Hey Crystal Smith

@crystalsmithart.bsky.social

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west coast illustrator & writer🤖🦕🛼 #seekingrepresentation
PBs: MAYBE A WHALE | 2023
MOTHER ASPEN | Fall 2024

🌲 www.heycrystalsmith.com
my bulletin: http://eepurl.com/gWitnb
IG@ hey.crystal.illustrates
FB@ heycrystalillustrates

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*whispering into the void* The author & illustrator community on BlueSky is not your target audience when you are marketing your book We love to share your success & progress. But we are not the ones who will buy all the books. Our feed should not look like a commercial. #kidlit #kidlitart

Plant update!! Everything is surviving and thriving in the heat - whew. 🪴🌿💚 #Plantlife #plants #plantlover #plantshelfie

With all this heat, I'd rather be on the ocean! Going to 30'C today (86'F) which is too hot for me. 🌞😎 What's the temp where you are today? #kidlit #kidlitart #summer

Really bad party planners in space turn to crime but they end up fighting gardening druids.

Explain your book/WIP in one short sentence badly: Dagger-wielding teens betraying each other, like, a lot. #YA #fantasy

Summer days and giant watermelon slices. #kidlit #kidlitart #watermelon

Just finished this book - five ⭐️s!! Sooo good. Great sci fi but also fantastic language, poetry integration, characters and humour. Smart, entertaining, beautiful. #books #onmyshelf #bookreview @byzantienne.bsky.social

This is Lucy Island! It's now a national preserve area but my parents used to be the jr. lighthouse keepers here & I was born & spent my young years here! There used to be a few houses, greenhouses, & such. No internet. But there was a library boat that came.

Oh, deer - A visitor at the window today - It was so hot I think he was looking at my fan... 🦌🌞

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Hey Crystal Smith

Tyger, tyger burning bright…one page away from the sketchbook’s end. Ink, gouache, neocolor ii and colored pencils #kidlitart #kidlitartist #kidlitillustration #sketchbook #greenrainart

Got a BIG box delivered...no idea what it was until I saw who it was from! Illustrator copies from my publisher!! YAY! 🍂😎 (I'd post a vid but I can't, so here are timelapse snaps hahaha) Pre-orders open now! Get a discount if you order through Barnes & Noble online 📚 #kidlit #kidlitart

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Hey Crystal Smith

This. Book. I’m so proud and can’t wait to share more. Written by the amazing @kdubaygillis.bsky.social Give it that preorder boost at 25% off from B&N: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/big-bike-l... #kidlit (psst! Cover reveal next week!)

#substacksky

Do you think about color before you start your illustrations for kids books? Before thumbnails? 🎨📚 Here's a little article about how I pick color palettes for kids books (😎 PLUS my secret color rule...) keeping it simple, consistent, & unique! tinyurl.com/4dzwdxsr #kidlit #kidlitart #illustration

Hello #kidlitartpostcardday! I am a short, west coast #kidlit illustrator who loves nature & neon, crazy ideas & amazing characters. I illustrate #picturebooks and take freelance work of all kinds. I am #seekingrepresentation www.heycrystalsmith.com #KidLitArt #KidLitArtPostCard #illustration

Hello #kidlitartpostcardday! I am a short, west coast #kidlit illustrator who loves nature & neon, crazy ideas & amazing characters. I illustrate #picturebooks and take freelance work. I am #seekingrepresentation and always open to exciting projects! #KidLitArt #KidLitArtPostCard #illustration

New plant post!! 🌿🪴💚 A lovely red bromeliad in my kitchen, two cacti on my windowsill loving the sun (at least someone is), and a croton that is actually much more colorful when I'm not using hipstamatic filters. All happy currently! #plants #Plantlove #plantselfie

I find I am tired of websites all looking similar. We seem to have reached this point where the layouts are obvious (header, footer, blocks of content) rather than stretching and finding something new and engaging. We need to get more creative on format on the web. Any thoughts guys?

Get 25% OFF "Mother Aspen" — my new kids book (written by Annette LeBox, pics by me) as a Barnes & Noble member! Premium members get another 10% OFF! Pre-order today! 🍁🍂 A beautiful story of the life of aspen trees & their forest friends. www.barnesandnoble.com/b/books/_/N-... #kidlit

Cactus pic post!! Reminiscing about my Arizona adventure (probably because of the heat today) and musing on what to do with all these awesome cacti pics. Illustrations? Paintings? Hmmmmm. #cacti #cactus

Hello #portfolioday! I am a west coast #kidlit illustrator who loves nature & neon, crazy ideas & amazing characters. I illustrate #picturebooks and take freelance work. I am #seekingrepresentation and always open to exciting projects! heycrystalsmith.com

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Hey Crystal Smith

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Debbie Ridpath Ohi

K-12 educators & librarians: Help educate next gen of readers: mention illustrators by name when talking about illustrated books. When posting, check if illustrator is on Bluesky, tag them. If the book was translated, also #NameTheTranslator. #PicturesMeanBusiness Art @sarahmcintyre.bsky.social

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Hey Crystal Smith

Hi. I’ve been answering your burning Publishing questions on Tumblr for like, a decade. There are thousands of posts on there! Chances are, if you’ve ever had a question for an agent, I have answered it. Check out the pinned FAQ post for a start, then dig in! www.tumblr.com/literaticat

Ask the Agent:www.tumblr.com I'm Jennifer Laughran. I'm a Senior Agent at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, representing great authors and illustrators of children's and YA books. I'm also a life-long bookseller and sloth fan. As...

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Hey Crystal Smith

I'm gradually adding more Starter Packs (I still think of some of them as Topic/Theme Packs 😉); just check my "Starter Packs" tab on my profile. Glad to hear they're helping #kidlit people find each other! I'll revisit each regularly to replace dormant accts w/ those more active on Bluesky.

Hope y'all don't mind but I love posting plant pics and updates. I may have a few too many - but they all have their own personalities and backstories. Today: zebra bromeliad, blue star fern, crocodile fern, croton Status: all enjoying the sun and heat! 🌿💚

Something I think is important in illustrated books— 'How To Direct the Viewers Eye in Children’s Books' 📚😎 Lead the reader’s eye where you want it to go! From page turns to pacing...take a read over here: heycrystalillustrates.substack.com/p/how-to-dir... #kidlit #kidlitart #art

QRT with your space art! 🌕🪐🛸👽⭐️ #kidlit #kidlitart

Quote post with your space art! 🌕 A piece I did to try out doing a kids flash gordon comic #illustration #kidlitart #comics #flashgordon

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Hey Crystal Smith

A Substack thread!! Time to post your Substacks everyone - so we can share and follow and procrastinate things we're supposed to be doing. 😎 #kidlit #kidlitart

If you see a pirate, post a pirate! #kidlitart #kidlit #pirate #pirates Two mer-pirates!

If you see a pirate, post a pirate! #kidlitart #kidlit #pirate #pirates

Oooh!! A hero of mine gave our book a shoutout on Twitter. The book was based on her work! Very exciting! 🌲🌲🌲