My Very Own Picture Book :)

I've been sharing with you little tidbits here and there about my picture book project (SuperSecretProject#1) since last year, and I realized today I never shared with you the coolest part- the finished art! So here it is...

Except you'll probably notice, it still isn't finished, and I'll tell you why:

Throughout the Book Dummy course, I had a mostly-drawn the entire picture book, edited the text and story a few times more, and began to do some pages of Finished Art when I had realized I didn't like the style in which the art was being done. No... let me rephrase that. I didn't think the style fit my story's energy and humor.

I really liked the art I was coming up with, and the gazillion steps it took to get me there, but it still felt like my story had a different energy... a different feel to it. I could easily point out what style I think would fit my story with a few examples of books here off my shelf, but to create it in that way I would have to almost start from scratch!

So I put the project aside to give it some breathing room. I had been working on it consistently for a solid year now, so I thought this would be a good idea. And it turned out it was a good idea, because I took this book dummy with me last Spring to the NESCBWI conference where I had a critique with Mr. Harold Underdown. It was super informative and helpful, and quite encouraging! He didn't have a lot of negative things to say; rather, he was quick to tell me the things I had done right in my story. He did tell me, however, that there needed to be one specific change, which in turn would change a lot of the art in my story.

So my MS needs a bit of an overhaul... I know what I've got to do to change it and how, but I think I'm just dragging my feet a little. I had been so happy to finally get to the painting stage, I really just wanted to get the thing finished! Writing and editing and more editing and drawing and more drawing and then painting... that's a ton of work! (Anyone who says creating a picture book is easy... well, they need to wake up!) And I'm okay with work, but I still needed a break from that particular piece, so I've been working on other things, like my portfolio and Client work.

Anyhow, now you know why those pieces haven't been finished, and I still plan to at least make them portfolio-ready even though they won't make it in the final story. Or perhaps I'll change my mind again and they will, who knows? You'll at least be able to say one day, as you read my published book, "Hey, the artist worked really hard on this story! She has come a long way from that unfinished art on her blog. What a gem!"

Hahahaaaa, well, maybe one day.

Book Dummy 101, Part I: Getting Started

Last semester I took the Book Dummy class, and boy was that intense! There was no time to update my blog or write about what I had learned each week- every day was go, Go, GO!!!

But as busy as I was, it had been quite rewarding. Taking the Book Dummy course has helped me not only to (almost) fully complete my first book dummy, but I also now feel confident enough to continue on my own with the rest of the stories brewing in my brain. And the best part is, I can now finally share it with you!

First Thing's First...


1. You Need a Story.
And it better be good! Get rid of those typos and grammatical errors- before you start drawing, your manuscript really should shine all by its lonesome. This also means there aren't any holes in your plot, either. This step wasn't necessarily required in this particular class, however, because each student began in different stages. But if you're just starting off, this step will save you time and headaches and all the back-and-forth stuff you don't already have time for. Seriously, take a writing course if you are going to be an author/illustrator. Because editors also don't have time for those who don't take the time to be serious about their work. Perfect your story. Or find an already perfected one to illustrate.

2. Pace Out Your Story
Pacing is SUPER important. Grab a few picture books and ask yourself why you think they put those particular words on those particular pages. Is there suspense created? A surprised revealed only when you turn the page? Do they need to slow the story down for the full emotional effect? Pacing and page-turns help turn a story almost into a movie- a whole production. Everything placed on that page was put there for a reason. Once you figure out those reasons, and learn to recognize them, put those skills to use with your own manuscript. Then take your MS (manuscript) and break it into numbered pages so you can actually see it for yourself.

3. Work Out Some Thumbies and Make A Storyboard
Okay, so now you've got your story broken down into pages, draw up a grid of page layouts so you can get some basic thumbnail drawings down. It doesn't need to be pretty, just recognizable. Step back and take a look at your completed storyboard. Is the pacing working? The general story playing out the way you pictured it? Is there plenty of action where it is needed? Do this step a few times if you must- try to work out as many kinks as possible. Then take a look at your compositions. Do they help or hinder the story? Mull it all over, pose like Rodin's Thinker, then move on. There's still plenty of time to change things around a bit!

First-Pass Storyboard for my dummy book!

4. Cut and Paste
This is the step I took to help me visually see my words right there in front of me, the way they would look in print. I printed my manuscript in size 18 pt, then sliced up each sentence and pasted them all down (according to my basic sketches) onto 8x10 paper with a Post-It glue stick. Then I stuck the pages into a binder and read them like a book. Some pages had too much text, but the pacing worked. So I worked on those sentences until everything looked like it was where it should be. The re-positionable glue is great for re-arranging. And yes, I know I could do this on the computer and save paper, but I needed something tangible in front of me to get a better feel for my book.

Sample page layout, complete with notes and reminders.

5. Scan, Resize, and Print!
As I worked on my medium-sized thumbnails, I found myself getting frustrated that I had to draw blobs for my text, and in the right place, on forty different page layouts. So to save myself some time I scanned all of my text layout pages and reduced them to 50%, and then printed those pages. I now had my entire Mini Dummy ready to be sketched without having to mess around with guessing where my text should go. Even better, I could do my sketches onto tracing paper (in my case, parchment paper) and re-do them as many times as I wanted. I hate erasing stuff. It is messy, and you lose so many good little sketches due to wrong placement or size, etc. I just keep moving on, and scan the things I like and ignore the things I don't like.

Well! If you've been following these steps, now you've got yourself a nice foundation to work upon! Your MS is as shiny as you can make it, your pacing helps move the story forward, creates tension and reveals surprises, and you've got everything laid out for Part II: Drawing!


I'll see you at the next posting of Book Dummy 101! To Be Continued...

Latest Technique Test

It will soon be time to decide which technique I will use for my Book Dummy, and I still haven't any clue.  Some days I want my story to have the sketchy look, with lots of interesting lines and patterns, and an antiqued tone to the color scheme. Other days I want the more traditional watercolor look and brighter colors... and then there are days like today where I have no idea so I just play with my materials to see what I come up with.

I had a piece of Arches 140lb hot-pressed watercolor paper that had been coated in gesso and still taped to the board lying around my studio, so I decided to use that up. Though I don't always use it, I really enjoy looking at texture in an illustration, so this was my golden opportunity. The gesso'd paper showed lovely brush strokes and it made the paper more durable for scuffing and scrubbing.

 I didn't have much of a plan, so I just sketched with my favorite blue drafting pencil, then a regular No. 2 pencil. And although I know fully well that gesso is an acrylic material, I went ahead and used a bit of brown ink wash to add some toning. It worked all right, so I thought I would test my luck and see what happened if I used watercolor.

And as we all would have guessed, not a good idea. But hey, at least I know.

To be honest, I was actually putting off using acrylic paints. They're messier than watercolors and harder to control (never thought I would say that!) because the paint can get rather blobby and it is hard to get in small details. And once they dry on the palette, there's no way of reusing the product, so it can also be wasteful. But at this point I had no choice, so I tried to pump myself up by putting on some Lady Gaga music on the Pandora channel. This helped.

I stuck with three colors: Cad Yellow Light, Cad Red Medium, and Cerulean; plus white and the inevitable black, but only because the sheep is a black sheep. I try not to use black in my art anymore, unless it is  necessary.

And of course I forgot that I should have been using the Matte Medium all along, but I remembered in time before I called it quits! This stuff is relatively new to me, even though I had it with my paints for ages, I never really figured out how to use it until this year. I painted the darkest areas first, then worked my way up so I could do a bit of glazing with the lighter colors.

Then I topped it all off with Caran d'ache water soluble crayons, (I chose these because the colored pencils didn't want to work, and pastels wouldn't have either, and I don't have oil based crayons to use) and scrubbed and rubbed until it was nicely textured.

And then my least favorite characteristic of acrylics chose to show itself: lack of clean edges! I know, it's my own fault for working so messy, but I have seem to have lost some patience on that part. I cleaned them up a bit with a "shade of grey" brush-tipped pen, and I'm happy to say that it worked rather well.

In fact, I'm pretty proud of my accomplishment of the day!

Last but not least, I have a scanner comparison to share with you. The image above was scanned with a larger format scanner, the Mustek ScanExpress A3 USB 1200 Pro. The image below was scanned using an Epson V500. The Mustek is still new to me, and I am unfamiliar with the settings, but the Epson is an old friend. Because I know what settings to use, you can see more detail and texture in the Epson image. I will do more comparisons as I learn how to use the large format scanner better, so that I might be able to help someone make an educated decision when purchasing a scanner.

Thanks for reading! Have a nice week!

Library Run: Sheepies

My most recent Library Run(s... two so far) revolved around the topic of Sheep. Since my Super-Secret Project #1 is about a sheep, I picked up each and every sheep book I could get my hands on. I needed some inspiration on the topic as well as knowledge of what is already out there, and this was the best way to do it. There are plenty more books on the sheep topic I'm sure, but looking at all those fluffy woollies made me a bit sleepy after a while (no joke! it really does work!), so after I get the rest of the books on my wish-list I will be satisfied with my research.

Books I've Borrowed SO FAR: (This list sure was fun to write... but I figured out a shortcut for next time!)
Sheep and Goat / by Marleen Westera ; illustrated by Sylvia Van Ommen
Baa Baa Black Sheep / Iza Trapani
Sheepish Riddles / by Katy Hall, Lisa Eisenberg ; illustrated by R.W. Alley
Counting Sheep / by Julie Glass ; illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka
Counting Sheep / by John Archambault ; illustrated by John Rombola
Time to Sleep, Sheep the Sheep! / Mo Willems
Sam Sheep Can't Sleep / Phil Roxbee Cox ; illustrated by Stephen Cartwright
Counting Sheep to Sleep / by Mary O'Brien ; illustrated by Bobette McCarthy
Feeding the Sheep / by Leda Schubert ; illustrated by Andrea U'Ren
Baa! Moo! What Will We Do? / by A. H. Benjamin ; illustrated by Jane Chapman
One More Sheep / by Mij Kelly ; illustrated by Russell Ayto
The Strange Case of the Missing Sheep / Mircea Catusanu
Russell the Sheep / Rob Scotton
Wool Gathering: A Sheep Family Reunion / by Lisa Wheeler ; illustrated by Frank Ansley
When Sheep Sleep / by Laura Numeroff ; illustrated by David McPhail
Sheep Asleep / by Gloria Rothstein ; illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell
Baa-choo! / by Sarah Weeks ; pictures by Jane Manning.

Counting sheep / Barbara McGee.

The Baabaasheep Quartet / Leslie Elizabeth Watts.

Sheep in wolves' clothing / Satoshi Kitamura.

Counting sheep / by George Mendoza ; illustrated by Kathleen Reidy.

Baaa / David Macaulay.

The sheep in wolf's clothing / Helen Lester ; illustrated by Lynn Munsinger.

My Thoughts/Favorites: 
Loved the stocky look of the sheep in Sheep and Goat, the loose line work and liveliness in Feeding the Sheep, the simplicity of Time to Sleep, Sheep the Sheep! and the overall art in Russel the Sheep. Couldn't stop laughing when reading Wool Gathering, and really enjoyed the watercolor art in Baa-choo! and the story was short and sweet. Some of the other sheep stories tended to be on the longer side, and those I just scanned through instead of thoroughly reading. Hey, I'm not perfect, but at least I'm honest! (and I'm not sheepish about it... baaa haa haa haaaa.)

While at the library I found this cute little picture book called "Bear in the Air," written by Susan Meyers and illustrated by Amy Bates. I fell in love with both the story and the art instantly, and will be adding this to my favorite collection as soon as I can! I would love to see more of the illustrator's work and I intend to borrow the rest of her books in the future. What a nice little find!

ALSO - Further research for Super-Secret Project #1 will involve lots of Nursery Rhyme and Mother Goose readings. I've got a poll on the left side of my blog here (below the owl sitting on the planet) so I can find out what are the most commonly known rhymes. I'd love your participation, if you are willing! Thanks!


Until next time, my furry friends...

Call Me Crazy...

...but I'm pretty excited for classes to begin again!

I'm SO bad at getting things done on my own without having someone over my shoulder, cracking a whip, and the fear of disappointed teachers to push me forward.* I'm glad I know this about myself, but I think it makes me anxious that I am this way... How clever of me to figure out that the anxiety leaves when I get things done! Hurrah!

I've been preparing myself over the summer for the Dummy Book (or Book Dummy...potato, potAHto) course by not following my carefully plotted schedule in order or in the correct timing. Apparently I do my best work by going with the flow, whatever that may be at the time. Some days I go to work, yearning to be in my studio, and some days I have entirely off... and don't set my foot in the darned thing. Perhaps it has something to do with what I eat? They say cheese before bedtime will make you dream some weird stuff... Who knows? As long as I have some sort of plan for when I am in the mood, and a checklist to keep me moving forward!

Things I have accomplished for my Dummy Book:

• A completed manuscript.
• Text layout and pacing, in full-size, printed and in my binder.
• Shrunken (1/4" size) text layout pages to use for detailed thumbnails, printed and in my binder.
• A bit of experimentation with style and techniques. (notice above image...)
• Some research and sketches.
• Lots and lots of nifty ideas that I can't wait to implement!

Things I have yet to accomplish for my Dummy Book:

• Wait, this list is too scary to put here.
• Maybe we should just close our eyes for now and wait for it to pass...

Yes, there is still a lot to do, but I'm chiseling away at each piece little by little. And I'm recognizing that I need a sort of boss/teacher/someone-to-look-up-to sort of person to keep me focused, (because I'm so bad at that) so I am also thinking that finding an agent would be a good idea. That's my next goal, after January's SCBWI conference...find an agent!

Oh! And I thought of something dorky the other day...but I still love it anyway:

risd is my Hogwarts

Now who's going to turn that into a T-shirt for me??

*Something sounds off-ish about that sentence... MSWord didn't catch anything...but I bet WordyBirdy could figure out why!