Tutorial Art Design: Ana Aranda

Interview with author- illustrator Jean Kim

Jean Kim is an Korean illustrator living in San Francisco.

She won the SCBWI Portfolio Honor Award at the NYC Winter Conference in 2015 and the Portfolio Award at the 2014 SCBWI Spring Spirit Conference.
To learn more about Jean’s work, you can visit her website: http://jeankim.me/

I have followed her work for a few years and am always inspired by her beautiful technique, playful characters and sense of wonder.

I am very happy to share with you an insight of Jean’s process and her work:

Q. Where do you find inspiration for your illustrations?

I get inspired by most things in everyday life, especially from conversations with people. It may be friends, family or sometimes even strangers. For my personal works, I create my work to express stories of loneliness and alienation from different experiences and relationships. This is why I tend to ask people about their loneliness, and their stories become my biggest inspirations.

Animals are one of my biggest inspirations too. For my children's book projects I like having animal characters better than human characters. I love their unique shapes and their pure and simple emotion.

Q. Can you describe your process? Which are your favorite tools?

I use mixed media. Currently my favorite tools are pencils and pen & ink. (I get excited every time when I try a new medium) I love tools that leave special texture effects on the paper.

I start my drawings with a black and white layer, using either graphite pencils or pen & ink. In my approach, I gently rub pencils on cold press paper or do a cross-hatching technique with a pen to create textures.

Then, I scan my drawing in a high resolution in my Epson scanner and add a color layer in Photoshop. I color the illustration with a Wacom tablet.

Q. Congratulations on winning the 2015 SCBWI NYC Honor Portfolio Showcase! How has that experience helped you with your career in children's book publishing?

Thank you so much Ana. It has been over a year, but it still feels like yesterday. Receiving an award from the SCBWI conference was such an honor and means so much to me. I believe that this honor gave me strength to believe in myself as an illustrator and kept me dreaming.

After I graduated in 2014, I decided to go to one of the biggest conferences in NY (SBWI), it was a huge challenge for me. When they were awarding honors, I couldn't believe my ears! After the conference, I was contacted by several good agencies, including my current agent Rebecca Sherman from Writers House who truly understands my voice and my work.

Q. What are your favorite children’s book(s)?

I am a huge fan of Shaun Tan. 'The Arrival' is my favorite. I also love 'Chester' by Ayano Imai.

Tan, Shaun "The Arrival" Arthur A.Levine Books, 2007

Imai, Ayano "Chester", Miniedition, 2007

Q. What projects are you working on right now?

I am currently working on two picture book projects. The first one is called 'Wide Awake Bear' (Harper Collins), written by the great Pat Zietlow Miller. The second one is called 'Rabbit Moon' (Arthur A. Levine Books), a story written and illustrated by myself. Both will be published in 2017 and I feel very lucky to be working with these great publishers.

Thank you so much for the inspiration Jean!

..........................................

Ana Aranda writes/illustrates for children and creates murals.
You can find her work at these different locations:

Website:www.anaranda.com

Twitter: @anaranda2

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anarandaillustration

Instagram: @Anarandaillustration

Blog: http://anaranda.com/my-blog/

Interview with author- illustrator Frédérique Bertrand

Frédérique Bertrand is an award winning French illustrator living in Nancy, France.

She has illustrated over 30 children’s books and works as well as an editorial illustrator for magazines such as the New York Times, Le Monde, etc.

To learn more about Frédérique’s work, you can visit her website: http://www.lesfreds.com/

Her books are playful, beautiful, poetic, and have inspired me greatly for the past years!

"Le Petit Bonhomme Pané" text by Olivier Douzou (Éditions du Rouergue, 2011)

I am very happy to share with you an insight of Frédérique’s process and her work:

Q. What is a normal day of work for you?

A normal day of work is very similar to every other day for me. When my eyes are wide open and that my head is well placed over my shoulders, I climb a few steps that lead me to my studio in the attic of the house where I live with my family. There, I get installed in my table, I take my sketchbooks and my pencils.

Q. Where do you find inspiration for your illustrations?

I get inspired by the every day life, family, the time that goes by, the little concerns of some, the dreams of others.

Also, I am very curious and sensitive to many different artistic expressions such as texts, music, films, images, dance.

For example, when my daughter was 7 years old, she would hurtle down the stairs singing a little rhyme from a song she learned at school. I challenged Olivier Douzou (art director at Rouergue, author and illustrator) to write a similar refrain for Violette my daughter, having as the main character a pony, her favorite animal at that time. Olivier answered this with the nursery rhyme “Poney” as well as with many other animals: a dachshund, a kitty, a bear, a chicken, a rooster, a piglet.

This challenge became a series of board books for toddlers “Les Comptines en Continu” (The Continuous Rhymes).

"Comptines en Continu", text by Olivier Douzou (Rouergue, 2012)

As for my personal projects, whether it’s a book, an illustration or a painting, I work the same way, my close entourage and daily life are my greatest sources of inspiration. I also have a deep affection for houses and everything that could happen inside them, household activities, furniture, couples, kids...

Q. Which are your favorite tools?Paper, pencils, painting, brushes, scissors, glue... every tool that we could find in a pencil case or schoolbag.

I love the tools that we can find within easy reach, because of this the only thing you have to do is to seize them and play with them, to take the time to “listen to them” to let them tell stories.

I love tools that leave traces on the paper and get your hands dirty.

"Ding Dang Dong!" (Éditions Mémo, 2009)

Q. How has your work evolved through the years?

I realize as the time goes by, that my work evolves naturally as the reflection of myself. I am not necessarily looking to give this or that orientation to my work, it is evolving with every encounter I have, every wish and opportunities in my way.

I think it is wonderful and terrifying at the same time! Wonderful because the adventure is renewed constantly, terrifying because nothing is ever granted.

Since the beginning of my career as an illustrator, I worked a lot for the children’s editorial illustration with a black and white style that I colored with inks. Later I started to create my images with paintings, for different editorial projects (everyday news, weekly, monthly, company, etc.) and at the same time for children’s books.

Editorial illustrations for United Airlines and Wall Street Journal

I started to experiment also with mix media: paintings with collage, paintings and pencil drawings, or pencil drawings and collage. My interest in mix media was to to evoke the subject of the picture by its technique (for example when talking about copiers at school, using school notebooks as support), instead of recreating existing techniques.

Nowadays, I am retaking drawing with only lines to tell stories about my every day life, as if it was a written drawing.

Illustrations from "Déjà Noël (Éditions Esperluète, 2010) and "Bientôt l’Été" (Éditions Esperluète, 2007)

I work these same subjects in paintings on canvas.

I also cut paper decorations to stage the “magic” pictures of Michaël Lebond in our series “Pyjamarama”. It is a little bit funny how here we are talking about playing with something you would see in an e-book in real paper!

In these books, we can move a magic plastic grid on top of encrypted images, and a small animation based on an optical phenomenon is triggered.

It is fun to imagine these printed books behave as digital books!

"New York en Pyjamarama", animations by Michaël Leblond (Éditions du Rouergue, 2011)

Q. Favorite children’s book(s):
I have always loved Tomi Ungerer’s books: Moonman, The Three Robbers, Zeralda’s Ogre, and all the others! First, for the universe that emerges, and then for its graphic effectiveness, the strong themes and texts.

But above all, I had a revelation when I discovered the work of Maira Kalman, with very creative picture books, funny and full of colors. The adventures of her dog Max are told with such a narrative freedom.

“Max in Hollywood, Baby”, by Maira Kalman (Viking Penguin, 1992)

Q. Can you tell us about your first experience as an author-illustrator? How did it happen?

I started working very quickly in childen’s books. I was very lucky! I had met Olivier Douzou in 1994, during the Montreuil Children’s Book Salon in Paris. I showed him my portfolio, my thesis drawings, and he asked me to do my thesis as a children’s book.

I imagined a little reporter, who would run around the planet with his microphone and notebooks, and reported events every week, for a whole year. My book became “ Le petit monde 1995”.

It was very fun, but also very challenging, because I didn’t think I was capable of meeting the challenge even if it was a project that I had worked in 1993 (for my thesis at the École des Beaux-Arts de Nancy, where I studied).

At the same time, I spearheaded the writing and illustrations of my first picture book called “Nino dans le Frigo” (Nino in the Fridge), a fun challenge!

I was very lucky to find my editor. I've had great exchanges with him in each of my projects -as an author-illustrator or illustrating texts-. He follows me, guides me in my explorations, my doubts, etc.

I think that I would have never created children’s books if I hadn’t crossed Olivier Douzou! It’s crazy when I think about it!

"Nino dans le Frigo" (Éditions du Rouergue, 1996)

"Le Petit Monde 1995" (Éditions du Rouergue, 1996)

Q. What has been your favorite project that you have worked so far?

I love “On ne Copie Pas” (Do not Copy), this is the book that marks the beginning of our work in tandem with Olivier Douzou.

It is also the book that allowed me to discover at what point the beauty in a series of images can contribute to the same title of the book as the text contributes to tell a book.

With this book I felt I grew wings, and I realized that I was having so much fun working, that I was feeling good in what I was doing, that I was in the right place.. It is from this book that I wanted to go on and on with this adventure, look for stories, games, silliness and good drawing times.

"On ne Copie Pas", text by Olivier Douzou (Éditions du Rouergue, 1998), Bologna Ragazzi Award 1999

Q. What is the best advice that someone has given you in your illustration career?

“I’ll see you in one month, and you can show me a book project” -Olivier Douzou

I think it was the best thing that someone could have asked me: a challenge to accomplish.

Q. What advice would you give to people who aspire to be illustrators?

I would say without hesitating, that you need to believe in what you do, and most of all and above all, you need to have fun to draw and escape in the pictures.

"The Land of Hungry Armadillos", by Lawrence David (Doubleday, Random House, 2000)

Merci beaucoup Frédérique !
Thank you so much for the inspiration Frédérique!

To read this post in French you can check it out here

..........................................

Ana Aranda writes/illustrates for children and creates murals.
You can find her work at these different locations:

Website:www.anaranda.com

Twitter: @anaranda2

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anarandaillustration

Instagram: @Anarandaillustration

Blog: http://anaranda.com/my-blog/

Experiments: Building up with light and color

Many artists start creating their pieces building up from light to dark. It can be a great way to gain depth and go step by step into the details, but in this post I want to talk about the opposite practice: building up with light and color.

In some ways this method can be similar to a few printmaking techniques, where the artist creates the white areas from within a black canvas.

Playing with acrylics and positive/negative

One of my favorite children’s book artists is the Italian Simona Mulazzani, illustrator of picture books such as “I wish I had...” and “The Big Book of Slumber”.

She starts with a black background; slowly blocking shapes from black to light. Thanks to this black contrast her compositions are also full of vivid rich colors which enhance the beautiful fantasy in her images.

Page from Mulazzani's article "The Creation of an Illustrated Book" in "Le Immagini della Fantasia" Catalogue 2008, Sarmede, Italy

There are many other fun ways of creating pieces with lighter tones, such as using darker tones on top of an already dry surface with bright and colorful tones and drawing its surface with a dry (and often pointy) object while it's still wet.

If you're using a surface harder than paper (such as wood) you can always use a knife for that.

Details from some paintings for the show "Animaginary Landscapes" at Tr!ckster Gallery, Berkeley, 2015

Playing with scratchboards and positive/negative

One of my favorite techniques for playing with the brighter tones is to create your own scratchboard. This process emulates printmaking without having to use a press.

Some amazing illustrators that use scratchboards are Remi Saillard (who taught me the beauty and fun of scratchboards), Beth Krommes, Thomas Ott, and even Shaun Tan in “Tales from Outer Suburbia”

Illustration from "O Corbeau" by Marcus Malte, illustrated by Remi Saillard, Syros 2010

Illustration by Remi Saillard

Illustration from "Cinema Panopticum" by Thomas Ott, Edition Moderne, 2005

"The House in the Night" by Susan Marie Swanson illustrated by Beth Krommes (2009 Randolph Caldecott Medal), Houghton Mifflin, 2008

Illustration from "Tales from Outer Suburbia" by Shaun Tan, Arthur A.Levine Books, 2009

Scratchboards can be bought, although I would recommend making them by hand. That way you can play and experiment with different colors and ideas.

Not too long ago I experimented with the following process:

1. I projected the final sketches in illustration boards

2. Then I painted with very liquid acrylic paints, creating liquid textures using colors of choice
3. I filled all the surface with oil pastels or crayons of the according color
4. After that I covered the greasy surface with Indian ink or airbrush ink
5. and once it was wet, I scratched it off with a good knife (Olfa is the best, it feels like butter).

Illustrations and process for the pieces in "Case" written by Chiara Di Palma, Il Gioco Di Leggere Edizioni, 2012

You can also check out Beth Krommes' process for scratchboard here

Lately I’ve been experimenting with watercolors and inks in the scratchboards. It’s lots of fun! My process is very similar to what I previously described, but it feels more spontaneous:
1. First use a cold press board/cold press stretched paper, draw the general lines of the piece
2. Then go crazy creating washes with watercolor and inks (Dr. Ph. Martin’s, Winsor and Newton, Ecoline)
3. Cover all the part you want to scratch with a white crayon (I like using the Caran d'Ache crayon, but any greasy crayon will do)

4. Paint the dark shapes with Indian ink or airbrush ink, playing with positive and negative.
5. Scratch the parts where you want to have some details, patterns, etc.

When you’re not planning exactly which color will be, some unexpected and fun surprises come in the way!

Illustration for Mandalah Mexico

To me is more natural to create dark shapes and build up with light, since I love to have bright and vivid colors in my illustrations. What do you enjoy the most? Dark on light or light on dark? How do you have fun with light and color?

I hope this little post gives you some ideas on how to create, play and overall, to have fun!

Thanks for stopping by!

..........................................

Ana Aranda writes/illustrates for children and creates murals.
You can find her work at these different locations:

Website:www.anaranda.com

Twitter: @anaranda2

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anarandaillustration

Instagram: @Anarandaillustration

Blog: http://anaranda.com/my-blog/

Interview with new SCBWI mentee, Ana Aranda

Ana Aranda was the recipient of the SCBWI Mentorship Award at the 2014 Summer Conference. Kidlit Artists would like to officially welcome Ana to the blog, and ask her a few questions about the Mentorship experience and about what she is up to these days.

Did the feedback you received during the mentorship critiques either change or confirm the direction of your illustration? Are there any specific examples you can share?

The feedback that I received confirmed that the pieces that I liked the most and had the most fun at creating were the strongest ones.

Some mentors pointed out that some of my individual illustrations had a potential story in them. This helped me to realize that many of my illustrations already had a great untold story that I would love to tell. My mind was bursting with them! This left me completely inspired and ready to work in new and exciting projects! I came back home, reopened my writing book and started looking for inspiration.

I am very grateful for all the meaningful critiques and for all the inspiration that I got from them!

What kind of projects are you working on now?

Right now I am focusing in creating new pieces for my portfolio and new stories thanks to the Mentors’ suggestions. I’m also working on a picture book about a tree written by the poetic voice of Julia Billet for the French editor Éditions du Jasmin. I am very excited about this book since I’ve been working on it for a long time and I am very fond of the story. Julia’s metaphors and stories are beautiful to illustrate! I’m also getting ready for the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco where I will be sharing a booth with my super talented friend Jean Kim on October 4-5th. If you are reading this and you live in San Francisco, come visit us, we’ll be happy to see you!

Is there any type of illustration (or other work) that you’re hoping for in the near future?

I would love to continue creating picture books and create playful board books. I would also love to create graphic novels about childhood memories.

Is there one really helpful piece of advice that you’ve gotten since pursuing illustration? Any one piece of bad advice?

The best piece of advice I’ve received has been from my family, who have always encouraged me to follow my dreams, as crazy as they may seem. A good friend told me once “Art is one of the few places where liberty still prevails”. That made me feel that as long as I create some art, I would feel free doing something that is completely mine to play and dream with.

What was one of your favorite quotes or lessons from the SCBWI Summer Conference?

My favorite quote in the conference and the one that gave me the most goosebumps (the good kind of goosebumps) was when Judy Blume said: “Do not let anyone discourage you. If they do, get angry, not depressed.”

Also I loved Tomie DePaola’s quote which inspired my whole day: “Courage!”

What were some of your favorite books when you were a kid?

When I was a kid, I loved reading the books from “Barco de Vapor” (Steamboat) collection in Mexico, which had beautiful stories for kids; from world exploring in fantastical places, to the beauty of the everyday life for a child.

I loved exploring magazines and encyclopedias for kids. My favorite book for a while was Rod Ruth’s “Album of Prehistoric Animals”.

Later on, some of my favorite books were “Little Women” and “Hamlet”.

Where can we find you online?

You can find me at these different locations:

Website: www.anaranda.com

Twitter: @anaranda2

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anarandaillustration

Instagram: @Anarandaillustration

Blog: http://anaranda.canalblog.com/

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to see you around!

Thanks, Ana!

Tutorial Art Design

Labels

Movies Post

Sports

Music

Business

Pictures

Games

728x90 AdSpace

Travel

Fashion

Design

Movies

Fashion

Sports

Recent Videos

Labels

Movies

News

Category

Slider

Recent Post

Games

Popular Posts

Pages

Find Us On Facebook

Links

About Me

Technology

Breaking News

Interview with author- illustrator Jean Kim

Interview with author- illustrator Frédérique Bertrand

Experiments: Building up with light and color

Interview with new SCBWI mentee, Ana Aranda

MKRdezign

Contact Form