I finished the dummy for "The Worry Warthogs" yesterday! Wheeeeeeee!
It was interesting how much I changed the story as I was creating the illustrations. One scene in particular, while it still "says" the same thing, is written in a whole new way because of the illustration I chose to use.
I started out reading hundreds of Picture Books to see how published authors told a story. But for the illustrations I forced myself to just look at the pictures (although I got sucked in to the story time after time, go figure). I made myself look at the layout, the use of white space, full spreads vs. spot illustrations, close ups, aerial views, angles, shadows, etc., etc.
All this changed the way I thought I would illustrate when I first imagined the book. I have a lot more variety in the pages now, and I've tried to add more to the story with the illustration, rather than just color in the words.
It's amazing to me what I learn, even when I'm not trying to. How my brain hums along, showing me how to create something I didn't even know existed. When I trust myself, trust my brain, and just do it, instead of questioning whether I CAN do it, amazing things happen. I'm so glad I'm along for the ride.
Peace,
Chris
It was interesting how much I changed the story as I was creating the illustrations. One scene in particular, while it still "says" the same thing, is written in a whole new way because of the illustration I chose to use.
I started out reading hundreds of Picture Books to see how published authors told a story. But for the illustrations I forced myself to just look at the pictures (although I got sucked in to the story time after time, go figure). I made myself look at the layout, the use of white space, full spreads vs. spot illustrations, close ups, aerial views, angles, shadows, etc., etc.
All this changed the way I thought I would illustrate when I first imagined the book. I have a lot more variety in the pages now, and I've tried to add more to the story with the illustration, rather than just color in the words.
It's amazing to me what I learn, even when I'm not trying to. How my brain hums along, showing me how to create something I didn't even know existed. When I trust myself, trust my brain, and just do it, instead of questioning whether I CAN do it, amazing things happen. I'm so glad I'm along for the ride.
Peace,
Chris