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Evolution of my very first book
Evolution of My Very First Book
I was going through a bunch of my artwork today and ran across some memories. I found the original drawings from The Colorless Forest and thought I'd share some of those pages and the story of how the book evolved. 1976 (ish) - The book is born.
I started this book with a big marker set I received and a flimsy paper sketch pad. I just started drawing a picture that evolved into a series of pages that visually told the story of a forest that was black and white. As each animal in the forest opened their eyes, the color of their eyes changed the color of the landscape. Once the drawings were complete, I wrote the text to go with my drawings. I typed the text out with my trusty typewriter and probably a lot of white-out. I then cut the typed words off of the paper and literally stapled them to the corresponding pages.
Here are some samples of this first work:
1980's - The book is revisited:
Several years later, I decided to revisit this "book" I wrote. I invested in better paper and new markers and began re-doing all the drawings. Not knowing what I was going to do with it or how to really get in it book form, I began drawing away. But, halfway through the book, my makers started running out and I didn't have the money at the time to invest in new makers, so the drawing stopped.
You can see below my struggles with finishing.
2016 The book is revisited part 2
In 2016 I decided I wanted to attempt to write a children's book. I was going to write something to inspire kids and give them hope and send positive messages. I began working on a book about following your dreams and having positive thoughts. As I began working on this book I got stuck on what to do. (I will have more information about this in another blog.) I then remembered that book I wrote way back in the '70s and thought, why don't I just attempt to redo that one. After A LOT of research and A LOT of trial and error, I completed the book The Colorless Forest that is now published on Amazon.
Here are those same pages from above as they appear now:
I am so proud of this book because it was my first. And because it was something I worked so hard at in my late teens/early twenties. I have learned a lot when I completed this book and I have learned a lot more since then. After completing 9 books, my characters and technique for drawing have evolved. And that my friends will the subject of another blog post.
I hope you enjoyed this post!
I am excited to announce the release of my newest book!
Carmine Helps Out!
Available on Amazon Saturday, May 23rd!
Trash is quite harmful
for the environment, you see.
Especially when placed
where it is not meant to be.
This rhyming illustrated children’s book tells a tale of saving our environment. Specifically, trash around the ocean and the harm it can do to our sea friends. Helen the seagull finds herself in a tangle when grumpy Carmine the blue crab comes to her aid. Carmine frees her from plastic tanged around her wing and helps her home. Along the way, they find that plastics and trash around the beach are also trouble for Walter the whale and Lizzy the turtle. Even Carmine gets himself in a bind of his own.
A pink pelican and a couple of children come up with an idea to clean up the beach.
My First Vendor Show
Thanks so much for all the support! Writing and Illustrating
children’s books is a passion of mine. I
love everything about the process. I am sure many of you can understand what it
is like to have a passion. You sink your
heart into your work then put it “out there” to share. It is a little scary, but when you feel
positive and proud of what you have accomplished, the scariness goes away. The
positive feedback I receive goes a long, long way. Thank you!
I’m trying to find ways to get my work out there to share
with more people. It is the hardest part of
the process. The writing and the
illustrating are fun for me. Seems like
every famous person out there today has a children’s book to share with their famous
name propelling the book into the hands of thousands of people. But for me, I just have myself, my ink pens and my
ideas. So, I ventured out this past
weekend to try something different.
I attended my first vendor show. I had no idea what to
expect. It was scary to me to step out
of my comfort zone and place my face and books out there in a vulnerable
situation. Will anyone even stop by my booth? Will they like my books? Then I remembered what I stated above, I am
proud of what I have done and I like my work.
I’m here to share it with whoever would like to take the time to take a
look. I walked into the venue with the attitude,
I’m just trying to get my name out there and I just want to sell one book.
Goals!
The show ended up having very light attendance. Not sure why? There were over 100 vendors
there. But word on the ‘vendor’ street,
was this was not normal. No one was really selling much if anything. Kind of a bummer, but I left with a great attitude
about it. In the end, I met my goals, as
small as they were. I got my name out
there. Spoke with several people about
my work and directed them to Amazon. I managed double my quota of one book and
sold two. I also learned more about the vendor show world. I have some good takeaways
for next time. I look forward to giving
this a try again (at a better-attended show).
I will end this saying, the best advertisement for me is
word of mouth. This is why I really appreciate
all the positive comments and love I get about my books. But mostly, the positive comments and love,
make me smile and feel so happy that one of my books touched someone. That brings
a giant smile to my face. Thank you!
Overviews of my books
videoing myself talking on camera.
But here we go......
I have created a video overview of my currently published books.
In this video, I briefly review the story behind each of these books.
Also, check out the video tab on this page. I have a read-out-loud of 4 of my books!
And as always, after you read my book to your child, grandchild or students, please leave me a review on Amazon! I would greatly appreciate the support.
I hope you enjoy and find a book that you would like to purchase!!
Check it out (and don't laugh!)
Molly's Teddy Bear Adventure - Half way there!
I am making a lot of progress on Molly's Teddy Bear Adventure and am very excited about this next book. I have eight more illustrated pages to complete. (woo hoo!)
Each time I finish a page I wonder, how on earth and I going to capture the story via illustration on the next page! This is where the fun comes. I let it stew in my head for a few days until I come up with an idea. Once I get the idea, I sketch out what I have envisioned. This involves drawing a rough sketch of each individual character and any objects I wish to place on the page. Once the sketches are complete I scan each of my drawings into the computer maneuvering them around on the page. I do this to ensure the pieces will all fit in a way to tell the tale on that particular page. Once I am sure my sketches will work, I then use them as a template to make the individual drawings, which I then again scan and align on the page.
This weekend I spent a lot of time working on two pages at once and feel quite accomplished. I am happy with the final product and would like to share the before and afters of these completed pages.
On these pages, Molly is playing with Billy, who was really quite toothy and his curly-haired sister they called Ruthie. Molly has a special teddy bear, named Pierre who is with her all the time. On this day, Billy did something that was not very keen. He grabbed Teddy from Molly and there him up in the air, A trolley went by and there went Pierre.
Below you can see the before and after for each of the pages. 16 pages down and 16 more to go. Time to start stewing on how I am going to illustrate the next page.
Each time I finish a page I wonder, how on earth and I going to capture the story via illustration on the next page! This is where the fun comes. I let it stew in my head for a few days until I come up with an idea. Once I get the idea, I sketch out what I have envisioned. This involves drawing a rough sketch of each individual character and any objects I wish to place on the page. Once the sketches are complete I scan each of my drawings into the computer maneuvering them around on the page. I do this to ensure the pieces will all fit in a way to tell the tale on that particular page. Once I am sure my sketches will work, I then use them as a template to make the individual drawings, which I then again scan and align on the page.
This weekend I spent a lot of time working on two pages at once and feel quite accomplished. I am happy with the final product and would like to share the before and afters of these completed pages.
On these pages, Molly is playing with Billy, who was really quite toothy and his curly-haired sister they called Ruthie. Molly has a special teddy bear, named Pierre who is with her all the time. On this day, Billy did something that was not very keen. He grabbed Teddy from Molly and there him up in the air, A trolley went by and there went Pierre.
Below you can see the before and after for each of the pages. 16 pages down and 16 more to go. Time to start stewing on how I am going to illustrate the next page.
Molly McGee - The work begins
Molly McGee - The Work Begins!!
I am currently working on my next book. (Yipee!)
This is the story of Molly McGee who lives in the year 1922.
Molly moves into a new home and is not very happy about leaving her old neighborhood and house behind. She makes two new friends and has a little adventure with her teddy bear, Pierre. Of course, in the end, she is happy in her new home on 33 Elm Street.
In this story, I try to point out some differences between life in 1922 and today. I wanted to show how even though there were many things different, kids were still kids. That fact has not changed, children still like to play.
I think this is going to be a fun story and I am excited to be illustrating people again. I had so much fun developing the characters in my last book Trouble For Nils, I wanted another book where I could draw people, this book has several characters for me to have fun with. It will also be a lot of fun with the 1920's styles.
Even though my story is not 100% written (about 95% done) and I do not have a title
Molly McGee has come to life along with her new home. What do you think?
I am currently working on my next book. (Yipee!)
This is the story of Molly McGee who lives in the year 1922.
Molly moves into a new home and is not very happy about leaving her old neighborhood and house behind. She makes two new friends and has a little adventure with her teddy bear, Pierre. Of course, in the end, she is happy in her new home on 33 Elm Street.
In this story, I try to point out some differences between life in 1922 and today. I wanted to show how even though there were many things different, kids were still kids. That fact has not changed, children still like to play.
I think this is going to be a fun story and I am excited to be illustrating people again. I had so much fun developing the characters in my last book Trouble For Nils, I wanted another book where I could draw people, this book has several characters for me to have fun with. It will also be a lot of fun with the 1920's styles.
Even though my story is not 100% written (about 95% done) and I do not have a title
Molly McGee has come to life along with her new home. What do you think?
Jerome Needs a Home Available Now!
Jerome Needs a Home
Is now available for purchase.
For more information Click Here!
Meet the animals from
The Brightmeadow Zoo
who help Jerome find a Home!
Having fun with Jerome Needs a Home
I have not posted in a while, seems I have been very caught up in my latest creation, "Jerome Needs a Home". I have been having so much fun with this book!
The main characters in the book are Jerome the "Alien" and Gretel a zookeeper at the Brightmeadow Zoo. Jerome arrives at the zoo one day in a wooden crate labeled BEWARE. It ends up Jerome is quite friendly and asks Gretel to find him a home. They venture through the zoo trying to find Jerome just the right home.
What makes the process of creating this book so much fun for me is the different characters I have been able to draw. First off, we have Jerome, the Alien. Jerome could be anything I wanted him to be. Only criteria here was to make sure he had a long neck and big ears, to fit into the story line.
Next, we have Gretel, which was fun drawing a human being. Had fun drawing her with her cute pigtails and bows. And lastly, the different animals. The more challenging aspect, but also so much fun to draw. Take all that and add to it I was able to use a lot of different marker colors. Always so exciting me!
I am closing in on completing my drawings for this book and can not wait to get this one published for all to see!
Gracie's Glasses Available Now
My Latest Release is Now Available!
I am very excited to announce that my latest book,
Gracie's Glasses is now available for purchase on Amazon.com
For additional information about the book, Click Here
And now I would like to introduce Gracie and Lucy, the stars of this latest story.
It is all about personal growth
First off, this was totally out of my comfort zone. Going to a conference, out of town and knowing no one there. A bit intimidating, right? But it was all cool. There were authors and illustrators in all different phases of the process. From traditionally published authors to self-published authors to those working on their stories. There were authors and illustrators and some that were both. The speakers were editors, agents, and well known published authors. It didn't take me long to feel at home and I took in the role of taking it all in. My motto of the weekend was, I'm here to absorb it all. Or at least as much as I could.
When I arrived back home, I reviewed my notes and came up with three areas to focus on. I put them into the following buckets - Publishing, Development, and Marketing.
Being a self-published picture book author/illustrator, I realized that to be published traditionally is not an easy undertaking. This is a long process that involves a lot of rejection and hard criticism. I am mot sure if I am ready (or ever will be ready) to head down that road or not. I feel like I am enjoying the self-publishing route for now and will work on developing my skills for now.
That brings me to the second bucket. Development. During my absorption process at the conference, I jotted down a lot of notes on ideas for improving my craft. My head is swirling with ideas. Different ways to format my book, new illustrations strategies and brainstorming ideas to name a few. This all gets me very excited as I type. Watch this blog, I will share as I go.
Then we have the Marketing aspect. A lot of ideas here. I was totally engrossed in a session at the end of the day on Saturday about the use of social media, not only as a marketing tool, but for information gathering (without being a creeper). Word of warning, twitter, watch out, I finally figured you out! I was also very inspired by a session on Sunday about school visits. I also don't so much think of this as a marketing tool as much as a way to get out there and share my book.
Aside from my three buckets to work on, I came away with one very valuable lesson that I heard over and over this weekend. Be true to yourself, follow your passion and life will lead you. These are words I truly believe and would like to say I live by every day but I do get knocked off course from time to time. This message was a great reminder to me. I love writing and illustrating a lot. There is no end goal, except to keep being passionate and to continue to grow and learn.
Now that I have a big list of ideas and things I want to work on.....I will get back to my illustrations for a bit to clear my head and let it all sink in. Because, as you know, Illustrating is my passion.
And to add for fun here is an illustration I recently completed.
The caption reads (for the purposes of this blog):
"I am only measuring my own growth, not comparing myself to others"
Jerome Needs a Quote
"Jerome Needs a Home"
The title of my next book.
As you may already know, I like to put an inspirational quote with my books.
One that falls along the same line as the message in my story.
Jerome Needs a Home has been written, but I am in the need of a quote!
The story is about a strange creature that arrives at the Brightmeadow Zoo, looking for a home. The zoo keeper, Gretel, tries to place Jerome, unsuccessfully with different animals. In the end, they make a new home for Jerome, with the conditions best suited for him.
Here are the last lines of the book, to aid in explaining the moral of the story:
Not all living things have the same needs and wishes,
but we all live together, from the birds to the fishes.
We can share what we have amongst all of us.
We don’t really need to cause a big fuss.
The lesson to learn, is we all share the same spaces.
If we share what we have, it will brighten our faces!
Jerome not only needs a home, he also needs a quote!
Any ideas out there for a suitable quote?
Comment on this post or on my facebook page if there are any good ideas out there.
or email me at: KarinsChildrensBooks@gmail.com
And of course, I can't help myself. As I await the final proof of Gracie's Glasses,
I must keep drawing. So for your viewing enjoyment and as an added bonus......
or email me at: KarinsChildrensBooks@gmail.com
And of course, I can't help myself. As I await the final proof of Gracie's Glasses,
I must keep drawing. So for your viewing enjoyment and as an added bonus......
Meet Gretel and Jerome!
My process to creating a book
As I complete the final stages of book number 5, Gracie’s Glasses, I thought I would share a little information about the steps I take to create a book.
The first step, obviously, is coming up with an idea. Once I have a subject for my story, I develop some characters and search for a quote that will go along with the storyline. In the case of Gracie’s Glasses, I used my grand-dog and grand-cat as characters for this story, Gracie, and Lucy.
Writing the story isn’t usually too difficult. It seems like once I get the first line or two going, the story just flows into my head. The hardest part of this portion of the process is making my story rhyme.
Once the story has been written I begin the illustrations. This is the portion of the process that seems daunting when I start. Wow, 35-40+ pages of illustrations to come up with! Where do I begin?
I do all my work in PowerPoint. I know, that seems odd, right? This was the most cost effective tool I found for formatting my books. The first step here is to divide out my pages, which sentences will make the best page breaks and places for illustrations. I format all my text to the correct font and size. And now I have the beginnings of my book. A clean slate for my illustrations.
Now it is time to start my sketches. I really love, love, LOVE to create my characters. It is a little intimidating at first. But so much fun to come up with the drawings. I just sketch these out on plain white paper, in pencil. All of my pages are not illustrated as a whole picture. I draw each item/character on the page, individually. Here we have a sketch of Lucy, looking all juicy after the fish bowl fell.
After my sketches for the page are complete, I scan each of these pencil drawings into my computer and place on the page in my Powerpoint document. This way I can ensure the drawings will fit together. I move them around to make sure they will fit appropriately on the page. Below is an example page with the individual drawings placed on the page.
Now that I have the sketches outlined on the page, I am ready to start coloring. I trace each of my sketches onto my illustration paper and begin to color! I use Prismacolor brush tip markers to finalize these illustrations. Sometimes I have to color a drawing several times before I get it right. Maybe, I didn’t like the color I chose or the way I did the eye’s or nose or perhaps I just plain messed up! Here is Lucy, all juicy, once again, the colored version!
Once I have completed the illustrations, I scan each of them into my computer, just as I did the sketches. I then import them to a page and line them up, just as I did the sketches.
All of my drawings are outlined in a black marker.
There are two reasons for this, one is, I think they look sharper. The second reason, it gives a guideline for me to remove the background in PowerPoint. If I were to just bring the drawing in scanned, it will show the entire scan area, not just the drawing. By removing the background, the black lines help lasso the area to keep. See below an example of the drawing of Lucy, all juicy, when first scanned into the document. I don't want all that white area.
Below, is a visual of how this is done.
As you can see, the pictures overlap the sides of the actual page in my PowerPoint document. The images bleed off the side of the page, but only the portion of the image is visible in the final product.
Here is what the final pages look like for this example.
Some of my pages bleed from one page to the next.
Here is an example of this.
(uh-oh, this gives away how the fish bowl fell!)
And that my friends, is the process I take to complete a book.
Look for Gracie's Glasses on Amazon.com very soon!!
All of my drawings are outlined in a black marker.
There are two reasons for this, one is, I think they look sharper. The second reason, it gives a guideline for me to remove the background in PowerPoint. If I were to just bring the drawing in scanned, it will show the entire scan area, not just the drawing. By removing the background, the black lines help lasso the area to keep. See below an example of the drawing of Lucy, all juicy, when first scanned into the document. I don't want all that white area.
Below, is a visual of how this is done.
The white background of the scanned image, no good!
By formatting the image to remove the background and mark areas to keep and delete (in purple),
the image shows correctly on the page.
I import all the illustrated drawings to the page, remove the background, move to the correct spot on the pages and now, ta da, I have a finished page!!
Here is what the final pages look like for this example.
Here is an example of this.
(uh-oh, this gives away how the fish bowl fell!)
And that my friends, is the process I take to complete a book.
Look for Gracie's Glasses on Amazon.com very soon!!
Gracie's Glasses - Interesting Facts
As I work on next book, Gracie's Glasses, I wanted to share a few interesting facts about this book.
Here are eight fun facts about Gracie's Glasses:
1. The characters in the story are a cat named Gracie and a dog named Lucy. Gracie and Lucy are the actual names of my daughter and soon to be son in law's pet cat and dog. They are my grand-dog and grand-cat!
Here are eight fun facts about Gracie's Glasses:
1. The characters in the story are a cat named Gracie and a dog named Lucy. Gracie and Lucy are the actual names of my daughter and soon to be son in law's pet cat and dog. They are my grand-dog and grand-cat!
2. Gracie and Lucy are both rescue animals. Cool, right?
3. Gracie was adopted a few years prior to Lucy. It took Gracie a while to warm up to her new roommate, finding alternative ways to maneuver around the apartment. This is why I made Gracie the character that wants to blame everything on Lucy.
4. I tried to draw them as close as I could to their likeness. What do you think?
5. The message in the story came to me from a facebook post I saw one day. It just made me think a little harder about how we all walk around with our own view of life. Sometimes a little oblivious to those around us. Gracie learns this lesson from a pair of glasses Lucy has her try on.
6. I am using 4 different shades of gray marker to draw Gracie. I believe I am running out of ink in my Cool Gray 10% marker. Oh No!
7. I blame the Washington Capitals for the hold-up in the completion of the book. I am a huge hockey fan and it is really hard to watch such a fast paced game and draw at the same time.
8. I plan on having a spring launch of the book. I am really excited about this book and am having a lot of fun working on it!
Bonus: Here is a drawing from the book for your viewing pleasure.
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