When research dictates a re-vamp ...

by Aidana WillowRaven

Sometimes it just can't be avoided.

I try to create a book's cover before starting on a book's illustrations, which gives the author and publisher something to use when building hype for a book's pending release, while I work on the illustrations and layout. But once in a rare while, a cover art and design re-vamp is needed.

One such instance is my latest children's book, Strangers in the Stable by Jim Laughter. It's a sweet little early reader that was extra fun because I got to explore the whole visual interpretation in digital paint vs traditional mediums. I did the cover first, as I usually do, and both the author and publisher loved it (always a good thing ... lol). One problem I learned while doing research for the following illos, I had the architecture all wrong (not such a good thing).

As is often the case, the story itself has a little more room for 'creative license' than the visuals do. The original title said 'Barn,' so I made the setting a barn, as most westerners think of it. Upon further research, I found that not only does ancient Bethlehem not use wood buildings to house their livestock, they also don't refer to such structures as barns. They used, and still use for the most part, stone structures and tents. Not wood and lumber barns ... lol.

Now, many publishers and artists would have just let this pass. As they say, time is money. After all, how many six-year-olds would notice? But 4RV has a high standard, and so do I. My own sense of aesthetic and accuracy just wouldn't let me let it go. So I talked to Vivian, and she agreed, and in a matter of minutes a decision for accuracy over convenience and time was finalized. Re-vamp it was.

And, as with most re-vamps, as much as I grudgingly hate them, I think they always turn out for the better. I assume it's much the same way with authors (dreading edits, but happier with the final result, none the less).

Here is the re-vamped cover. You tell me which one pulls your mental awareness into ancient Bethlehem better? Which one puts you more mentally 'there,' at Jesus' birth? See the difference just the architecture makes when it come to the mood of an illo?

Next question, would you be as willing to go through a re-vamp? Or would you have thought: 'The publisher and author approved it. I don't have time or money for a unnecessary re-vamp. I won't bring it up.'

As artists, especially illustrators, we need to remember even if the illustration 'looks' right, it could still be 'wrong,' and its our responsibility, if we discover an error such as this, to bring it up with the publisher or author. You never know, it may take the book from good to better.

Besides, how often have you criticized the cover artist on their choice of visuals if you know something portrayed way inaccurately? Heck, that's why I took art in college (my pet peeve is proportion, ie: legs too small for the rest of the body, scale wrong, etc).

Try to remember, each piece should be worthy of being 'a portfolio piece.' And misrepresented images are not good portfolio pieces. So when a re-vamp is needed, don't resist. Pull up those sleeves, dig out your tools, and get to work happily, knowing you're about to create visual genius...lol.

Aidana WillowRaven

Art Director & VP of Operation

4RV Publishing

Perfect example as to why every illustrator should learn basic layout design.

by Aidana WillowRaven

In college, I took a design elective as part of my fine art curriculum. I had no intention of being an ad designer or a logo designer. I only wanted to draw and paint for books. I took it because in my first semester we had to produce two framed and matted originals for finals. Before I put my illustrations under glass permanently, I wanted to sell a few of them as prints at an upcoming con. I went to a design shop, paid $45 an hour to have someone 'clean-up' the original for print. I watched over his shoulder as he worked. All he did was scan my drawing, open it in Photoshop, select the eraser tool, and erase all the little blemishes the scanner picks up that the naked eye tends to ignore on original works.

Granted, it was a tedious job. It took him three hours to zoom in and painstakingly remove every stray pixel, but was it worth my paying $45 an hour just to use an eraser tool on zoom? At that time, yes. I didn't have the software or the skills to do what he made look so boringly simple. But take a wild guess what class I added to my schedule the following term? You've got it. Introductory Computer Design.

Now that I've been in the business a while, I don't see how illustrators get by without knowing at least the basics of design and book layout, but you'd be shocked to find how many have no idea how to regulate  the size of their 'canvas' to accommodate room for text in a book.

Many illustrators have a hard time guessing how much 'negative space' to leave for the text. Why is this a problem? It leaves it up to the designer to either cut and crop the art work or to ask the illustrator to re-do or adjust it to accommodate the text.

When I am going to illustrate a kid's book, I first layout the often rough draft in InDesign. I figure out what parts of the text are most visually interesting on that page or spread (note I didn't say in the whole book -- save that for the cover art, if you really want to do it), rather than doing a bunch of illustrations that may not be able to be used due to poor placement.

Then, I create a 'canvas' for that particular page or spread using bold colors and sections. One section represents where I can freely place 'viable' art, and the other block represents where the text will be. This is where my 'negative' art will be or where I'll chose to 'fade to text'.

I do this right in the layout, right beneath the text, using the rectangle tool. Then I hide the text and copy/paste the rectangle into Photoshop. Once there, the image tab will tell me the exact size I am working with. At this point, I can either pull it into my 3D software, or I can print it out and re-scale it manually, to use it as a template for my physical composition.

The negative-space art can be anything from a faded area to a blank space to nondescript imagery (like sky or grass). Nothing that could conflict with the text visually, or the designer, if it isn't you, can place a text box or erase it out, and it wouldn't disturb the important art elements. Personally, I am a control freak (accepted this years ago) when it comes to my art, so I'd rather be the one deciding how my work gets presented; that's why I do the design for all of the books I illustrate. Let's see the composition before the layout.

Now if this were a 'normal' art work, there may be a feeling of 'weight' on the left more so than on the right (probably why my sub-conscience stretched that rope clear across the page to the other end and slightly pointing toward the barren corner ;P) , but as you already know, this in not meant to be a stand alone piece. On the other hand, I also feel an illustration or cover art piece should have the strength to carry itself, too, probably why I chose to include the full scene, to give the art itself a 'base'. 

Even if you don't wish to become a designer, you can see how KNOWING for CERTAIN where your art can and can't go on your 'canvas' ahead of time is a big help in deciding your colors and composition. That's why I encourage every illustrator to take a basic layout and design course. The most it can do is increase your skills and your art. Now, let's put our finished composition in the layout:

I don't know how well you can tell, but I initially had planned on fading out the tied-down rope, which ran through the first few lies of text, but I felt it took something from the visual. Luckily, I'm the designer, so I had the luxury to shift the text down a little bit. If I were just the illustrator, the designer may have chosen to alter the illo in a way that I would not have liked.

So you see how knowing design can help you plan the composition, and how it can help protect the work as well.

Next article, we will go over the post-work techniques I used on the above digital painting.

Aidana WillowRaven

Art Director & VP of Operation

4RV Publishing

How do you pick out your pallet?

by Aidana WillowRaven

You have a new project. Great! Now what? Myself, I start doodling with my colored pencils, but I have a bad habit of trying to use every color ... lol. So, I try to use color schemes in order to reign in that tendency, so I don't end up with a mess. A pallet that's too broad can distress and distract the viewer.

When deciding your pallet, which I hope you do at the very start of a new project, isn't as easy as one may think. A lot depends on your audience and subject matter.

Analogous colors are any set of three or five colors, that are closely related in hue(s), and are usually adjacent (next) to each other on the color wheel. Some examples are green, yellow green, and yellow or red, orange and yellow. Analogous color schemes are often found in nature and are pleasing to the eye. The combination of these colors give a bright and cheery effect in the area, and are able to accommodate many changing moods. When using the analogous color scheme, one should make sure there is one hue as the main color.

Color schemes are used to create style, mood, clarity and appeal. A basic color scheme will use two colors that look appealing together, while more advanced color schemes involve several colors, usually based around a single color.

In the following example, the pallet is very analogous. If you compare it to the color wheel, and draw a diagonal line running from the red to the green, you can see the upper left side of the pallet was used. It also happens to be a warm color scheme, which I'll go over warm and cool color schemes. It just fit the theme.

an example of an analogous color scheme

A monochromatic color scheme is made of different values (tints and shades) of one color. This color scheme is easy to get right and can be very effective, soothing and assertive. They do, however, lack the diversity.

The next example was done in varying shades of the same color of blue. I wanted moodiness here, too, but a cooler mood was wanted. Do you see how color affects a scene? Would it feel different if I had used a full pallet?

an example of monochromatic

 We'll go over more pallet options in future posts.

 

Aidana WillowRaven

Art Director & VP of Operations
4RV Publishing