Try A Little Illustrating

I have always admired illustrators and have doubly admired those who can write and illustrate. From time to time, I dabble with drawings; but I know realistically I will probably never illustrate one of my own books. However, that doesn't mean I can't have fun practicing and that is just what I did recently after watching a segment with Jarret J Krosoczka the famed author of the Lunch Lady series.







Jarret shared a live segment from his studio where he showed viewers how he draws the comic style pictures for his books. He began by showing how he started his illustrations with rough sketches done in a blue colored pencil. Why a blue pencil you ask? Apparently, blue pencil will not show up when the finished product is scanned into the computer and there is no erasing involved this way. Once he had his rough sketch done, he shared that he normally used indian ink to outline, but for time and drying purposes he used a sharpie for his live performance. Once that is done, he then scans the pictures into his computer and proceeds to color them.

I'm not sure exactly what program he uses for his coloration; but having decided to try my hand at creating an illustrated character, I used the paint program. I created a girl I have named Susie Q, and although it is apparent that I need to work on hands quite a bit, I was pretty happy with the results.

This made me think what a great art project this would be for kids. Have them create a character, color it in on the computer, and then create a story to go with it. A perfect start for future authors!



 So ends another episode of Kids Korner with me, Children's Author Aileen Stewart. Join me next week for another exciting episode same krazy time, same krazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal blog Aileen's Thoughts any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, and life in general.









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