Time!  I need more time!!

I feel like I'm in college again, pushing against a deadline in 5 different subjects.  There is just not enough time in the day to master them all.
I want to tell you guys a little about the workshop I participated in last Thursday.  Julie Downing http://www.juliedowning.com/Pages/books.html did a wonderful job breaking down the process of illustrating a picture book.  She used her book "The Firekeeper's Son" ,written by Linda Sue Park, to demonstrate this involved process from storyboard to finished book.  Oh why oh why couldn't I have heard this information a few weeks ago as I was preparing my storyboard for submission???   It all makes such sense now!  Okay, I'll dial down the dramatic overtones and explain myself.
You have probably heard of the dramatic structure or arc of a story, but I'll give a little history.  In the mid 1800s, a German gentleman named Gustav Freytag wrote a study of the 5-act dramatic structure.  It became known as Freytag's Pyramid.  Now this was for a 5-act play, but the structure works for most any story. According to Freytag, a drama is divided into five parts, or acts: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and dénouement.  Here is what that looks like for you visual people.

I had understood this in relation to my written story, but hadn't considered its connection to the visual 

images in a picture book.  In her storyboard this arc was evident.  The lines, the placement of picture on the page, the choice of a full-page spread or vignette was all presented with this same dramatic arc in mind.  I wish I had the time right now to redraw my storyboard to include this thought process, but it will have to wait.  

In the mean time, I am happy to say that I have a lovely friend and neighbor, Nikki, who has volunteered to give me a PhotoShop demo today.  Perhaps with her help I can make some of these adjustments in presentation for my dummy to take with me next week.  NEXT WEEK!!! Sorry, brief freak out.  I am very excited to be doing this conference.  I'm nervous too.  But most of all, I am enormously grateful for the opportunity.   

Hopefully I will get a chance to write one more time before I go.  Hope you have a great week!

Staying on Track

Ok, so I made it past Sweet P's 3rd birthday and am attempting to squeeze a few more finished pieces out of the next few weeks before the conference.  I am finding that I tend to make things too complicated for myself though,  and I am making a renewed effort to stay focused.  For example, since Sweet P wanted a Little Mermaid party, I thought it would be fun to draw each of the kids attending as a mermaid.  I need more portfolio material and this could kill two birds with one project.  In the end they did make nice additions to the goodie bags, but I was up till 2am the night before, exhausted, and not oh so pleased with the finished product.  Not portfolio material.  Later I decided to download a free trial of Photoshop and Illustration CS6.  I can just tweek the merkids in photoshop and turn them into something more interesting.  A few hours later playing with the lasso tool and a few dozen brush options, I closed the computer, moved to the dining room table and began to rework a current illustration.  Ahhh, my happy place.  I'm not saying that I won't learn how to use those programs or try to create fresh looking work.  I just had to accept that this may not be the time for it.  I've now made a list and am choosing the shortest distance between to two points to get there.  Short and Sweet lesson for the day, but it comes with pictures. :o)

Copyright Carrie Cartier 2012
Not the best picture, but here are my MerKids.

Copyright Carrie Cartier 2012
Here is my reworked illustration.  The colors need to be enhanced a bit, but I'm fairly please with this one.
Done in Watercolor Pencil and Watercolor paint. 

Tomorrow I will be attending the SCBWI Illustrator's Series Event, which will include a hands-on workshop and lecture with award winning illustrator Julie Downing will focus on thinking about and creating a series of images that work together to tell a story. Can't wait!  I'll let you know how it goes.

I am now in the last month before the SCBWI Conference.  I just returned from a week up near Mt Lassen with the family.  I was able to put in the final hours of work on my "First Look" submission for the Illustrators' Intensive.  Here were my requirements.
1)  THUMBNAILS. 32 Pages.  Thumbnails should be small and loose because they are used to judge pacing and composition, not content.

2)  TWO CHARACTER STUDIES, showing the protagonist from different angles
3)  ILLUSTRATION.  One complete scene (whether a spot, single page or spread), finished in the style that would be used throughout the book.

4)  ONE SENTENCE DESCRIPTIONS of
      A) the characters
      B) the setting
      C) the dilemma
      D) the point/resolution of the story

I thought I would share the drawing portion with you, so here it goes.

Storyboard Copyright Carrie Cartier 2012

  

Balloon Character Study Copyright Carrie Cartier 2012

Little Girl Character Study Copyright Carrie Cartier 2012

Finished Illustration Copyright Carrie Cartier 2012

I was able to get these off last Friday 2 hours before deadline.  I may not be the earliest, but I did get it in under the wire.  So now I am just crossing my fingers that my work will have the opportunity for review.
I did a little research as to what is to look forward to on the day of the intensive.  Apparently last year there were seven of the top illustrators who did live demos.  It all sounds pretty inspirational.  Yay!  I can't wait.
Well, I still have a lot of work to do before I go, so I better get to it.  Have a great day!