Hi! I'm Maddie. I write and draw for kids.
Buuuuuut I really make books to entertain myself and hope the kids like them too. I've been professionally making-things-up for almost five years. Before that, I was an elementary art teacher. Before that, I worked almost 30 different jobs and went to art school for animation. Side note; one time I worked as a hostess and sat Steven Spielberg and George Lucas together at a table. I'm pretty sure the way I gracefully handed out the menus inspired their next film. Just saying. Being an author-illustrator was always my dream job. Well, except for when I wanted to be in Riverdance when I was ten.
I wrote and drew A LOT when I was a kid. Look, here are some animals I drew in 4th grade. I loved animals and still do. ALL of my stories (so far anyway) have animals in them!
Buuuuuut I really make books to entertain myself and hope the kids like them too. I've been professionally making-things-up for almost five years. Before that, I was an elementary art teacher. Before that, I worked almost 30 different jobs and went to art school for animation. Side note; one time I worked as a hostess and sat Steven Spielberg and George Lucas together at a table. I'm pretty sure the way I gracefully handed out the menus inspired their next film. Just saying. Being an author-illustrator was always my dream job. Well, except for when I wanted to be in Riverdance when I was ten.
I wrote and drew A LOT when I was a kid. Look, here are some animals I drew in 4th grade. I loved animals and still do. ALL of my stories (so far anyway) have animals in them!
And here is a story I wrote in 5th grade called THE DINOSAUR EXHIBIT. It's about a brother and sister who go to a dinosaur museum and the dinosaurs EAT THEM. Just kidding, but they DO come alive!
My ideas for books usually come from my ideas for characters. If the character feels real, I give them a story. I listen to what they want and just follow their lead. I trust the process and I trust my characters. Most of the time, these characters come from doodles in my sketchbook. Other times they come from thin air, like invisible gifts that follow me around and haunt me until I put them on paper. Sounds creepy, I know.
I think I get my sense of humor and comic flair from watching so many 90's cartoons. Countless hours were spent sitting in front of my TV and drawing my favorite shows. SpongeBob will always be my hero.
I make my art in Photoshop with digital brushes and handmade textures. I work from home with my assistant, Mozzy The Dog, who answers the phone, shreds paper, and eats doughnuts.
I make my art in Photoshop with digital brushes and handmade textures. I work from home with my assistant, Mozzy The Dog, who answers the phone, shreds paper, and eats doughnuts.
I live outside Boston with my husband, Toby. He tells me my art is good and wipes my tears away when I can't draw horses.
My new book, SMUG SEAGULL, comes out this May. I think it's pretty funny and I hope you do too. If you don't, that's okay. I still think you're nice. Really, I do!
