Tag Archives: sketches

Just Thumbing through my sketch book.

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Back when I was designing characters for Nasty Bugs. 

A page or two from my sketch book 

Here is a little image of a page or two from my sketch book.
Takes me back, I had just finished an e-book, (self published) called Tickle Bugs. Back off, it was for kids. Any way, when I got this buggy job from Dutton. I just had to design and draw a bunch of cute little bugs again. Fun huh.

Nasty Bugs, by Lee Bennett Hopkins (Author) , Will Terry (Illustrator)

nasty-bugs a children's book
These sketches are characters that made their debut in a book called Nasty Bugs. It’s a really fun book and I couldn’t wait to start painting it as soon as all my sketches were finally approved.
I remember I was still trying to figure out how to draw with my Wacom tablet at the time, I could paint with it but I still wasn’t able to get the sensitivity I get with pencil and paper. Perhaps it was the lack of texture provided by the tablet – or the disconnect between my hand, eye, and computer monitor, maybe I’m just stupe. Anyway, I would continue to force myself to practice it until frustration would eventually win and I would hit print and finish it on paper. That practice has paid off by the way.
A page from Nasty Bugs
nasty-bugs2
Love how this one project turned out. Painting in Photoshop makes it so much more do-able to paint in the stink, undo it if it isn’t just right, do it over and adjust the transparency and color til it looks like stink. Or smoke or steam. (there is now steam tool in a Photoshop plug in by the way. That was an April fool’s prank. Sorry.  :(
if you missed that one you really need to check out our April 1, 2014 blog post. It is still fun to share to unsuspecting artists and artist wannabes for a good prank.

HOW MANY SKETCHES SHOULD YOU SEND IN?

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How Many Sketches Should You Send In?


Back in my editorial days I was always coached to send in multiple sketches and ideas for the art director to choose from. Now that I’m a children’s book illustrator I’ve come to realize that sending in multiple sketches for one page is not often the best policy. The reason: I always like one better than the other(s) and often the editor or art director will pick the one I like the least. Now it’s a let down having to paint an image I’m not as happy with.

I just created the image above for a new book I’m working on “There Once Was a Cowpoke who Swallowed an Ant” by Helen Ketteman (Albert Whitman). My working process is to send in rough sketches for the direction I’m thinking of. Then I get feedback from the art director and editor. My goal is to make myself happy and then see if the team likes it. If they do then I move to a final drawing refining details and making any alterations asked for by the team.

 


Sometimes they don’t like the direction at all and ask for a new idea -offering their suggestions. I love working this way. I’ve taken the time to explore many thumbnail sketches and ideas and I don’t want to share my rejected ideas just to offer more choice. Sometimes more choice just offers more confusion. Ever tried to order at restaurant with 100 menu items? You feel overwhelmed and start to think you’re going to miss something really good – so you spend more time reading the menu rather than visiting with the people you went to have a meal with.

I’m a big believer in working hard to develop a sketch you can’t wait to paint and then working with it until you and your team come to a consensus. I’ve taken the time to do a lot of editing in my development process and I choose NOT to share that with the creative team at the publisher.