Making Grids in Illustrator Made Easy
If you have ever wanted to make grids in Adobe Illustrator here is a quick and easy way to accomplish it. Enjoy!
Lynne Chapman on Breaking into Children’s Books and her process-Part 2
This is a very inspiring series of videos from Lynne Chapman where she goes through her Creation Process and how she got into doing Children’s Books. With the economy being what it is we all need as much hope and inspiration as we can find. Lynne supplies that in spades! We already posted one last Wednesday. Check back next Wednesday for another. Also check out here website and blog!!
How to illustrate a book – Part 2 from Open College of the Arts on Vimeo.
Storytelling Master Class-The Reward
I love wordless books and animations. When done well they showcase how much story, character and mood you can tell your audience with just visuals.
As children’s book illustrators we need to be able to have our stories make sense to a child even if Mommy and Daddy aren’t there to read the words to them. So storytelling is a large part of our job requirement.
The film below is a great example of storytelling. It’s called, The Reward. It’s a graduation film from Denmark’s The Animation Workshop. They manage to do in 9 minutes what many hour and a half movies fail to do and they have the advantage of dialogue. They develop character, worlds and story without a stitch of dialogue. Watch and learn folks! Great stuff!
The Reward from The Animation Workshop on Vimeo.
Tutorials-Raise Your Hand! Part 2
In our second installment on hands I wanted to shift away from the tutorials a bit and just share some sketches of hands(with notes) of a favorite Illustrator of mine, Luigi Lucarelli! Luigi is a concept artist and Illustrator based out of California. I ran across his work on Deviant and whenever new stuff of his pops up I find myself studying it!
In a few of his posts he answers questions received from fans. One of the questions he asks is one that I asked in regards to drawing children’s hands! (How lucky am I?)
So please browse on through some of his sketches and pay attention to his notes! He give a number of great little tidbits throughout! Enjoy!
American Library Association Notable Children’s Book picks for 2012-Part 2
One of the features that we will begin doing yearly is showcasing the American Library Association list of Notable Children’s Books of the past year.
Why the ALA’s list? The ALA has a policy of including not only books that their committee has found to be notable but it also includes books that have won other awards of note like; Newbery, Caldecott, Belpré, Sibert, Geisel, and Batchelder Award and Honor books, the Coretta Scott King Award , Michael L. Printz Award, Alex Award, and Schneider Family Book Award. We’ll be making posts in the future describing all those awards and their histories but for now enjoy the beginnings of the list.
With the number of awards being included it’s easy to see that this would be an incredibly long post if we did them all at the same time! So we’ll break the list up into parts to be posted every Friday until complete. This is Part 2. Here’s a link to Part 1.
The list will work from Young Readers – Preschool-grade 2 (age 7), including easy-to-read books, Middle Readers – Grades 3-5, ages 8-10, Older Readers – Grades 6-8, ages 11-14, and then All Ages. Hopefully it isn’t 2014 before we finish the whole list!
So get out your library cards, check out these books and give them a good going over to get a feeling for what is doing well within our industry. It’s always great to have our imaginations opened by the amazing things that other authors and illustrators are being noted for. Enjoy!
(A 2012 Geisel Honor Book)
I Broke My Trunk. By Mo Willems. Illus. by the author. Hyperion Books for Children.
Piggie is very concerned about his best friend, Gerald the Elephant, who has broken his trunk, and Gerald tells him a long, rambling story about how it happened.
(A 2012 Geisel Honor Book)
I Want My Hat Back. By Jon Klassen, Illus. by the author. Candlewick Press.
After losing his hat, Bear politely and patiently questions his fellow forest dwellers as to the whereabouts of his “red pointy hat.”
King Jack and the Dragon. By Peter Bently, Illus. by Helen Oxenbury. Dial Books for Young Readers.
Enhanced by whimsical illustrations, this story of the wonders and terrors created by a child’s imagination, shows the power of playtime and the magic of make-believe.
Little Treasures: Endearments from Around the World. By Jacqueline K. Ogburn. Illus. by Chris Raschka. Houghton Mifflin.
Raschka’s pictures give distinct personalities to the subjects of these endearments and the book is a reminder of how much children are loved in every language and culture. Translations and pronunciation guides are included.
Little White Rabbit. By Kevin Henkes, Illus. by the author. Greenwillow Books.
Little white rabbit explores the springtime world wondering what it would be like to be different – green, tall, solid, or able to fly – but when he comes home he knows who loves him.
(A 2012 Caldecott Honor Book)
Me…Jane. By Patrick McDonnell, Illus. by the author. Little, Brown.
Watching birds and squirrels in her yard, a young girl discovers the joy and wonder of nature. A glimpse of the childhood of renowned primatologist Jane Goodall.
Mouse & Lion. By Rand Burkert, Illus. by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. di Capua/Scholastic.
Mouse is the center of this retelling of a familiar Aesop’s fable. Elegant illustrations place the story solidly in the natural world of Africa.
Naamah and the Ark at Night. By Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Illus. by Holly Meade. Candlewick Press.
As the waters rage, this lullaby reveals Noah’s wife as a nurturer of diverse creatures aboard the ark. Watercolor and collage illustrations amplify the text, a form of lyrical Arabic poetry, called ghazal.
Continue reading
Free Perspective Tool for Photoshop
Here’s a nifty and free Perspective tool for Photoshop users. As well as a great little video tutorial that tells you how to use it.
The tool is presented by Freddie Williams, the author of The Dc Comics Guide to Drawing Comics Digitally. As you will see the tool can be used for 1 point, 2 point and 3 point perspective. The tool is available on his website for free here. Enjoy the tool!!!
Lynne Chapman on Breaking into Children’s Books and her process
This is a very inspiring series of videos from Lynne Chapman where she goes through her Creation Process and how she got into doing Childrens Books. With the economy being what it is we all need as much hope and inspiration as we can find. Lynne supplies that in spades! I’ll post one of the video every Wednesday! If you don’t want to wait follow the link on the video to see the other four she has done. Also check out here website and blog!!
How to illustrate a book – Part 1 from Open College of the Arts on Vimeo.
New SCBWI Resource Guide available for members
If you are a SCBWI member then the following announcement is bound to please you! If not, then it is yet another reason you should strongly consider joining.
What is SCBWI? SCBWI is easily one of the best first steps into the Children’s Publishing World. They provide a well spring of information for both writer’s and illustrators that crosses multiple aspects of the children’s market. They also provide workshops and conferences across the country that give the opportunity for writers and artists to enhance their knowledge, show their work and meet with editors, art directors, agents and professional writers and illustrators for tips and advice(and every now and then book deals!).
Part of your introductory pack includes the publication below currently rechristened, The Book. This resource is updated and republished every two or so years and we are happy to announce that this is the year the latest version sees the light of day.
![_Resources-Image-[222]SCBWI](http://onceuponasketch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Resources-Image-222SCBWI.jpg)
If you are already a member the book is free to download at the SCBWI site here. If you are a member but want a physical copy, it will cost you $5 and you can order it here. If you aren’t a member you can join SCBWI for a minimal fee and the physical book is included as part of your introductory package.
Within it is a wealth of information in regards to the Children’s Market. Chapters on marketing, book trailers, social media and self-publishing are just the beginning. Check out the table of contents below.
So if the subject matter looks of interest then I strongly suggest you consider joining SCBWI. Not just for the Resource Guide but also for all the other opportunities and information the group offers.
Tutorials-Raise Your Hand! Part 1
Hands are just one of those things that I personally struggle with a great deal. I can never get enough reference for them! With that in mind I’m gonna share a couple of tutorials I found on DeviantArt that I think are pretty good! Next Monday I’ll share a few more on hands from a different artist.
These tutorials are presented by an inspired artist named Qing Ha who hails from Canada. Check out her Devaintart page here. And also check out her Student video below! Wonderful work! Be Inspired!
Her film is also up for vote in a contest. You will need to register to vote. But I’m sure the artist would be appreciative! Go here and click Vote for this Film to vote after you register! Thanks!
Night Light from Qing Han on Vimeo.
American Library Association Notable Children’s Book picks for 2012
One of the features that we will begin doing yearly is showcasing the American Library Association list of Notable Children’s Books of the past year.
Why the ALA’s list? The ALA has a policy of including not only books that their committee has found to be notable but it also includes books that have won other awards of note like; Newbery, Caldecott, Belpré, Sibert, Geisel, and Batchelder Award and Honor books, the Coretta Scott King Award , Michael L. Printz Award, Alex Award, and Schneider Family Book Award. We’ll be making posts in the future describing all those awards and their histories but for now enjoy the beginnings of the list.
With the number of awards being included it’s easy to see that this would be an incredibly long post if we did them all at the same time! So we’ll break the list up into parts to be posted every Friday until complete.
The list will work from Young Readers – Preschool-grade 2 (age 7), including easy-to-read books, Middle Readers – Grades 3-5, ages 8-10, Older Readers – Grades 6-8, ages 11-14, and then All Ages. Hopefully it isn’t 2014 before we finish the whole list!
So get out your library cards, check out these books and give them a good going over to get a feeling for what is doing well within our industry. It’s always great to have our imaginations opened by the amazing things that other authors and illustrators are being noted for. Enjoy!
All the Water in the World. By George Ella Lyon, Illus. by Katherine Tillotson, Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
From deserts to the kitchen sink, the water cycle is lyrically yet economically described in Lyon’s poem emphasizing the importance of water conservation. Katherine Tillotson’s digital paintings splash, surge and drip off the page.
(2012 Caldecott Medal Book)
A Ball for Daisy. By Chris Raschka, Illus. by the author, Schwartz & Wade Books,
A wordless tale of an irrepressible little dog whose most prized possession is accidently destroyed. A buoyant tale of loss, recovery, and friendship.
(A 2012 Caldecott Honor Book)
Blackout. By John Rocco, Illus. by the author. Disney/Hyperion Books.
A summer power outage draws an urban family up to their building’s roof and then down to the street for an impromptu block party.
Bring on the Birds. By Susan Stockdale, Illus. by the author. Peachtree.
Rhyming couplets and clear, identifiable illustrations remind readers that birds vary in many ways, but all have feathers and are hatched from eggs. Colorful acrylics help provide just the right of information for preschool ornithologists.
(A 2012 Belpré Illustrator Honor Book)
The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred. By Samantha R. Vamos, Illus. by Rafael López. Charlesbridge.
Nothing is better than a delicious bowl of arroz con leche unless, of course, a host of farm animals have a hand in the preparation!
Chirchir Is Singing. By Kelly Cunnane, Illus. by Jude Daly. Schwartz & Wade Books.
In this cumulative story set in Kenya, Chirchir sings as she tries to help with family chores. Acrylic folk art highlights the activities of daily life in this rural setting.
Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow?, By Susan A. Shea, Illus. by Tom Slaughter. Blue Apple Books.
This book playfully challenges children’s concepts of the growth capacity of living vs. non-living things in a fun and engaging way.
Dot. By Patricia Intriago, Illus. by the author. Farrar Straus Giroux.
To a child’s delight, bright dots and brief rhyming verses cleverly demonstrate antonyms and synonyms in this clever picture book.
Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site. By Sherri Duskey Rinker, Illus. by Tom Lichtenheld. Chronicle Books.
Truck-loving toddlers will be willingly tucked into bed along with the vehicles in this superbly constructed goodnight poem.
(A 2012 Caldecott Honor Book)
Grandpa Green. By Lane Smith, Illus. by the author. Roaring Brook Press.
Elaborate topiary sculptures give visual form to memories in a wildly fanciful garden tended by a child and his beloved great-grandfather.
Harry and Hopper. By Margaret Wild, Illus. by Freya Blackwood. Feiwel & Friends.
A poignant depiction of grief and acceptance at the loss of a beloved pet is relayed in this quietly moving story whose illustrations add emotional depth.