CANSCAIP: Packaging Your Imagination Conference 2024

On October 26th, CANSCAIP (Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers) hosted Packaging Your Imagination, a professional development conference that promotes learning, business, and networking. The conference partnered with Seneca to sponsor two students interested in Children’s illustration to experience the event. Jaysen Antiochos and Abigail Macbean were selected as the recipients of this sponsorship. The partnership between Seneca and CANSCAIP creates an opportunity for two current students to attend the conference.  In return, the students present what is learned to their classes.

Throughout the day,  the two students attended several sessions presented by different authors and illustrators. Jaysen wrote down some thoughts by Canadian author Melanie Florence describing the importance of storytelling in her opening keynote.

“Not all kids like to read, but all children love stories. All humans love stories, fiction and nonfiction. Stories help us find common ground. Stories help to start conversation and connect us together. Remember that a story with impact tells a lesson implicitly and that good stories make us feel emotionally invested.”

One of the sessions that stood out most to Abigail was about “Illustration as Productive Rebellion” presented by illustrator Jack Wong.

“He taught us about his approach to creating a children’s book, specifically a nonfiction biography style book. He talked about ‘décalage,’ which is defined in another book as ‘disparity of meaning between word and image.’ Essentially illustrating everything you read in the text can be restrictive. Décalage is thinking outside the text and creating a story apart from the illustration.

For example, if the text says ‘grandma and I went to the park, the zoo, and the store.’ A natural response would be to draw spot illustrations of each event but it doesn’t add anything [to the story]. Instead, by showing the kid getting tucked into bed by grandma and holding a souvenir they got from the zoo, you can show a different aspect of the character relationship and experience that isn’t written outright.”

Abigail mentions that the group was encouraged to visit the library and look at different types of picture books. Wong emphasized that by researching other illustrators and reviewing how they use décalage techniques effectively, each illustrator can learn to incorporate this method within their own practice.

A presentation that was notable for Jaysen was from author Wanda Taylor about “The Unforgettables: Crafting Memorable Characters in Fiction and Nonfiction.” Jaysen took away the analogy of building characters like a house; each step within the process helps to reveal important information about the character.

Step 1: Plan – The characters are three dimensional people. What’s their backstory? What memories do they have? Do research.

Step 2: Break Ground – Be aware of character archetypes. Tropes and stereotypes are dangerous landmines.

Step 3: The Foundation – What’s the story told through this person? Why is the character there? What themes can be linked back to the character? Where can the backstory be weaved?

Step 4: Build Walls – Walls can help build tension. Show how the character deals with challenges and how they are flawed. Is the character impacted by external forces?

Step 5: The Windows – Think about the point of view of the character and the reader. What do I want the character to see? Is the character’s perspective reality? What do I want the reader to see?

Step 6: The Roof – What’s the internal makeup of the character? What are their worries, fears, and obsessions? Do past events trigger certain emotions or behaviours for the character? Why is the character the way they are?

 

“I can’t say that any one session stood out, as they all had their strengths and awesome lecturers. I took more than a few valuable lessons from the conference: becoming a children’s book illustrator can be a long road, children’s books are created for children first, and sometimes fiction can be a place of acceptance and learning unlike non-fiction.” – Jaysen

“In the closing speech, it was all about how to stay creative even when it gets hard and discouraging. They said a lot of obvious ones like take breaks and don’t let a turn down define you, but something that stood out to me was ‘celebrate the small things.’ Success isn’t always going to look like a published book every time, there are smaller wins in the process and you deserve to celebrate the little wins just as much. Overall, it was a really great and educational experience.” – Abigail

Photos courtesy of Abigail Macbean