Circles 5x7 on canvas |
Here's a little video of me painting and collaging this piece.
Totally professional set up here. |
Video and editing credit to my my son, Josh.
Circles 5x7 on canvas |
Totally professional set up here. |
by Laura Zarrin
Picture Book Idea Month is over. You have ideas waiting to be developed. Now what?
As a kid and all the way through college, writing came easily. Essays or essay questions? No problem. I loved to really pad those answers. Fast forward to now and that ease is completely gone. Sometimes I have no words, not even a decent name for the file I’m writing in. What happened to the free flow of words? Maybe they shriveled up and died from lack of use. Maybe I spend so much time drawing that the words have gone to sleep? I’m sure it’s a lot of things, but one thing that’s different is that while the more words the better method worked in school, it’s the wrong approach to writing picture books where brevity rules. As a mom and an illustrator, I appreciate brevity. Short books were my favorite since I’d have to read the same book over and over and over again.
As an illustrator, I approach my stories through pictures first. I ‘see’ them before I write them. I’ll sketch out the character or a scene and see where it leads. Sometimes I’ll be so inspired that I’ll write a quick first draft. It’ll be horrible, but that’s ok. The point is to get something written out. To begin. I can always go back and edit it or completely rewrite it. Mostly, I have to let the ideas marinate in my head for awhile, sometimes years, to figure out what the real story is. I turn it around, hold it up to the light, add and subtract characters, try various what ifs, and grill it with questions until it feels solid. I really wish I could just snap my fingers to create the book dummies, but it just doesn’t work that way. Even though picture books are ‘simple’, they’re anything but easy. It’s like saying it’s so easy to draw in a simple and childlike way when it’s anything but. It takes a ton of work to get to the point where one can pull off ‘childlike’ effectively. One has to have a solid grasp of anatomy, technique and design to make it work. The same can be said of writing. It takes some serious chops to write a story in it’s simplest form.
I wish I could give you a formula. Heck, I wish I could give me a formula, but as it stands, my formula is to scribble, sketch, make lists, make notes, outline, research, work on character design, write then delete, draw, and draw, and draw, cry, give up, try again, and eventually there’s this thing that actually becomes a story.
My suggestion to you is to just begin. That’s often the hardest part of any project. Draw your character or a scene that’s calling out to you. Write the character’s bio, outline your plot or write a synopsis. Whatever feels like the easiest entry point to begin. Good luck!
Illustrator of fourteen children’s books, Laura Zarrin, is branching out into writing them too. Laura’s warm and whimsical collage paintings have graced many products from stickers to bulletin boards to books. Her paintings are created in layers traditionally, then scanned, assembled, and enhanced in Photoshop and Manga Studio, so that the art can be reformatted for a variety of products and apps.
Laura’s Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design and Illustration paired with her years of experience working as a designer and art director have given her many great opportunities to work with other designers, editors, sales people, and marketing in collaboration on many projects, from inception to completion. Fluent in the Adobe Creative Suite.
She lives and works in San Jose, Ca with her husband and two endlessly creative sons.
Visit her at LauraZarrin.com and follow her on Twitter @LauraZarrin. She blogs at Creative Whimsies and Simply Messing About.
Laura is giving away an 8×10 print of “Winter Dancing”.
This prize will be given away at the conclusion of PiBoIdMo. You are eligible for this prize if:
Good luck, everyone!
Me and Kelly Light |
Me and Molly Idle |
Tracy Bishop, Sue Rankin-Pollard, Joy Steuerwald, Me, Kelly Light |
What's Bronte's deepest, darkest secret that she keeps locked away in her diary? She's dreams of becoming a ballerina!
I'm plugging away on a new collection. I've been wanting to learn how to make patterns for awhile now. I bought Tara Reed's Repeat Pattern Combo pack a couple of months ago, then got too busy/distracted to use it. With the kids' camp days counting down, I realized I'd better get to it right away. I'm working on a bird collection based on my recent string of bird collages. I just love how these feathers turned out. Tomorrow, I'll start putting all the pieces together. Can't wait.
Here's the finished painting. The words were added in Photoshop. I'll let this one sit for a bit and decide if it is truly finished. Maybe I'll be bold and add the type to the actual painting.
Thank you, Laura! I’m so taken by your art–each piece tells its own story.
It seems formulas differ from one writer to the next. Thanks for sharing yours. Love your illustrations!
What beautiful illustrations Laura, love them. Thank you for posting.
A picture of a pig on a toilet was the perfect way to start Monday a.m. Thanks, Laura. Your work is darling!
Yes! The getting started! That is the hardest part for me. Thanks for the inspiration to just get writing.
Thanks, Laura! Sometimes it is so hard to begin… especially with the busy holiday season upon us. But, since the idea is truly the beginning of the beginning, I’m so thankful for PiBoIdMo’s inspiration for a great New Year. I love your little piggie illustrations. Even though I’m not an illustrator, I think I’ll draw myself a mascot to cheer myself on. :)
I have loved “Winter Dancing” since the first time I saw it in the Bologna 2014 Gallery. Would love to win a copy!
My formula is similar with the exception of the drawing and sketching. Thanks for reminding us that the creativity process had its ups and downs.
I appreciate the reminder to just begin at the easiest entry point. Sometimes I think of all the things that need to go into a story and get bogged down. Instead if I use the easiest and most fun starting point for me, I can begin and go from there. Thank you!
Thanks for great advice and illustrations!