#136 My Illustration Techniques

     Welcome to our new readers from Brazil! My stats indicate that someone from your country has visited my blog.  I was especially excited about it because you represent the first from South America to join us.  

    We now have readers from 41 different countries and six continents, and it makes me wonder if there are any young readers with computers on the continent of Antarctica.  Perhaps not...

     I promised to explain my illustration techniques this time.  Let me begin by telling you that I am not a trained illustrator (probably not a surprise to you!)  I took art classes at three different universities, but never at specialized commercial or graphic arts schools.  The pictures in my seven children's books are more like sketches than polished illustrations.

     In the Mind of a Cat is about my cat, Topper, and I had originally intended to use photographs of him because he is very photogenic.  

     Eventually, though I came to realize that the photos would be inconsistent with my other books, and I decided to use those I had already taken as a starting place and then create drawings similar to those in my previous works.

     This is the process that evolved for one of the illustrations.  I wanted to show Topper on his "Kitty Condo", and had already taken some pictures.  These were two of them. I liked the angle and setting of the first, but his pose in the second.

     
     Next, I did a rough sketch on a folded sheet of computer paper.  It looked like this:

     My "serious" materials are Strathmore watercolor paper, black permanent fine-line markers, and colored "watercolor" pencils.  These pencils allow me to "paint with water" after I color with the pencils. This is the type of paper I use:

     Using a pencil and eraser, I carefully drew the picture, then outlined it with the fine-line marker.  It looked like this at that point:

   I colored it with my watercolor pencils:

     Then I painted it with water and let it dry. It needed  another layer of colored pencil and water for further definition at this point.  

     Then I got really busy with the fine line marker--sharpening up the lines, adding background details, and texturing with little dots.  The dots take a lot of time, but they add depth and dimension to the pictures.  It was finished then.  I just had to scan it into my computer, crop and size it.  Sometimes I edit the colors on my computer if I feel it needs it.

     The finished illustration looks like this:

  
     Here are a couple others I have done for Topper's book.

     I intend to use a dozen or more of these, and they are time-consuming, so please don't expect to see In the Mind of a Cat listed on Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble for a couple more months.

     However, this blog post may allow you to see the illustrations from my other books with new eyes.  The following titles are listed "by Lynda" for either $2.99 or $3.99 on Amazon.com for Kindle eReaders .

Monkey Tales
Circles In the Wind
Margaret's Christmas Cookies
Tiny Others (Agent C Series)
Pomegranate (Agent C Series)
White Rabbit Time (Agent C Series)
Lucky Alana (Agent C Series) 

     The first four in the list above are also listed on the Barnes and Noble site for their Nook eReaders.  The final three will be added within a few weeks.  The prices are identical on both sites.

     Next time:  I will discuss where I get the ideas for my stories.

     Please join us...

     And remember, summertime is reading time.


     

#135 Illustrations

     Let's talk about illustrations today.  


     Picture books have lovely illustrations, don't you agree? Did you realize that they are not just for children?  


     Nonfiction books often have color photographs as well as scientific charts, graphs and diagrams. Graphic novels tell their stories with pictures and speech balloons, something like comic books.


     So why do chapter books usually have pictures only on their covers?


     In 1866 when Alice In Wonderland was first published, an illustrator named John Tenniel illustrated it with woodcut prints.  He cut each and every design into a wooden block, then rolled ink on it and pressed it  down on the pages.  Books were very expensive, and only wealthy families had them for their children.  Later, Tenniel used colored inks on the blocks, and Alice finally had her familiar blue dress!


     As photography and other printing processes developed, some very good illustrators began to use oil paintings for book illustrations.  One of my favorite artists is N.C. Wyeth, who painted some classic characters from Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe, Rip Van Winkle, The Yearling, and many others.  These illustrations appeared as "colored plates" and were displayed on a full page of special paper.  My own children's Bible illustrations were colored plates like these.


    But they were also expensive to produce.  As children's reading and library books became more popular, some people felt that children who were able to read the words should create pictures in their own minds from the descriptions in the stories.  There may be some truth to this technique because most mature readers do exactly that.


     I believe, however, that a few illustrations are welcome to developing readers, and some wonderful authors like Avi, who wrote Iron Thunder seem to agree with me.


     My latest book, In the Mind of a Cat, will have a lot of illustrations.  Today, I will publish three of them.

     This is Topper, my cat.  Sometimes I think I know what is going on in his mind.  In my book I will tell you what I believe he is thinking about.  My idea will be identified with a picture of me:

     Then you will see a picture of Topper, and a description of what is really going on in his mind.  That picture will look like this:

*****

     In my next post, I will show you my illustration process from sketch through pencil, fine line black marker, watercolor pencil, and finishing touches.


     I hope you have enjoyed my discussion about illustrations.  If you are interested in a list of wonderful illustrated books, you might want to look up the Caldecott Medal winners on the internet.


     Just one more thing.  I have begun to publish my books for Barnes & Noble's Nook eReader.  Margaret's Christmas Cookies is currently available for $2.99, and Monkey Tales will likely join it in the next two days!


    (And all seven of my books are still available for the Kindle eReader from Amazon.com.)


    Please keep reading...

#134 Solar Eclipse

     We had a partial solar eclipse today.

     The moon seldom passes between us and the sun, dragging its dark shadow across the earth. Today it did exactly that right here where I live.

     Using a paper punch, I had made five holes in a half sheet of computer paper by 6:00 p.m.   

     Understanding that it was possible to burn the retina of my eyes if I looked at the sun directly,  I planned to observe what was happening indirectly.  

     By projecting the sun's light through a small hole in a sheet of paper, I could safely watch its image change on the light cast on a second piece of paper held at arm's length from the first.

     At a little after 6:00, I noticed a small, dark bump in the upper-right of each of the five circles of light on the second sheet of paper.  As I continued to check every five minutes or so, the spot slowly changed into a crescent shape--like a cookie with a bite taken out of it. I knew that the moon was beginning to block out a little bit of the sun's light.

     I wondered if I could project the crescent shapes on the east wall around our back yard.  This is a photo of the result:

     Sure enough, the five little crescents shone onto the fence.  My husband began to get interested in the project, and that is his shadow holding the paper for me.


     Isn't it interesting how the projection of light through each little hole repeats the shape of the eclipse in the image?  --Five little holes and five crescents in the shadow of the paper.


     That was when I noticed that the branches and leaves from a nearby tree were casting some more unusual shadows.  The light shining through the tree's spaces was making more crescents on the fence.  


     They resembled bubbles of light on the darkening wall because there were so many.  We took some pictures of them too.

       My husband had a sudden inspiration.  He found an old metal tractor seat with lots of holes in it.  It looks like this:

     "Do you think it will make crescent-shaped projections from each of these holes?" he asked.


     We took a picture of the result.


     Can you see the eclipse projection in each hole?

     
     What else do these shadows look like?  Is someone carrying a basket?  Does it look like an Inca Sun god with a fancy crown on his head?  


     What kind of books might this post inspire you to read?  Non-fiction books about eclipses?  Shadow puppets?  The pin-hole camera?  (Look that one up if you don't know what it is.)


     Next time I really will discuss illustrations and illustrators of children's books.  Occasionally, life just leads me down an important new path. We only get to observe a solar eclipse a few times, and the experience begs to be shared .


     But for now...


     Please keep reading.  










    

#133 Book Covers

     Welcome to our newest blog audiences from India and Sudan.  Learning to read is a very universal experience, isn't it? 


     This is the final cover for my next book.  It is about my cat, Topper, and I know that you enjoy reading about him.


     I tried out several designs before I decided to use this one.  A couple of others are shown below along with my reasons for not selecting them.

This was a very early design.  It even had a different title!  The main problem with it was that it was basically a photograph.  All of my previous illustrations and covers have had my original artwork.  This one didn't fit in!

     When I scanned this design, a lot of my color details were lost with the strong black and white contrast.  The black frame also seemed too harsh for a children's book.


     Now go back up to the first one and see if it is the one you would have chosen to use, too.  I am especially pleased with the rosy pink one's overall texture.  I think it looks a bit like a leather book cover.


***************************


     Now I'd like you to take a look at the covers of my other seven published ebooks.  Which ones do you think are the most inviting?

   
     You can find out more about  each of these books by clicking here.  
     It will take you directly to my page at Amazon's Author Central.


     Book cover art is very important, but I also know that some children's classics have less exciting covers.  These ebooks are interesting for another reason.  They are free!

     I have a post on my other blog about how you can download a copy of Heidi by Johanna Spyri on your Kindle (and also many other reading devices). 


     Check it out my other blog by clicking:


www.ebooks4kids.blogspot.com.


     Next time we will discuss illustrations and illustrators.  Please join us.

     ...And please keep reading.

#132 A free Kindle ebook for Easter? Where?



     Happy Easter!  This is something like a treasure hunt! 

     There is information about how to get a free ebook for your Kindle on my other blog.  Just click on this link to get there:

                http://www.ebooks4kids.blogspot.com/.

     Spring is wonderful.  Books are wonderful.  White Rabbits are sometimes a little weird, but wonderful just the same! 

#131 Secret Thoughts of a Cat

      Welcome to a new audience from Hong Kong.  Reading is certainly a universal interest, isn't it?

     Topper is our cat.  He is beautiful and gentle, but sometimes we wonder what he is thinking about.

     Using some of his more memorable photographs, I am getting ready to publish a new book entitled In the Mind of a Cat.

     Take a peek at the working cover above.  A couple of other illustrations are found below:

     Cats' eyes sometimes reflect the flash from a camera.  This image looks very dangerous, don't you think?  What might Topper be thinking?

     Can you see Topper?  Does he imagine himself to be a butterfly?   Or a flower?


     That was just a little taste of Topper's book.  I hope to have it published by the end of April.

    
     I have a page on Amazon's Author Central.  It tells more about my writing and lists the seven books that I currently have published.  You can reach it by clicking on this link:
https://www.amazon.com/author/ebooksbylynda

    
     Don't forget to share your love of reading!

    

#130 New Blog

     When I began publishing my manuscripts as ebooks on Amazon.com, I noticed a shift in the emphasis of this blog. Some of my posts no longer fit the stated purpose of Jump up 2 Chapter Books.

     Therefore, I am adding a second blog specifically about ebooks for kids.  I believe that its time has come in this high-tech world in which we live.  The kids probably realized it before we did.

     I will try to keep up with this blog as well, but will use subjects more exciting for beginning and/or reluctant readers.  For example, photo essays with captions about Topper, my cat. 

    My first post on the new blog has been published on http://www.ebooks4kids.blogspot.com/ but some of it is still in the developing stages.

    Feel free to check it out, sign on as a follower, and make comments if you wish.

     Thank you for being such a loyal audience as I evolve.  I will try hard not to disappoint you.  

     And, as always, please keep reading.