Drawing Process by Barbara DiLorenzo

This blog has been such a great outlet for sharing thoughts on the field of children's literature. I'm grateful for my fellow bloggers on Drawn to Picture Books that keep the focus on the process of drawing. I can tend to shift to politics–especially in this charged atmosphere. But although I had prepared an entire piece on comparing and contrasting what happened in Charlottesville, VA with the protection of art in WWII Florence, Italy–I realize this audience is smart enough to know the difference. These thoughts belong on a different blog–and perhaps I'll post that essay on www.renatoandthelion.com. 

Getting back to the nuts and bolts of picture book making, I've chosen to share the drawing steps for a new piece. I am fascinated by restaurants and the people that work behind the scenes. So I've been noodling (ha!) with a book dummy on the subject for some time. The Society of Illustrators has a Members Open show this fall with the topic of food–so I'm using this as an excuse to create a final piece to go with the book dummy. 

The first version of the dummy had a penguin and a polar bear. I don't have a concrete reason for picking the polar bear other than I doodled a chef polar bear with a penguin overlooking at an SCBWI conference many years ago. I know, I know. North and South pole creatures don't meet naturally. I had a back story to explain this in the first version. But despite loving the characters, I realized this was forced. I still think the characters should be animals because children can't open and run a restaurant–but anthropomorphic bears and penguins can and still be relatable to kids. 

The polar bear, paired with penguins, started to look more racially specific than I wanted. And since the polar bear was the one in the know, teaching the penguin what it takes to open and run the restaurant, I wasn't happy with the unintended message. I could use a Grizzly or Kodiak bear instead, but there are so many sweet brown bear characters already out there. And there's the geography question. So I did some research, and discovered that Le Cordon Bleu, the premiere French cooking school, has a location in Peru, in South America. Perfect! I lived in neighboring Bolivia for 6 months, so I am familiar with the cuisine–and penguins live in Peru! So I started to sketch the most ubiquitous animal in that region–the llama! I remember being on a bus from La Paz to Tarija, and watching llamas running outside in the countryside. They looked so funny with their silly oversized ears bouncing as they ran. Definitely a fun character–though I defer to Anna Dewdney's LLAMA, LLAMA series as the best version of a llama in children's literature. 

I also decided that though the penguins could remain, the main penguin needed to be swapped with another character. So I sketched a goat. Soon their personalities started to emerge in the sketches. 

After sketching quick then detailed versions of the goat and the llama, I had an idea of where the story would go. So with the opportunity to do a finished piece, I looked through and decided to combine these two sketches. One included the polar bear, now just a line cook–and penguins as both servers and chefs. But the main characters are now the goat and llama. 

I combined the sketches in PhotoShop, moving elements around and creating a more interesting composition. As I write this though, I see I still have a change to make. The goat looks more interesting facing the original direction.

Although I'll go back and tweak the goat's position, this is the version I sketched on watercolor paper. I'll now use this as a color study. I'll be sure to post the next steps in an upcoming post. Stay tuned! 

And if you have any feedback, I'm happy to hear it. 

RENATO AND THE LION

by Barbara DiLorenzo

Now booking author visits for 2017-2018!

Barbara is represented by Rachel Orr of the Prospect Agency.

Twitter: @wavepaint

Facebook: @BarbaraWillcoxDiLorenzo
www.barbaradilorenzo.com

Create everywhere, anywhere, and anytime! - By Barbara DiLorenzo

I've just had a baby. A real baby (book babies are coming out later this year).

Prior to this wonderful addition to my family, I was sluggishly productive in the last months of pregnancy. But I still managed to create final artwork for two picture books–RENATO AND THE LION in the first trimester, and QUINCY in the end of the second trimester. 

But with a newborn that requires a lot of holding throughout the day, I find myself sitting on the opposite side of the room from my drafting table, unable to draw or paint or respond to emails. At first, I told myself to just breathe and get through those first sleep-deprived weeks. Not drawing to me is akin to not going to the gym for normal folks. A few days without exercise doesn't phase me much, but I've seen friends unravel slightly when this happens to them. Similarly, a few days without drawing, and I feel off. At this point with over a month of no new artwork produced, I'm starting to panic.

With lots of time to think, I now realize my difficulty in creating new work is partly due to how I approach art making. Thanks to years without holding a newborn morning, noon and night, I had time to create as I pleased. Hours of uninterrupted work time while listening to NPR or documentaries on Netflix, sipping coffee and playing with different mediums was normal to me. But today, I have a new normal that requires urgency - grabbing every opportunity to make a mark. I have a sketchbook by the table where I sit, but without my hands free, it has sat lonely and unused for weeks because I was waiting for that stretch of time that I used to enjoy. My new goal is to make a mark at every moment the baby falls asleep. This is humbling, as the marks aren't that appealing–especially as my sleep-deprived brain is also affecting my drawing agility. But the point is not to create a masterpiece, but to keep moving forward. Even typing this blog post required sneaking out of bed at 4am to write, all in an effort to keep moving forward. 

So here is the first mark I have made since the baby was born. No time for shading. No time for detail. Not even finished because the baby fussed just 5 minutes into my sketch. This is just a raw sketch of my current state. Now that I look at it more closely, I appreciate the honesty. No flourishes or well-designed composition. Just a tired mom and her newborn. I have a feeling that if I can make more of these, I will start to regain my footing. In the process, I will retrain myself in the skill of drawing everywhere, anywhere and at any time. Though I don't have the luxury of other options, I am happy to go back to basics again–and learn how to draw with urgency and honesty, and not solely to please an audience. 

www.barbaradilorenzo.com
Represented by Rachel Orr of the Prospect Agency.
Co-President of the Children's Book Illustrators Group (CBIG).
Instructor & Outreach Program Coordinator for the Arts Council of Princeton.

Coming soon!RENATO AND THE LIONWritten and illustrated by Barbara DiLorenzo
Published by Viking Children's Books
Release date: June 20, 2017

QUINCY
Written and illustrated by Barbara DiLorenzo
Published by Little Bee Books
Release date: February 8, 2018

Finding Your Tribe - By Barbara Willcox DiLorenzo

When I'm not working on my own illustrations, I teach art classes at the Arts Council of Princeton. Over the summer, instead of the regular 6-8 week sessions that include adults, I agreed to teach summer camp. Where regular adult classes meet once a week, camp is 5 straight days, with a morning and afternoon session. These are long days, but it's a great way to get to know the artists and help then grow in a short time span.

This week I'm teaching a Character Design camp, which pairs with the afternoon class of Animation (taught by someone else). Yesterday, I was with 15 students for both sessions. Although normally that would make the day hard to get through, these teens (ages 14-16) were eager to tackle any challenge I put in their path. By the end of the day, the gallery walls were covered in truly accomplished drawings of funny, scary, silly and beautiful characters in interesting situations. I was really proud of them. To relish in their accomplishments, we spent the last 20 minutes of the day critiquing work. I praised them as a group for all they had done. I mentioned that they should all keep artistic friends in their life to give them feedback, and help them feel supported as they continue to make art (some students express a desire to pursue art as a career). And then, on instinct, I said, "Because, sometimes, well-meaning people that aren't in the art world, can say an innocent but dumb comment that totally deflates an artist. It has happened to me." I noticed heads turn, and realized, they too, had most likely already encountered this. So I asked. "Who here has had that happen to them?" Half the class raised their hands.

I called on student after student to share, and an unbelievable thing happened. For every, "Geez, that head looks like a pear," or "Your drawing is horrible," –that students shared–the room was filled with murmurs of support. I could feel the connection between these artists build as they shared their stories. After awhile people were laughing at the ridiculousness of those without the ability to constructively criticize. I had to acknowledge the minor miracle of how each and every artist in the room that had been deflated by a flimsy comment, had moved past the sting, and continued with what they love to do. I let them know that this won't be the last time they endure moments like these, but that the secret is to find others of their own tribe, the art tribe, to give honest feedback with the intention of helping the art–and the artist– be even better.

If the students in camp this week learn nothing else, I hope they learn that. After all, in the fall when I return to teach adult classes, I will come across talented artists that admit they let an upsetting comment prevent them from taking themselves seriously as an artist–decades ago. While art is something any age can excel at, it always breaks my heart to hear these stories. No one should set aside their creative selves based on outside judgements, opinions that are usually not articulate enough to encourage the artist while giving something substantial to make it better.

So if you come across someone that seems on the fence about their creative work, welcome them into the art tribe. There's room at the table for everyone.