Author-Illustrator Spotlight: Sarah Hwang

 

© Sarah Hwang

April 23, 2021

We are excited to feature author-illustrator Sarah Hwang and her debut picture book, TOASTY (Margaret Ferguson Books), out May 4. Enter to win a copy!

Tell us about yourself and how you came to write and illustrate for children.

Moving to a foreign country at a young age, I had a hard time communicating with my peers. I have always enjoyed drawing but during that time it became my form of communication and expression. I continued to draw as a hobby but didn't know it would become a career choice until high school. 

© Sarah Hwang

 

When I was preparing my portfolio to apply for art schools, I did a lot of self-reflection in order to create pieces that showed who I was. As I started to do some research, I was looking through my old collection of picture books and was reminded of how much picture books inspired me as a child. I was very encouraged by the characters persevering through their struggles in these stories. I started to draw a lot of inspiration for my portfolio based on famous picture book characters I related to. While I was creating these pieces, I fell in love with the process. I realized how much I loved storytelling through pictures and the power it had in inspiring people (as it did for me). I decided then that I wanted to a children's book author-illustrator.

Congrats on your debut picture book, Toasty! Tell us about it and what inspired you.

Thank you so much! Toasty is about a piece of toast who wants to be a dog but discovers in his journey that being a friend is even better. 

© Sarah Hwang

The visual inspiration for Toasty came from my breakfast. One random day, I was looking at my toast and was reminded of the way I used to draw dogs as a kid. I was doodling and out came Toasty from somewhere deep within my brain (or somewhere in my heart). 

When I first saw Toasty in my sketchbook, the story naturally came with him. He was a toast-dog who was 100% toast with the face of a dog who desired to fit in with the other dogs. His story comes from my own personal struggles as an immigrant child who wanted to fit in. Along the way, I came to embrace my differences and so did Toasty!

Was your road to publication long and winding, short and sweet, or something in between?

I would say it’s something in between long and winding, short and sweet. The amount of times Toasty has been picked up and turned down by different publishing houses is what I think made the process feel long. 

© Sarah Hwang

I first wrote Toasty for an assignment in Shadra Strickland’s (an amazing children’s book illustrator) book illustration class back in 2015. She posted all our books on a blog at the end of the semester and that’s how Toasty first got spotted by professionals in the publishing industry.

Right after graduation in 2017, I was offered representation by Painted Words and worked on a few small projects before Toasty was bought in 2019 by my editor Margaret Ferguson at Holiday House.  From the time of its creation, it took almost 7 years for Toasty to be published.

© Sarah Hwang

What is your illustration process?  

My process starts with a character and once I figure out the overarching story, I go into writing a manuscript and working on thumbnails. After the thumbnails, I create more refined sketches. I scan my refined sketches into the computer and enlarge  them to become the size of the actual book. Then, I print out the enlarged scans. On a light box I trace the images onto a heavy weight paper. After the tracing, I paint the piece with watered down acrylic paint as a base and go into details with other mediums. Sometimes I paint everything as one piece but more often I paint each element separately and digitally collage everything in Photoshop. Depending on the project my process varies a bit. 

What projects are you working on now?

I recently finished illustrating a board book called Nom Nom Nom  by Jeffrey Burton. My agent is submitting some of my other works as I’m continuing to write manuscripts for new characters I would like to introduce to the world! 

© Sarah Hwang

What is one thing most people don't know about you?

I moved to the U.S at the age of 6 thinking I was going to Disney World. And even till this day, I have yet to step foot into “the most magical place on earth.” cries*

Where can people find you online?

You can find me on my website: sarah-hwang.com

And on instagram: @sarah_s_hwang

Sarah Hwang is a Korean- American illustrator and picture book writer. She loves creating characters that are quirky, fun, and relatable. Her goal as an illustrator and writer is to spread positive energy and inspire others to tell their stories. Sarah received her BFA in illustration from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Toasty, her debut picture book will be released May 4th. Sarah lives in NJ with her loving family and her pet toast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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