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Monday, November 1, 2010

Children Picture Book Illustration Process

Finally, this computer needs be "hospitalized" at a computer shop. Yet I have an urgent need... sigh...hopefully, I can leave it at the shop this week. (* If my respond is slow, please keep patience.)
OK, this week topic is a picture book illustration. In order to illustrate a text, interpretation skills of a manuscript is vital. Visualizing an author and an illustrator's images or bridging between imagination and reality is not an easy task.
A basic process is below.
1) given text, image creation
2) character & situation settings
3) story board and dummy book--called, "Rough" in Black and White.
4) colouring -- this stage is called, "Colour."

A picture book illustrator gives a manuscript life. To achieve it, an illustrator maximizes all what she has such as memories, emotions, experiences etc, etc. Above all, in my view, an illustrator needs to fall in love with a given story.

Besides, memories, emotions and experiences, I use my linguistics and sociology background fully. Linguistic text analyses organize a well-considered page structure. Sociological research collects data and evidence to create
accurate settings that convince readers a theme well. Particularly, text analysis skills make a good information flow throughout a story.
Illustrators illustrate everything--even something invisible such as emotions and illusions. My admiring illustrators and fine artists all have wonderful drawing skills. For me, a drawing skill is alpha and omega, which responds to any media. So, life drawings and daily sketches are my great assets and devices to produce images.
Sometimes, people seek me advice to be an illustrator. Technically, "Drawing skills are fundamental and critical," is my answer. And regarding other areas mentioned above are all up to an individual efforts.
So, I'm a life long learner.
Friends, happy painting and drawing!

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36 comments:

  1. Sadami
    You have a gift! I come to your blog and everytime I go WOW!

    ありがとう
    エベリン

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  2. Dear エベリン,
    ありがとう!(arigatou=thank you in Japanese!) You, too have a gift in photography and painting! Wow!
    Love and smile, Sadami

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  3. Great post, Sadami..........I too, am a life long learner. Love your blog. Thanks so much for the wonderful information.

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  4. Dear Carol,
    Thank you for a kind encouragement. I'll keep up.
    Kind regards, Sadami

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  5. Sadami, I so agree about drawing skills. That's why I go to the class and so happy when see my progress.
    I love your blog and your life attitude.

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  6. Dear Irina,
    Thank you. Let us keep up, but enjoy them all!
    Kind regards, Sadami

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  7. No doubt in these pictures you get to portray the invisible: the emotions and feelings. Very good. Greetings.

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  8. Dear Leovi,
    Thank you. Your photos, too, portray the invisible, which attracts so many people.
    Kind regards, Sadami

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  9. By now you know how talented you are. I'd like to know how long on average the illustration process takes? Your finished color plates are painstakingly wonderful--as are your "roughs." They don't look too rough to me. And you've quite a command of perspective. I have the feeling, you're very fast with your sketches and have been doing this for a very long time?

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  10. Thank you, Sadami, for your beautiful drawings and your explanations. You're great. Kind regards.

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  11. Hi Sadami. Thanks for your most recent comment on my blog. I hope you'll take a look at how I clarified my own position.

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  12. Dear Good Boy Joe,
    Thank you for a kind message. I had a look of your comment. I did/do not mean to provoke your arguments. The suggestion had mentioned on copyrights. That's all. In addition, Australian copyrights law should be different from the States at the same time.
    Kind regards, Sadami

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  13. Dear Albert,
    Thank you for a kind comment. Your work is, too, beautiful and attractive.
    Kind regards, Sadami

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  14. Dear Lind,
    Thank you! Regarding time frame, from several months to 1 (or maximum 2 yrs), which depends on picture books' commercial categories and contracts.
    As for, "Roughs," like you say, not rough at all. The uploaded one is from a "bound book," just before coloring. Editor, Publisher and Illustrator exchange feedback over the bound book well. Half way through.

    Yes, I'm quite a command of perspective to keep readers' attention throughout a story. Illustrator is just like a film director. I visited a friend's backyard and took so many photos around a washing-line pole--a third character,I thought--from different angles.
    Then, worked on roughs for a long time in a studio.
    Illustrating picture books is quite a demanding and hard work, but I love it.
    Cheers, Sadami

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  15. Hi Sadami,

    The Little Matches Girl painting is so good!

    When I was a kid I've read this story written by Hans Christian Andersen and it was so emotional for me. As a girl in my mind I was basically on that street, I was a girl, I was in the crowd..

    Super illustrations Sadami.

    I love the composition of the street going to nowhere and a feeling of crispy cold winter weather when looking at this painting.

    Thank you,
    Irina

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  16. Dear Irina,
    Thank you so much! Me, too, and shed tears...
    Kind regards, Sadami

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  17. What a fascinating subject Sadami. You always make everything so interesting. That little girl with the light and dark is just plain masterful!!!
    Hope your computer is getting back to normal.

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  18. Dear Teri,
    Thank you!! This computer needs tens or twenty times pushing buttons for a start up. Gulp. I really, really need this computer at the moment. Hopefully, I can leave it at the shop next Monday.
    Kind regards, Sadami

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  19. Hola Sadami, este es otro post muy interesante, no solo por como enseña como dibuja y pinta pero también por como explica su manera de conocer a sus modelos, sus dotes de psicóloga, creo que son importante para conseguir representar las expresiones y personalidad de los niños, o adultos, y combinado con su gran dominio del dibujo consigue estas maravillas, es siempre un placer ver su blog.
    saludos.

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  20. Dear Francis,
    Thank you for kind encouragements. I always learn many things from your blog, too. Especially, you're a mastery of landscape. Ah! If you were a neighbour, I wish I could have your class. I'll keep up.
    Estimado Francisco,
    Gracias por estímulos tipo. Siempre aprendo muchas cosas de tu blog, también. Sobre todo, usted es un dominio del paisaje. ¡Ah! Si usted fuera un vecino, me gustaría poder tener su clase. Voy a mantener el ritmo.
    Un cordial saludo, Sadami

    >>>>>Francis said...
    Sadami Hi, this is another very interesting post, as not only teaches how to draw and paint but also explains her way to meet her models, her gifts as a psychologist, I think it's important to be able to represent the expressions and personality children or adults, and combined with her great mastery of drawing achieved these wonders, is always a pleasure to see your blog.
    Greetings.

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  21. Dear Alina,
    Tha~~~nk you!
    Cheers, Sadami

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  22. Sadami,
    thanks for visiting my blog and for the kind words.

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  23. Dear Ayde,
    Thank you for visiting my blog, too. You have very good and sensitive eyes to catch subjects in different media. Keep up!
    Kind regards,
    Sadami

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  24. First time at your blog even though you cruise around the blogs alot. Great blog! My daughter has written and illustrated a childrens book, but still needs to improve it. Hope she gets it published someday.

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  25. Dear Susan,
    Thank you for visiting and a kind comment. Your uploaded works are very attractive. Honest, a picture book publishing opportunity is very competitive. I sincerely hope your daughter can make her dream come true. Keep up!
    Best wishes, Sadami

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  26. Dear Sadami, I like your reasoning, there are a lot of discipline in his work that I admire, and his drawings are an excellent capital to get their good benefits.
    Kind regards.

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  27. Dear Vincente,
    Thank you~~~!! I,too, love your work and admire your painting skills.
    Kind regards, Sadami

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  28. Dear Skizo,
    Thank you for a kind encouragement. Please keep up.
    Kind regards, Sadami

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  29. Sadami I always enjoy seeing dummies from illustrators, thanks for sharing them and for demonstrating with those 3 images of the same child that an artist can paint much more that what an eye can see, they sing with feelings and emotions.
    And you are so right about drawing skills, it's so important!
    Hope your computer is fixed asap, cheers!

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  30. Dear Teresa,
    Thank you! Me, too, love your blog, a treasure island for artists, that also makes me so happy. Yeah, dummy books are so interesting for us, illustrators(I know an illustrator makes several dummies at once and loves each of them!)
    ..and me,too,hope my computer will get well soon.
    Cheers, Sadami

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  31. Hi Sadami,
    The top two images are superb. They have a quality found in the illustrators of the past era...when it seems there was more magic in the air!

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  32. Dear Alvin,
    Thank you so much!! I'll keep up.
    Cheers, Sadami

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  33. True art is what you show us. I love the girl on the power play with water, and especially the flamenco dancer. I really like the flamenco and when I'm happy with the friends to sing a little flamenco. Thank you very much for delight blunt beautiful drawings.

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  34. Dear Leovi,
    Thank you for the encouragement! You, too, show us truly amazing art. Your abstract photos explore any direction and challenge emotions and subjects. Please keep up!
    Cheers, Sadami

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