A quick social media note: Paul is on Facebook and has a public page, so please go and Like his Paul O. Zelinsky page. And he's great on Twitter, too, see links to all of that and more in this
post.
What do you need to illustrate a fairy tale?
- A personal connection to the story
- Inspiring and relevant research materials
- Willing models that won't get a restraining order against you when you try to put them in a costume
- A special calendar for timing your fairy tale dummy submission
- A wonder-full heart
- Toothpicks
Paul grew up listening to classical records with fairy tale narrations and he'd act out those tales with family and friends. His grandmother's painting of Hansel and Gretel (that hung in his childhood room above his crib) sticks out to Paul as something that was strange and wonderful and an icon he focused on. (Easter Egg Alert: Paul pays tribute to his grandmother and her art talent by hiding an homage to her painting in the last spread of HANSEL AND GRETEL.)
Dutch Renaissance painting copying, researching period costumes, collecting images that fit the desired mood and time period are how Paul started getting ready to paint the scenes of HANSEL AND GRETEL. That and studying witchcraft at the Karl Jung Museum in New York (a hot tip from Leonard Marcus!)
After these preliminary measures, Paul enlists volunteers to model the poses he needs for the illustrations. He dresses, poses them, and does sketches and photographs of the models (his editor posed as the witch! As pose only, not in demeanor!)
His next fairy tale, RUMPELSTILTSKIN, he built similarly, but Paul wanted it to look like a different and later European art style.
WORDS TO LIVE BY FROM PAUL O. ZELINSKY:
"When in trouble, go to a librarian."
He's able to get lots of good examples of period costume and art for Rumpelstiltskin, but the BIG DILEMMA for RUMPELSTILTSKIN is
STRAW.
It's hard to find straw in New York, though Paul found a few photos to help. But how to draw straw, how to paint straw, that was a conundrum for Paul. So he played around, painting with tons of different techniques until he found the one he liked: it's the top left and he used a toothpick.
Some final Paul Pearl's:
"If you want to illustrate a fairy tale, the first thing to do is consult The Calendar. It's a cycle. It's related to sun spot activity, so every seventeen years or so is when the fairytale market is up."
"Fairy
By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: December 10, 2010
This is our “Horse Lovers” fictional book list, hand selected for young horse enthusiasts.
An excerpt from My Pony by Susan Jeffers:
I want a pony.
I want a pony more than anything in the world.
Dust Devil
by Anne Isaacs (Author), Paul Zelinsky (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 5-9
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade (September 14, 2010)
Source of book: Publisher
Publisher’s synopsis: Here is the thrilling, thigh-slapping companion to Swamp Angel, the beloved Caldecott Honor–winning picture book.
Swamp Angel has a reputation as the greatest woodswoman and wildest wildcat in all of Tennessee. But when she grows too big for that state, she moves to Montana, a place so sizeable, even Angel can fit in. It’s there that she wrestles a raging storm to the ground and, at its center, finds herself a sidekick—a horse she names Dust Devil. And when Backward Bart, the orneriest, ugliest outlaw ever known, starts terrorizing the prairie, seems like Angel and Dust Devil may be the only ones strong enough to stop him.
Children will be captivated by the beauty and exaggerated humor of Paul Zelinsky’s American primitive–style paintings and the wit and energy of Anne Isaacs’s unparalleled storytelling. Here is an original folktale starring an extraordinary gal who is as feisty as she is funny and as courageous as she is kind.
Add this book to your collection: Dust Devil
Black Beauty
by Sharon Lerner (Author), Susan Jeffers (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 6-8
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (September 22, 2009)
Source of book: Publisher
Publisher’s synopsis: A stunning picture-book introduction to the first famous fictional horse!
Anna Sewell’s classic Black Beauty comes vividly to life in this 40-page picture-book adaptation by Sharon Lerner. Follow the famous stallion as he meets many masters, from Squire Gordon, whose wife Black Beauty saves nearly at the cost of his own life; to the cruel Nicholas Skinner, who drives horses to death; and finally to a reunion with Joe, the kind groom he knew as a colt. Caldecott Award winner Susan Jeffers illustrates this beloved tale with lush watercolor drawings guaranteed to delight and enchant children.
Add this book to your collection:
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I love this. I've been toying with the idea of doing a mock-up for a fairytale for my portfolio, and have been working on some samples, to show my skills in a way that might engage an agent/art director, as they know the stories. This information will help push my current work forward. Thanks!