Picture Book – Page 3 – Jasmine Pointer

Picture Book: Illustrations

Jasmine Pointer / March 17, 2016April 19, 2016 / Illustrations, Picture Book, Project Four

I’ve started on the main character of the book, “Speck”.

At first, I found a photo of a sphynx cat from Google and started to trace it using colour brushes on Photoshop. However, I realised I’m not the best at this and it just did not look right. May be if I worked on it a bit more it would have turned out fine, but I decided this isn’t the look I want.

I then tried to create him on photoshop with the brush tool. However, I decided against these illustrations as I felt they weren’t they right look and I wanted to start with a new visual idea in mind. These are too ‘perfect’ as in the outline is neat and the painting is blocked and inside the lines.

I have decided I would like a sketched, watercolour look. I wanted to achieve this by hand-sketching the outline and then painting it with a watercolour style brush on photoshop with a graphics tablet. I am happy with the basic outline of the face that I have created for Speck, to be used throughout the book. I am unsure on the look of the style of the painting which is done on photoshop so far. I might try water paints by hand and see how this looks. I have found it difficult to get the eyes right which is why I have struggled in creating him so far, with this sketch I might try other eyes as I feel the first ones are too much like the ones in “I Want My Hat Back” by Jon Klassen, but I like them. The second eyes I made digitally so they stand out too much and may be don’t suit the character as much.

Initial Sketches:

Full body Speck:

Picture Book: Work in Progress

Jasmine Pointer / March 10, 2016March 17, 2016 / Picture Book, Project Four

My book has been written!

Speck the Sphynx Cat Script 1

After completing the script, I decided to put it into a basic storyboard, as writing allowed me to think up loads of visual ideas for layouts.

Storyboard PDF

There are some pages I am not happy with or decided on with both visuals and the written story. But this is a rough plan to get me started.

Picture Book: Visual Ideas

Jasmine Pointer / March 8, 2016March 21, 2016 / Picture Book, Project Four

Page Layout:

10 ” x 8″ in size (large landscape – blurb.com)
Informal/Very Informal text layout (around the images, within the page – not top or bottom)
Double & Single page spreads

Illustrations (cats):

Simplistic
Hand drawn line art with colouring done on a graphics tablet
Anthropomorphic features – facial expressions, stand on two feet at times

Background:

Block coloured background
Illustrations on top with background imagery scattered over plain background
The whole page will not be illustrated (like The Gruffalo)

Type:

Sans Serif
E.g. Helvetica, Calibri, Verdana,
Easy to read
Size alters depending on story
My own font?

Colours:

Pale colours to fill background
Overall very pale colours but a variety of colours throughout

Speck:

Picture Book: Cats… Research

Jasmine Pointer / March 8, 2016March 8, 2016 / Picture Book, Project Four, Research

After attempting to draw a cat on a graphics tablet and failing, I’ve decided to look into existing cat characters – including how they are drawn.

Within the picture book cats I have found, there is the look of being hand-drawn which seems to work best for the look of the cat. Some are more detailed than others, for example ‘Tabby McTat’ has a lot more detail and texture than ‘Splat the Cat’ but I feel they are all still quite well detailed and not simplistic. I have felt like I will definitely have to hand draw my cat to make it unique, however, the examples of film/tv cats shows that an ‘animated/cartoon’ cat still looks good. Although these were perhaps hand-drawn first, they don’t have that sketch look I feel I will need to achieve. I like the simplicity of the siamese cats, which may not seem simple at first glance, but with the block/filled in colouring method they wouldn’t be too difficult. I was aiming to avoid using a black outline around my illustrations but I feel I will need it as a guide that I will end up keeping as it will look neater. If I attempt to make my cat on Photoshop again, from a hand drawn, line art version that I make – this will allow it to be unique but also still have the cartoon look I want.

Picture Book: Pitch

Jasmine Pointer / March 3, 2016March 21, 2016 / Picture Book, Project Four

Working Titles:

The Hairless Cat
The Cat without Fur/The Cat With No Fur
Speck the Hairless Cat
Speck the Sphynx Cat

Themes:

Self-Esteem
Self-Discovery
Bullying?

Synopsis:

Speck the Sphynx Cat was born with no fur. Other cats make fun of him, and he wishes he could fit in. One day on his walk home, he finds a woolly coat in a shop window and decides to buy it. The next day, he strolls down the street with his brand new coat on and everyone loves it. He feels amazing, until the coat starts to make him itch. We follow Speck on his journey to self-discovery, as he realises he doesn’t need to change who he is to fit in. He enjoys being unique.

Audience:

3-7 year olds
Adults with children!

Aims:

The overall message of this book is to make people want to believe in themselves, love themselves for who they are, and to have a little confidence and self-esteem.
With this book I aim to give the message that every child should be happy with the way they are, and they do not need to change to make friends or get acceptance from others.
I want this book to appeal to children visually through the illustrations and colours but I also want it to rhyme so that the words stick with them too.
I aim for the main character, Speck, to be a loveable character that children and adults can remember.