How long have you been creating art
for children?
I don’t know if I ever thought of myself creating art specifically for children. I don’t see illustrating picture books as just for kids. But I hope my illustrations will inspire kids to create, and always have!
I don’t know if I ever thought of myself creating art specifically for children. I don’t see illustrating picture books as just for kids. But I hope my illustrations will inspire kids to create, and always have!
How long have you been writing for
children?
I have worked as a graphic designer, but I have thought about making picture books for a long time, and began to scribble in earnest in 2011.
I have worked as a graphic designer, but I have thought about making picture books for a long time, and began to scribble in earnest in 2011.
Can you
share a bit about your publishing journey?
ASAP!
ASAP!
Where do you do your artwork?
Wait, let me shoo the dust-bunnies first! Ahh, good thing for me you asked: just found a missing sock as the d-b’s scurried under the sofa! I don’t have a studio space in our small home, but here is where I do most of my artwork on paper. Otherwise I use the computer for digital work.
Wait, let me shoo the dust-bunnies first! Ahh, good thing for me you asked: just found a missing sock as the d-b’s scurried under the sofa! I don’t have a studio space in our small home, but here is where I do most of my artwork on paper. Otherwise I use the computer for digital work.
Please tell us about your illustrations. Can you describe your creative process for us? How would you describe your style?
I am not sure I have a style! I suppose a friend could identify my work, so maybe I do! I’m a graphic designer, and a lot of my work is what one might call graphic, but my pencil drawings are not ‘graphic’ to me! (Although I recently attempted some abstract landscape sketching on a weekend in Rocky Mountain Nat’l. Park:
I’ve heard that’s what publishers want: one illustrator, one style. But just as an editor will look for a match, I need to be able to feel that the style of illustrations are right for what I write – and as of yet that can be quite varied! I have been writing an awful lot since the 12x12 challenge started, over 35 ms drafts, not including pockets full of idea-Schnipsel (German for scraps of paper). If I felt I was not able to illustrate one of my stories well, I certainly would be open to pass it on to another illustrator!
Recently I sent this competition
entry in to my local SCBWI chapter for the Fall Conference poster. The theme is
The Future is Now:Surviving and Thriving in Today's Children's Book
Market. Even with this
kind of thing I look for words to give me inspiration. I browse the dictionary,
the thesaurus, look for idioms or quotes. Sooner or later, there is a spark and I
run with it. In this case I remembered a word I had illustrated for illustrationfriday.com:
heights. The
girl’s eyes had what I wanted to convey: http://julierowanzoch.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/illustrator-friday-heights/.
I actually like the energy from the sketch better! I completed the final using
markers as a first layer, then colored pencil and graphite pencil for
contrast/depth.
Which comes first - the story or the
illustrations?
I don’t think I can separate that. I think, I see visuals of characters in my head, they talk and I get to know their story as well as their appearance. I might begin to write down their story, or begin with the drawings, but they were born at the same time. As I participated in NaPiBoWriWee I thought I’d try a different approach: with no preparation I sat before a blank word file (except for #7, the idea appeared in my head months ago!). I shook my brain cells and let a story ‘happen’. Each draft is quite different from the rest. Let’s see if I can better relate with my thoughts: “Day One, page one...one.....one is the loneliest number.....“ And that is how the story began! Okay, so that was easy, AND I really like what came out, but I saw all that happen in my head. So you tell me – what came first?
I don’t think I can separate that. I think, I see visuals of characters in my head, they talk and I get to know their story as well as their appearance. I might begin to write down their story, or begin with the drawings, but they were born at the same time. As I participated in NaPiBoWriWee I thought I’d try a different approach: with no preparation I sat before a blank word file (except for #7, the idea appeared in my head months ago!). I shook my brain cells and let a story ‘happen’. Each draft is quite different from the rest. Let’s see if I can better relate with my thoughts: “Day One, page one...one.....one is the loneliest number.....“ And that is how the story began! Okay, so that was easy, AND I really like what came out, but I saw all that happen in my head. So you tell me – what came first?
Julie can be found at:
Facebook Artist Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Julie-RowanZoch
Please leave comments and questions for
Julie Rowan-Zoch
in the comment section below.
Come back every Wednesday all summer to see the
Featured Author/Illustrator of the Week!
