In the Library

© Ginger Nielson
I have a fondness for this illustration. Maybe because two people who never knew each other, might be about to meet. But on what terms? Under what circumstances?

An image from a current project

©Ginger Nielson 2009

Asleep on an island in the middle of the sea.... or is it an island?

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.

Continuing with the Fold out book

Sometimes we may take on a project that expands in ways we didn't realize beforehand.

At any rate, I will continue with my revision of the original story about the little elephant. As a fold out the number of illustrations has MushROOMEd from 34 pages (including the front and back covers) to around 44 with all the flaps and fold outs. It is fun, and I know I will be happy with the end result.

It is also a LOT of work.

On the bright side, if there is one, *:) work is so slow right now that I have time to give this project my full attention and as I do things are looking better.

Here are some examples of the older version and the newer version. It is a bit softer, more tuned to the youngest market and hopefully more interactive with the fold out surprises I have introduced.

This is the older half finished version.

This is the newer sketch

And this is the newer finished painting.

All images © Ginger Nielson

Although you may not see much difference ... the changes are there. Lighter water with more sparkle and different ears that look more like a real baby elephant's ears. Also I simplified the background. This is actually only one half of a full page spread.

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE 9-21-09

The International Day of Peace has great meaning for our planet.

I first became involved with the movement for Peace on Earth through the first book I illustrated , One Day in Peace, January 1,2000. It was later renamed, Peace Day and then redone with new illustrations I created and has been translated into over 18 languages and is available to read online.

We also collaborated on a small book titled, The Department of Peace and is available as a Two in One Book.

The project was done as a no fee project by the two authors and myself for the benefit of the children of the world.

As today is International Day of Peace, please take ONE minute out of your day today, to say a prayer for Peace.

"Once upon a time there were some kids who had a Dream.

Their Dream was that for just One Day there would be peace on earth."

slightly corrected ~ a question of semantics

My latest project to produce a dummy for a lift the flap book, seems to be misnamed.

Actually it is a FOLD OUT book. Now that I have that settled I will continue with my dummy and the knowledge that there is a name for what I am trying to create.

The whole idea behind this new direction comes from the fact that I want to create some surprises in my story and also have room for more of the characters and the adventure. I am creating the first dummy in 10x8 landscape orientation, but may change the size downward since I now have the added space on the fold out sections. Another alternative is to add a PULL OUT page here and there, but I am not sure if it will fit the story. If it does that is one more challenge that I would love to embrace.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY ~ INFINITE

"To infinity and beyond!"