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Here's the finished art for a sketch from a while ago.
I'm actually rather pleased with how this turned out, which is saying a lot, because I'm usually ridiculously hard on myself (just ask my very patient family...)
One thing I did differently was to splurge and use 300lb. watercolor paper instead of 140lb. That's it-- I'm a convert! The extra pennies (okay, dollars) are so worth not battling with the paper (not to mention my psyche...) Funny how a slight change of material can make such a big change in my world...
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Am I doomed to battle with my scanner for the rest of my life? It never quite gets the colors right. If it looks close to the original on-screen, it's too washed out in a print. If it's good in a print, it's garish on-screen. Sigh... technology... I love it! I hate it! I love it...
Here was the sketch for this piece. We're actually expecting snow this afternoon... time to light a fire and make cookies!
My, my-- the things we'll do to appease our children! Though sometimes you just have to admire their spunk... I posted a sketch for this piece a while ago.
A question for all of you illustrators who participate in Illustration Friday-- if you're creating a new piece rather than using one that already fits, how do you schedule it in to your week? What sort of time do you leave yourself for sketches, finish, etc.? Do you always post an image to the site, or do you just use the prompt as an exercise? (Okay, that was a few questions, but I really am curious!)
Well, I'm thrilled to announce that my new pet project (which I alluded to here) has officially been acquired! Yippee!
This project will be my first early reader--think along the lines of Frog and Toad, Amelia Bedelia. So not a picturebook, like Lissy's Friends and not a novel like Year of the Dog. A whole different beastie for an age group in between those two types. Very exciting!
Ling and Ting will be an early reader about twin Chinese-American girls (it also marks my first Asian book that does not feature my family members!). Why twins?
Well, originally, they were triplets. This book actually has been brewing for many years. Just like how Year of the Dog was an homage to the Betsy books, this early reader began as an homage to the Flicka, Dicka and Ricka books I used to read.
(I had to paint Ling & Ting in the same dotted dresses!)
But even though my vision was for identical girls, I felt a tad uncomfortable-- would I be encouraging that whole "All Asians look alike" stereotype? So I put the story away and let the idea sit and sit. For years.
And then in 2005, a group in Portland, ME put on a play of the Ugly Vegetables. There, I met the cutest Asian twin girls I've ever seen. As I watched them share cookies but eat them in completely different ways, a light went off in my head. Suddenly, I knew how the book should be written and that I needed to give the early reader another shot.
So I went home and scratched and rewrote and resketched, with a different outlook. The shift was subtle, but important--as it finally justified (to me) why the characters had to be identical.
Because, whereas the theme of many of my other books have been how even when people look different, there are many similiarities--the theme of this book is how when people look the same, there are many differences.
And that is the story behind the story of Ling and Ting! It's strange how books with the fewest and simplest words seem to take the longest to produce. In fact, I think this blog post might be longer than the actual manuscript!
WOW Jennifer I love it too!!!
Colors are so gorgeous and wonderfully warm!
Have to try that 300 lb paper to see if I come up with something as nice as this ;o)
Thanks so much, Alicia!
Yes, try the paper! This one is Arches... the surface feels, I don't know... almost velvety.
Good materials are a delight.
I could hang out very happily in an art supply store for ever - as long as it isn't Pearl Paint.
Me too, Elizabeth! Sadly they closed the big beautiful one we had nearby... to make room for yet another mattress store...
HI Jennifer..Wonderful Illustrations! You are so talented. this is the first time i've visited your blog and it's wonderful. I am a huge fan of 300lb wc paper, i use Lanaquarelle's 300 lb hot press, it's silky smooth and let's me get crazy with detail when i work with w/c. beats stretching the paper, or fighting the wrinkles and curls with 140lb. you'll never go back!
Hi Christine-- Thanks for stopping by! I have some Lanaquarelle I'm going to try, too- I think it's cold press. It's a much brighter white than the Arches, so it should be interesting to see the difference. And yep-- no going back for me! I tried stretching the 140lb (again and again!) and the results were just... wobbly. :-)
that's why i love it so much, i paint a lot of w/c florals and the bright white of the paper just makes the colors so vibrant!! Enjoy!!