Little Red Postcard Design

I'm aiming for 3 postcard mailings in 2016. Here's the first, featuring a detail from my Little Red illustration on the front and Groundhog Waltz on the back. These are large postcards, roughly 5.5" x 8.5" the better to show off the illustration detail and also hoping that it will help make my card stand out. I use VistaPrint.com to print my postcards.

Front of Postcard -Detail from Little Red - © Diana Ting Delosh

As this is a mailing aimed at the kid lit world, I try and pick illustrations that show off my narrative skills. I use  the  market listings from the SCBWI's The Book as well as the names/companies I've amassed from my own research via networking, conferences, workshops, etc. My mailing list is under 200 contacts.

Back of Postcard - Groundhog Waltz - © Diana Ting Delosh

Lately I've heard a lot of advice to use a small targeted mailing list. True this could save you a bundle in printing and postage. While,  I do make a point to target only those places that publish picture books/kid lit art, it's still a fairly large list comprised of my actual contacts, dream places as well as "sort of why not" possibilities. I have found that it's better not to make it a too narrow list. In the past I've gotten work from those sort of/why not send them something places. When you consider that it's only a 49¢ stamp plus 25¢ per postcard print expense - a total sum of 75¢ per card, it might be worth taking a few chances. 

Little Red - Illustration Process Post

Little Red
© Diana Ting Delosh
Ink Watercolor Digital

2015 has been the year of experimenting with different mediums. To create Little Red I used  a Micron Brush Pen and assorted Rapidiographs for the finer lines on watercolor paper. The Rapidiographs are filled with Black India Rapidiograph Brand Ink: Universal 3080-F.BLA Waterproof for Paper & Film. Previously I had tried other brands of brush pens and found them not as waterproof as they claimed they were. The Microns are truly waterproof and I was able to paint right over my line art as soon as the ink was dry. I'm quite happy with the results.

Ink Line Detail for Little Red
©Diana Ting Delosh
Assorted pens

I used the Brush pen mainly on the Little Red and the Wolf as I wanted them to be the focal paint. Most of the finer details were put in with a double zero pen as well as some pencil. This way I could have my thick and thin lines and my details too. The background  forest is done in pencil as I wanted it to be very soft and fade. As you can see they were so fine they barely scanned in.