ROUGH - PICTURE BOOK DUMMY

I really wanted to see what the accordion dummy book format would look like. Seems like an added step, but at the moment it helps me visualize the final product. The final dummy will be 7” x 9”, so that it would be easier to print, but this dummy is 85% smaller. Now that I can see and flip through the pages, I can begin to make the tight sketches for each spread. I have a meeting with my local SCBWI and look forward to getting some feedback on both the characters and the rough dummy.

Some questions I'll ask the group (and feel free to comment if you know the answer) are: Does everyone still work with this accordion format? Is there a difference between the dummy you submit to a publisher hoping to get it published Vs. the dummy you make during the production process of a book? 

WHY CREATE A PICTURE BOOK DUMMY FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO?

One of the things I took away from the Florida SCBWI Conference was that if you are trying to stand out and show your skills as an illustrator, you can not leave things to chance or hope that an AD can look at your work and imagine how it would fit in with their manuscript. You need to show them!

For instance, if you want to illustrate a children’s book, don’t expect to be noticed by having amazing portfolio pieces that would be perfect in a children’s book, but don’t show your understanding of the publishing world. But, how do you show understanding if you have never been published, you might ask? Well, create your own book. Illustrate and entire book for your portfolio, and have it bound (dummy). It doesn’t have to be an original story; it could be a public domain story that you take to show your strengths as and illustrator. There are many reasons for doing this, but mostly it shows an AD that you can take a character and portray him consistently throughout a story. It also shows that you understand the ins and outs of book publishing such as layout, bleeds, gutter space, word placement, flow, continuity, assembly, story-telling etc.

Hearing this at the conference really made a lot of sense to me. Many years ago I had the opportunity to interview many print graphic designers that were trying to make the transition to web design, and unless they had specific web samples in their portfolio, I could not be sure that they really understood the web world, even if their work was top notch. Designers that had web design samples always had an advantage.
Needless to say, I am now creating my own book dummy to include in my portfolio. I must say that creating one illustration Vs. illustrating an entire book is completely different, and if you are an aspiring children’s book illustrator I highly recommend it.

I am illustrating the Three Billy Goats Gruff. I started out with the character studies of the goats and the troll, shown on previous posts. I need to work on a color version of the characters and change the troll to have one eye. Since the story calls for a one eyed troll (I’m learning that it’s important to be true and honest to the story).

I would like to make more progress but at the moment all I have is a few hours a week for this, so it may be a while before you come to see something other than goats and trolls on this blog.

Below are the thumbnails for the layout. These are based on a 32 page picture book with 4 pages of front matter. The sketches are very loose and a little bigger than a stamp to focus primarily on flow, overall composition and layout. I first started with the text and broke it up into sections/pages to then illustrate that part of the story. There are a few pages that I’m not quite sure about…still making decisions…

ANY comments and criticism are welcomed!

IF:TALISMAN

I've been very pressed for time lately, and pencils and graphite seems to be my fastest medium, so here's another pencil drawing for this week's IF theme 'talisman'. 

NEW BOOKS RECENTLY RELEASED

The ABCs of Yoga for Kids illustrated by the very talented Kathleen Rietz is now available. The book introduces young children to simple yoga moves through beautifully illustrated poses. Please check it out! For purchase and more information visit http://licoricegirl.blogspot.com

Another book that was recently released and is available at all major stores is I Spy a Dragonfly. This book was illustrated by another very talented artist Diana Evans and it is about a little boy and his mom on a fun and colorful journey where they discover the beauty of the Dragonfly. For purchase or more information visit http://www.dianaevans.ca/html/picturebooks.html

IF:POISE

So this is the Troll for "The Three Billy Goats Gruff"

You could say that Big Billy Goat lost his poise and kicked the troll so hard that he was never seen again!

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by! It is Spring Break here, so I'm off to spend time with my kids!

Second Billy Goat

Small Billy Goat Gruff

Yes, I am illustrating "The Three Billy Goats Gruff". This is the youngest Billy Goat. I'm enjoying these character studies. They are not as simple as I thought. 

I still have the second Billy goat and the Troll to come up with. 

IF: SUBSTRACT

Quick update: Goats can look like rams if their horns turn inward like the one below. I changed the horns so there is no confusion.

This may be a bit of a stretch for IF, but I was working on this character study this morning and when I scanned it, the lines were too light and the background was too dark. Pretty much gray on gray! I had to substract the background in Photoshop to make the sketch visible.

This goat is one of four characters from a story I plan to illustrate.

I will post the other characters as I come up with them. I originally intended to illustrate my own story but after my SCBWI local meeting I realized that it will take quite a bit of work to get it to be a decent story, that's if I ever really get it to the point where I would feel comfortable reading it out loud to other people. In the mean time I will illustrate an existing children's story.

Can you guess what story I plan to illustrate from this character study?

Thanks to Deborah Mori for all her great help! I'm so glad I met her here on blogland!

 

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Drink some green beer today, wear green and celebrate St. Patrick's Day!

I love tutorials! You can learn some much from them. Especially if they are short and well done like the one I found at Vectips.com  to make the four leaf clover above. It took me about 5 minutes! Try it out. It's fun!

IF: LEGENDARY

Colored in Photoshop.

Antagonists are usually as legendary as protagonists in some stories.

I haven’t drawn any mean characters yet. Really, I’ve been focused on creating work that is pleasant and soothing and celebrates children. However, it occurred to me that if I want to illustrate a story for a book maybe I should draw a mean character or two…since books almost always have an antagonist! I’ve been thinking about this Troll for quite some time, and it seemed appropriate to sketch him for this week’s IF. For my first ‘meany’, he might need some work, as he looks part Witch, part hunchback of Notre Dame, part Troll…but I think whatever this character is, he fits well into an antagonist role. I am pleased for now!

My good friend Annie started her blog Hip Organic Mama not too long ago and already she has a strong following, and rightly so! Her blog is a wonderful resource for mom's trying to provide a healthier lifestyle to their families while being greener to our planet. 

She was kind enough to award me the Kreativ Blogger award, and I feel so honored as she is a wonderful inspiration. When I had my kids she inspired me to make healthier choices for my family. I've also learned a recipe or two from her. She is really fantastic. Please take the time to check out her blog!

Oh, right ... I need to nominate 10 people, but since I think all of my blogging friends are so creative... I nominate everyone on my 'Blogs I Read' list. Go ahead, take a peak... you'll find some amazing artwork!

On another note, I finally joined the SCBWI! 

Have a great weekend!

Edrian

IF: INTRICATE

"When Lurvy arrived with breakfast, there was the handsome pig, and over him, woven neatly in block letters, was the word TERRIFIC.  Another miracle."  --From the book Charlottes's Web

A pretty intricate web! I had this idea while on the road. I didn't check the quote until now, as I was getting ready to post it...I see the letters should be more square and less rounded.

Finished Illustration Rambunctious Children

I finally finished this one! I went back to acrylics this time. This scene had more characters and more elements, so it definitely gave me more to think about. Without adding all of the countless interruptions...I spent about 12 hours on this. I know it is a lot of time, but I didn't want to rush. I really liked how it came out. The actual size is 10"x15". I think I will add it to my portfolio.

I am off this weekend with my family, so once again my creative time is limited... but I can't complaint!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Oh, this is my latest addition to my ETSY store:

Birthday Invite

My daughter's birthday is coming up. I designed the cards above and left room on the front for her to put stickers of horses with trees and bushes that way she could be involved in the process. She loved the idea!