(click to see it larger)
This is a Jewish version of a Bible story, so the clothes and beards and even hand gestures had to be very specific.
I originally had the guy in front's right hand with his fingers slightly apart, which made a nicer design - but learned that that particular gesture is a type of blessing, and was asked to make the fingers all be close together instead.
The tallits were originally done as a 'shawl' type design, but it was decided that this 'poncho' style was more historically accurate.
The beards had to be a certain length.
Etc., etc., etc.
So this has been an interesting project so far! And very humbling to have rabbis reviewing my work. And a perfect example of the difference between being an illustrator (doing a piece to fit someone else's specs) and doing your own 'fine art' work.
I did this with mostly a black Polychromo and a little Lyra Soft Black (both oil based pencils) on Stonehenge paper.
~~~~~~
Other things in the works:
paper dolls, a colored pencil tutorial, a book dummy (there's always a book dummy in the works, isn't there?), some knitting!, some drawings of knitting, and some architectural food pieces.
I know!
And 'the guy' is coming this week to upgrade my Mac OS for me and install a newer version of Photoshop and all, so I will finally be able to get up to speed with ebooks, hopefully. Looking forward to that "publish to ebook" function in PS5.5!
The SCBWI Winter Conference is going on as we speak. Here's a blog devoted just to that if you want to peek in.
The Tomie de Paola contest winners are here.
An unofficial gallery of some of the contest entries can be seen here.
The Caldecott winners were announced last week. See them here.
The CPSA Explore This! 8 list accepted entries can be seen here. (no pictures, just a text list)
And finally, the prospectus for the upcoming CPSA 20th International Exhibition can be downloaded here.
I'm so glad to be over this awful cold I had for way too long, and am anxious to get back to work. How about you? What are you working on?
5 comments:
Your final results have a lot of charm, I'm sure they are very pleased with the picture! It sounds like a nice learning experience too, that's always a bonus. What period is being portrayed? I had another career as a costumier and period dress has always fascinated me.
I love this Paula! What intricate and perfect periodic detail! NICE!
Thank you Dianne and Jack!
Dianne, its "Bible time". :~) Back around when Jesus when doing his thing.
I love period clothes too. This one has to be historically accurate from a Jewish point of view. The research has been fun.
What a lovely piece, and it sounds like a very interesting project! I'm always fascinated with the research that an author or illustrator does to achieve accuracy with a specific subject. Well done!
Lovely work, Paula! I am in awe of your drafting and rendering skills. Wow.
Post a Comment