocre at best. Who was I to think that I could write something that would attract an audience? Why keep trying?
Feelings, I ackowledge you. I acknowledge that you are oppressive. I acknowledge that you today you are heavy, so very heavy.
But, sorry, I am not going to quit. Tomorrow I will keep trying.
We are back! But where did we go? It’s now 7 years that we have been working on this, on and off. We made a push in 2019 to prepare our writing and pictures for Picture Books. Where have we been since then?
The world of Picture Books is a very antiquated industry that is very difficult to break into. We saw people that slaved away for years before they were finally published. We saw good books that received no attention, and horrible books that were popular (Jimmy Fallon, we are looking at you, sorry!). Some of our books are good, others still need a lot of work. But we aren’t sure we want to toil away in the ‘normal’ route. So, not knowing what to do, we gave Bernadette a break.
Now, Ellie is 17, and guess what? She has continued to draw, continually. Her artwork has continued to improve, and she still just loves to draw. As a father, I cannot bear that thought of her not pursuing this dream. So, we are back, to do something. But what?
We have no idea. So we are starting with a comic. We will be developing Bernadette, Bob, Mom, Dad, older sister Kate, younger brother Scotty, and their world. Who is Bernadette? What does she like? What does she love? Can Bob always communicate through rebuses? Is ‘rebuses’ a word? Should I say ‘rebus puzzles’? Anyway, quit distracting me! Where was I? Yes, the comic. We have started on ‘Insta’ as the kids like to say: The Amazing Bernadette (@amazingbernadette) • Instagram photos and videos
Bernadette also has a Facebook page, and an old Twitter account that we need to ressurect. We could use your help. We need to get better. What do you like? What do you not like. Let us know, we don’t have any idea what we are doing, but we are doing something.
Color Pencil version as we explore Bernadette’s new style
The public recording of this journey starts today! What journey? The journey we began roughly 5 years ago. The journey to get my daughter prepared for an Illustration career. Now, Bernadette has joined us on the journey. There is a second intertwined goal to the journey: Get Bernadette out into the world to use her magic. The world needs her. So after 5 years of silence, we emerge!
What have we been doing during all this time? We have been writing. We have been editing, and then more writing. We have been drawing, then growing older, and then drawing some more.
But, let’s not dwell on the past, we will come back and visit it soon enough. Today, this website is live! It’s not quite finished, I will just have to finish it up as quickly as I can. It’s not like anyone out there will see it (yet)!
Why now? First, my daughter is 15 years old, and her drawing has really, really improved. She draws every single moment that she can, and just loves it. Second, I have spent 2019 working on my half, the writing. My goal: 12 stories that are A/A- quality. I think I have 7 that are at that level, and another 6 that are in the B range. So, while I am not quite there, 2019 is not done yet! I think I can get 5 of those 6 up to the A/A- level by the end of the year.
Between the growth in my daughters drawing, and my writing, I think we are ready to bring Bernadette alive! So, what are out next steps?
Website
Twitter account (not yet sure exactly how to use it ….)
The stories: More reviews from others. I need people who aren’t friends, or related, and can give me honest opinions. (If you find this and want to proofread, contact us!)
My daughter Ellie loves to draw. She draws, draws, and then draws some more. If she is not doing that, she uses pens & pencils to create images on paper, filling sketch book after sketch book! She truly is that passionate, I don’t think a day goes by that she does not draw. I know this will not be an easy career for her to pursue, but this is her passion. So I, as a father, love what she loves, and will do whatever I can to help her follow her passion and her dreams.
I have often been ‘disappointed’ with picture books. This really means I have cried out: ‘how did this get published!’. So, instead of complaining, I am doing something about it. (The picture book world is pretty, well, antiquated. We don’t know how to break into it yet, so we are starting this comic online to help develop our talents, and our characters.)
The world needs Bernadette. We have lost sight of a lot, we really need to step back and see things a little more clearly through the eyes of a ~8 year old. These stories, and Bernadette are our way to make this world just a little bit better.
