Jess Smart Smiley's Blog

Moving my body causes me tremendous pain, but it was important to me that I visit my alma mater and pay tribute to the life of Charlie Kirk.

I cried the entirety of my stay and the drive back home, surprised at how suddenly I was driven to tears, even after so many long days of grieving.

I was not prepared for the many gifts and messages others had left at UVU.

What could easily have been a depressing and angry scene was powerfully positive and disarmingly filled with faith, love, and gratitude. Every single handwritten letter, note, poster, and sign that I read was filled with words of encouragement and hope.

I didn’t see a single mean-spirited, accusatory, or vindictive message.

What a beautiful thing to experience—after so much tragedy and malice, to be presented with the response of an outpouring of love and encouragement.

I graduated from UVU, and I worked many jobs on campus. I performed on the school’s stages and studied in its halls. UVU will always represent an important part of my life, though the meaning of UVU is forever changed.

I’m a let’s-have-a-conversation guy. Not because I’m polite (I have little tact LOL), but because you know something I don’t, and I’m working to become a better version of myself, and I want to learn from you. I want to better understand the victories and challenges in your life, and your responses to them. Of course, I have my own thoughts, feelings, and opinions, but listening to you is not about me. It’s about what it means to be human, to exercise agency, and to succumb or overcome.

I think of Charlie Kirk as someone willing to have a conversation, even if I didn’t always agree with his approach. Charlie Kirk was someone who affected the world around him with his voice.

How telling that he was shot through the throat.

I’d love to spend my time with my family and friends, reading, writing, drawing, and exploring the world. My physical limitations, however, keep me in bed most of the time, combing through medical information, and setting up my next appointments. It’s painful. It’s exhausting. And I know that there’s something I’m supposed to learn from this. There’s someone I’m supposed to become through this. I need your help to do it. And I want to help where I can so that you, too, can become a better version of yourself.

Today, my mind was flooded with things I might write or draw in the tribute parking lot. I settled on Matthew 16:25, “Whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”

If you are struggling to understand what this event means to you, I recommend visiting the tribute while it still stands. Read the messages. Focus on listening. Reach out to someone in your life who is struggling. Think of the world you want to live in and do something today to make it resemble the Heaven you desire. I’ll do the same.

SKETCHBOOK 88 COMPLETE!

This book was my companion for nearly a year, as I developed work for:

Magazine illustrationsHalloween print & game boardColoring pagesValentine’s Day cards & mini postersLogosWebsite designsComicsBooks

…and much more! Sketchbooks are my private playground, where I can explore, discover, and think out loud on paper.

What do you like about keeping a notebook/sketchbook/diary? Is it helpful? Practical? Have you used your sketchbook to develop finished work? Do you give yourself permission to explore, discover, and try new things in your sketchbook?

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Join my First Readers Club for sneak previews of upcoming projects at https://bit.ly/FirstReadersClub

NEWSROOM NONSENSE IS OUT TODAY!

Available online and from bookstores everywhere, this third book in my “What Happens Next” series of comics readers can play is a book readers can return to again and again for a different story–and ending!

This book (and series) was made while I was stuck in bed for years with debilitating pain. Seeing it in print outside of my bedroom is a wonder!

How To Celebrate:Get the book! (It’s good! It’s fun! And it’s available in hardcover, paperback, ePub, and Nook.)Join me at the Newsroom Nonsense book launch on Wednesday April 10, 7-8:30PM at Poppy Books & Gifts in Spanish Fork, UT. (Tickets are free but be sure to register!)Spread the news! Tell your family, friends, educators, and librarians. These books are MADE for young readers who need your help in sharing them.

My friends, I am THRILLED to announce that NEWSROOM NONSENSE comes out in 2 weeks!

YOU are invited to celebrate the launch of my newest book “Newsroom Nonsense”! We’ll be drawing, playing games, and celebrating comics you can play!

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10

>>> 7-8:30 PM <<<

Poppy Books & Gifts

56 West 200 North

Spanish Fork, UT

Newsroom Nonsense is the newest in my series of comics readers can play. There are more than 100 different story paths in each book—and book 3 works even if you haven’t read the previous books.

SEE YOU THERE!

*Tickets are FREE but registration is required. Preorders and attendees get a special something from me, plus I’ll be signing and doodling in books. https://bit.ly/POPPYNONSENSE

Take a peek inside my new interactive graphic novel, “Newsroom Nonsense”!

1) Megan discovers that her pet hedgehog, Vincent, has nibbled her homework.

2) Weird Randall collects potatoes from the cafeteria so that he can mail them. “You can mail them to people. In the mail. It’s legal.”

3) Megan rescues Vincent, who is stuck inside the school vending machine.

4) Mitch leads the class in watching movies as part of his “Entertainment” section of the student newspaper.

Find these story paths as part of more than 25 endings inside “Newsroom Nonsense”, out 4/9 in hardcover, paperback, eBook, and Nook!

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT (BOOK 3): NEWSROOM NONSENSE, OUT APRIL 9

In the third volume of the What Happens Next? graphic novel series, YOU decide whether Sunbright Middle School’s student newspaper is a hit—or if Megan and her friends will have to stop the presses forever!

Megan Hathaway was supposed to be helping put together a newspaper for her English class…but everything is going wrong.

Weird Randall keeps trying to mail potatoes, evil Vice-Principal Mr. Fisher has imprisoned the class’s best artist, and…oh geez…Olivia just yarked in a trombone! Can you help Megan save school journalism?! Or will you let Sunbright Middle School’s secrets remain hidden forever?!

With more than twenty-five different endings, Newsroom Nonsense is a breaking news saga you’ll be coming back to over and over.

Get it in hardcover, paperback, ePub, or Nook here.

Illustrations for the February issue of The Friend Magazine.

I had so much fun coming up with different characters and situations to express the idea of friendship and rendering them all in a bright and colorful palette for young readers.

Major thanks to Art Director and friend Josh Talbot!

Read the article here!

LEAP DAY

I hope that you celebrate
this intercalary date
(24 hours more
than were had years before)
and three-hundred-six days that remain.

Join me this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for LTUE – Life, the Universe, & Everything Symposium at the Provo Marriott in downtown Provo, Utah!

I look forward to this event every year and am excited to share in 11 hours of programming, where I’ll be talking about everything from design basics for non-artists to generating ideas, illustration processes, editing graphic novels, getting the most out of your notebook, and more!

You can also find me at Friday night’s book signing from 7-9pm, where I’ll have some books and other goodies available for sale and vandalism ;P

I hope to see you this weekend at LTUE!

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with this hand-drawn, frog-themed, paper money-style Valentine!

The downloadable PDF includes two full 8.5 x 11″ sheets (one black & white, the other green) with 8 print-and-cut Valentines. 

Get it for just $1 here.