Drawing, tracing, lightboxing, inking, and painting

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Tracing happily away, unaware that tempestuous watercolor gods are about to teach me a lesson in humility.

Today I decided to try my nib pens. I’ve had them for years and I’ve played with them now and then, made a big mess, and then decided they weren’t for me. But I really love pen and ink drawings, and lately I’ve been obsessed with Hergé and Hal Foster, both supreme masters of the inky line.

I created a pencil drawing, traced it with a liner pen, used the lightbox to then trace it onto some Strathmore Visual Journal bristol vellum paper, the painted it with watercolor. All went well except for the watercolor. I’m a brute with a watercolor brush. When I tried to lift some color using a paper towel, the paper started to disintegrate.

So, the lesson again, is be gentle, patient, and treat your paper kindly.

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Keep the washes thin and let them dry completely before glazing another layer. And don’t rub the paper, at least not the Strathmore Visual Journal bristol vellum.

Character sketches

After going through The Simpson Handbook, I realized how completely undecided I am about what my bird family should look like. The pros over at the Simpsons have every detail of their characters codified in a look-book. To do my children’s book right I’ve got to standardize my characters so they’ll look the same on page 28 as they do on page one.

So many decisions to make… Should birds have hands? If so, how many fingers on a hand? Five? Four? Should they have mouths or beaks? The can fly, so should they have wings or arms? If they have wings, should the wings be able function like hands? For example, should Momma bird be able to point a finger towards the chimney and say “Don’t you ever mess around with that chimney!”

Here’s are some drawings I did today —- a character sketch showing the relative sizes and color palettes for the Jay family, Momma Jay, Jimmy Jay, and Sammy Jay. Creating a look-book is right there on my mind map for this project, so today I can say that moved forward another inch.

But… now that I’m looking at Jimmy, I’m thinking he needs to be a little more endearing if he’s going to be the hero of the story.

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Muji and Copic Markers work together

I intend to do pen and wash drawings for my children’s book and I’m waffling between watercolor or markers. I use Muji gel ink pens for my sketches. Muji pens are silky and always deliver a great line…and they’re only about $1.10 each. However, when I apply a wash, there’s noticeable bleeding if I slather on the water when I’m impatient.

With alcohol-based markers such as those made by Copic, the ink lines don’t bleed at all. I have an awesome collection of Copic markers that’s been gathering dust for ages and I have an equally awesome collection of watercolor gear that I haven’t used since the 2017 Inktober.

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Muji 0.38mm gel ink pen and Copic markers

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Muji 0.38mm gel ink pen and watercolor

These two mother Steller’s Jays are the same character but they don’t resemble each other at all. In fact, they don’t resemble a Steller’s Jay in any way. That’s okay because these characters aren’t really like the garden variety Steller’s Jays that dig up my flowerbeds. Still, for my own sake I have to create a “look book” for my story’s characters just so I’ll have a way to remember to draw them the same every time they appear. I’ll post the look book here when I’ve completed it. It’s already on my project mind map, which is another reminder to me to keep focussed and on track.

I joined the The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators

The acronym for the society is SCBWI. I joined because I’m interested in children’s books and the SCBWI has many resources available to members.

I’ve read a lot of children’s books as a kid, young adult, and as a parent. I believe that all books are more fun if they have great illustrations.

My uncle Roy was a great believer is giving books for Christmas. One year it was Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island and the next Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, both illustrated with exciting pen and ink drawings. Damn…I wish I had those books now!