Taking some characters from a comic project I am developing, I decided to use them in an illustration for my “Thank you” card. I wanted to make this illustration fun and colourful, while telling a bit of a story to make it interesting.

I kept the illustration fairly simple, and placed a white cloud shape at the bottom where I could write my short note of thanks.

I had the card printed on some bright white 10pt glossy card stock, so it would feel nice and sturdy and hold up to some handling. The cards were printed at 3.75″ x 9″ so they would fit into a regular sized letter envelope. I only had a small batch printed so I could trim them myself, giving me the option to trim them larger. This would allow me to leave more white area at the bottom in case I wanted to write a bigger note and not insert them into an envelope.

Since I left the cards fairly minimal (without my logo or contact information), I will usually send them either with one of my business cards, or with a short cover letter.

I make my postcards a little larger than the standard 4×6″, instead going with a 5×7″ size. I feel this has a better impact, and allows for more/larger images. Plus, the cost of mailing them is the same as the smaller size, and I feel the slightly increased cost for printing is well worth the end result.

For the front, I decided to use a few images from some upcoming books I’m working on. This is the first time I’ve used more than one image on the front, and I’m quite happy with the result. In the past when I’ve used only one image, I tend to regret my choice of image after I get them printed, so I figured using three images would triple my chances for liking the end result!

I always make sure to include my contact information on the front, and on the back I repeat my contact information, and list some of my published books. I actually got the idea to list my published works from a blog post Elizabeth Dulemba made about her postcard creation process. Providing this extra information for Art Directors is such a great idea, I can’t believe I didn’t think to do this (although, this is only my second postcard, so I’m still learning what works best.) At the time of printing this postcard, I was unable to list some of my upcoming books as they are not published yet. I’m already looking forward to designing my next postcard so I can add them on.

On the back, I opted to show an arrangement of small thumbnails instead of one or two larger images. I wanted to capture as many different samples of my recent artwork as I could, while also making it fun and interesting to look at.

I left some space at the bottom for my mailing labels, and I strategically placed the thumbnail of the frog where the stamp will go. Hopefully this entices the recipients to peel off the stamp to see what is underneath!

Lately I’ve been using Overnight Prints to handle the printing for my postcards. I find them to be well-priced, quick, and the quality is excellent.

My goal is to send out new promotional postcards 3-4 times per year. I send them to a selected group of Art Directors and Editors on my mailing list that I’ve built from researching on the internet, within the Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market book, and from the market surveys available to SCBWI members.

I recently illustrated some characters that were used on a series of German language stickers for Teacher’s Discovery. Sure, the characters may be a bit stereotypical looking, but they were tons of fun! Big thanks to the wonderful Caryn Knight at Teacher’s Discovery for this great project.

Check out Pam’s website for some really great family portraits as well.

I’ve just refreshed my portfolio website with a new look, and some new work! www.jonesid.com

Anyway, I like how this illustration turning out, and frogs are one of my favorite creatures to draw!

Super fun step-by-step instructions on how to make your very own snow sculpture!

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Mini comic detailing the working process of the Canadian Snow Scupture Team!

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