SCBWI Success Story: Amanda Crabtree

It all sounds like a speedy whirlwind when condensed into one paragraph, but there was a long build-up to that weekend in New York. Twelve years prior I began my professional life at Marvel Animation Studios. There I worked both in production management and, eventually, as a pre-production artist on the Disney Jr. series Spidey and His Amazing Friends. I also had a couple of kids, and freelanced illustration and design jobs of all sorts. There were many career changes and pivots, and while I worked on some wonderful client projects there was always a strong, underlying need to develop my own characters and stories. So, I turned my attention to the art form I have always loved most: the picture book.

Like so many of us, the picture books of my childhood shaped me in ways I’m still learning how to see. Some of my strongest memories are of sitting on the floor for what felt like hours on end, pouring over books. I would stare at the illustrations, absorbing every detail, living for a time in these vivid, gentle worlds. Perhaps it is because I feel so close to this particular art medium that it took me as long as it did to try to create my own books. A good book leaves room for the reader’s imagination to play within it, and I knew I needed time to learn the art of creating this space.

So, At the beginning of 2023, I began a mentorship with Giuseppe Castellano at The Illustration Department. My work up to that point was very animation-specific, so I started building a new portfolio from scratch. I went back to the medium that I’d loved as an art student: linocut printmaking. I focused that entire year on building a new illustration portfolio, and writing my first manuscripts. The results of that year’s work are what I brought with me to the 2024 SCBWI conference and everything took off from there.

I returned to this year’s Winter Conference with a heart full of gratitude for everything that was born out my first experience there. My debut book comes out next year, with two more unannounced projects following closely behind it. I work with delightful publishing teams, have fulfilling friendships with other authors and illustrators, and have built a strong creative support network. 

I think one of the most difficult parts of being an author or illustrator is how much of the work is done alone. It’s easy to get in your own head or to get disheartened when you come up against roadblocks. What I’ve been so grateful to discover though, is that working alone does not have to mean working in a vacuum. Building relationships with people who do similar work and who face the same challenges is incredibly important for becoming a better artist and a better human. So, if there’s one piece of advice I would give to anyone who wants to grow in their creative field, it would be to find spaces, like those created by SCBWI, where you can build a network of trust and support, and go through the hard but worthwhile struggle of making good work together.