Dangerous Jane has been selected for the 2019 Illinois Reads program in the grades 3-5 category! Sponsored by the Illinois Reading Council, this program is a yearly statewide project aimed to encourage Illinoisans to read books by Illinois authors. Congratulations, Suzanne Slade!
See my post about illustrating Jane Addams
Dangerous Jane sample interior:
Learn more about:
This weekend, many Greenville artists (including me!) will open their studios to the public for the Metropolitan Arts Council’s annual Open Studios event. You will be able to come visit our workspace, learn about our process and have the opportunity to buy local art. Please come visit me and painter Jacki Newell at White Whale Studios, 401 Smythe Street, Greenville, SC 29611!
2016 Open Studios Hours:
Friday, November 4th, 6-9 PM
Saturday, November 5th, 10 AM-6 PM
Sunday, November 6th, Noon-6 PM
Today marks the release of THE WOLF KEEPERS, my most recent illustration project by author Elise Broach, published by Henry Holt and Co. You can read more about the book and see some sample interior illustrations in my last blog post, “THE WOLF KEEPERS: Book Release”.
One of the most enjoyable moments I had bringing this book to life was creating the setting of Yosemite National Park. This was a vital element to the cover. In addition to representing Yosemite on the cover and in key moments of the story, we all agreed that a map of the valley – where Lizzie and Tyler experience their adventure – was definitely in order for the endpapers:
And as seen on the end papers:
I love creating maps, and it definitely was a humbling and challenging task to represent one of the most beautiful landmarks in the world. To view my other maps check out the editorial tab at the top of this page. If you’d like to read more about how I create digital maps from hand drawings, check out my blog post “How to illustrate a map in a hand-drawn style”.
If you’d like to plan your visit to Yosemite or any national park, visit the Mountain IQ at https://www.mountainiq.com/. These two have done their homework and are a great resource to help you prepare for your next mountain experience.
(For their take on the best way to trek Yosemite, navigate to https://www.mountainiq.com/guides/america/yosemite/)
Happy Trails,
aR+
My latest illustration project by author Elise Broach with Henry Holt and Co. will be hitting the shelves on October 11!
THE WOLF KEEPERS follows the adventures of Lizzie Durango and her new friend Tyler as they uncover a mysterious illness plaguing the wolves at her father’s zoo. In keeping with the tradition of many of her novels, Broach expertly underscores an exciting work of fiction with historical fact. The life and teachings of John Muir weaves through the narrative, impressing upon the young reader the wonders of the natural world.
So many of the scenes were fun to create, but by far my favorite part was tackling the iconic El Capitan and Bridalveil Fall on the wrap-around cover. One thing that struck me was how light and color play on these magnificent rock formations. It was also important to communicate within the wrap the passing of time by transitioning from daytime on the front to twilight on the back – echoing Lizzie and Tyler’s overnight adventure into the heart of Yosemite.
Here are some of my other favorite moments from the story:
What reviewers are saying about The Wolf Keepers….
Publisher’s Weekly (starred review)
“Broach’s intrepid protagonists engage in sleuthing expeditions—moments Ratterree captures in evocative pencil illustrations of human interactions with the natural world. . . A gratifying, thought-provoking tale.”
Kirkus Reviews
“Despite the fast pace of [this] adventure—which climaxes in a harrowing 48 hours alone together at Yosemite—the text includes plenty of philosophical questions about animal rights and relationships of all kinds. Tyler’s wry comments about his race add further dimensions to a thoughtful, well-told tale, as do the pencil drawings. John Muir’s spirit hums along under a well-developed plot with likable characters.”
Booklist
“Part friendship story, part mystery, and part survival adventure, this engaging book makes the most of its two unusual settings. Fans of Broach’s Superstition Mountain trilogy will want to try her latest, with its western locale and intriguing jacket illustration.”
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This weekend marks the birthday of LILLIPUT written by Sam Gayton, published by Peachtree Publishers!
A thrilling sequel to Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, this mid-grade novel is certain to capture young readers, introducing them to the fantasy genre while paying homage to a beloved classic. It was so much fun creating the cover and interior illustrations. I immediately fell in love with main character Lily’s brave spirit, and was swept away by the 18th-century London setting, from the buckled shoes to haunting rooftops. My gratitude goes out to Sam for his inspiring words, and to Stephanie Fretwell-Hill and Nicola Simmonds Carmack for their support with art direction and design.
For those of you in the NYC area, Sam will be at the Bank Street Library (5th floor, Salon #2) on Friday August 7 from 5:00-6:30 PM to discuss Lilliput! For more details, visit: http://www.bankstreet.edu/events/details/460/
Here is a sneak peek of a few of the many exciting scenes in LILLIPUT. (For an inside look into the process of creating the illustrations, check out my recent post for Peachtree’s Publishers.)
from “Lilliput”, by Sam Gayton
from “Lilliput” by Sam Gayton
from “Lilliput” by Sam Gayton
Find your local independent bookseller:
For a personalized signed copy:
Purchase online:
This week, I am joining an international blog hop. So what ever is a blog hop anyway? you might ask….It’s is a way of blogging in which one blogger introduces a topic of conversation and then invites another to continue the conversation the following week on their own blog, who then in turn invites someone to post the next week after that (and so on and so on). In addition to allowing readers and participants to engage in an ongoing conversation centered on a common theme, it also connects people together who may not have otherwise known each other.
For this particular hop, we’ve all been asked the following questions: 1) What are you working on? 2) How does your work differ from others in it’s genre? 3) Why do you write/create what you do? 4) How does your process work?
So hop on board and let me escort you along this week!
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First, I must start by introducing the artist who invited me to join, Susan Sorrell Hill. Susan’s work immediately stole my heart. A kindred spirit in the realm of the faerie tale, she easily embraces other worlds – delivering them with majestic understated grace – and makes them believable. I can’t wait to see her story “The Emperor’s Pear Tree” (isn’t that a magical title) in print someday. Here’s a sneak peek image from it:
from The Emperor’s Pear Tree
Last week, Susan answered these questions in her “Around the World” blog post. And if you have the chance, follow the trail back – you’ll find some tasty creative treats to nibble on! (I must be getting my appetite ready for the holidays)
My primary job these days is illustrating a middle grade novel entitled “Lilliput” (by Sam Gayton) which will be published here in the US by Peachtree Publishers (due to be on the shelves in the fall of next year) The moment I read the manuscript, I knew it was for me – it’s rich with London rooftops, buckled shoes, thimbles, maps, and even a mad clockmaker! Here are some of my early character sketches….
If I can carve out extra time, it’s nice to balance the work at hand with personal exploration. One of my favorite series is the Narnia Chronicles and so recently I tackled a scene from it using a set of Copic pens I wanted to test out.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis
Along the topic, I recently signed with agent Marietta B. Zacker of the Nancy Gallt Literary Agency. Since the partnership will allow me to shift more of my focus to working in the studio, I’m anticipating a very fun and productive year ahead!
A big question, and one that I wish I could answer easily. What I can talk about, though, is how I fit into a history of artists. All artists align themselves with a certain lineage of other artists who have influenced them. Recognizing which family of artists you belong to is an important part of understanding art making and finding your own process. I’ve always felt a strong kinship with the “Golden Age” of children’s book illustration, a movement that began with George Cruikshank in the early part of the 19th century. It flourished into the recognition of artists such as John Tenniel (famous for his Alice in Wonderland illustrations), Randolph Caldecott (after whom the prestigious award is named) and Kate Greenaway (undoubtedly a master of nursery rhyme books). I’ve also been a big fan of the poster art and line work of Alphonse Mucha. Other favorites of mine: Carl Larsson (such perfectly balanced composition), Edmund Dulac (color, color, color), Arthur Rackham (ah, what glorious trees), and the more contemporary Lisbeth Zwerger (check out how she masterfully utilizes empty space).
WHY aligns with a set of values. It is personal and will be different for everyone. I wrote a blog post (The most important question illustrators need to answer) that passes along a concept created by Simon Sinek called the Golden Circle. I strongly recommend visiting his site where you can learn more about how to find your “WHY.” Tony DiTerlizzi, in one of his SCBWI keynote speeches, “Never Abandon Imagination” (a phrase that sums up his own “why” and also serves as the masthead for his site) discussed the importance of finding what used to make you excited as a child – what motivated you to start creating. This part of us has nothing to do with the desire to generate income or be recognized.
Everyone must take time every day to leave reality behind and entertain the possibility of the extraordinary. Faeries do exist. Narnia is just a walk through a wardrobe, or perhaps just around the corner. You can fall through a rabbit hole and end up in a world where the illogical reigns over logic. Magic can be harnessed. The grotesque can be beautiful. Stories provide a playground where we can ponder truth and discover our own values, while also discovering what we share in common with one another. Where no one is alone.
My process is straightforward: Thumbnail to finished drawing, transfer to watercolor paper, paint. The detailed blog post about it is recorded in my journals here (Illustrating Mother Goose)
on process
If I want a more glossy look, sometimes I import a finished painting into Photoshop and add more paint digitally – it just depends on the piece and what its final use will be. I would not call myself a painter. Rather, it seems better to say that I create painted drawings. First and foremost to me is the integrity of the drawing itself. This makes the issue of transferring a bit terrifying because no matter how well you trace an image with a light box, you will always end up with an entirely different drawing. Sometimes it benefits to have the spontaneity that comes from a traced transfer, but most of the time I like to prepare a drawing that can be output to watercolor paper. I work with a local printer, George Lee, who produces prints for me onto my own paper. In addition to having a state-of-the-art printing system that houses waterproof inks, George is extremely attentive to detail and is always willing to go the extra mile to make sure the product he delivers is flawless. He also makes beautiful fine art prints of finished pieces!
So without further ado, I pass the torch over to Kelli Thrasher-Books, whom I had the privilege of meeting at last year’s Highlights Advanced Illustrator Workshop (an event I recommend to all aspiring illustrators) In addition to being an illustrator, Kelli has also spent many years working as a graphic designer and I’m really looking forward to hearing what she adds to the conversation about her process! I particularly love these images she has documented of her storyboarding work.
Thanks for stopping by this week and make sure to visit Kelli’s blog next week as she continues the hop around the world!
Happy Holidays ~
One of my favorite annual events is Metropolitan Arts Council‘s “Flat Out Under Pressure” (FOUP) contest. In its fifth year, this program intertwines visual arts and sound environmental practices in downtown Greenville. FOUP provides eight recycling bins for paper, plastic and glass in various locations along Main Street, encouraging recycling among pedestrians while creating a different exhibiting opportunity for visual artists.
The event, which took place this year at the end of June, begins with a 24-hour art-making juried competition. Each participant comes to the MAC office to have their surfaces officially stamped.
9:00 am, June 27, 2014
Artists may stamp as many surfaces as they like, but only one can return within 24 hours as an official submitted work of art. Once returned, the pieces are then juried that afternoon with an awards reception held in the evening. In addition to receiving cash prizes, selected winners have the opportunity to choose two images of their work for reproduction on the downtown recycling bins. 1st place winner even gets a week-long trip to Italy to stay in the beautiful Villa Sant’ Andrea! (Here’s to hoping for that one someday) The show is displayed in the MAC Gallery throughout the month of July.
So for the process: How to prepare for having only 24 hours to create a finished work of art?
It began with a thumbnail:
To keep the energy of the thumbnail, I scanned imported to Photoshop and then increased size of the thumbnail which was roughly 6″ by about 7.5″ to fit the paper I would use, 12×16″ – so about a 200% increase.
I then used tracing paper to trace the thumbnail and add detail…
Since I didn’t have tracing paper that was 12×16″ each figure or group of figures was worked on separately. I then scanned them into Photoshop and added each image carefully over the original thumbnail file in a separate layer. The result was a “final” sketch compilation:
This was printed out to scale (took about 4 sheets of ltr paper, which I pasted together) All of this was prepped and ready to go before the event. The evening before the event I had fun transferring a few sections and working with the color palette.
So once I had my surface stamped, I was able to promptly bring it home, and have a full 24 hours to transfer the sketch using a light box, ink and paint it. 24 hours goes by pretty fast even when you pull an all-nighter!
I usually like to feature an illustrator for every blog post, but today I have several. The following illustrators were selected for the annual SCBWI mentorship program. Take a moment to check out their amazing work!
Featured Illustrators: Kathryn Ault Noble, Ana Aranda, Suzanne Kaufman, Jeslyn Cantrell, Dorothia Rohner, Robin Rosenthal
Recent editorial work for Town Magazine involved an illustrated map of the Swamp Rabbit Trail.
The process, while brand new to me, proved to be very rewarding. It began with a conversation with the editor, in which she provided the key places along the trail that would be highlighted. Initial (messy) notes:
To start, a soft-green base was laid in Photoshop using the paint tools.
Each location needed a special icon that represented its unique services and attributes. Time is always a constraint with editorial turn around, so I didn’t have the luxury of personally seeing places I wasn’t already familiar with. But it was a lot of fun virtually “visiting” each enterprise’s web site and discovering what it had to offer. I wanted each location’s icon to have a very hand-made look to it, so instead of drawing directly onto the computer, each icon was free-handed (just on plain printer paper- one of my most used and favorite sketching surfaces!) scanned it in, and then traced over it in Photoshop with the paint tool (as a separate layer – that way, the original drawing could be deleted). The result was something like this:
And so on…..
Next task was to add the actual trail. It needed to be accurate, but also a hand-made representation. Thanks to Greenville County Rec‘s interactive map of the trail, the perfect model presented:
I liked the way the bright purple stood out against the earth tones, so I picked a similar bright purple to work against the green foundation I had chosen. The trail had to be simplified somewhat but still have those organic angles. This was traced and simplified in Illustrator then imported as a smart object into Photoshop:
Each icon had been created in its own layer, which allowed me to move them around individually. The interactive map had a feature that allowed me to type in the address of each location and view it in relation to the trail. That gave me the basic vicinity for placement.
The next layer was choosing typeface. Thanks to MyFonts I chose one that represented the hand-letter quality to work with the image….
Along this topic, Laura Coyle has written this excellent blog post about how she designs and illustrates maps, which is a specialty of hers.
Illustrator of the day: Laura Coyle!
The challenge: you have 24 hours to make a work of art. How do you fill the time?
On Friday and Saturday, June 7-8, Greenville’s Metropolitan Arts Council held the annual event, Flat Out Under Pressure. A challenge to create a work of art in 24 hours. On Friday morning, we had our surfaces (free of any markings) stamped and registered. Saturday morning, we were expected to return with art on that surface. The idea of taking 24 uninterrupted hours to spend on one piece offers its own set of unique challenges to different artists for different reasons. As an illustrator, the idea of time is what intrigued me. So why not make a piece about time? 24 hours of time. What happens -or can happen- in 24 hours? Storyboarding. After all, that is what illustrating is all about….telling a story. And a story needs a time.
A few excerpts from my piece, “24 hours” – 24 frames capturing 24 hours in the life of Helen
illustration study by Alice Ratterree
illustration study by Alice Ratterree
illustration study by Alice Ratterree
It’s been quite a while since I pulled an all-nighter, and while my body hurts from it, my cup is filled. Taking home a fourth place award felt pretty nice too.
It’s a dream to live in a town that supports artists. Greenville’s Town Magazine is running a feature this month on four local illustrators. The article, “Illustration Nation”, profiles the lives of four illustrators living in Greenville, SC. Artists Cory Godbey, Justin Gerard, Bonnie Adamson, and myself-Alice Ratterree-had the opportunity to share our journey into the business and what drives our passion.
Click here to read the full article on page 74.
Town Magazine, May 2013