Dummy Books

So after you've invented your story, and drawn out a storyboard for the 32 pages, you make it into mock-up book, a dummy book.

Everybody loves to see a dummy book. Friends, editors, designers, grandmas, neighbours... It's the first time you can show the book to someone and they start to understand what the story is, and you can judge their reactions on the turning of each page. It's also the first time you've put it all together, and it's a stage I really love. If I'm really excited about the book (which I always have been) I make a few dummy books along the way. I love to keep them and look back on them, and it's not usually until it's in this format that you see the holes/gaps/ errors in the flow of the story. 

Other illustrators have told me they make a dummy book to convince their editor to commission the book. I make them to convince myself firstly, and then hopefully to make my editor fall in love with the story. Above are two of the dummy books I made for Otto, the red one was the very first, and for the second I had found the title font for my cover, which gave Otto a strong identity from the start. At this stage I'll also be thinking about the media I will use, colour palette, maybe looking at other books for reference, and drawing some rough covers.

When I make a dummy book I will just draw straight into the pages, Then using my old typewriter I type then cut out the text, and stick it all together. I use my computer later on, but at this early stage the simpler the better.  

 Ps. A beautiful dummy book can be a piece of art in itself, Mini Grey is a real master, she makes perfect little mock-up books. 

Beginning a book

For me, the early stages I go through of writing a story differ with each book. The only thing that's constant is I like to write a lot when I'm working out a book. I will fill a notebook with just descriptions, ideas, thoughts, and redrafts. I've always  written out a 'plan' for my illustrations. Mainly so I can write down all the variants of what is in the picture, where it's set, what I want the mood to be... Once it's set in my mind I then draw a rough. Then I keep working it until the publisher are happy too, and then I complete the final artwork. No matter how much you plan though, it always turns into a different beast. That's why I think after you have created something you feel as though it wasn't you that did it. I'll often stand at an event in front a flipchart to draw one of my characters, and feel as though I've never drawn them before... It's a strange feeling. 

I've chosen these images above to show you, as they each remind me of a stage of the book. So the storyboard for Otto took a long time, the story has a classical structure and I found that difficult to get right. The beginning was always strong, but we had to extend the final pages and that was tricky, as endings are so crucial. The little sketches are early ones I did of Otto (after studying reference)  to get to know the character, I'm at this stage with my new book, and it's quite fun. Making picture books is about making many,many tiny decisions, and this is just one element. Knowing your character is very important, because with only 32 pages to show him off, the ilustrations have to amplify his character, and make the reader care about him. Picture books are often compared to theatre, and this is accurate. Props, cast, costume, set design, clear narrative, audience, even lighting, are all elements that you have to have thought about before you begin.  

The last two drawings are very early, the window scene was one I loved at the start and it made it into the final book. There is a rainbow of emotions in Otto's story, and it was important we saw him looking lost in this way, at this point. The colour drawing was the first ink drawing of Otto I did, my lovely editor Helen really liked this drawing, and it reminds me of the long, and challenging battle our team later had with the cover!

I have always had very specific ideas about colour, and my editor had to ask me to put some green in Otto, because aside from three trees, it didn't have ANY. So any green you see on coats or buildings, was added in afterwards! I may do a post on dummy books, as that is the next stage after you have found your story idea.  

Otto comes out a month tomorrow, and I'm excited/apprehensive to see what you all think...

Ps. The rough storyboard was only drawn for me, and it doesn't show you the final story, just an early idea. Honestly my roughs aren't that rough! 

Girl Hero

Elspeth Beard completed a solo ride around the world on her BMW 600. Read the inspiring story here

What an amazing thought to just get on a motorcycle and travel around the world! (Especially as I'm holed up in bed with a nasty virus)

Great article found via Tomboy Style 

Ps. My mother really wanted to name me Elspeth Cleminson... As a child I used to screw up my face with disgust whenever she told me that. It is a bit of a mouthful though, right? 

3D Bear masks!

On Saturday, I did a workshop event at Blackwells Bookshop in Oxford. I had been working for a while on my bear mask design, and after five different attempts I managed to work out a 3D nose that really brings the mask to life... The children really loved them, and I thought it'd be nice to share my design with you, so you can all make one! 

Here is the link to the downloadable Bear Mask Template

And here is a video tutorial showing you how to put it together!

3D Bear Mask from Katie Cleminson on Vimeo.

A Book Bear is born.

Yesterday I got my hands on the first copies of my new book 'Otto'! The Japanese version has a flyer with my picture on the front- quite a surprise when I saw that!

I'm very excited that 'Otto' is going to be out here in the UK (Random House) and in America (with lovely Disney-Hyperion), but will also be available in French, German, Danish, Dutch, Spanish, Catalan, Korean, Japanese and Hebrew! Otto is going to see far more of the world than I have.

I will be doing a blog-post on how Otto grew from one little drawing to a finished book. 

I like you

I like these...

TOP Marije Tolman illustrated this impossibly beautiful book 'De Boomhut' which won the Bologna Ragazzi Award 2010 (naturally). I saw this book in Foyles yesterday, and her illustrations made my heart ache.

MIDDLE I saw this nice print here and I like this sweet tumblr. 

I am reading these...

BOTTOM 'Freedom' by J. Franzen, THE book of 2010 (I'm a bit slow on that one). I'm slightly embaressed to confess my love for 'World of Interiors'. Don't knock it until you've tried it, packed full of beautiful, crazy, elegant, and bizarre interiors, and tons of amazing stuff that costs £100000000. (So just like Vogue, same publisher). And, yes judge me for liking Sylvia Plath, I do, 'The Bed Book' story is my favourite in this children's collection. This book would have been one of my dream commisions to illustrate!