Making a Storyboard

So as part of my Marks and Splashes course, a few months ago I worked on a storyboard for the mouse story. Admittedly it was a quick job, and I have revisited that storyboard many times since - altering pages here and there. I think it's time to revisit the storyboard again - there are still pages that I'm not totally happy with and over time I have thought of new ideas for other pages. As I am getting further along in the course I'm starting to have to make some real decisions on what the page layouts will be as larger more detailed sketches for these pages are looming.  Being a part of the #kidlitart challenge (see pencil image on sidebar) has brought extra motivation and along with it some added info on creating a storyboard and planning the layout of a picture book.   In fact I have come across three great resources just this week.

Firstly, Wendy Martin of Kidlitart has created a great ebook called "How to Make a Picture Book Dummy" (available on the Kidlitart website for only $5).I won a copy this week, thanks again Wendy! It is full fantastic info and I'm so thrilled to have a copy of it.

Next, Tara Lazar posted a fantastic explanation as to why picture books usually are 32 pages and describes in detail the different between a self-ended layout and a color ends layout...before reading her post I didn't even recognized the difference, but it's huge!

Finally, I am working my way through the famous must have for picture book author/illustrators -  Uri Shulevitz' "Writing with Pictures", chapter 6 goes into detail on storyboarding. I must admit I'm finding the book a bit of a slog to get through. Perhaps because I tend to sit down and read in the middle of the afternoon on my comfy sofa.

But there you go, some great resources to check out!

Digital Picture Books

What's the difference between ebooks and a picture book app...guest writer Lindsey Lane writes about her experience digitally publishing her already published print picture book at Cynsations. There's some great information here, with links worth checking out!

Patrice Barton

Patrice Barton is not only a great illustrator, but from some interviews of her that I have seen, she is so genuine, sweet and kind. Here's an article she wrote recently about her approach to illustrating a picture book vs. a chapter book.


In addition, here's a link to an interview she did with Mark Mitchell where she talks about her process as she created her new book Sweet Baby Moon.

Emily Gravett

I just can't get enough of Emily Gravett. I think she is such a wonderful illustrator - I love her work, I love her stories, I love her personal story. Recently I came across a couple of YouTube videos that for me were both inspirational and instructive - I really enjoy seeing how illustrators work.



and from the Rabbit Problem:



In the Rabbit Problem video Emily Gravett uses a cool Photoshop tool to extract her sketch, a tool I had never seen used before, so I did some Google searching and found a tutorial here.

Research

It always amazes me how much information is available to us through the internet, thanks to the generosity of so many who offer their knowledge and wisdom. Tonight I have come across a number of new websites which are overflowing with great info on Illustrating Children's Books - sites that I will refer to again and again I am sure. Thanks Marla Freeze, Mark Mitchell, and 7imp.

Authors hiring illustrators

Danidraws does it again. Here is an excellent informational post on authors looking to hire an illustrator.

Daily Doodles

The weeks I came across a blog I hadn't seen before by Dani Jones. In fact Dani has a number of blogs, all of which are fantastic, full of info and inspirational. Her sketch blog is filled with "Daily Doodles" all of which she posts at the end of each week; something that I am going to start to incorporate into my daily activities in addition to my weekly IF posts.

As an additional note from Dain Jone's website - for a time when I am ever ready to try and get some professional work - she has found Hire and Illustrator (Hai) to be a worthwhile online portfolio service.

Links to keep track of...

Lately in my web surfing I have come across some great links that I want to keep track of...

Classes/Tutorials
The ArtistsNetwork
This is a series of online video classes covering a variety of mediums and techniques. Eventually I do want to try one of these out!

Drawspace has a number of drawing tutorials in .pdf form. Many of these are for the beginner/intermediate artist, I am sure there are many tips I can glean from thse files.

Images as reference and inspiration
I recieved an email from about.com this morning with tons of great websites. Here is the article.
It references examples like Flickr, Veer, Google Image Search , LIFE photo archive and the New York Public Library Digital Archive

Books
The HowBookstore has a great collection of books to consider and at the very least check-out of the library where available.