SketchCrawl: Drawings with my Watercolour Pencils

I've been having a lot of fun just lately, but it's been a bit crazy over the last few days... 

On Saturday we had another SketchCrawl, this time in Chesterfield. It couldn't have been more different to last week's in Buxton, where we had to keep scuttling indoors because of the freezing cold. This time we were scuttling into the shade, as it was so fabulously, brain-fryingly hot. 

Here are a few sketches from the day that John scanned in for me. The top one is watercolour and black conte, the others are my Inktense watercolour pencils. I'll post more later, but things have been so busy lately and I still have more things to do than time to do it (I shouldn't be doing this now - I should be getting on with my roughs!!). 

On Sunday John and I went out walking, making the most of the sunshine, then on Monday and Tuesday I was up super-early to catch the 7.15 train to Selby, to visit the children at Longman's Hill Primary School.

We had a great time together. The kids were all lovely and SO enthusiastic, we were all buzzing the whole time and they did some brilliant drawings. I expend so much energy: it's a great work-out. Everyone bought in their books from home for me to sign, which I did during the lunchtimes, then after school I signed new ones. I drew on the train journeys home, to keep myself from falling asleep, so by the time I got back last night at 7pm I was absolutely shattered!

I'll post some more of the Chesterfield SketchCrawl drawings, plus the best of the train sketches later, but now I MUST get some real work done, before John tells me off!

Illustrating a Picture Book: Redraws & Simplification

I have been wrestling with the rough for the 3rd spread of the Dogswap book. 

Lucy and Sparky have hatched their plan, and this is the first occasion when we see Lucy enjoying her new doggie disguise. Dad takes what he thinks is Sparky the dog to the park. Lucy has a great time jumping in the pond and generally letting rip. These are my initial little sketches, the ones I did on the big sheets:

All the adults in the story are too busy being distracted by life to notice the swap. I experimented with different distractions for Dad as you can see, but settled on him sitting reading the paper, below. I prefer the reading pose above, but he needs a free hand, so he can be absent-mindedly throwing the ball. I might enlarge his paper a bit though - seeing it here, it looks a bit titchy.

My publisher fleshed out my original text, adding specifics about the other dogs in the park, chasing and sniffing and digging, so this was my first proper drawing:

I made the pond a longer shape to fit in the drinking red setter, which also created a nice text space bottom right, but was having trouble fitting the other text onto the trees (and it's not really broken at the points I would have chosen). I didn't like the fussiness of the dog digging in the flower patch either. I'm trying to simplify my backgrounds slightly this time, to fit better with current trends.

So I had a rethink and got rid of the word 'digging' and used 'barking' instead (there's going to be more digging later, so it's not lost entirely). I also simplified the background further, so much of the text could sit on the grass instead: 

All these roughs are yet to be seen by my publisher of course, so the flower-patch digging may come back again if they are really fond of it! I much prefer the simpler version though.

Illustrating a Picture Book: Composition is Key

I've been working backwards in the story this week. As I discussed previously, I don't work through the roughs chronologically, but take them in the order in which they most interest me, so I 'get into' the book as quickly as possible.

Now I am concentrating more on how the whole 'swapping places' idea is set up. Above is the first spread, where the idea is hatched. I'm really pleased with this one but, though it looks simple, it didn't come together quickly. I had trouble keeping both characters large but also out of the gutter, whilst keeping them close so their relationship was intimate enough. Below you can see all my tiny variations on the composition:

As you can see, I also tried out lots of alarm clock designs too: hard to make it fun without getting fussy. I love the big, curved BBBRRRRIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGGG!!! of the alarm that pulls the whole image together - I do hope Gullane let me keep it that way.

Above is the next spread: where Lucy and Sparky actually swap, and Mum and Dad are fooled. The two little drawings came together very quickly, with just a few preliminary sketches to try positions. 

I'm especially pleased with thinking of the idea of the dog getting trapped inside the jumper. 

The larger image in the 2nd spread is based very closely on one of the initial sketches I did when I first pitched the idea to my publisher: 

Getting that right was again mostly about composition: making changes to relative scales and getting things to fit. I decided that chopping Dad off still worked better than having him in the picture properly. Poor Dad!

SketchCrawl in Buxton, Welcoming Di from Oz!

It's a busy period on the SketchCrawl North front: this weekend we went out on the first of 3 SketchCrawls, taking place on 3 consecutive Saturdays. We normally do once a month but sometimes opportunities are too good to miss. This one was in celebration of fellow-sketcher Di being in the UK for a visit from Australia.

Now, anyone reading this from the UK will know that Saturday was not the best advertisment for a British summer. It was certainly freezing in Buxton! But were we downhearted? Well, a bit shivery round the edges perhaps, but not for a moment deterred.

We prised ourselves from the warmth of the meeting-place cafe and braved the Pavilion promenade first, where I did the sketch at the top. It was cold though. Even in a big coat and fingerless gloves.

We warmed up in the Pavilion Gardens - a glass house with a big fish pond - where we discovered an unexpected treat: the busking French horn player above, who was really good and let us all draw him. Actually, he probably did rather well out if us, as we thought it only right to pop money in his hat afterwards.

We had lunch back at the cafe, then, as it was still pretty nippy outside, set off for the art gallery and museum, where I did the sketch above. It proved rather more complicated than I'd expected, in fact, I rather wished I hadn't begun!

I decided to brave the outside again before we finished, so drew from a bench on the street just outside the gallery, looking across the road at the park opposite where John and Les, braver still, had been sketching since lunch (brrrrrr.....).

We scuttled off to our cosy corner of the cafe again for the sharing session. Once again, everyone did lovely sketches and it was fun to see all the different interpretations of the French Horn player. As always, you can see some of the other sketches from the day at SketchCrawl North.

A big thanks to Andrea Joseph for organising the day and for Di for travelling all the way up to Buxton to meet us. Hope the rest of your trip goes well Di (and things warn up a bit!)

Illustrating a Children's Picture Book: One of 'Those' Phonecalls...

I had a call from my editor today. There have been lots of shakes ups at their end just lately, which always makes it a worrying time for authors... 

We did the chit-chat and talked about how the roughs were going, but I could tell she was a bit anxious about telling me something. Authors out there will know the thoughts that whirl through your mind in these circumstances - is the book going to be held back a year? Has there been a major rethink that means starting afresh? Has the new management decided to dump the project altogether..?!

The first thing I had already anticipated: there will be no hardback edition - we're going straight to paperback. It seems this is becoming increasingly standard in these difficult times: all my recent Egmont titles, like A Lark in the Ark and Baby Goes Baaaaa! have been the same, so it's not a major issue.

The second thing could have been more tricky: Gullane are standardising their formats and doing away with all the different shapes and sizes for their picture books. Again, I'm not surprised, it makes good financial sense. But the bottom line for me is that, with my drawings only 3 spreads from completion, my page format has changed!

Not ideal. I felt for my editor: it's not her fault, but its's her rubbish job to have to phone round all her illustrators-in-progress. However, I spent the rest of the day re-jigging things in Photoshop to fit the new shape and guess what? It turns out it's much better! Yay!! It's about 10% bigger and just slightly squarer, which has opened up a little more room around the central gutter - always handy. Phew!

I tinkered with each spread as I reworked it to fit too, like the ballet spread above. I know it's subtle (yes, at first glance they look identical) but the extra width, plus little changes to characters' positions and relative scales, make the 2nd version stronger I think. You can see the original character sketches as the top - I haven't changed them much, although Sparky's mood is different as the text has changed since then.
So anyway, in the end today was not too bad at all and I remain very positive. I think my editor was as relieved as me!

Linton Festival (and Churchyard!)

John and I just got back last night from my weekend of festival work. To make a change from the train, he chauffeured me around, which was rather nice. I spent Saturday morning doing an illustration workshop for the Derbyshire Festival, then after lunch we hot-footed (hot-wheeled?) it down south, to the very pretty village of Linton. 

It was a gorgeous day, really hot and sunny (a little frustrating seen through the windscreen!), but we did manage to grab a couple of hours for a potter round in the sun at the end of the day. The colours and shadows in the low, golden sunlight were amazing. I sat on a tomb in the churchyard and tried to capture it, whilst my head was bitten to death by midges from the nearby river!

On Sunday, while I spent the day doing my events, John went off walking in another day of glorious sunshine. The countryside round there is very pretty, especially at the moment with the rape and hawthorn in full bloom, so I was rather jealous, as of course I was indoors again the whole time!

It was worth it though, as my events were lovely: everyone was so friendly and appreciative. Since it was a weekend, the Linton Children's Festival were using the local secondary school. I was in the art room, so we were surrounded by all sorts of interesting objects, sculptures and drawings. 

I had a storytelling in the morning, where I read Bears on the Stairs and Stinky! then a couple of children from the school did fantastic job helping me to completely re-organise the room for the afternoon's workshop, humping great wooden tables around and carrying in umpteen stools. 

I had originally suggested about 30 tickets for the workshop, but we stretched it to 40. The thing was, when it came to it, more and more people just turned up. I didn't like to turn them away and besides, it felt so lovely to be in such demand! So I let them all in until the room was bursting. By the end there were even people listening from the corridor - how brilliant is that!?

John and I booked another night's B&B, so we wouldn't have to rush back, which meant I got another hour in the churchyard's sun that evening.

We were going to spend Monday in Cambridge but it poured with rain (typical!) and, since all the museums and galleries were shut, we gave it up and just came home via Ely Cathedral (which is pretty amazing).

Illustrating a Picture Book: Dogs Don't Dance!

This weekend I am rushing around doing two different festivals: Sheffield today and Cambridge tomorrow! Yesterday though, I was sitting quietly at my desk all day, listening to music while I worked on the roughs for the new book. 

Perched on my gas-lift chair, I work surrounded by bits of paper: the enormous sketch sheets I did for my initial pitch, curled up at my desk corner; my art director's layouts, printed at A4 and paper-clipped to relevant sketches; the roughs I've finished, spread around for character reference; then there is the text, printed out at actual size, so I know how much space it takes up. Phew - good job I have a BIG desk!

The images dealing with Sparky's misadventures are the ones I am most excited to illustrate. Since it is very important for me to get a grip on a new book as quickly as possible and to build up confidence early on, I have mainly concentrated on these scenarios at the outset.

Once the school drawings were done, I thought I'd try ballet class (another funny outfit for poor Sparky to squeeze into!). He is pretty disastrous at ballet as you can see above. 

I originally envisaged this next illustration as showing Sparky and Lucy on their way to the ballet class with Mum, but we have re-jiggled the text a bit since my initial sketches below and now this scene is of the coming out of ballet class instead. You can see how my characterisation of Mum has evolved. She was firstly too teacherish, then too smart and stylish:

Sparky's expression has changed completely too. Originally I liked the idea of him being embarrassed to be seen out in his ballet gear, especially in front of the other dogs. But now he has to be smiling because he is looking forward to eating Lucy's dinner - another fun one to draw...

Illustrating a Picture Book: First Day at School

I've been working away on the drawings for my new book, although it's been a slightly fragmented week, what with the Bank Holiday and then a few other commitments. Still, things feel like they are going well and I am in a positive frame of mind, which is great.

Last week I drew the spread that introduces the idea of Sparky at school. He has just arrived and is having a great time. When I looked at it again this morning, I found it needed quite a bit of tinkering, but I'm now happy with it for now (although there is so much in it, I still keep seeing little things and thinking 'Mmm, I should just change that...'): 

I want the same selection of children to reappear in the various school illustrations, to make it feel like Lucy's form group, so I've been careful to re-use some of the children from the reading, music and lunch illustrations I did earlier.

In my original little sketch of this scene, the teacher looked way too mean. I know from all my visits to primary schools that the teachers are all lovely! So I redesigned her entirely, to try and make her look a little flustered and a bit cross, but still cuddly.

If you look closely at the sketch, you can see I was also playing with the idea of having multiple Sparkys within the same image, to get across the idea of him jumping round the room, crazy-quick. Although it's a fun idea, I decided against in the end, as this is already a pretty busy spread. I'll see what my art director at Gullane thinks when I'm all done. 

Illustrating a Children's Picture Book: Dog in Class!

Yesterday was great - I had an entire, more or less uninterrupted day of working on the new roughs! It's really helped me to get properly warmed up with the characters and things are starting to take shape. 

Remember on Tuesday I was thinking about what Sparky might get up to in his lessons? Well, that afternoon I had a go at drawing the 'Quiet Reading' class above and I'm really pleased with how it's looking. I drew the Music lesson properly too: 

I originally sketched him with his head in a trumpet, but when I looked up the picture reference, the trumpet end wasn't really big enough, so I've gone for a French Horn instead, which is somehow funnier anyway. 

Yesterday I mostly worked on re-drawing the lunchtime scene (which will sit on the opposite page to the two illustrations above), working up proper characters from my original sketch and making the ideas from that first visualisation fit the shape of the space. 

When I was done, I had an empty corner in the bottom left, so I thought it was a great opportunity to re-introduce the poor teacher (who we meet when Sparky first arrives at school). Things are a bit fraught from the start, but by now she's at her wit's end!

That first illustration, introducing the idea of Sparky at school, will be a double spread and it's what I am working on today.

Illustrating a Picture Book: Getting Started on the Roughs

This week I've started to look at the new book roughs. I'm still doing fairly rough sketches so far, trying to get a feel for how images might work in their allotted spaces. It takes a while to get your brain (and your drawing hand) back into gear, but by the end of the week I should be really up to speed. 

My story is about a little girl, Lucy, and her dog, Sparky. When her alarm goes off, Lucy thinks it's not fair that she has to get up and go to school, while Sparky stays home. Sparky would much rather go to school, as he thinks staying in is boring, so they take the only reasonable course of action... 

...they swap places for the day! Sparky (who I decided should be a slightly fat, mongrel with an over-eager attitude to life), squeezes into Lucy's uniform, while she makes herself a doggy disguise. I had so much fun illustrating Sparky in Lucy's uniform. 

Of course, things don't work out quite as well as they imagine. Lucy starts to find napping at home a bit boring and Sparky creates chaos wherever he goes (although I thought it much funnier if he doesn't realise and just thinks everything is great fun). 

The page above, with the ovals, is Gullane's layout suggestion for part of Lucy's day at home. The shapes don't mean circular illustrations, they just indicate that they'd like one half page image at the top and 3 smaller ones below. 

In my original draft, we just saw Sparky in his regular class, but my editor suggested we could have even more fun with school and has asked me to show a couple of other lessons too. Music presents various comic possibilities I've been exploring:

As you can see above right, Gullane's layouts are suggesting two half-page vignette illustrations: one for the music class and one for maths. I can't say maths is inspiring me, so I'm trying alternatives. Art seems a bit obvious, but 'quiet reading' is looking good.
The opposite side of the same page shows lunchtime. I always knew that would be fun to do. This is from my very first sketch sheet: 

The book doesn't have a proper title yet. It started life as It's Not Fair, which was deemed too negative (fair point), so has had the working title of Dogswap for some time. But that sounds like two people swapping over dogs, so we are still thinking. I've suggested I Want to be a Dog, It's a Dog's Life, The Very Furry little Girl and Dog Day. At the moment my editor is erring towards something simple like Dog Day, but nothing is decided yet.