Shannon Wright illustrates our Mini Graphic Novels about Gabby. She also illustrated the book Twins. We had a lot of questions for Shannon, so we did an interview. Let’s dive in!
Meet Shannon Wright
Shannon Wright illustrates our Mini Graphic Novels about Gabby. She also illustrated the book Twins. We had a lot of questions for Shannon, so we did an interview. Let’s dive in!
Question: You draw so many different characters. How do you decide what a character will look like?
Shannon Wright: For some characters, I know exactly what they look like. It just clicks. For others, I have to do a lot of drawings first. My book Twins is about twin sisters. I had to do a lot of sketches of those girls before I knew how they looked.
Q: Did you know what Gabby should look like right away?
SW: Yes. I felt like, “I know this kid. She has long French braids.” I like adding freckles and moles to a character. Gabby has a mole. It makes her stand out. She also has little hoop earrings.
Q: Were you like Gabby at all when you were a kid?
SW: I was like Gabby in a lot of ways. I had little hoops. I also had friends who always had a new cut, a new scab, and a new Band-Aid! Sometimes Gabby has a Band-Aid. Can you find it in this month’s story?
Q: How do you draw how your characters are feeling?
SW: When I am drawing, I make the same faces as my characters do! So if my character is sad, my face might look sad too. I copy what that feeling looks like on me.
Courtesy of Shannon Wright
Shannon as a kid.
Q: Do you ever make mistakes?
SW: Yes! I have to erase whole pages and start over. It can be frustrating. But sometimes it helps you make something even better.
If I am having trouble with a page, sometimes I need to put it down, go to sleep, and look at it again in the morning. My brain needs to rest.
Sometimes I ask a friend or parent for advice. I’ll ask my mom, “Hey, does this make sense?” And she will either say, “I don’t know what’s happening here,” or “I get it!” That helps me out.
Q: What is your advice for kids who want to make art?
SW: My advice is to use paint, markers, fabric, and so on and have fun and make mistakes. You don’t need to draw perfectly to make art!
Shannon’s Steps
Here is how Shannon does the Gabby comics, step by step.
Courtesy of Shannon Wright
Step 1: Sketch
Shannon sketches on an iPad. She draws with gray lines. She asks for feedback. She erases anything that doesn’t work and tries again.
Courtesy of Shannon Wright
Step 2: Add Black Lines
Now she goes over her gray lines with black lines on her tablet. She gets feedback again. She makes more changes.
Courtesy of Shannon Wright
Step 3: Color it In
Last, she adds color. She wants to make sure all her characters stand out. Now the story is done!
More About the Article
English Language Arts Focus
Author/Illustrator study
Casel Social-emotional Learning Focus
Self-management: Exhibiting self-discipline and motivation
1. BEFORE READING
Preview Vocabulary (3-5 minutes)
2. READ THE PAIRED TEXTS (10 MINUTES)
3. AFTER READING
ELA Focus: Quiz (10 minutes)
Extend the Story With an Activity (20 minutes)
ELA Focus: Compare and Contrast (15 minutes)
Scavenger Hunt Slide Deck (15 minutes)
We created a Scavenger Hunt Slide Deck for several stories in this month’s Storyworks 2, including the paired texts The scavenger hunt can be done by students independently at home or during class time.
This is a self-contained group of slides that guide your students through a scavenger hunt through the whole issue. It’s not only fun; it helps them make text-to-text connections.
To find it, look in your Resources section. Scroll down to Activities. You will see the “Slide Deck Scavenger Hunt.”
