Today I’m thrilled to introduce you to a very special guest, Ginger Nielson. She is the talented illustrator of my children’s books from 4RV Publishing. Ginger has illustrated MANY other children’s books and continues to lend her artistic talents to bringing stories to life for children. Welcome Ginger!

BETH: You often say there’s a magic wand on your desk and a dragon in your basement. Plus, your office assistant is a beagle. It sounds like your studio is a place of fun and imagination. Will you tell us more about that?

GINGER: I love that I have a dragon in my basement. It is actually the huge head of a dragon I created for a children’s summer theater. Each summer the community hosts a theater camp for children and I am lucky enough to be tapped for set design and painting. “SCUMME” the dragon had to be made of Paper mache and was articulated so that the head portion could sway back and forth on the set.

Henry, our rescued beagle is a constant companion and seems to love the rug near my desk. He will stay there most of the day unless we are out walking or he has found an empty cushion on the couch.

My studio is a wonderful room in the ground level of our home. There are big windows, stacks and stacks of DVDs with graphics, numerous bulletin boards, a drawing table, paint, pens, pencils, my computer and 7 bookshelves filled with books, sketches, assorted small stuffed animals, and reference materials. My desk faces the east window so that I can watch the seasons change, see the leaves take flight and watch the snow fall.

BETH: Will you share your initial creative process a little bit? More specifically, when you do a first read-through of a manuscript, do you immediately form pictures in your head of how characters and scenes should look, or does it develop more gradually?

GINGER: I read through a manuscript many times. Sometimes I will take notes as I read, sometimes I will even make a small sketch right in the margin, but the real sketching does not begin until I have formed pictures in my mind.

In some cases the pictures form so quickly and vividly in my mind that I have to get the sketches on paper as I read. Next I print several copies of the manuscript and make notes where I think the page breaks should be to get the best marriage of text and illustration. An author’s words are very important to me and I will always want the story and illustrations to balance and compliment one another.

Next, I will create a story board and either sketch in a thumbnail or write in a short description of what I want to do with that illustration. Once that is done I spend a lot of time on character studies for each character in the story. When I am happy with those I will start sketching out the ideas I have for each page.

BETH: Oh, I love the idea of you making sketches right in the margin of the manuscript. What fun! For a deeper look into how Ginger works, visit this page on her website.

How did being a first grade teacher benefit you in your career as an illustrator? How does your education background help with school visits?

GINGER: My college degree was a double major in Education and Fine Art. I am certified to teach K-12 Art and K-4 elementary school. I began my teaching career as a first grade teacher and loved being with children who were embarking on so many new things. Reading, math, science and art were like gifts to them. They soak up so much in just one year. I continued to teach Christian Education classes even after I left teaching to become a travel agent. Traveling to other countries has also helped i