Ask the Author: Jack Keely
Answered Questions (9)
Jack Keely
That’s a very interesting question. In the early days, I used to look for any possible illustration project from baby announcements to posters for little theaters. At that time, getting printed portfolio samples and experience was more important than getting paid.
My background is a mix of illustration and graphic design. When I began to seriously pursue illustration in New York City, I worked three days a week as a graphic designer. That gave me enough money to pay the bills, and two days a week to look for illustration jobs. I used those two days to make appointments and show my portfolio to art directors. When enough assignments began coming in to survive without my staff job, I left it in favor of full time freelance. I no longer live in New York, and most of my current clients are people I have never met face to face. With internet access, an illustrator can now live anywhere.
My personal website (jackeely.com) allows potential clients to view my portfolio at any time. Many illustrators also use free social networking platforms like Instagram to gain exposure. I find that posting illustrations on Instagram (jack.keely.illustrator) is useful, and it’s also a lot of fun.
To interest potential clients, I occasionally send out a snail mail postcard showcasing my illustrations. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer sending something printed that can be saved and shared over exclusively sending emails.
I find ‘Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market’ and ‘Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market’ to be reliable sources for locating new clients. They list publishers, greeting card companies, magazines, and other illustration buyers. The books provide terms, contact information, and other helpful stuff. Pinpointing the type of illustration that interests you (humorous, fashion, book cover, pattern design, conceptual, technical, etc.) will help you to know which clients to target.
Personal contacts can also be very helpful. Being involved with organizations like the Society of Illustrators or the AIGA can help you to meet new people in the field.
Congratulations on starting a new career. Good luck with your graphic novels!
My background is a mix of illustration and graphic design. When I began to seriously pursue illustration in New York City, I worked three days a week as a graphic designer. That gave me enough money to pay the bills, and two days a week to look for illustration jobs. I used those two days to make appointments and show my portfolio to art directors. When enough assignments began coming in to survive without my staff job, I left it in favor of full time freelance. I no longer live in New York, and most of my current clients are people I have never met face to face. With internet access, an illustrator can now live anywhere.
My personal website (jackeely.com) allows potential clients to view my portfolio at any time. Many illustrators also use free social networking platforms like Instagram to gain exposure. I find that posting illustrations on Instagram (jack.keely.illustrator) is useful, and it’s also a lot of fun.
To interest potential clients, I occasionally send out a snail mail postcard showcasing my illustrations. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer sending something printed that can be saved and shared over exclusively sending emails.
I find ‘Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market’ and ‘Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market’ to be reliable sources for locating new clients. They list publishers, greeting card companies, magazines, and other illustration buyers. The books provide terms, contact information, and other helpful stuff. Pinpointing the type of illustration that interests you (humorous, fashion, book cover, pattern design, conceptual, technical, etc.) will help you to know which clients to target.
Personal contacts can also be very helpful. Being involved with organizations like the Society of Illustrators or the AIGA can help you to meet new people in the field.
Congratulations on starting a new career. Good luck with your graphic novels!
Jack Keely
There are lots of wonderful things about the creative process involved in writing and illustrating books. Now that I am at work on book 3 in the spooky Whistlebrass series, the recurring characters are beginning to seem like old friends. It's interesting to watch Casey, Pike, Pearl, and the other characters develop and change. They seem to be taking on lives of their own. It's also very rewarding to receive responses from people who have read the books and taken the time to write a review or a letter (or occasionally draw me a picture).
Jack Keely
My favorite fictional couple. Hmm. Sophisticated Nick and Nora Charles from ‘The Thin Man’ by Dashiell Hammett come to mind, but I think the wonderfully witty performances by William Powell and Myrna Loy in the movie version are heavily influencing me.
Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin, the glamorous partners in crime and adventure created by Peter O’Donnell, are another possibility. Modesty and Willie originally appeared in a British adventure comic strip followed by a stylish (although campy) movie. Then the characters sprang into action in O’Donnell’s novel, ‘Modesty Blaise’ followed by ten other novels and a series of short stories. Although they are not romantically involved, Modesty and Willie are inseparable.
Lucia (Mrs. Emmeline Lucas) and Georgie Pillson take center stage in several wickedly funny books written by E. F. Benson from 1920 to 1939. This sublime series includes ‘Queen Lucia’, ‘Lucia in London’, ‘Mapp and Lucia’, and others. Ardent fans of the books included Noel Coward, Nancy Mitford, W.H. Auden and Gertrude Lawrence. Lucia is a monstrously pretentious small town snob. Georgie is a fidgety fusspot who backs up her plots. Although they might be unbearable in real life, this eccentric pair prove to be completely irresistible in print.
Romeo and Juliet? Jane and Mr. Rochester from ‘Jane Eyre’? Catherine and Heathcliff from ‘Wuthering Heights’? Elisabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy from ‘Pride and Prejudice’? So many options.
But for me, the ultimate choice is a devoted and passionate pair that I have enjoyed for many years. Their original incarnation was a series of cartoons in ‘The New Yorker’. From there, they appeared on television and in the movies. In each incarnation, they have presented a vision of domestic life that blends love, devotion, and a unique sense of self.
Morticia and Gomez Addams. Here’s looking at you, kids.
Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin, the glamorous partners in crime and adventure created by Peter O’Donnell, are another possibility. Modesty and Willie originally appeared in a British adventure comic strip followed by a stylish (although campy) movie. Then the characters sprang into action in O’Donnell’s novel, ‘Modesty Blaise’ followed by ten other novels and a series of short stories. Although they are not romantically involved, Modesty and Willie are inseparable.
Lucia (Mrs. Emmeline Lucas) and Georgie Pillson take center stage in several wickedly funny books written by E. F. Benson from 1920 to 1939. This sublime series includes ‘Queen Lucia’, ‘Lucia in London’, ‘Mapp and Lucia’, and others. Ardent fans of the books included Noel Coward, Nancy Mitford, W.H. Auden and Gertrude Lawrence. Lucia is a monstrously pretentious small town snob. Georgie is a fidgety fusspot who backs up her plots. Although they might be unbearable in real life, this eccentric pair prove to be completely irresistible in print.
Romeo and Juliet? Jane and Mr. Rochester from ‘Jane Eyre’? Catherine and Heathcliff from ‘Wuthering Heights’? Elisabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy from ‘Pride and Prejudice’? So many options.
But for me, the ultimate choice is a devoted and passionate pair that I have enjoyed for many years. Their original incarnation was a series of cartoons in ‘The New Yorker’. From there, they appeared on television and in the movies. In each incarnation, they have presented a vision of domestic life that blends love, devotion, and a unique sense of self.
Morticia and Gomez Addams. Here’s looking at you, kids.
Jack Keely
Thank you for your note, and thanks as well for ordering a copy of 'The Whistlebrass Horror'. Although 'The Whistlebrass Storm Watcher' works as a book to read on its own, I do think you'll have more fun reading them in order. That way, you'll have a chance to see how Casey, Pearl, and Pike grow and change. The first book also gives you a brief introduction to the Bamberger twins, Bobby and Bootsy. Bootsy plays a rather surprising role in the plot of the second book. Briar and I have just started writing the third book and it looks like Bobby will figure prominently in this one.
I'm glad you like my illustrations. I love to draw and have just recently started posting some of my drawings on Instagram. (jack.keely.illustrator) I am also at work on a solo book about an adventurous girl and her dragons. I guess there's no rest for the wicked. Thanks again for your enthusiasm. I hope you enjoy your visit to Whistlebrass.
I'm glad you like my illustrations. I love to draw and have just recently started posting some of my drawings on Instagram. (jack.keely.illustrator) I am also at work on a solo book about an adventurous girl and her dragons. I guess there's no rest for the wicked. Thanks again for your enthusiasm. I hope you enjoy your visit to Whistlebrass.
Jack Keely
Intrepid young Casey Wilde and his rebellious friend, Pike will be central to any Whistlebrass saga.
Teenage vixen, Bootsy Bamberger's brief appearance in the first book created so much interest that she earned a spot center stage in 'The Whistlebrass Storm Watcher'. There's also a somewhat edgy new girl named Fae who arrives with a traveling carnival and winds up ruffling Bootsy's feathers. Both are crucial to the plot and supply a lot of girl-power when the chips are down.
Several other familiar faces make appearances including Casey's little sister, Pearl who is turning out to be a very unusual child. The fun of working with a series like this is developing a cast of characters and letting different ones shine as the stories develop.
We are currently at work on the third book in the series. This time around, Bobby Bamberger (Casey's pal from book one) is back in a big way. We are having a lot of fun developing the series.
We are thrilled and gratified that, judging by the kind and generous reviews we're receiving, readers seem to be enjoying the books as well.
Teenage vixen, Bootsy Bamberger's brief appearance in the first book created so much interest that she earned a spot center stage in 'The Whistlebrass Storm Watcher'. There's also a somewhat edgy new girl named Fae who arrives with a traveling carnival and winds up ruffling Bootsy's feathers. Both are crucial to the plot and supply a lot of girl-power when the chips are down.
Several other familiar faces make appearances including Casey's little sister, Pearl who is turning out to be a very unusual child. The fun of working with a series like this is developing a cast of characters and letting different ones shine as the stories develop.
We are currently at work on the third book in the series. This time around, Bobby Bamberger (Casey's pal from book one) is back in a big way. We are having a lot of fun developing the series.
We are thrilled and gratified that, judging by the kind and generous reviews we're receiving, readers seem to be enjoying the books as well.
Jack Keely
All of the illustrations are drawn with a pen and a bottle of ink the old school way. After the pen work is done, I add the color digitally. For the monstrous faces in the backgrounds of 'The Whistlebrass Horror' and 'The Whistlebrass Storm Watcher', I used selfies for photo reference. I used a little artistic license. I don't actually have decorative scars, jagged teeth, or hollow baleful eyes. Not most of the time anyway.
Jack Keely
I’ve always liked anything spooky from 'The Munsters' to 'The House on Haunted Hill'. Northeastern autumns provided the perfect backdrop for my childhood Halloweens. I remember sidewalks blanketed with red and gold leaves, carved pumpkins on porches, and colorful corn attached to the front doors of the old houses where I would go trick-or-treating. Now I usually spend Halloween hunched over my drafting table in the castle’s north tower, drawing goblins and listening to the vampire bats flapping around outside the leaded glass windows.
Jack Keely
Briar and I are working with the editor at Permuted Press to complete the final text for THE WHISTLEBRASS STORM WATCHER which releases in October. Torrential rains have unearthed strange artifacts, and something very wicked has been drawn to Whistlebrass. There are some new faces in town including Fae Novarro, a teenage girl who arrives with a strange travelling carnival. I am also up to my elbows in ink drawing the illustrations for the book. There are half a dozen other projects simmering on the back burners as well. I guess there's no rest for the Keely.
Jack Keely
After illustrating lots of books by other authors, I wanted to have the experience of crafting words as well as pictures. When my friend, Briar Lee Mitchell gave me a copy of a spooky book she'd written, I asked if she'd like to collaborate on a story. Briar was hesitant at first, but I persisted. I knew that I wanted a Halloween setting. Briar came up with the line, "It had just been a circle of stones near the path by the riverbank." The Whistlebrass Horror kind of grew organically from there.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more