Working as an author/illustrator has many challenges.

Working on a new book... this is the longest I have ever spent trying to finish my own work. Each time I get started, a new assignment comes along.
I am always happy for new work, but in between those great opportunities, I really want to move along with this story.

The Children's Illustrators Talent Pool

This week I decided to take the plunge and add a showcase of sorts to my Children's Illustrators portfolio site.  As part of the Talent pool I am pleased to feature Gunther the Underwater Elephant as a lead in to my portfolio.  I updated the portfolio portion with some of the images from the book that I am allowed to display.

And Now for Something Completely Different

Using the visit to the Friendly Farm for my first sketches, I am beginning character studies for a fun picture book.  Meet Maxwell.  He is a little pig with a big appetite.... for cookies!

His story will be submitted to the editors for review and revision, but I think he has a chance to end up on some child's bookshelf in the future.

What is up with the WEATHER?

The new picture book, "Carla's Cloud Catastrophe" has been released.  Beth Bence Reinke's delightful, "WHAT IF" kind of story comes from a question that children may often ask.  "What if, one day, all the clouds fell from the sky?"

Carla's solution to the problem is the perfect ending to a fun filled adventure.  The book is available from 4RV PUBLISHING LLC and Amazon.com as well as any and all bookstores. All you need to do is give your bookstore the 

ISBN  ( 978-0-9828346-0-2 )number 

for them to order the book.  OR, you can go directly to the 4RV Publishing site and get your copy.

What on earth will the Mayor of Clarksville do with all those clouds?  Carla knows!

I always get excited when a book I was chosen to illustrate is released. This book has great appeal for boys and girls alike.  It is always a pleasure for an illustrator to receive a manuscript that has so many ideas for illustrations that you have to choose from the dozens of images that pop into your head as you read the manuscript.  It also meant that I had to stretch a bit to create some of the images.  My research included asking permission of certain people to use them as subjects in the book.  It also meant a trip to our recycling center and town DPW to get photos and sketches of heavy road equipment.  I was fortunate enough, at the same time, to have an entire road crew working on our road.  The machines they were using were perfect sources for some of the illustrations.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY ~ REVERSE

 The party just started and each had a cup, 

but when it was poured the tea just flew up!

How does one cope with things in reverse?

And make them get better before they get worse?

Hold your cup upside down and try not to blink.

Maybe by then you'll get something to drink.

One more from the dummy...

For the dummy I like to keep the sketches rather loose.  I may want to leave a lot of the line work in this one as well.  The thick and thin lines add so much movement to the piece.  This is one half of a double page so there is no text needed here.

Meet the models... Flying Poodles A Christmas Story

Just for fun, why not have a look at the page Karen Morss created to show off her models and the voices for the Flying Poodles.  I had such a good time creating characters for Mr. and Mrs. Claus and Miss Sally.

In case you didn't know it, our beloved author, Karen, is actually Miss Sally.

An Interview and more....*:)

I was happy to be asked to participate in a series of interviews at the Visual Storytellers Studio Jill Bergman was kind enough to post a series of interviews with the members of the group. This week it is my turn to answer some questions and show off a tiny bit. I hope you will visit and take a look at all the interviews posted there.

the Sketchbook Project

I noticed in some of the sketchbooks, that collage, alternative materials, and prints were being used.  I am working on a combination of prints I have created, sketches I draw into the booklet and cut outs to create my story. The theme:  Science Experiments Gone Wrong.   I am approaching this with a picture book feel, a sense of humor, and some drama.   This is the opening spread .... I took the stitches out of the book and will resew the pages back in when I am done.  Got a lot of experience with that doing dummy books *:)

I am still working on the cover.  I have some gesso drying that I want to paint on top of.

The story I wrote is one that may never make it to the publishing houses, so I decided it was time to let it go and the sketchbook project is the perfect place for it to live on.

A wonderful review for IN MY BATH by Beth Bence Reinke

It was quite a lot of fun to illustrate this charming book.  I think about Beth and what bathtime might be at her house when I read the lines.  I also remember those bathtime adventures with my own children.  We always has a soaking good time!

Here is a link to a lovely review.

Peeking Inside In My Bath

Beth Bence Benke has written a charming picture book that is perfect for the pre-school and Kindergarten age child. Adventures at bath time include imaginary encounters with many creatures including a dolphin, whale, penguin, seal and many more.   I really enjoyed illustrating her book.Here is a peek at one of the illustrations.

The book can be ordered directly from the publisher at 4RV Publishing LLC.

StoryBoarding

When I work on a book I use a storyboard to keep me on track. In the beginning stages it is mostly concept sketches that I paste into place to see how the rhythm of the piece is flowing. This is a look at the early stage of a book I am working on. Like other illustrators, I don't always go from page to page in order, but skip around depending upon difficulty, use of models, time to get good reference photos and changes in the general tone of what I am trying to achieve.

An occasional image may be in color here and there, but the bulk of all the color finishes is done after the sketches have been approved by the editor.
My storyboard is like a mini dummy. Once I have everything in place, I'll construct a working dummy and submit it to the editor for any changes or suggestions. In the meantime I have a few months... (*weeks) to complete the initial sketches.

For this story I needed to get lots of first hand photos of a nearby town. I photographed stores, parks, streets, vehicles and people for several scenes I need to create. I needed a number of young students as models for characters as well as adults for some crowds in the story. Children in my Sunday School Classes and adults in our church are great subjects because there is a whole community of folks to choose from. I think they will enjoy seeing themselves in a book. The hair color may change, or the face might be a bit different, but I'll be sure to let them see where they are in the book.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY ~ PATTERN

(you will need to click on the image to see the whole spread)

©Ginger Nielson 2009

I enjoy making patterns for my illustrations and for my characters. Here is an illo from a book I am S T I L L creating with the pattern on the woman's dress added in a separate image.