Handling Waves, Sketches at Narrabeen Beach

Drawing/painting is capturing the most impressed scene/moment or the essense of a scene and developing it into work, I feel. In watercolour, handling water is not so difficult, once an appropriate value and colours are defined and set. My high light/white of waves is created by a "crayon" and a "left over". It's my most comfortable way and in a context of plain air. It's all up to an artist what sort of methods to capture the heart of them. All the sketches of waves at Narrabeen beach were sold out on the first day of my solo exhibition "Over the Moon with Watercolour" last year.  

An ocean changes colours from time to time that amuses me. Waves never stop. Regarding colours, each person's colour use and use of water amount is different. It's our option how we capture water with colours. Probably, exploring colours is a part of finding who we are in the core of a scene. It deeply associates with an artist's identity. 

Viewers, I feel, look for who we are or an artist's uniquness in work. People with disabilities have taught me the importance of being bald and free in my watercolour painting workshops. Technically, their work might not be so sophisticated. BUT their works are gorgeous, distinct and unique, becuase their paintings are out of social convensions. A world is under their command. It's strong and fearless! If work demonstrates an artist's individuality, it touches our heart and it moves us. I want to be bald and free in watercolour painting. I hope my work to tell, "This is Sadami's waves."  

While I'm working on a picture book character design, I enjoy a long distant swimming at Narrabeen beach for a break. An ocean is always "sweet" and caring. It makes anyone smiling. A swimming school staff whom I met last year remembers me well! They encourage me to join it. They are very social. Children and adults swim on their pace and compete in a healthy way. I enjoyed a sausage sandwich with them. Swimming is a rehab of my fractures. The left shoulder has improved so much, which has surprised a physio. We've started a rehab of a left wrist. Painful though, it's fun to amaze my physiotherapist with the good rehab result. 


Back to the subject. Water is not so hard as long as value and colour are matching to depict it. Waves are moving and changing, which attracts us. I love to paint waves. It's not easy to develop originality in work, but it's fun to see what Sadami is on paper! It's a process of growing as a human being. 
Regarding picture book character design, it is a great fun and a time consuming process. I'm developing lots of black and white and colours of each character in the picture book story. One day, I hope I will write about it and post it. 
Friends, Happy Painting!! Have a productive week! 

Handling Waves, Sketches at Narrabeen Beach

Storyboard of Picture Book Illustration

I'm working on storyboards for two different stories. In this post, I'll chat over a sb and its structure. What is a storyboard? It displays a design, pictures and the visual information flow of a story. As well as visual information, a storyboard shows available resources of a project such as pages. Regarding design, it often shows a position of a text in a picture book. An illustrator plans out ideas on papers and shows them to third parties in a storyboard. A sb is very important to examine if illustration works or not. An editor and an illustrator discuss about a sb lot. An illustrator works hard to create a good sb. 

If a good storyboard is done, I feel a half way through in a picture book illustration process. One storyboard is nearly done. I've already recreated the sb for several times. Now, an editor gives me, "Good!" to all images. (Oh, hurray!!) The editor and I are having a chat over an imprint and a title page. 
What is an imprint page? Good question. An imprint page/copyright page shows a bibliographical information about a book : ISBN, a publisher, a published year, an author, an illustrator etc. Let's chat over a structure of a sb. 

Moon endpapers

This is a common storyboard structure. A picture book has 32 pages (some picture books are less than 32 pages). In 32 pages, an imprint page, a title page and a half title page (such as dedication) could take 3 pages. Sometimes a story starts on page 3 and others start on page 4 or 5 and ends on page 31 or 32. An imprint is not always at the beginning in contemporary picture books. 

Storyboard Template 

Contemporary picture books have varied and unique presentations of an imprint and a title page. For example, my "Moon" used endpapers for a story and an imprint page. See above. (*Endpapers paste the content of a book to its book covers). First, we decided how many pages to be used in the Moon. "Maximum pages" was chosen. It meant 32 pages plus endpapers. Publisher Helen gave me ok! In the Moon, endpapers have a dual meaning for readers. It shows the introduction of a story and the ending or the "post script" of the story. Max's father is either going away or coming home. It's fun to design where/how an imprint and a title page would be allocated in 32 pages. I love to look at other illustrators' storyboards and study about them.  

                      This is my first image of imprint pages in a sb and rough (black and white). 

I developed this colour rough. Then, I worked on A2. 

Back to the sb currently I'm working on. Now, I'm doing character design and "rough." One big name taught me regarding a sb and rough, "That's the time I have freedom most. I can change images and enjoy creating picture books." Yes, that's true. I will develop good black and white and create a beautiful colour rough. That's the way we struggle and have joy in it.

Page division and making a solid story board is a first big task in the process of making a picture book. If you're interested in the process of illustration a picture book, I'd update my work from time to time. I'm a very busy bee now. 
Friends, Happy Painting!   

Storyboard of Picture Book Illustration