One Artist’s Dummy Exercises

Illustrator Denise Hilton Campbell was among the participants at my UCSD Extension class, “Illustrating Books for Children” last Spring.

She has an extensive portfolio of published works for advertising and print.

While she and I had worked together (I as art director/designer at Harcourt; she as illustrator) on several book jackets, she had never tackled the children’s picture book genre.

While Denise’s preferred medium is watercolor . . .

. . . she also possesses superb drawing skills.

On her illustration blog, she chronicles her explorations into book dummying. Some highlights:

“… I didn’t give much thought about the fact that there was a process involved in writing and illustrating a good picture book. I thought you just drew 32 pretty illustrations and threw in some words! That all changed with the class and now I’m hooked. . . this is an example from [the] simple 8-page dummy. . .” — Denise Campbell

“. . . [on to] a 16-page dummy. . .”— DC

“. . . You get the idea…[the 8-page and 16-page dummies] were both wordless stories. An exercise in telling a story without using words as crutches. Finally we tackled the 32-page dummy (above). . . “— DC

You can follow Denise’s own picture story on her process in creating her class assignment sketches, here.

And check out the many finished pieces she produced post-class here. A sampling of her progressive experiments with one double-page spread from the above mentioned 32-page dummy follows, below . . .

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Holiday Tip:  Gift your favorite creative person with an Art Class!

Course title:  Illustrating Books for Children (ART 40011)
Instructor:  Joy Chu
Dates: January 7th – March 9th, 2013 (nine weeks)
Fees: $275  [early bird special: $250 if enrolled by 10 Dec 2012]
To register: 858-964-1051; ucsd.extension.edu

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More about my upcoming UCSD Extension Class!

Since I’ve been receiving numerous emails with questions about my upcoming online class at UCSD Extension (January 7-March 9, 2013), I thought it would be good to combine them here.

Q:  Can you give a little more info on how the class is structured?

Our goal will be to zero in on the book dummy itself, in terms of telling a story with utmost clarity.

We will explore the most effective ways of communicating story through images.

I must stress that this will not be a drawing class per se — in the sense that there will be no time to apply any drawing details, nor tight rendering.

In my experience, students (and many pros) have a tendency to focus lovingly on completing details and minutiae prematurely (before fully plotting the entire story), creating exquisite but static compositions at the expense of the whole. The story itself becomes incomplete.

By keeping our drawings simple, we will avoid becoming a stuck car tire, spinning mud.

From “Dies Kind Und Der Katze” by Bachér & Berner

Nailing key points like character creation; pacing, creating drama; graphic shapes and their importance; rhythm; making judicious use of white space. These are just some of the issues we will address.

Early study for Lydia, the protagonist in Matthew Cordell’s “hello! hello!”

We will be identifying art media (so many possibilities) used in today’s picture books, both traditional and digital. See a style you like? Ask about it!

And there will be plenty of sketching!

From “Bow-Wow Bugs a Bug” by Newgarden & Cash

The book dummy is the most important stage in the creation of picture books. Analogous to drawing architectural floor plans before building the house itself, this is the stage where all creative decisions on the picture book are made.

With your completed floor plan (the book dummy), you can move on to experimenting with the art media of your choice upon completion of this class.

This is why all drawings for our class must be done simply. We will complete three book dummies in nine weeks. In other words, stick figures are totally smart & OK!

All students are required to have an active library card. Everyone must borrow, read and share picture book selections, based upon a given theme for that week. Nowadays, any library book can be reserved online for later pick-up.

“Dancing figure” (above) © Christophe Niemann
“Librarian” (below) © Debbie Tilley

In addition, everyone will be required to have a  photo-sharing account, like Flickr , Picasa, or Photobucket to store images. This is where rough sketches would be uploaded. Students link images to display direct onto the class blog or discussion boards. This is to insure we do not over-tax UCSD Extension’s servers, as images take up far more memory than text.

All class participants will have access to:

(1) A Discussion Board, where everyone shares thoughts about the weekly theme, as well as technical tips (Example. Best ways to create low-resolution scans and PDFs; recommended links).

(2) A Group Blog, provided for this class only via UCSD’s Blackboard software. Students will be divided into critique groups. Each group will have its own Group Blog, to ensure ongoing feedback and support on works-in-progress.

(3) Class availability, 24/7. You can work on assignments anytime. Just remember that new lessons will be posted every  Monday morning!

Q:  Can you give a little more info on how the class is structured?

Every Monday, there will be a new Announcement summarizing the lesson plan plus assignments for the week. Assignments must be completed and uploaded every Sunday @ 11:59 pm. Each new class week begins on a Monday.

Q:  Will we get to share our work with other students?

Definitely! In fact, this is a must, and a major feature of this class! There will be critiques, discussions, and opportunities for feedback  throughout the course. Rules and guidelines for procedure and protocol will be distributed.

Q: Will you be giving feedback?

Yes!  I will be reading everyone’s comments —- with an eye towards encouraging everyone’s mutual support. And I will jump in as appropriate.

I will also list specific times when I will be online live to address immediate concerns.

Most importantly, students must have high speed internet to participate. To test your equipment, go here. To preview and sample our class’s online tools free, go here.

Questions? Post them below (‘Leave a reply’)! I look forward to meeting you, and building our Creative Online Community. Feel the buzz? Register here.

Think you can’t express anything with stick figures? You’d be wrong! Click here and enjoy!

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Course title:  Illustrating Books for Children (ART 40011)
Dates: January 7th – March 9th, 2013 (nine weeks)
Fees: $275  (early bird special: $250 if enrolled by 10 Dec 2012)
To register: 858-964-1051; ucsd.extension.edu

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Seeking An International Community of Online Kid-lit Doodlers!

Hear ye, hear ye! If you draw or paint like this. . . .

[click to enlarge]

. . . you’ll fit right into my UCSD Extension / Winter 2013, 100% online class, Illustrating Books for Children.

If you have access to a high-speed internet connection, are willing to meet more folks who adore picture books of all kinds, join us!

There will be drawing warm-ups.  Story sequencing. And book dummies, oh my!

You’ll be able to take this class on your schedule, within a 9-week format, from anywhere in the world!

I’m seeking an international community of doodlers!

It’s a fully accredited course (3 units). You can also elect to take it as a noncredit self-enrichment class.

Space is filling quickly, so sign up soon as you can!

And in the meantime enjoy this video, and remember that November is Picture Book Month…

 

My Class is Coming Online!

(click to enlarge and print out)

I’ve been away working with UCSD Extension to customize lessons plus on-line tools for the online version of my UCSD Extension class.

I’m very excited about meeting new as well as seasoned illustrators and authors; seeing both old and new friends! It’s an opportunity to get together virtually to tell story with pictures, share our passion about it, and get our creative juices flowing.

Course title:  Illustrating Books for Children (ART 40011)
Dates: January 7th – March 9th, 2013 (nine weeks)
Fees: $275  (early bird special: $250 if enrolled by 10 Dec 2012)
To register: 858-964-1051; ucsd.extension.edu

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Special Bonus:  For more about on-line learning, including free tutorials on what’s involved, take the course tour here. Find out beforehand if on-line learning is for you! You don’t need a password for this feature. Just click directly on the links in the right-hand column.

In addition, every UCSD mobile class features additional free mini-tutorials to optimize your individual online experience. Yes, it’s that easy! Technical assistance is also available to all students.

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Questions? You are welcome to write in the comments section below.

Ready, Steady, DRAW!

There’s still a few spaces left for my upcoming workshop. Here’s the link for information and registration.

Questions? Post them below, or email me.

Tooting my own horn…

For more details, click here.

If you can draw these (click image to enlarge), you're ready to enjoy our in-class exercises! The Emberley book is our required class handbook.

Awestruck by teaching, part 1

One of the bonuses of teaching at UCSD Extension is the diversity of the students themselves. It was a pleasure getting to know them through the work they produced in class.

For their final project, a 32-page book dummy, I gave my students the options of (a) working with their own original story; (b) re-illustrating an already published book; or (c) re-telling a traditional folk tale.

Here’s a peek into some of of the results…

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Following a positive portfolio consultation with David Diaz at a SCBWI-San Diego One-Day-Conference, Ella German was eager to further develop the characters she drew from the sock kitten characters she created (right, and above top).

Ella brought her sock kittens, Pearl & Bear to class, plus a story outline. The manuscript went through several revisions. We discussed the motivations behind all the characters involved against the setting itself, and the theme of her story.

After numerous weedings, she rendered thumbnail sketches before moving on to her  book dummy, which she actively shared with multiple critique groups that formed within our class.

“Let’s visit the SCBWI Summer Conference in L.A.!”

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Illustration by Anna Guillotte

Anna Guillotte's original illustration, "Le Petit Pessimiste"

Another participant was Anna Guillotte, an accomplished fine artist who brought her own story about “a little pessimist,” an anxiety-ridden little girl. Anna wanted to encourage children there are ways to rise above everyday situations they could be anxious about.

We discussed how her  story would need to spotlight a tangible challenge her character wants to overcome. And demonstrate how her “little pessimist” could triumph over her situation through her own actions.

Anna decided to have her character face an upcoming math test (right), which became her character’s challenge. A secondary character, her favorite stuffed bunny, was created as her alter ego/reactor.

The little girl’s studies, on top of her own anxieties, envelope her on test day. On her way to school, she encounters a Math Monster….

Here’s a book trailer Anna created to highlight her book premise:

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Cover from "My Penguin Osbert"

Freelance illustrator/video game programmer Charles Eubanks chose to work on a story his own kids loved, My Penguin Osbert by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel.

Charles jumped into producing storyboards. Then he cut-and-pasted the text manuscript into a landscape format, marking page breaks. Corresponding thumbnail sketches  were placed next to each text block.

Ms. text breaks for Charles Eubanks' book dummy

Character studies were followed by a 32-page book dummy.

Character sketches by Charles Eubanks

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'Little Red Riding Hood by Andrea Zuill

A needlepoint design by Andrea Zuill

Andrea Zuill displays and sells her work through Etsy and many craft fairs. In class, she’d regale us with stories about her world of hand-crafted art creators, online and in person. Threaded throughout her work is her sly humor.

Andrea's 'Snow White & the Usual Suspects'

"Say Hello to Zorro" by Carter Goodrich

For her class project, Andrea chose to illustrate her own version of Carter Goodrich’s Say Hello to Zorro!.

Andrea captured canine personality through close observation of her own dogs, rendering many sketches.

Andrea's dog, and its reaction to cats in boxes

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To be continued….

Wonderstruck by story-telling!

I’ve been blown away by the book dummies turned in by the  extraordinary students at my latest UCSD workshop. An amazing group that worked so hard, and shared so much, in just 9 short weeks. We’ll take a peek at some of their explorations here, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, check out this book trailer by Brian Selznick on story-telling, and being Wonderstruck. My students embarked on their own journeys, exactly as Brian Selznick’s characters did. . . .

On illustrating middle-grade novels

[click on image to enlarge]

Recently, author Uma Krishnaswami informed me about her upcoming middle-grade novel, due out May 24, 2011, The Grand Plan to Fix Everything. She wrote:

“Is your focus exclusively on picture books?  [The Grand Plan to Fix Everything] has cover art and wonderful, quirky illustrations by Abigail Halpin, which add marvelous humor and substance to the story…”

Since many picture book illustrators work on middle-grade novels as well, it seems only fitting that we look into this aspect.

Please join us here on May 23 to meet illustrator Abigail Halpin, and Uma. We will also learn about the making of the book trailer by Nikhil Krishnaswamy.

Springtime is for cherry blossoms and books!

It’s still showering spring books! And alongside the blossoming cherry trees in Washington, D.C. comes a book that tells us how they got there.

More than 3,000 trees were sent as a gift from the Japanese government to the United States, to be planted along the Potomac River.  Author Andrea Zimmerman introduces us to Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore, an American journalist and travel writer, who was responsible for getting the trees there.

You can hear her interview about the book with NPR’s Robin Young here. And check out the book’s official website, and learn more about Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore here.

Of special note: Andrea herself wears several hats. She is an writer; an author/illustrator; picture book blogger; and co-collaborator with her husband, artist David Clemesha. See her many celebrated children’s book titles here.