Today I get to show you what I've been working on for the past few months...
My COSCBWI Postcard!
If you've been following my posts on the monthly COSCBWI
Illustrator Meetings, then you'll remember that members are currently
involved in a project to create illustrator postcards. (You can find
the posts here, here, and here.) We went through research, sketch, and critique stages to
create a final illustration that fit the theme of "Favorite Fables,
Fairy Tales, and Nursery Rhymes." After much thought, planning, and
painting, here is my final piece!
As you can see, I chose Aesop's fable, "The Tortoise and the Hare," for
my subject. But you may notice it's very different from the concept
sketch I posted in April.
And oddly, it's not even the story I was planning on illustrating! (The cow jumping over the moon was actually my favorite sketch!)
So how did I end up with my final illustration?
Shortly after the group critique, I went to the SCBWI Wild Wild
Midwest Conference. While there, I attended the AWESOME "Illustration First Look" session where industry professionals discussed what they
look for in art samples. Some of their most important criteria included
expression, movement, uniqueness, and whether the illustration told a
story. (And boy did they emphasize the storytelling aspect!)
This made me take a closer look at my sketches and ideas.
Thinking back to my COSCBWI feedback, it was clear "The Tortoise and the
Hare" displayed the most elements from that list. But while the sketch had movement and expression, it wasn't very unique and didn't tell much of
a story. I knew I could do better, so I went back to the drawing
board!
And so, I endeavored to put my own spin on the classic fable. I
choose to illustrate the end of the story, leaving the middle part to
the viewer's imagination. Whereas in the true fable, the hare gets
over-confident and naps (thus losing the race to the tortoise), this
bunny clearly had a bit of an accident due to his recklessness. (And
probably involving a cactus!) Instead of using his advantage to win the
race, this tortoise stops to help the hare. The grateful hare cheers
his new friend on as the tortoise carries them across the finish line
together, thus giving my piece the title of "Victory."
This piece was soooooo much fun to create and a great learning
experience. (And it gave me the chance to practice painting my least
favorite object: rocks!) Above all, this project made me really think about what
elements go into a true illustration, and how to tell a story with just an
image. I hope I accomplished that with this piece. I still haven't
decided if I'll turn it into a physical postcard to send to
agents and publishing houses, but it feels good to have another piece
for my portfolio!
And now you know what's been keeping me busy the past few weeks!
Time to move on to my next illustration project... (And yes, I may just
finish up that little cow piece in the future, too!)
Note: All art pieces in this post are (c) me, Kathryn Powers. Please do not use them without my permission. Thank you!
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