Showing posts with label child. Show all posts
Showing posts with label child. Show all posts

Wednesday 17 September 2014

Do You Poop?

Do You Poop? and other great stories!




Wow, has it really been almost 5 months since my last post? It seems like 5 minutes! 

I have been working hard and putting all of my time and devotion into some really great new projects. Sometimes I feel so privileged to get such great stories to illustrate! Often I get sent some copies of books once they’ve been printed, so I thought what better way to kick off this blog then with some photos of those great books I mentioned!




Do You Poop?


I loved the premise for this book as soon as Kerri contacted me. It was not only fun to illustrate, but it was great fun to read too! Take a look;







Do You Poop is a great book if you have young kids whether they are potty training or not. Check out Kerri's website for more information, or buy the book on Amazon!





The Selfish Shellfish


You might remember I blogged about Grandma Paint Pot and her loveable sea creatures in the past. Well here are some (overdue) pictures of this brilliant book about the cute creatures and their crazy antics. The writing is superb, the characters are fantastic - and it’s set in Cornwall too! So what’s not to love?!





I highly recommend a visit to Grandma Paint Pot's website to find out more information and great pictures of REAL Leonard limpets and Pheobe periwinkles!


You can buy this book in paperback;



And stay tuned for book two! I'm not giving anything away, except that it will be worth the wait to see some familiar faces!



TESCO’s GO CREATE colouring pad


I was a little surprised (and a lot pleased) to see my illustrations had made it into Tesco’s colouring books. At only £2.50 for 64 illustrations for your little ones to scribble in - you know that’s a bargain! 





Check out my two nephew’s handiwork too! Not bad, hey? We’ll make an illustrator of him yet!



What else?


Well it’s been a busy summer, and there’s lots of beautiful books and projects I have yet to share with you! Here’s a small selection of some of the latest - and there's more to come soon! 











I’ve even included some sneaky sketches of projects I’m working on right now! Can you guess what they'll turn into?





I actually do a much better job of updating my website then I do my blog! So if you’d like to see my most current work, or ask for a quote for your book, please visit www.izzybean.co.uk or email me at izzybean@izzybean.co.uk

Thanks!


Sunday 12 January 2014

How to draw for kids - a guide by a children's illustrator!




I’ve been illustrating children’s books for years now. I’ve done it all; baby books, rhyming books, counting books, books about grief, books about monsters, books about eating healthy and books about sustainable living, books about having fun and everything in-between.  


So what’s the secret?

Well, drawing for children isn’t as easy as it sounds. Children are the fussiest of readers, any parent will know how hard it is to keep a child interested in one thing for more than a second. They think differently, have different priorities, they’re still learning and they look at the world in their own unique way.

So I’ve got together a little list of tips and tricks for anyone drawing for children - weather that is for your own children for fun, or professionally as an illustrator. 

CHILDREN ARE NOT STUPID



First and foremost, don’t ever think that because children are young, that you can get away with cheating them. No chance! They gobble up information and process it faster than you can turn a page, and if you’ve drawn four pigs but the text only said three - busted! Perhaps you think they won’t notice your inconsistencies, but as everybody knows, children will ask all manner of questions and are very persistant. If the story says the main character wore a red coat - you better make sure that coat is always red. If you drew a tiny egg hidden amongst the clutter of a well detailed kitchen and forgot to draw it on the last page, parents will hear, ‘Daddy, where did the egg go?’ 

CHILDREN LOVE POOP!
And slime, and splats, and gunk, and smears, and any other disgusting, and dirty manner of filth. Forget keeping that bedroom looking spick and span to set a good example, that’s just no fun! Kids love mess. Picking noses, smelly socks, you name it - kids love it.

RED AND YELLOW AND PINK AND BLUE…


This one’s a given, but well worth mentioning as it’s one of the most important. Kids illustrations are almost always bright, bold and beautiful. Things which are quite neutral colours in real life, can be jazzed up for kids. A donkey can be light blue, a fish could be a strong orange... A good tip is to use a colour wheel to see what colours go best together, and utilise them in your art. Use your imagination too! A bright red jumper might be good, but how about a red and yellow striped jumper, with a green bow tie? If you page looks like the rainbow exploded, you’re probably on the right track, but there are ways to use eye-popping colour without using every colour known to man too - play around and see what works. I often employ a ‘colour theme’ per page. So if I’m drawing a little girl’s room, I’ll use lots of different shades of purples and pinks.

PEEK-A-BOO!



A lot of children’s books, especially rhyming books, rely on repetition to capture their audience.

This is fine, but there are other ways you can sneak in visual surprises for the little ones to keep them on their toes. They’ll be grateful!

Try and use changes in angles when illustrating, a page looking down on your main character, or from behind shake things up a bit and provide a much better response when read in sequence. If the story involves a ‘peek-a-boo’ or ‘hello!’ then you might want to try some extreme close ups to make the kids laugh. Next time you’re watching a cartoon on the TV, count the number of camera changes and angles from which they tell the story, and use some of the ideas in your illustrations! 

HOW MANY RABBITS CAN YOU SEE?


This is an all-time favourite and a way of making the book last all that longer. Finding objects or counting doesn’t have to be written in the text, you can add this bit yourself without the author! Try adding some mini-games for your readers to entertain themselves with. It will be the difference between a child putting your book down after it’s been read to them, or not letting their parent turn the page until they’ve found all the flowers. Another little trick is to sneak a friendly face onto every page (without stealing the main character’s limelight!) so your child can look forward to finding him when they turn over.

THINK LIKE A 5 YEAR OLD



Or at least try to think about what your target audience likes. Countless times I’ve seen children’s books that were apparently made for adults. A 6 year old has no care about their clothes matching; princess dresses and trainers. Shorts and wellington boots. They have unbrushed hair, stained shirts, and mud on their face. Children like to see themselves in the book, so try to relate to what is most important to them, and make that important to your drawn character. 

NEVER TRUELY SCARE THE CHILD



They might like to be playfully scared, or surprised so they squeal in fright, but never, ever draw something too scary. You’ll lose the reader instantly! So forget realistic blood, or too much gore. Don’t make your character appear dead or ripped apart horrifically. You may think this is a little obvious, but you’d be surprised how many illustrators draw fangs dripping with blood, or an eyeball falling from the bloody socket of a dinosaur’s victim. They’re just kids! Keep it safe.

And finally…

HAVE FUN!

Be inventive, enjoy your work, have fun and laugh a little. It will show through in your work. Good luck!


If you're looking for a professional illustrator for your book, you can check out my site, at www.izzybean.co.uk for my portfolio of work, or email me at;

izzybean@izzybean.co.uk

Thanks for reading!