In putting together our latest book, it was fascinating for me to learn of all the steps involved in creating just one book illustration. Talk about a lot of work! I had no idea what kind of labor and time went into this type of artwork. I now look at my daughter's picture books with renewed appreciation!
I invited Neesha Hudson, the illustrator of Annie and the Swiss Cheese Scarf,
to share her illustration process with us.
I hope you enjoy this journey of seeing one page from conception to completion.
"I start with a very rough, quick sketch to get the general feeling and composition."
"Then refine that sketch into a line drawing.
This is exactly how the finished illustration will look."
"I then transfer the drawing onto illustration board by laying carbon paper underneath my
line drawing and tracing over it."
"I then ink the line drawing with FW waterproof ink. Once the ink is dry, I apply thin washes of watercolor. The first layer is yellow applied to the whole image to get a base. While the paint is still wet, I dab some red in select areas, like noses and cheeks."
"Sometimes I have a little helper." :)
"Finished watercolor."
"I then scan the watercolor and paint it digitally. As you can see, lots of beverages are involved in the process!"
"Finally, the finished illustration!"
"And here it is with text."
From "this" to "this" in approximately 10 hours time. Amazing! Thank you Neesha!
So cool to see the whole process. I never knew!!! Love it. And beautiful illustration as always. :)
ReplyDeleteThat is amazing! What a neat look into the world of illustration.
ReplyDeleteso fascinating! really amazing to see how this process works.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely fascinating. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing. Very interesting and so amazing!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait for the book.
Karen
Amazing. People who can draw are awesome, and the finished project here looks beautiful!
ReplyDeleteAmazing that she can do part of this on the computer. What an eye opener!
ReplyDeleteI love the process pictures!
ReplyDeleteWow, this is amazing! Thanks so much for sharing the process, I had no idea what the steps were and this is really quite facinating. I love seeing her little one in the photos as well!
ReplyDeleteAmazing and stunning. :)
ReplyDeleteWow, I had no idea what all went into illustrating! That's pretty amazing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insight into the process.
ReplyDeleteLove the final layout.
hugs
That is brilliant! you are brilliant!!
ReplyDeletehttp://theworkette.blogspot.com/
I am so amazed at your talent, Neesha. In my wildest dreams, I couldn't imagine being able to do such a thing. Thanks for sharing how the process unfolds with us - I enjoyed it very much!
ReplyDelete-Lori
Cool! Thanks for sharing!!!
ReplyDeleteWow, what a process.
ReplyDelete