Illustration: My Pastel Artwork, Step by Step

I've been concentrating on my pastel artwork, now I have less distractions from events. I've been working a bit later into the evenings, to really see progress, starting in the studio about 9am and working straight through until 7 - 8pm. 

The last few days have been taken up with working on the artwork for another of the more complex spreads from The Jungle Grumble. 

There are quite a few where all the animals in the story appear at the same time: a bit of a nightmare in pastels to be honest, because chalk doesn't lend itself to such fussy images. However, the benefit is that pastels are great for subtly reworking colours and textures, so are at least more forgiving than some other media, on complex artwork where it's hard to make hard and fast decisions at the outset.

This one is an illustration towards the end of the book, where the animals have discovered the error of their ways and are rushing into the changing room to swap back. 

As usual, the first job was tracing up the line drawing onto my pink paper, then spraying the pencil line, to permanently fix it. I then loaded my drawing desk up with similar pieces I've already completed, to act as colour and continuity reference, as well as the print-out of the line-drawing, to help guide me once the lines get covered with pastel.

I then laid in the background. I thought, since the story was progressing into the evening, I could change the colour palette a little, which would create more interest (and be more fun for me):

I decided I would fix the first layer then work over the top, but I wanted to get all the paper covered first, as I didn't want to fix the background more than once if I could help it, because of colour changes. So I began filling in the animals:

It was at this point that I realised my cool palette was looking a bit like a moonlit scene. 

Though pretty, this would have been too sudden a time-jump from previous spreads, plus I quite fancied a sunset scene for the final shot of the waterhole. So I brightened up the sky a bit and added back some of the warmer colours into the ground, trying to make it look more like the night was just beginning to draw in:

Then I sprayed, which darkened everything up. So I went back over it all, picking out the highlights again and re-blackening the blacks. It's annoying, as fixative effects different colours differently, so it's not even as if you can easily compensate for the changes in Photoshop afterwards. 

Now the white was fixed, this was also the time to add all the dots into the eyes and define some of the patterns like croc's lumpy back and zebra's stripes.

This is it more or less finished. It has taken 3 days, which is far better than the last really complex spread. That took 5 days, but at that point I was still designing all the characters from scratch, at least the colour aspect of them anyway.

There are just a few bits of minor tinkering left to do before it leaves the drawing board, but nothing much. Now, which one to choose next..?

Illustrating a Book: Progress Report on my Artwork. ..

Since I last looked in, I've managed to get a fair bit more work done on Jungle Grumble, especially given that I lost much of Friday packing and then travelling up to Northumberland for the NCBF Gala Day (more of that next time).

Anyway, I was determined to make some tangible progress, so I have really cracked on. On Thursday I finished off the waterhole spread I showed you in progress last time (sorry the photo is a bit blurry):

Then, on Friday morning, I then dug out the lion spread I finished ages ago to tack to my board , as you can see at the top, for use as colour reference while I worked on a vignette illustration of Lion.  It precedes the waterhole page above (where Lion is telling the animal that he has an idea to help them). 

In this image, having tried patiently explaining to the animals that they look fine as they are, Lion is roaring at them to be quiet and STOP their moaning:

Once the artwork is scanned, I will get rid of the pink paper background and will drop in a flat colour digitally, possibly a simple white ground: I still need to have a think about that and chat to my Art Director. I finished him off yesterday and so today I am starting on a new double-spread. 

I have no more school visits or festivals booked in between now and my deadline, so it will be good to really concentrate on my book. Right - I'd better get on with it!

Juggling Jobs

Just lately, I have definitely been trying to do too many things at the same time! Amongst other things, I am still rushing around doing educational events while I could do with getting on with my book. 

This week I spent a day at Lostock Hall Primary School, in Preston, which was absolutely lovely, though a bit of a long haul from Sheffield, especially given a late train on the way, which made me miss my connection, so had me playing catch-up all day. At one point, I managed to lose my train ticket too, in all the rush of being late: 

I can't really grumble though, as mostly my trains are fine: generally on time, and a part of the day which I actually enjoy (probably shouldn't have said that).

Anyway, I was getting a bit stressy about the lack of progress on The Jungle Grumble, as the same two bits of artwork have been on my desk for what seems like ages, so I did a tot up of my available working days up to the deadline of Feb 1st, to find out how tight things are. 

I feel much better for doing it, as I found out I am still on schedule, with just enough time to do everything. Phew. Just mustn't get a cold!!

Anyway, I have pretty much finished the two spreads I was working on (above and below) and now, at last, also got going on another: a single page illustration, still at the waterhole:

I have another studio day today then, tomorrow afternoon, I am travelling up to Northumberland for the Northern Children's Book Festival Gala Day, where I will be strutting my stuff with the fantastic Julia Jarman again. We LOVE Gala Day and we LOVE the NCBF librarians, so I am really looking forward to it. Back to work on Jungle Grumble properly next week - head down every day until Christmas - promise!

Illustrator in Residence: Reportage Sketching

Home at last! 

  

On Wednesday night, I got back from 3 days working in Norfolk (but more of that next time). Right now, I want to tell you about my two-day, drawing marathon at the ASCEL conference in Derby.

I got the job as Illustrator-in-Residence, because I was spotted sketching at a Youth Library Groups conference, a couple of years back. I was giving a seminar in the afternoon, but during the morning's lectures, I was having fun sketching the various speakers. As it happened, Annie Everell was sitting directly behind me and began watching over my shoulder. 

"I was amazed," said Annie, when I met her again last week. "I have never forgotten it."

Amongst many other things, Annie runs an excellent agency called Authors Aloud UK, for placing authors and illustrators into schools - I am on their books. She also organises the ASCEL conference, for senior children's and education librarians. 

So she hired me to document the 2-day event last weekend, to record all the speakers, convey the atmosphere of the conference and communicate the key issues, in the same way she remembered. This fitted very neatly with the theme of the conference, which was Communication. 

Of course, several delegates spotted me amongst them, drawing away furiously in my sketchbook, but my mission was kept a secret. As far as anyone knew, I was just there to speak towards the end of the conference, as part of a panel of children's authors, with Kate Maryon and Sophia Bennett. 

I had prepared a short PowerPoint for that part of the presentation. It was an easy theme to talk around, since communication is absolutely central to pretty much every aspect of my picture book work. It all went well (people laughed and nobody threw anything, which is always a good sign I think). Then, when all three of us had finished, Annie revealed my other, secret mission!

At this point, I was supposed to talk everyone through my sketched-commentary, projecting my various drawings with the use of a visualiser. Unfortunately, because of the secrecy, it was not until half an hour before my presentation, whilst setting up the visualiser as delegates were out of the way having coffee, that Annie discovered a major problem: the visualiser she had borrowed was incomplete and didn't work! 

Annie did her best, rushing around, frantically trying to get my sketches scanned into the hotel's computer so we could still project them, but the hotel's scans looked like especially crude faxes and were barely legible. 

In the end though it was fine. I chatted merrily on about Urban Sketching and why drawing is good for your soul, while Kate and Sophia kindly volunteered to carry my books out to the delegate's tables for them to flick through themselves. 

It was lucky I had worked in 3 separate sketchbooks, as well as a few loose sheets of the hotel's paper (when Annie was trying to do the scanning), so there was plenty to pass round. Everyone seemed excited about the idea and nobody got obviously upset at my depiction of them (phew).

Then Annie made another announcement: Miranda McKearney, who has been spearheading the excellent (and incredibly successful) Summer Reading Challenge, was retiring. As an extra thank-you gift for everything she has done for children's reading, Authors Aloud would be presenting her with a framed print of my sketch below: 

I'm so pleased I managed to get a reasonable drawing - I hope I have done her justice! 

Recording the conference was a really lovely job (thanks so much Annie), not least because librarians are such a great bunch of people to spend time around. It was also a REALLY interesting event, with some fabulous and very inspirational speakers. Andy Cope had us rolling in the aisles!

Unfortunately I missed the final keynote by David Fickling, which I'm sure would have been equally brilliant, as he too is a very inspiring man (I've heard him speak before), but I had to get a train back to Sheffield to repack for my trip to Norwich next day. 

But that's another story... 

Lynne Chapman: Illustrator in Residence!

The early part of this week was spent carrying on with The Jungle Grumble (hope you like how those two spreads are looking now - still not quite finished, as you can see) but the end of the week has been a little unusual...

On Saturday night I got back from a really interesting, 2-day conference in Derby, for the Association of Senior and Children's Educational Librarians (no wonder it's ASCEL for short!). The theme was 'Communication', and I was invited to speak about how I communication through my illustrations. Since communication it central to almost every part of the process, it wasn't hard to do.

But the main reason I was there was because I had been employed as the 'illustrator in residence' for the conference. Great job eh? I had to attend the 2 days and record it in my sketchbook, the way I have done many times before when I've been a delegate, but I've never before been paid to make it official.

Unfortunately, apart from the preview below, I don't have time to show you my sketches yet, since I had to repack my suitcase and get back on another train the very next day, to travel to Norfolk (the sketches below are train ones, photographed in transit).

That's because this morning I am giving a short presentation at the Reading For Pleasure Conference in Norwich, about how author/illustrator visits are a great way to inspire children to learn. I am a little nervous to be honest, as I have to share the stage with the very witty Steve Cole. Later today, I will also be doing a couple of 1hr seminar sessions with primary teachers, sharing some of the ideas I use during my visits. 

I had to leave home again on Sunday lunchtime because Norfolk is such a very long way away. To get better value from all those hours of travelling time, I am also doing a couple of days in local schools, either side of the conference, before starting the long trek back tomorrow afternoon. Should be home ready to collapse in front of the TV by about 9pm.

I'll tell you all about my adventures soon.

I Like Presents!

Hi there: me and my sketchbook again. I thought you might like to see a few train sketches, from last week. 

I was really pleased that I managed 10 sketches in one return journey. To keep things interesting, I kept swapping between my Inktense watercolour pencils and my beloved Sailor fountain pen. 

I was out for the day, visiting the itsy-bitsy children in the Nursery and Reception classes at Oakworth Primary School in Keighley, near Leeds: lovely school, smashing teachers. 

Actually, I don't usually work with Nursery - they are just that bit too much like hard work, but the school was insistent that it was that age group only they wanted me to see. I groaned inwardly, but conceded. 

However, in the end it worked out really well. They were ever so grown up (the children more than the teachers, to be honest) and listened really well. 

At the end of the day, as a special thank you, the teachers actually gave me a bottle of wine to bring home. How sweet it that? (take note other schools: I like presents!).

Unfortunately it was another hellish journey home, because of a failed train blocking the track. 

That's one reason why I got quite a few drawings done - we left school about 4pm, but I didn't get home until 7pm (groan).

I was finally staggering from the train as we got into sheffield, when a man leaned across and asked if I had any tips to help with sketching. Bit of a big queations when you have about half a minute, so I tols him about SketchCrawl North. Maybe he might come along one day.

Sketching on Location: Some Hot Tips

I am away from home again, abandoning John for a whole week from first thing tomorrow morning. I am presenting at a couple of conferences and also have some school visits way over in Norfolk. I will tell you more about all that when I get back but, in the meantime, here is something to keep you going, especially if you are into sketching...

A student emailed me a little while ago, for advice: she was doing a project, drawing out on location. She made me stop and think about what I know and what I can usefully pass on. It's tricky, because things become second nature over the years and it's also hard to shrink all my different thoughts down into something manageable. 

Despite that, here are some pointers I gave her, which I'm hoping might also give a few of you people out there the confidence to escape your comfort-zone and venture into the big world...

1) Try to travel light, rather than taking every bit of art gear you have. Conversely, a pencil is a bit limiting on its own: take the means to apply colour, even if it's just a couple of coloured pencils to help your drawing jump off the page:

2) Don't attempt photo-realism: it's impossible in the time you have, so be creative. You don't have to draw everything you see: you can focus in on details; you're also allowed to leave things out; or you can do a very minimal background to throw forwards what you are really interested in:

3) If your subject moves half way though, you can sometimes create a fun page by starting again and again. Different coloured lines can make the resulting confusion easier to see:

4) Be comfortable: take something to sit on, as there's seldom a chair when you need one. But you don't generally need to lug a stool - a little hiker's pad will fit into your bag, so you can sit on the ground anywhere.

5) Consider your sketchbook spread to be a piece of reportage, rather than just creating a drawing: play with different ways of filling the space: 

6) You can incorporate little notes in your sketch, or hand-drawn text, to record what you hear as well as what you see, or to note small activities which happen in the location while you are there. I sometimes incorporate snatches of conversation:

And finally...

7) It's easy to get anxious if people come up to you, but just chat to them. Consider them part of the overall 'I was there' experience (and try to remember - most onlookers are unlikely to be able to draw as well as you, no matter how disappointed you might be with your efforts).

Other stuff that might help:

I have written a post full of hot tips on drawing people in public, if that's something you fancy giving a try.

This post also gives you different techniques for drawing people: how to do speed-sketches for capturing poses. 

The same post also suggests an unusual approach to drawing buildings.

Sketches That Sing talks about different ways of looking, and  offers ideas to help you experiment.

Quick-on-the-Draw is a workshop I delivered last year, with techniques to help you to speed up your sketching.










Also, the short film, Lynne Chapman on Sketchbooks, explains how I got back into sketchbook keeping and talks a little about how I work.

You might get some inspiration by flicking through some of the sketches on my website. I scan them, partly because I am proud of them and want to show them off, but it's also because I remember how seeing other people's sketchbooks on the Urban Sketchers site re-lit my fire some years ago, and gave me lots of new ideas. If I can inspire others in turn, that would be great.

Finally, a bit of shameless self-promotion: I do have a PowerPoint lecture about location sketching, aimed at Art and Design students or fellow professionals. Let me know if this might be of interest.