Maxine Lee's Blog, page 4

Illustration Camp – Avoiding ‘Clip Art’ Style

Have you ever compared two things and wondered why one looks amazing and worth every penny while the other looks, well, average? I have. I do it all the time. For example:

Two coats in a shop (because you know how much I love my analogies).

Coat A is £10.56. It has minimal styling and is made of a non-textured synthetic fibre. It’s a bog standard sludgy brown colour and has average looking buttons and slit pockets with no visible tailoring.

Coat B is £50.56. It has modern styling and it’s made from soft wool. It’s an unusual bright cerise-red colour with big shiny over-sized buttons and the pockets have flaps and zips. The tailoring is immaculate.

Coat B has had a lot more time, research and imagination spent on it. Better materials have been used. Essentially, it’s a different kind of coat.

Coat A took about 20 seconds to draw…

 

Now, imagine Coat A is clip art and Coat B is bespoke illustration. It’s that simple. Add bells and whistles or your output will look like it belongs on a CD called 10,000 Royalty Free Images For Your Web and Online Projects for Personal Use Only that comes free with a computer magazine. Nothing wrong with that if that’s what you were aiming for but if you were aiming somewhere else, it’s more than just mildly disappointing. So, are you ready for my super important advice… *insert trumpetty music here*

You have to invest time into what you’re doing because when you don’t, it shows. It really shows.

That’s it. For a large scale illustration, put the hours in. There will still be occasions where an art director will ask for 15 re-draws and you’ll want to re-evaluate your career choices but it happens. I personally don’t know of anyone who gets it right first time, every time. I’m not saying they don’t exist, just that you don’t need to worry about them because you probably won’t meet one unless you pay for the privilege.

You cannot build a portfolio in a day. If you asked some of my students from the Portfolio Crash course I ran last Autumn, they’ll tell you how difficult it was to get 12 pieces together in 3 months. Very hard work. And you may be just developing your folio with personal work but I’m making the assumption that you want to bag a paid commission at some point. The people who commission you will never think ‘Aww, she must have been pushed for time on this piece of development work. I bet she’d draw proper hands if she’d been getting paid to do it…’ Instead, they make the logical assumption that you can’t draw hands.

But what about those small scale illustrations, you know, the little vignettes and warm up sketches that you see on illustrators pages, walls and timelines every now and again – how are they done in 20 minutes or so, I hear you all ask.

Self moderation, common sense, a strong critical eye and a little bit fairy dust. There are things I still can’t put my finger on and those are the bits where you need good instincts and fantastic powers of research. If you draw a character with dead-eye, you have to be prepared to figure out why and how to fix it. If you can’t draw hands, find a solution.

You can tell the difference between something drawn in a paint program and a graphics program. Or, if you’re one of those lesser-spotted traditional artists, something drawn with a blunt crayon or with a dip-pen and ink – you have to consider every choice you make carefully to build a professional portfolio.

Seven Ways to Make Your Work More Exciting

Don’t skimp on detail Textiles, foliage, furnishings all have detail – draw that detail. Use marks, textures and/or shadow.
Don’t use a mono-line Vary your line widths or your work could look flat and a bit vanilla.
Avoid dead-eye Focus your characters gaze and use eyebrows/facial expressions to your advantage or forever use dot eyes. Easy.
Vary poses No one wants to see a dead-eye clown, from the front and with his hands by his side. Be imaginative.
Consider colour Relationships should be well thought out – consider fashion choices, interior design, setting etc.
Anatomical detail Thumb on wrong side of hand, anyone? Three joints in one arm? One huge foot? Make sure your basic anatomy is right.
Good subject knowledge Research – you have the world at your fingertips in the form of many web browsers. Use them and never just guess. Guessing is bad.

Some illustrators do use a mono-line, some might use flat colour too but usually it’s part of a very distinctive style that has been researched and built upon. If this is the way you want to go, find those illustrators and examine their work in detail until you understand why it works for them. Don’t copy, just pick it apart until you instinctively understand it.

We all make mistakes, sometimes big, sometimes small and sometimes because an AD has a different idea for a project than what you initially hand over. Personally, I’ve had work published where I’d love to request it back and tidy bits up or change colours or re-design characters but I have a feeling that it will always be that way. That’s my own progression taking place, never being 100% happy is what keeps you pushing on and striving to improve.

Whatever stage you’re at, keep going and keep learning.

 

 

(This post is not aimed at clip art makers, it’s aimed at beginner/self taught children’s illustrators. I have to point that out because I’m not looking to offend anyone. I could go into detail about clip art but I really don’t want to get that kind of discussion going. To put it in context, a clip art creator needs to yield a high output of work to make money. Bespoke illustration needs time and therefore needs to be well paid for anyone to sustain it as a career.)

Hello 2016! May All Your Pencils Be On Point

My Nan told me once that wishing ‘Happy New Year’ after the 1st of January was bad luck, so I won’t do it but you know what I’m saying, right?

Another busy year full of exciting projects then me and Mr. M got married (check the name change to Lee-Mackie) but I did manage to take a couple of weeks off over Christmas for the first time in four years. Yay. I needed it. Writing and illustrating for children is fun but there’s a bit more to it than that. Sometimes you have to go on autopilot to get through the workload. That’s when you know it’s time to down tools for a bit. The real problem pops up when you can’t because your deadline is three days away and you have 16 roughs to complete. That is not a good place to be.

Most illustrators and creative types will know what I mean – authors would call it writers block. Some of us deal with it by developing chronic procrastination until the day before our deadline and then weep as we slog through the night to get it done. Missing a deadline is bad. Baaaad. So you keep going until the end is in sight. You wrangle with FTP upload systems and have to keep uploading the same three files that refuse to go quietly. Your eyes are bloodshot. You’ve eaten all the biscuits. You’re swearing uncontrollably and wondering if the client is going to send in the dogs. Suddenly, it happens. They all upload *PING*. You laugh and smile at your screen like it’s just presented you with an Oscar.

Then you get an automated email response from your (very lovely and knows not of how much you’ve procrastinated to this point) client that says something along the lines of:

Auto-office responder

I’m away until next week. I’ll be in touch when I get back. Laters.

Then you weep again.

And this is just for the roughs.

I’m reliving this so you understand why I needed that break. I’m now back at my desk (I was still here a bit – playing scrabble, sharpening my pencils and doing Buzzfeed quizzes) and happily working away. I have three and a half new stories written, I’m working with Macmillan (US) and Hodder on pretty spiffy projects and really looking forward to the year ahead. After putting on a successful ‘Portfolio Crash’ course near the end of last year I’m thinking of developing a couple more to run over summer. Everything is rosy.

 

So while I’m in positive go-gettem’ mode, my work manifesto for this year looks something like this:

Work smarter

Make an amazing social media plan

Edit my manuscripts and dummies alongside other projects instead of waiting for a clear block

Less procrastination and biscuit eating

I hope you all manage to take some time to sharpen your pencils and do other things whenever you can, whatever you do. I even managed to fit a snowboarding lesson and Star Wars in before any spoilers. Let the world be your oyster. Even if it’s only for a day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Halloween Intermission – Extremely Gory Zombie Attack Comic Strip by Emilio

My youngest (and blood- thirstiest) has made a special Halloween comic strip to scare the pants off you all. You. Are. Welcome.

I’ll be back after this intermission with a post about how the course is going and the non-spooky exciting things I’ve been working on…(right after I’ve eaten the gingerbread house and freed the survivors).

Online Illustration Portfolio CRASH! New workshop/course starting September 2015

I’ve put a countdown link down there (at the bottom of the main blog page) to a course I’m really looking forward to running later this year. We’ll be working fast, just like in the real world (I’ve never had a live brief where I’ve been told to take my time). I don’t subscribe to the ‘one size fits all’ method so everyone will get something different out of the course. After you book your place I would suggest familiarising yourself with contemporary children’s picture books and reading as many as possible (a trip to the library with your camera phone would enable you to start putting together a research file – make sure you record illustrators names and book titles too). You’ll also need to get yourself a sketchbook or two and start doodling – it will be a good source of ideas for the 12 briefs you’ll be facing.

Any questions, just drop me an email or inbox me on Facebook/Twitter.

Here’s the link to the event over on Eventbrite:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/childrens-illustration-portfolio-crash-the-space-monkeys-12-week-course-19-sept-12-dec-2015-tickets-17729166414

SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS!

Illustration Preppy – Portfolio; What Do I Need In There?

Your portfolio is your best face. Having the wrong thing in your folio is like turning up to a wedding in your jeans. Everyone will say ‘No, it’s fine,’ but you’ll always be remembered as the person that didn’t make an effort.

Appearance is everything as far as your portfolio is concerned. You need to offer a brilliant welcome piece. Something that makes the person viewing it feel a strong and positive emotion. The same goes for the last piece that they see.

Think of it like a cinema trip. You arrive, you get your popcorn, they have your favourite sweets on the pic and mix stand, best seats in the house are available and they offer you a free drink. That’s how your first portfolio piece should make the viewer feel. Hungry anticipation that what follows is sure to be mind-blowingly good.

Then the essential parts of the movie – the plot unfolds – this is the place for mild peril, action, adventure, sentiment, experimental art direction, characters, continuity….it should have it all.

Then the grand finale. Do you want your movie to end where everyone dies and no-one lives happily ever after and everyone leaves the cinema on a downer? Of course you don’t – you want to leave them on a high, feeling that everything is good with the world and unicorns really do exist.

The back of your folio is not somewhere to just tuck away the pieces that don’t quite fit anywhere else. It’s a prime spot. It’s for your second best piece of work. It’s not for the life drawing of ‘Jim Holding a Stick, 15 Mins, 1983′. For illustration, you’re showing your creativity – parading your imagination in front of people. Not your life drawing skills (as important and brilliantastic as they are).

If you use a digital folio rather than (or in addition to) an actual case, apply the same rules but spread your stunners evenly. As you know, a looped folio is not the same as one with an official beginning and end so viewers can drop it at any time.

So, for a dazzling children’s illustration portfolio, here’s my recipe:

Lets aim for 12-15 pieces in an A2 folio – that’s a good number. You don’t want to bore anyone or have them feel that your art is repetitive. And 12-15 is the number of spreads in a picture book, after all.

Opener – This should be a positive shiny piece that you’re really happy with. This one should have bells and whistles – great composition, use of colour, texture, detail, expression, narrative and pizazz. If you have a particular piece which gets a lot of attention (for the right reasons) on social media, your blog or amongst peers, this is a good place to put it.

Page 2 – Themed spot/vignette illustrations – Have you illustrated a nursery rhyme? A fairytale? A children’s step by step? Have you got spots to prove it? Put them here.

Page 3 – Spread 1 (Continuous) Three spreads in order. This shows your skill in continuity. This is important as it proves you can deliver artwork that is coherent and carries through a narrative. It also shows that you can re-create believable environments, characters and scenes seamlessly.

Page 4 – Spread 2 (see above)

Page 5 – Spread 3 (see above)

Page 6 – Mild peril – This is where to put a scene of a monster under a child’s bed or a wolf behind a tree as Little Red Riding Hood is looking scared as she trots past or a bicycle chase etc…A bit of adrenaline.

Page 7 – Sport/Hobby themed. Making something or playing something – doing something that shows you can illustrate accurately when rules apply (i.e. holding a racquet or martial arts or baking).

Centrepiece – Something special or unexpected here. If you have a lot of indoor themed spreads, this would be a good place to turn it on it’s head and put a fabulous outdoor scene.

Page 9 – Hand drawn lettering/Illustrated alphabet poster – obviously shows you can draw exciting lettering to a high standard.

Page 10 – Character study – Show one character doing a range of things. Silly, serious, funny, cute. And from as many angles as possible. For example, a squirrel roller-skating (front view), a squirrel jumping (side view) and a squirrel baking a cake (from above).

Page 11 – Picture Book Cover – a fantastic re-imagining of a well-known book cover – think of your favourite story as a child. Illustrate a cover that no one could walk past without having to pick it up.

Page 12 – Card series and/or Surface pattern swatches (optional) – three designs should be enough.

Page 13 – Jigsaw – jigsaws show your composition skills off. Each piece (within reason) should have unique elements. Download a jigsaw grid and use that as a guide to where the pieces fall. Then try and pack in lots of colour and detail whilst maintaining good composition.

Page 14 – Lift-the-Flap/Activity Book (optional) – these are difficult. Don’t go overboard unless this is a specific area you want to go into. Just show that you know how to create the elements for a lift-the-flap design (show your illustration with the flap up and the flap down). Otherwise, make an activity sheet (colouring sheet, spot the difference, math activity, find the object).

Finisher – Keep this piece positive, maybe with humour or sentimentality. Something that radiates good feeling. You will need to show that you can create these emotions in your folio and everyone loves a happy ending; this is a really good place for that.

I hope this has been helpful and offered a good idea of the kind of work you can use in your portfolio to show off your amazing skills. If you don’t currently have a folio or don’t know where to start with illustrating for children, the outline I’ve put here should put you in a good place. One last thing though, don’t try and rush through the list. Spend time on each piece (set yourself realistic deadlines), use a good critical eye and never use artwork that you’re not happy with.

Modern Calligraphy

I’ve been lucky enough to work on some amazing books so far this year (all to be in a bookshop near you very soon). I’ve been illustrating my little socks off for some fantastic authors as well as working on some new ideas myself. I’ve also been bringing my penmanship up to speed and working on developing some local classes and workshops. I’ll post details/locations very soon. I love this quote – it always turns out to be right and creative types who tend to be drawn by covers (strange or conventional) can never be reminded enough (myself included, usually with actual books, funnily enough).

Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover

A Change is as Good as a Rest – New Brushes!

Happy 2015! I had to get that in as this is my first post of the year. I am a naughty blogger and I apologise.

It’s been a hectic few months in my studio – I’ve been working on puppet books, a mermaid book, aliens, kittens, bears and foxes (yes, more foxes). I literally haven’t stopped thanks to my super-efficient agents and amazing clients. I’ll be able to show you some of those things soon, but not until they’re published later this year.

The arrival of 2015 is spurring me on to branch out a bit with my style. It’s essential. Not doing it can leave you in a bit of a funk and I can see that not-so-distant funk on the horizon. I’m not talking a complete turnaround – just something small. Change is good, people. Change heralds progression. But change is a bit scary.

First step I’ve taken is to make myself some new brushes. I love this part, it’s like when you buy a new pair of shoes. Even old outfits feel better when you wear your new shoes. You feel smarter and fresher and, well, a little bit spruced up. Second step will be to output lots of new work with my brushes and start replacing the older work I have on show in my portfolio.

I have to replace rather than append because I’m trying to move away from older styles. It could be something as simple as ‘I don’t want to draw feet like that anymore – from this day forward all my characters will wear heels!’ to something more obvious like going from big bug eyes to dot eyes. But this time for me, it’s all about the textures. Here’s a sneaky peek at what I’ve been up to while I run off back to my drawing board.

I hope you like and thanks for stopping by.

Max x

 

 

 

 

The Best Advice I was Ever Given – For illustration and General Day-to-Dayness

Sometimes, I wish I had one of those people who writes the little quotes that pop-up on my Facebook news feed sat on my shoulder. Then I could respond to every situation with a positive ‘thought for the day’. But I don’t. So I often end up sounding really passive-aggressive or overly interested in things that don’t interest me (which can lead to me having to feign interest in the same subject for as many years as I know the person who actually is interested in it…).

This general demeanour has led to lots of unsolicited advice, but here are the best words of wisdom that were ever thrown my way.

“You are not a sausage factory.”

This has stuck with me through thick and thin – offered by an amazing illustrator when I was right at the beginning of my career. You know that bit where the whole world appears to be asking you to work for free (I like to call them ‘freedy’). Well I had a client who was getting a good 4 weeks worth of my time for the equivalent of a piece of fluff and a magic bean. Really. They were also working my fingers to the bone and pretty much wanting me to just bang out generic images, just using me as their hands. There was no creativity involved whatsoever. I asked a group of very professional illustrators ‘What should I do?’. A very, VERY fabulous lady said ‘You’re not a sausage factory’ and I understood everything all at the same time. I think that was the day I learned self-respect as an illustrator. I’ve never worked on a job like that again.

Working my fingers to the bone…(maxinelee.com)

“If you act like you fell out of a Christmas cracker, that’s how people will treat you.” 

This is pretty self explanatory and came from something I was reading on a very funny ‘mums’ website. If you have no values, morals, expectations then you only have a novelty value. And as we all know, novelty wears off very quickly. Stand up and say what you’re about.

“Ask. The worst that can happen is a big fat ‘no’.”

The most straight forward thing can sometimes be the hardest thing. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Sometimes, if you do ask, you don’t get. But the most important thing here is, nothing worth having is usually offered on a plate. You really do have to make your own opportunities or you’ll forever be wondering why everyone else is getting ahead and you’re stuck on the couch in your pyjamas watching daytime TV and checking your phone every five minutes. Disclaimer: Even if you become a go-getter overnight, I can’t guarantee that you won’t still check your phone every five minutes…

“You can’t go over it, you can’t go under it, you have to go through it.”

Ten points to everyone who’s sticking their hands up now saying ‘I know that one!’. This is a great mantra for tough times or that middle to end bit of a project or that one double page spread you’re really not looking forward to colouring. This is my favourite all-rounder.

And when everything goes wrong:

“What’s for you, won’t go by you.”

This is my mum’s stock phrase for when things go wrong. It’s a bit hokey-pokey but it always makes me feel better. I do find myself now saying this to other people when everything goes belly-up.

“You’ve got more chance of being bitten on the *ahem* bum by a cabbage.”

This is my dads.

Thanks for reading, I hope some of these stay with you and help you like they did me. If not, feel free to add your own in the comments.

x

Edinburgh Book Festival and a Pi-Rat! Activity Sheet

So Edinburgh was brilliant. I met lots of lovely people, grinned (like my brain had fell out) as I said hello to Nick Sharratt and Guy Parker-Rees, had the two most amazing chairs introducing my events, had a shock beyond belief at the cost of two dippy eggs and a piece of toast, ate fudge and watched A Touch of Frost. I also saw a lady in a bright pink tutu push her whole body through something that looked like a tennis racquet, a man throw a stick of fire in the air and almost set a member of the crowd on fire and lots of dogs made of sand. The best thing though, as ever, was the sea of little smiling faces waiting for me to do something pirate-y and the ever more bizarre and lovely sly hugs that the children (this time at Drumbrae Library) throw on you when you’re least expecting it (although, I don’t think anyone will take me more by surprise that the little boy who kissed me on the knee back in May). It will never stop bewildering me when I see the standard of art that these little people produce in a draw-along.

Unfortunately I’m a little late with this post as I brought back a horrendous cold/sinus-y thing/chesty thing with me and just generally getting any work done has been like wading through custard.

Pi-Rat! guarding my post-event drink

I made a handout for the children attending the events and now it’s all over, I can share it with everyone – feel free to download and (as ever) don’t forget to show me what your little ones’ come up with!

Copyright Maxine Lee 2014

 

 

Goodreads Competition -Signed Big Whoop and Sketch!

Goodreads
Book Giveaway

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Big Whoop!
by Maxine Lee
Giveaway ends September 01, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win