illustrate a children's book

I joined IllustrationFriday.com—every week they assign a word. This is the motivation I need to build my portfolio.

My goal within a goal is to do one illustration per month for the next 12 months.

About a year ago, a friend came to me and wanted me to illustrate a story that her roommate wrote. While hesitant to draw something without the author’s involvement (it was a surprise birthday present), I agreed to draw the first page.

It came out really good and I really enjoyed doing it. I started going into the children sections of bookstore (i felt really creepy without a kid in tow…) and when I went to my parent’s house, I started digging through all my old picture books.

So now I’ve got this idea, and my former roommate and his writing partner are helping me develop it and we’ll see what happens….

I’m taking today & tomorrow as vacation from my real job and the primary purpose is to complete two illustrations for my website.

Both have been sketched, I just need to outline & color them. I am trying to do this all on the computer. (I got an early Christmas Present for myself -a Mac Book Pro Laptop, can’t wait to start using it) I did a little test on one of the drawings already and it came out really nice. I don’t want them to have that “computer” look. I want them to have a hand drawn, water-colored feeling and so far so good. I’m definitely slower, but I think in the long run, it will be faster and easier to adjust (especially after the accident with a previous painting)

The University of Findlay in Ohio offers a Bachelors degree with a major in Children’s Book Art.

My artist skills are a bit on the cartoonish/animation side, and I love working with watercolor, which is the most popular medium in illustrating children’s books. I actually collect Children’s books solely for the artwork, and I’ve always thought, How cool would it be to get MY artwork out there like that? I’ve been seriously thinking about this in the past couple of years since I started earning my Graphic Design degree.

I wrote a book and didn’t want to illustrate it until there was hope of publishing. Now I have an interested publisher and must create 3 illustrations. I am nervous, happy and excited. I don’t know where to begin. I am an artist. I am a graphic designer. I have the skill. I’ve seen so many styles I like, though, and cannot figure out how to do my illustrations. I am not sure how realistic, how cartoonistic, how colorful, how much detail and texture, and so forth, to put in. I have to decide. The only way to decide is to begin doing different styles and then decide which will work best, right?

Took the weekend completely off -family time with my girls and total chilling. It was fabulously relaxing. Lately, I’ve been drawing on the smaller illustrations. I’m still not ready to tackle the more complex damaged ones.

I need to understand scanning and printing a bit better. I had to really pump up the contrast and deepen the outlines for the drawings to print even close to the originals. They seem so soft and washed out in the prints. I am saving the illustrations both with and without extra contrast. I don’t know if it is my scanner or printer or just some setting. Also I need to learn a bit more on resolutions and file types.

Anyway, things are pretty good. I plan on looking at what all I want to accomplish by mid-October and making myself a schedule on how to complete everything. I’ll feel lucky if I can get at least half of what I’d like done. This is my fun time so I don’t want to let it become “work”

A Little Frustrated Here. I finished the main background illustrations for the book I’ve drafted. Lots of Work! My husband was going to scan it for me while I was at work. Well, He did but -Disaster & Double Disaster.

The illustrations are mostly ink & watercolor with some marker & colored pencil. He got a solvent on them and almost everywhere there was marker, it blurred and blotched and spread into other areas. Especially the brown. (He was completely devastated. It was a total accident)

One isn’t too bad, I think I can doctor it up in photoshop. (Silver lining -I’ve been needed to learn a little more photoshop, guess now is a good time)

Another who knows. But one is almost completed destroyed. (Naturally the most complex of them all) Luckily, I scanned it after I had it all inked but before I started adding color. I am going to look for a print shop that can print on watercolor paper with waterproof ink and start over. It is going to be a pain. This illustration is part of a double page spread and getting the colors all consistent only redoing the one – yuck!

Well, instead of working on those illustrations tonight, I am doing some smaller ones I want to have done before the conference. They aren’t specifically for the book, just fun examples of my work. I sketched them out the other day and am now drawings them on my watercolor block. They are reinterpretations of a modern day Mary Poppins. These will go much faster than the book illustrations and right now I need instant satisfaction.

I just can’t think about all the time it is going to take to get back where I was (because when I do I get sick to my stomach) Time to get drawing!

Excited & Nervous -I joined SCBWI and registered for a Fall “Writing & Illustrating for Kids” Conference in October. I completed my first manuscript and sent it off to be reviewed. (Rather know now instead of later if writing is even a possibility) I also indicated on my registration that I would be displaying my portfolio (which I don’t have yet -talk about an incentive to get it together)

I have the book dummy roughed out and have the primary illustration inked & partially water-colored. I hope to have three additional illustrations for the book completed before the conference as well as four or five unrelated illustrations done.

I know the author/illustrator biz is a long shot but I am still cautiously optimistic. Even if this particular concept doesn’t work out, I’ll still end up with some pretty cool pictures completed (Christmas Gifts Anyone???) and the beginning of an illustration portfolio. I am enjoying myself and I think the creative outlet keeps me a little less cranky (always a good thing)

Later in the Fall/Winter I’d like to get an illustration website going, finish my studio shelving, and get more in-depth & experimental with photoshop and my wacom tablet. So much I want to do and so little free time. Luckily, the timeframes are of my own choice and if life throws something critical, I can adjust without repercussions.

Oh -to be independently wealthy where paid work was not necessary. (The secret dream of me & everyone else in this great nation of ours) I am afraid it is just not to be but the next best thing is to have the opportunity to work at what you enjoy. I’ll settle for that!

It has been an exciting time. I’ve had so many ideas. I’ve almost filled three sketch books in less than three month.

I now have a studio to work in. I built in a long counter that wraps two sides of the room and bought match baskets from the dollar tree which I’ve filled up with all my supplies. The room is a soft blue and vaults in the center. The entire north wall is filled with a window that over looks my windowbox (which the birds just love to hang out in) It has the best natural light.

I’m focusing on developing one idea and have it pretty well thought out. I’ve got the story drafted and close to a dummy book done. I am working on the primary illustration in a more finished version. It is all sketched out and I have half of it penciled in. I’m going to render it in a watercolor & colored pencil mix.

My goal is to send it out to publishers by the end of summer. I really think I can do it. I’ve been really optimistic lately. We will see what happens. Regardless, sketching, drawing, doodling has just been so much fun. I wish I had more time to spend on this goal.