Monday 29 June 2009

Drawing a Picture Book: Bribery Doesn't Always Work...


The child in Bears on the Stairs finds he can get past the little bear at the bottom of the stairs, by bribing him with a biscuit:

The middle one will take a glass of milk, but the big one is a problem. He says: "NO. Even if you give me a drink and a biscuit and a whole bar of chocolate you CANNOT come upstairs."

I liked this pose immediately, but it has proved a bit tricky fitting it into the layout. The problem is that he needs to stand quite tall but also on the top step, which makes it hard to get room for anything below him and creates a lot of empty space either side. I think I have managed it in the end though:

In order to get the family gallery down the stairs, I've played about with the text layout, which was originally in just two lines. I think it looks quite fun and adds to the point of all the bribes he won't take, but the Designer gets the final say - we'll see!

7 comments:

Tomás Serrano said...

Lynne, do you prefer the text in the drawing or out in the oposite page? What´s your opinion? Thank you

Buskitten said...

These are flippin' brilliant, Lynne!

granny grimble said...

I love the stance of 'middle bear' so much. He's oozing character and I can't wait to see him in full colour

Edrian said...

I love how you've used the wall space and integrated the text as part of the layout. I also like the door and rail a bit off balance. It keeps the spread more dynamic, and of course the really BIG bear and the REALLY small child. This image is worth a thousand words!

Lynne the Pencil said...

Glad you like them!

Tomas - these days text is generally integrated with the image. It's considered a bit old fashioned to seperate it off in a picture book.

Granny G - actually the one at the top is the little bear, but pleased you like him. The middle bear is the bully koala who picks his nose!

Tomás Serrano said...

Thanks, Lynne. I´m afraid I´m an old fashioned one, he, he. No, seriously, don´t you think the joint of the both pages is a problem for the image? I never liked it. It breaks the original drawing in two, except if it´s previously considered...

Lynne the Pencil said...

Designing illustrations carefully, so the gutter is in the right place and doen't interfere, is an important part of the process. If you get it right, it shouldn't be an issue.