Awhile back I posted a series of blog entries that tracked my experiences as a writer along the Road to Publication -- from Idea to Promotion of a finished book.
I thought it might be interesting to have a few picture book illustrators do a "guest blog" here to talk about the process, procedures, and methods they use when illustrating a manuscript.
My first guest blogger was Susan Detwiler, who illustrated my picture book One Wolf Howls. Today's guest blogger is Christina Wald. Christina lives in Cincinnati, where my husband has family. When I saw that Christina had illustrated a book for Sylvan Dell (Henry the Impatient Heron by Donna Love), I contacted her and we arranged to do a book signing together. Christina and I also shared a table at Books by the Banks 2009 in Cincinnati. Below, Christina explains the process she goes through when she illustrates a picture book.
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My process for illustrating books
by Christina Wald
Web Site
Facebook Page
Blog
Everyone is probably a little different and each project is a little different. I will start at the very beginning for those who may have never illustrated a book before.
Note: Usually, I work with the Art Director and/or Editor throughout the process. There is no contact with the author.
The Beginning:
First I get the manuscript; usually a word document. I print it out and put it in a binder.
This is also the beginning of the research phase. I start getting books about the subject and reading articles. I like learning about my illustration subjects.
I then draw thumbnail sketches on the manuscript to decide layout and start gathering reference. If I need models, I line then up to photograph them. I am not overly dependent on photos and take a lot of liberties. But, I want to make sure I have the proper toes, paw pad shapes, wings, etc., and I do try to get pictures of details as a
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I thought it might be interesting to have a few picture book illustrators do a "guest blog" here to talk about the process, procedures, and methods they use when illustrating a manuscript.
My first guest blogger was Susan Detwiler, who illustrated my picture book One Wolf Howls. Today's guest blogger is Christina Wald. Christina lives in Cincinnati, where my husband has family. When I saw that Christina had illustrated a book for Sylvan Dell (Henry the Impatient Heron by Donna Love), I contacted her and we arranged to do a book signing together. Christina and I also shared a table at Books by the Banks 2009 in Cincinnati. Below, Christina explains the process she goes through when she illustrates a picture book.------------------------------------------------
My process for illustrating booksby Christina Wald
Web Site
Facebook Page
Blog
Everyone is probably a little different and each project is a little different. I will start at the very beginning for those who may have never illustrated a book before.
Note: Usually, I work with the Art Director and/or Editor throughout the process. There is no contact with the author.
The Beginning:First I get the manuscript; usually a word document. I print it out and put it in a binder.
This is also the beginning of the research phase. I start getting books about the subject and reading articles. I like learning about my illustration subjects.
I then draw thumbnail sketches on the manuscript to decide layout and start gathering reference. If I need models, I line then up to photograph them. I am not overly dependent on photos and take a lot of liberties. But, I want to make sure I have the proper toes, paw pad shapes, wings, etc., and I do try to get pictures of details as a
Add a Comment
