Hey there word nerds! Today I am delighted to have Dylan Meconis on the show.
Dylan is a cartoonist, writer, and illustrator. While she has pursued visual art since she could hold a crayon steady, her formal education has been concentrated in the liberal arts. She studied Western history, literature, philosophy, and French in the College of Letters at Wesleyan University, where she soaked up in-demand, market-ready skills like reading Chaucer in the original Middle English. (She has no regrets.)
Her comparatively practical career as a professional comics artist actually began in college with the online publication of her first book, Bite Me!. She also spent several years daylighting as a visual communications consultant and designer, before she transitioned to work as a full-time comic book creator and freelance designer.
In 2012 her short story “Outfoxed” was nominated for an Eisner Award in the category of Best Digital Comic, and in 2014 Family Man was nominated for a Reuben Award in the category of Best Digital Comic–Longform.
Her latest project is the middle-grade graphic novel Queen of the Sea, and is now available.
So listen in as Dylan and I chat about this amazing book and how to craft a story in multiple art forms.
In this episode Dylan and I discuss:
- How to bring the day to day life of a historical setting to the page.
- Comic scripts, what they are and how to use them the right way.
- Constructing a story both visually and textually without confusing your readers.
- How the layout of each page determines pacing in a graphic novel.
- Privileging the story’s tone over a single visual style.
Plus, Dylan’s #1 tip for writers.
About Dylan Meconis
Dylan Meconis is a cartoonist, writer, and illustrator. While she has pursued visual art since she could hold a crayon steady, her formal education has been concentrated in the liberal arts. She studied Western history, literature, philosophy, and French in the College of Letters at Wesleyan University, where she soaked up in-demand, market-ready skills like reading Chaucer in the original Middle English. (She has no regrets.)
Her comparatively practical career as a professional comics artist actually began in college with the online publication of her first book, Bite Me!.
Once she disembarked from academia, she then spent several years daylighting as a visual communications consultant and designer, facilitating dozens of sessions with Fortune 500 companies, global NGOs, tech startups, and more. Dylan worked directly with clients to produce illustrations, animations, information graphics and visually compelling presentations.
In 2008 Dylan transitioned to work as a full-time comic book creator and freelance designer. In 2012 her short story “Outfoxed” was nominated for an Eisner Award in the category of Best Digital Comic, and in 2014 Family Man was nominated for a Reuben Award in the category of Best Digital Comic–Longform.
Dylan is also a member of Helioscope, the largest studio of freelance comics professionals in North America, and lives in Portland, Oregon, with her wife, the attorney and speaker Katie Lane, and a collection of small but demanding mammals.
Her latest project is the middle-grade graphic novel Queen of the Sea, and is now available.
To connect with Dylan check out her website at www.dylanmeconis.com.
Queen of the Sea
Cult graphic novelist Dylan Meconis offers a rich reimagining of history in this beautifully detailed hybrid novel loosely based on the exile of Queen Elizabeth I by her sister, Queen Mary.
When her sister seizes the throne, Queen Eleanor of Albion is banished to a tiny island off the coast of her kingdom, where the nuns of the convent spend their days peacefully praying, sewing, and gardening.
But the island is also home to Margaret, a mysterious young orphan girl whose life is upturned when the cold, regal stranger arrives. As Margaret grows closer to Eleanor, she grapples with the revelation of the island’s sinister true purpose as well as the truth of her own past. When Eleanor’s life is threatened, Margaret is faced with a perilous choice between helping Eleanor and protecting herself.
In a hybrid novel of fictionalized history, Dylan Meconis paints Margaret’s world in soft greens, grays, and reds, transporting readers to a quiet, windswept island at the heart of a treasonous royal plot.
If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!
Link to Episode 258
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