Little Raindrop: Research, Method and Technique (@LRaindropsStory)

Hello!
(Firstly, I am quite aware that today is Tuesday and nearly Wednesday, and not my usual Monday blog post. My days got swapped this week, so I'm hoping this still counts as being on schedule!)

I'm nearly finished sketching Chapter One for Little Raindrop's first book. It has been a journey, figuring out how I want to illustrate it, but it has been a fun journey for sure! I was set back a few months with classes last fall, simply because I underestimated the amount of time I needed for homework. Lesson learned!

Although I can't share all the pages I've completed, I can share how I am doing it, and how I came to this method of drawing.

The Research
After reading the manuscript and sketching out some basic ideas, the author and I came to the conclusion that this book would be better formatted for a graphic novel, versus a traditional chapter book or even picture book. And then after gathering a collection of books together to use for reference, I was further convinced that Little Raindrop was destined to be a graphic novel/journal.


The books I used for reference became valuable tools throughout the entire creative process. I measured and compared book sizes, the fonts, the word count, the layouts, the margins, the age groups, the art styles, and even the fun activity pages! Here is my pile of books I've used for reference so far:

Also, because I am working on a book that is about nature, I have to research each new animal that I am not used to drawing. It needs to be scientifically accurate, even though the style is balanced between cartoon and realistic. So once I plot the layout of the page, I draw in my sketchbook to get a better feel for the animals, and then I draw them in on the page I am working on.

The Testing of Technique and Methods
Before I began sketching, I had to figure out which character style to use! I preferred drawing Little Raindrop one way, and the author preferred him drawn another way. I sketched up a few pages of character art, and after getting feedback from children and adults alike, I found the final character!

After I drew the art that landed me the job, I re-evaluated my methods. The double page spread of the River Habitat was very time consuming, and there way no way I could finish the entire story in a timely manner using that style. I had drawn the lines with pen and ink, painted a value study/under painting in sepia tones, filled in the color with watercolor, and touched it all up with colored pencil. This book is going to have about six chapters, so I decided one full color double page spread per chapter would turn out nicely, if done correctly.

This means the rest of the book would be in black and white line, perhaps with some shading and a splash of blue here and there. I decided against using my usual pen and ink method, which is not only time consuming but is also messy. I'm always on the go, and I take my art supplies with me everywhere. I needed to find something clean and easy to use. And so I re-discovered the Micron pen!







So I sketched up a few pages in my blue pencil, and drew in the final lines with Microns. Then I scanned them  and added text using Photoshop. It didn't look clean enough for my liking. I preferred the bold lines of vector images, but I am no pro using vector lines and shapes. I have this little program that turns my bumpy looking line work into nice vector lines, called Vector Magic. Well, once I cleaned up my scans and put them through Vector Magic, and imported them into Photoshop, I started to get really excited! This method looked much cleaner, smoother, and bolder.


But how was I going to color it? I couldn't use a fill bucket, for goodness' sake... it just didn't look right. Plus, I truly hate painting digitally. There may come a time when I learn to enjoy and excel at it, but for now I need the real brush and paint to make me happy.

I sent an email to some of my smarty pants arty friends, and they rescued me by sharing their knowledge about levels and multiplying layers. Once I fiddled with the settings, I knew just what to do. I needed to make a sandwich! A sandwich of Photoshop layers, using bold lines on the top and my scanned painted art.

I truly like the new final method. Sketching and then re-drawing the final lines onto watercolor paper, painting in a tonal wash and scanning it, turning it vector and sandwiching it all with three different blues. And then painting traditionally for those select, special spreads.

So now you know how it's being done! I can't share the text, or all of the art as I work on it. (You silly goose, you!) But every once in a while you'll get to see what I'm working on, and I can share my epiphanies, if any. And even though I can't spend as much time as I would like to, due to my "day" job at the restaurant, I'm still having a lot of fun drawing and painting in between!

Thanks for reading! See you next Monday!
~Melanie

Brian Lies Visits!

So last week, our Children's Book Illustration III class got quite a treat: a visit from Brian Lies! He is the author and illustrator of the NY Times' best selling books Bats at the Beach, and Bats at the Ballgame and my favorite, Bats at the Library! (To see more of his books, click here!)

Brian Lies! And there's Dede to the left! :)

Stunning work not put to justice by my dirty cell phone camera lens!

Brain was kind enough to share with us his working process, including the corresponding original art, starting with his sketchbook, his mini dummies and book dummies, how he re-works his pieces, and all the way through the steps he takes in painting with acrylics. He shared with us the book dummy for his newest book, More to be available next year. He does his finished acrylics on heavy weight vellum paper, using teeny tiny brushes and ink for his foundation line work. And his finished pieces... Absolutely gorgeous!

Brian shared some useful tips, such as writing paint color recipes for future reference, and to be sure to really layer the darks because they brighten in the scanning process. He said some things that rang true in my own creative process. It was heartening to see that like I do, he also draws in blue pencil to break in a piece of fresh white paper "because it doesn't feel like permanent final art." And he hates to erase (just like I do), so naturally he ends up with piles of paper (like I do), though he actually has storage for his piles, unlike myself! He also shared that he prefers painting animals with smaller eyes to avoid the "mass market" look in his work.

I've been so inspired, I think I might try my hand at working on paper instead of canvas with my acrylics. Just to see what happens. :)

It was a spectacular visit! So much so that my friends have blogged about it too!
Cheryl Kirk Noll (She had a real camera and got nicer photos than my cell phone did!)
Marcela Staudenmaier

Here are some links to interviews with Brian Lies, as well as Bat Conservation:
http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings
http://www.scbwi.org/Pages.aspx/Brian-Lies
http://www.batcon.org/

Thank You, Brian, for visiting us! :D
And Thank You, Emilie Boon, for inviting him!

Doodle Fun: Hello Kitty Art

This latest project is not entirely of my own creation, however my cousin who is getting married this June LOVES everything and anything Hello Kitty, (her wedding is HK themed!) and since this painting was for her I thought it would make her happy. She also recently got a new home and loves to bake.

I painted all three of these on canvas with acrylic paints and layered in caran d'ache scribbles with matte medium. The silver words in the background are Sharpie, covered in matte medium. It was a fun little project!

I think they're pretty nifty! They'll match the stainless steel in the kitchen, anyway. ;)

Boo to You!

"Hebert felt positively spooky in his ghost costume."
watercolor, acrylic gauache, watercolor pencil
© 2010 Melanie Linden Chan

In my search for my true-love-of-techniques, I played around with some acrylic gauache. Acrylic gauache is nice because the pigment is more saturated than watercolor, but it can be applied just like watercolor, and once it dries the paint cannot lift off the paper, just like regular acrylics. This was my first try, and as usual I got grumpy from my lack of talent in rendering tiny details with a paintbrush. So I whipped out my long-forgotten watercolor pencils, and behold! I may have found what I've been looking for: a way to paint texturally and keep things nice and tight. When I was about finished, I topped it all off with some caran d'ache textural scribbles for good measure.

FYI, this is also an Illustration Friday topic: spooky. "Hebert felt positively spooky in his ghost costume."

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: Judith Byron Schachner

In my search for new techniques to try, I had purchased "Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road," a conglomerate of art by different illustrators, and there I ran into the creator of little Skippyjon Jones: Judith Byron Schachner. I LOVE the textures and colors she uses in the Skippy books, so I borrowed as many books as my library bag could handle!

Artist/Author: Judith Byron Schachner

Medium: Acrylic, watercolor, ink, sometimes pencil accents

Website: http://www.judithbyronschachner.com/, http://www.skippyjonjones.com/

Books I Borrowed: "The Prince of the Pond," "Jimmy the Pickpocket of the Palace," (both by Donna Jo Napoli); "Staying with Grandmother," by Barbara Baker; "What Shall I Dream?," by Laura McGee Kvasnosky; "How the Cat Swallowed Thunder," by Lloyd Alexander; "Mrs. Emerson's Cook," "The Grannyman," "Willy and May,"  "YO Vikings!," and a bunch of Skippyjon Jones books.

My Thoughts: I put the books on the floor in chronological order, and thought it was really neat to watch Judy's style change and develop over the years. She began illustrating in a sort of Trina Schart Hyman-ey sort of way, then some of her characters' faces had the Steven Kellogg look, and then she seemed to have found her calling in the world of color through "What Shall I Dream?" and "How the Cat Swallowed Thunder," and "Yo Vikings!" all of which are quite colorfully complex yet not messy or cluttered. And then, then, she found her favorite style to illustrate in the Skippyjon Jones series.

My favorites? Absolutely "What Shall I Dream?," and "How the Cat Swallowed Thunder." Could not stop looking at them, and didn't want to return them. So I found them online and now I have my own copies! My favorite Skippyjon Jones book: "Skippyjon Jones and the Big Bones." LOVE her dinosaurs, especially the T-Rex!

What have I learned from this? That it takes years and multiple stories to actually truly find what makes your heart sing. I can tell that she's a bit like me- she can draw well, is great with linework in pen and ink, but has a wacky stylistic side to her she wasn't so sure how to contain at first. I could go all day just doodling things and painting, but not actually come up with  a "masterpiece" per say. The stuff I work on without actually thinking about it ends up being my favorite kind, and it looks great! But how do I harness that sort of mindlesslazyfun look while still being serious about my art? How do I paint within the lines, but still feel like I'm coloring outside of them? It goes along with the way I work- if I don't follow my own schedule, then I'm happy. If I feel like I'm getting away with something mischievous, then I get great results. But if I don't pressure myself into getting anything done, I won't! How does one schedule fun?

And it goes to show that Skippyjon also does not like to follow rules... No matter how many times I've rotated that image (both on the pc and in Blogger), it refuses to face the correct way!

Library Run: Anna Dewdney & Leslie Patricelli

It's time I've begun to do some more library runs! In order for me to learn more about children's books, I need to read more children's books. So from now on, I will be regularly posting my finds as "Library Runs," where I will tell you what I've learned and what I like about each book. Yes, I know the title makes you giggle...

Keep in mind that these Library Runs are not book reviews- I haven't the slightest clue what I'm talking about, professionally. These are just mere musings from a person who loves looking at pictures and reading silly stories, and wishes she could do it all day long!

My first batch of books consist of stories illustrated by, (and most of them written by), artists Anna Dewdney and Leslie Patricelli. Let us begin...

Artist/Author: Leslie Patricelli

Medium: Acrylic on Canvas Paper

Website: http://www.lesliepatricelli.com/

Books I Borrowed: "Big, Small," "The Patterson Puppies and the Rainy Day," and "The Patterson Puppies and the Midnight Monster Party." I am also quite fond of "Higher, Higher," "The Birthday Box," and "No No, Yes Yes."

My Thoughts: I really enjoy Leslie's cute and simple style. It reminds me a lot of how I draw things when I'm in that kind of mood. I enjoy her bright colors and the scuffed paint texture that comes from painting on canvas. At the end of "Big, Little," there are two pages that show a bunch of big and little things. My favorite? The Binkie! Her Patterson Puppies are also super sweet. Each one has its own personality, likes and dislikes, and it is evident which puppy is which throughout both stories. It gives kids a chance to identify themselves with one of the characters, and therefore helps them to learn from the puppies' silly mistakes (such as making a puddle in the livingroom!). My little 18 month nephew loves her books, too.

Artist/Author: Anna Dewdney

Medium: I cannot say for sure, because it isn't written anywhere that I can see, but I'm fairly certain she paints with acrylics on canvas.

Website: http://www.annadewdney.com/Annas_website/Home.html

Books I Borrowed: "Llama, Llama, Red Pajama," "Llama, Llama, Mad at Mama," "Grumpy Gloria," "Little Pangolin," "What You Do Is Easy, What I Do Is Hard"

My Thoughts: I have been dying to read Llama Llama Red Pajama for ages now, and I'm so glad I finally did! The story rhymes in a fun way, and I find the words feel nice the way they roll off my tongue. The sentences in all her most recent books are short and quick, and the stories deals with topics that toddlers can relate to. I have always been drawn to Anna's art from her book covers, but looking at them more closely makes me like the painterly quality even more. It makes me want to pick up a paintbrush and do some of my own! I noticed that most of her characters are the same brownish-tan color, and they all have the same eyes, yet each character stands on its own. It's a good way for her to keep her work looking familiar, so people can say "Oh that one MUST be by Anna." I also like her use of color- the moods are captured and the action feels real. Like 'em a lot!

At Last...

...my studio is complete!

All it's missing now is that homey, lived-in look, (and a giant cork board on the wall) but I'm sure it will get there quite soon. I'm so fond of it, I took pictures! Let us gaze upon the loveliness...

 

While cleaning and collecting all of my art supplies that have been dispersed around the house over the past few years, I have learned a few things:

1. I am the Queen of Post-Its. *see proof at the bottom of this post

2. I actually DO have enough rulers and straight edges. It always seems like I only have one, and I can never find it. Apparently these things like to hide in weird places.

3. Finally putting together my studio is the BEST thing I could have done for myself. Seriously, I love it.

Since its completion, I have already spent a few creative hours in my new studio space. I'm trying out some new techniques to see what works best for me and my drawing style. Today I took page out of Judy Schachner's book and tooled around with the technique she uses to illustrate her Skippyjon Jones stories. I LOVE the textures she achieves using acrylics on watercolor paper, and the way she layers her vivid colors like so:

Spread from "Skippyjon Jones and the Big Bones," by Judy Schachner

I figured it would save me some time to work with an image I already had lying around, so I tried out this new look on my little logo. I outlined with black Prismacolor pencil, and added a few touches with some Caran d'ache water soluble crayons. Not bad, but it seems to be missing something:

I'm also going to play around with this pelican that I drew a while back, and see how that goes.  I outlined him in pen and ink, which I find to be very satisfying...much more so than a black pencil. I guess I'm not into colored pencils that much right now.

And, since I've achieved the goal of making my little creative space, it makes sense to attempt yet another goal:

Get on a Schedule! 

I've got a log sheet on my door so I can write in the times I work, and I will also set aside working time from 10 am until 2 pm, four days a week. That's sixteen hours each week I will be devoting my time to illustrating.

Sounds like Awesome-ness to me!

told ya so...

Finally... all three projects from CBook2 are FINISHED!

I told you they would all be due today, didn't I?

Let's start with our folktale project, the story of Sigo the boy who lived with the bears...

Left side of the double-page spread...

Right side of the double-page spread!

Both pieces of art were wood-burned on (scrap) pine, scanned and then put into Photoshop to do the page layout.  I tried to make the words look like they were "burned in" too!

Here are the final double-page spreads for Mother Nature.  I've included the text, though it is copyrighted to the author, but this is for educational and learning purposes, and I hereby do not take any credit whatsoever for the text.  I find it an important part of the process, because the assignment was to work around the original text layout, versus coming up with one like we did with Mooin. (Should anyone find this to be problematic, contact me and I will remedy it immediately.)

In case you forgot, these were done in ink and watercolor on pre-stretched Arches 140lb hot press paper.

As for our collage project, my "Song of Spring" poem has yet to be actually merged with the art in proper layout form.  I still haven't had the time to re-learn how to do a text path.  Yeah, I know it's one of those silly easy things, but hey I've been busy!  Also, it needs to be re-scanned because I've got a seam in the middle, where the gutter usually is.  Here it is anyhow, so we can see the whole body of work together in one blog post.

Once again, this was done by painting old Chinese and English newspapers with non-toxic acrylics, cut and pasted with Matte Medium, with a few finishing touches done in either acrylic or colored pencil. I almost feel like it needs some little blossoms in the tree... but I'm going to wait and see what it looks like with the words before I do anything else to it.

All in all, a very satisfying semester! Four finished double-page spreads, a finished picture book manuscript, and a cover letter.  I don't think I could of asked for more, especially in a three month period!

Now... What's next???

More Talk on Style

Monday night was the last night before our last night of class. Which means next Monday is the night where everything we've worked on all semester must be complete, final, and perfect! Not only that, but we will also be looking for secret messages in our work that tell us each what our style looks like, and what it's all about.

I think I'm slowly starting to get a few clues to what my style is...what really drives me.  Cheryl said that anything that makes you insanely happy, (before, during, and after) is a good way to go, since picture books  have a lot of art in them, and we will be so very tired of the book by the time we finish drawing it.  Thinking back over the years at the projects that I loved doing the most, there are some things about them that are very similar.  Cheryl noticed during our crit that I have a tendency to draw a particular way, and it showed up in "Mother Nature" and "Mooin," and I realize now in a lot of other things I've done as well.

But I think I'm going to wait to reveal what that style actually is...mostly because I don't have all the photos I need to show you at my current location.  But I will.  (If you want a hint, though...when it finally came down to the implementation of my ideas for "Mooin," I really enjoyed the technique!)

Anyhow, we talked a lot about style in class, and looked at a bunch of amazing books from our Bookshare table.  There were two books in particular that showed a lot of different styles all within the same story!  The first one won a Caldecott Medal!

 

"Black and White" by David Macauley  

"Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?" by an assortment of artists!

Both books were very useful to demonstrate different styles, looks and techniques that an illustrator may use when creating a picture book.  Also mentioned was the artist David Shannon, who has multiple styles in which he works. Some of my favorites: 

"The Ballad of the Pirate Queens," by Jane Yolen

"No, David!"

"How I Became A Pirate," by Melinda Long

"Duck on a Bike," by David Shannon

There will be many more talks on style, versatility and technique as time goes on.  That's the topic we talk most about in my classes, because it is the thing that makes you different from everyone else, the thing that makes you stand out... and the thing that could potentially get you a Caldecott Medal!

Did I ever tell you that was one of my life goals? Yep, I'm going to get a Caldecott Medal if it's the last thing I do!  It probably will be the last thing I do...I've got a LOT of improving to do.

From Start to Finish - Mooin, The Bear's Child, Part 3

(Note: I realized that I hadn't actually posted my last blog post when I created it, so it looks like I posted twice in a row...I swear I didn't mean to!)

Critiques are life savers.  Yes, they're a royal pain in the patootie, and man can they draaaaaag!  But without some of the crits of art-classes-past, and the one on Monday, many of my pieces would have turned out entirely differently.

For example, during the last crit, a very smart and insightful person brought up that most of my stuff is super colorful.  Like straight-from-the-tube colorful.  And I've been trying extremely hard to stay away from that, because I tend to yield better results when I do.  My problem is that I wasn't brought up to use neutral colors, or rather, no one seemed to point out that I didn't mix my own colors. That explains why I have such a problem deciding which colors to use in my art, because I don't use a limited palette.  If the whole wide world is available, why not just use them all?

So I am very thankful to my dear friend for bringing that point up, and reminding me that I'm an artist, and not a toddler with a 280-count box of Crayolas, (or whatever number they are up to now)! Those days were much simpler, though.

Well I'm done blathering about that.  Here's what I've been up to in the past few days...

New composition and style to my design!

My wood-burning friend, the tool I'm using for my line work.
(I wear a mask and turn on the kitchen hood fan for proper ventilation when burning the wood.)

Left side of my double-page spread.

Right side of my double-page spread.

New & Improved! color palette, using 3 primary colors, white, and one brown.

Not done yet... but I'm liking the results!  Thank goodness for the color changes!

This project, as well as "Mother Nature" and "Song of Spring," will be completely finished by Monday, and all three will be scanned and posted here on my blog most likely a day or two after that.  I'm so glad to have some nicer pieces to put into my portfolio! Can't wait to have it all done!!

From Start to Finish - Mooin, The Bear's Child, Part 2

It's color study time!


Although I'm still working on (and constantly thinking about) my final composition, a color study is still a helpful exercise to do.  (Plus, it's due this Monday in CBookII.)  After much deliberation, I have decided to go with my first idea of painting on pine wood, with burned-in accents. 


When I told him this, my husband asked me, "If one of your problems is that you haven't stuck to a certain style, why are you trying this new style on a new project?"  That is a valid point, but I told him what I'm going to tell you now:  If I don't experiment enough with different techniques, how will I know which I love the most?

Also, I have already done a project using this techniques, and I really enjoyed it.  This is a part of said project:

I did quite a bit of research and messing around to figure out the kind of look I was going for, and came up with this rainbow of colors:

(These are my happy acrylic paints.  I use the student grade stuff for now.)

And my color comp:

Let's see what teacher thinks in class!