Monday, November 26, 2012

The Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration

Recently I had the chance to attend a fantastic webinar organized by ALA's Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) in honor of The Caldecott Medal 75th Anniversary.

This webinar, The Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration, was presented by Dilys Evans, artist, agent and founder of the Original Art, as well as author of Show and Tell: Exploring the Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration.  

Ms. Evans discussed the 10 Principles for Illustrating a Great Picture Book, and kindly allowed me to share them on my blog.  They are (drum roll, please):

1) In the Beginning is the Word -- it's essential that illustrators fall in love with the manuscript and stay true to the word, bringing their own expertise and artistry to the table.

2) Preparation is Paramount: Research, Research, Research.

3) Every Picture Must Tell a Story: A Great Cover is Where it All Begins.

4) Endpapers, Flaps and Title Pages: The Opportunity of a Lifetime -- use every space to put a picture that explains more about the characters, time or place.

5) Set the Scene Before the Story Begins.

6) The Medium is Part of the Message.

7) Working Sketches are the Stepping Stones to a Great Picture Book.

8) Art and Typeface Should be a Perfect Marriage.

9) A Great Picture Book is a Form of Dramatic Art.

10) White Space Rules!

Great stuff, right?  Get thee to a library and start looking for these principles in your favorite picture books!

PS.  Archived sessions of the webinars are available for free and unlimited viewing for members of ALSC!

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Dog Doodles 2 | Rabiscos de Cães 2




Always thankful for dogs.  
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Sempre grata por cães.
Feliz Dia de Ação de Graças à todos!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Illustration Friday | Tree



Super quick brush, ink and watercolor sketch with a bunny and a bear.
You'll be seeing more of these two fun characters in the future! ;-)

Um esboço super rápido com pincel, naquim e aquarela de um coelhinho e urso.
Vocês irão rever esses personagens divertidos futuramente! ;-)

Saturday, November 3, 2012

November is Picture Book Month!

Have you heard? I bet you did -- November is Picture Book Month!  As you can see from the calendar below, every day brings a new essay by an author or illustrator on the importance of picture books.
Calendar designed and illustrated by Elizabeth O. Dulemba

There's more too.  Be sure to check out Picture Book Month at the Horn Book, where you'll find a new article about picture books every Thursday.  The first, Absorbing Pictures and What They Say written by Barbara Bader is already up.


And don't forget PiBoIdMo - Picture Book Idea Month!  Created and hosted by author Tara Lazar on her blog in 2009, it continues to grow and grow! Great guest posts, great prizes and a whole month to help you come up with ideas for picture books.  What's not to like?