These past weeks I have been working on the illustrations for
Emily, Brave and Swift. Of course, this does not mean I have not been busy with all other aspects of creating, marketing and publishing children's books. I most definitely have. But if I am to arrive to the point where
Emily, Brave and Swift is ready to be published, I must allot
x amount of hours to completing the illustrations.
I must own up to something: I am not a professional artist! Okay, there, it's out! I took exactly one drawing class in college and nothing more. No advanced coursework, no graphic design, no watercolor, acrylic, charcoal or oil painting classes. But I have a passion for art and have enjoyed drawing and sketching since I was a young girl. The painting part came later, when I was asked to help my then, eleven year old daughter (who is now eighteen) with an art assignment--reproducing a Picasso. We did a pretty good job! Her art teacher never returned that painting, hummmm?
My initial plan was to locate and hire a commercial illustrator to work with me on
Emily... Although I touched base with a few artists, I was unable to connect with anyone who could produce the concept I was looking for
and work within the constraints of my itsy-bitsy, almost non-existing budget. So, my husband suggested that I just do it myself. My last choice, of course, was to do it myself. I honestly didn't believe I had the skill set to produce the images I was looking for to bring this story to life. And on top of that---it would take me
forever to create the eight to ten pages of art. But, I guess, tag, I'm it.
At any rate, my process is pretty basic. I decide which activity or event in the story I would like to capture. I do a rough draft on sketching paper, refine the work until I'm satisfied with the concept. I then copy the drawing onto heavy, acrylic stock. I use acrylic paint in most of my artwork. It is actually my favorite medium--it's versatile, dries quickly and allows me to easily make adjustments. Some of my pieces are mixed media, where I may add some charcoal for definition and contrast or I may use oil pastels, which can be tricky to work with but produce images that actually come very close to looking like an oil painting.
In the near future, I hope to move towards producing digital art. Many artists now sketch the artwork then scan into one of the graphic design/paint programs, like Photoshop or In Design to complete the painting there. Some artists actually draw and paint the product from start to finish using these types of programs. I can't even begin to image. Wow, I am totally in awe.
Here's a little teaser (I cropped off a portion to avoid giving part of the story away):
Emily moves toward the galley to investigate the frighten sounds that have awakened her in the night. She presses open the great wooden door, sword raised and comes upon...
![](resources/Emilypeeks.jpg)
More illustrations, marketing and book reviews to do. Until my next post...
Best!
Until the next time.