For years I have worked as an artist, with dreams of being a children’s book illustrator. At last year’s New England SCBWI conference in Springfield, Massachusetts, I had the opportunity for a portfolio review with Candlewick Press Art Director Kristen Nobles. Among the many great tips and feedback she gave me, she told me my characters needed to be more specific.
It was a great bit of info, as I had been working on creating children’s market illustrations for a while in somewhat of a generic way.
When I started thinking of doing children’s book illustration, I was doing large still-life paintings of objects. Not so fun, not kid-oriented, not even illustration!
Then, I started trying to piece together illustrations.
This one had some actual characters in it, but it was not so clear or fun and it took about a thousand years to create. It made it into an art show juried by the contemporary art curators from two major Boston-based art museums, the ICA and the MFA, but it was not kid-oriented. A 7-year-old girl at an open studio event zeroed in on it and asked me, “What’s going on here?” and really tried to figure it out.
Then, I started doing weekly Illustration Friday challenges to see if I could speed up my process and make something fun-ish for kids. (Also, I started saying a daily mantra about making illustrations that were lively and engaging.) I created something that almost looked like a child!
But it was still kind of vague, in a not-so-fun situation, and still not quite right for kids.
By the time I got to the SCBWI critique with Kristen Nobles, I’d spent a bunch of months doing Illustration Friday challenges, trying out different topics and images, working to make clearer statements.
My top-of-the line offering at the time was this image, and it was the one where Kristen advised me to make more specific characters. (As you can see, the girl in the red shirt and blue pants was my go-to character.)
An A-HA! moment! Be more specific!
Specificity is what makes your character stand out, be memorable, be lovable, and elicit strong feelings from readers. It’s what makes your monster distinct from every other illustrator’s monster. It’s what makes readers connect with the character.
At the SCBWI Illustrator’s intensive at this year’s winter conference in New York City, art directors commented on an image of a superhero grandmother that a fellow illustrator had done. Even though the concept was cool — an airborne, crime-fighting grandma! — the image still elicited the comment, “Well, she’s kind of a generic grandma. She needs something more.” Even flying grandmas aren’t enough. They need something that makes them different, special, innovative, memorable.
So I have been working at it ever since, trying character flourishes — hair styles, clothing, accessories, hats, freckles, different head and body shapes — anything that will make the character unique from all the other similar characters I draw. I looked in Parent and Child magazine for kid fashion ideas and hairstyles other than straight brown hair. I watched kids whenever and wherever I could. I am guessing I have to also match up the external flourishes with actual internal character qualities and get even MORE specific. My illustration process is a work in progress.
This is a recent one – perhaps this witch is still a bit generic, but at least she’s not in jeans and a red t-shirt!!
You can check out more of my specific and not-so-specific characters at www.dianazipetoillustration.com
Illustrators, what have you learned as you’ve developed your process? Share your experiences in the comments section.
Diana Zipeto is an illustrator and designer living in an energizing artist community in Lowell, MA. You can see her work at www.dianazipetoillustration.com. She has most recently illustrated books in the Olive and Max series published by Schoolwide, Inc.
Related post on Writers’ Rumpus: Illustration Friday–A Portfolio-Building Tool
Character and story are something we feel, we connect with when we view an illustration. Thanks for putting this info into words. Your girl with the stinky drippy bag is adorable.
LikeLike
Thanks, Joanne 🙂 I like your statement — “character and story are something we feel.” Lovely!
LikeLike
I have a witch story that your witch would be perfect for! Thanks for this great post, Diana. It’s cool to see how you’ve grown as an illustrator.
LikeLike
Carol! That’s cool! Need an illustrator?? Thank you for your encouragement. 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks for sharing your process. Like everywhere else in life, it seems, the things we struggle with remain the things we struggle with, I guess. But maybe (hopefully?) we start to recognize them faster? Develop more/better strategies for fixing them? Something?!? 🙂
LikeLike
I think you are right! I think getting others (critique, study, etc.) to help you recognize what your work is lacking helps you bit by bit incorporate the solutions into your images. Can take longer than you might want it to sometimes, at least for me!
LikeLike
Very interesting–I love learning about illustration.
LikeLike
Thanks, Marcia 🙂
LikeLike
Man, writing stories is hard enough. Illustrating seems terrifying, even if you’ve got loads of artistic talent. I’m glad that’s left up to more adroit people than me. Break a leg, Diana!
LikeLike
Thanks, Josh 😀 I feel the same way about writing! I guess you’ve got to kind of fling yourself out there no matter what art you are pursuing.
LikeLike
My art is just beginning to grow and I produced just one piece in the last six months I am truly happy with because the picture told a story. I am trying to achieve that more often. Thank you for sharing your journey with us.
LikeLike
Hi Ceclila, Thanks for your thoughts! It does take a while, doesn’t it? There’s a lot to learn. Best wishes for your continuing work 🙂
LikeLike
This is so true! Those little details are what make the character real, so often. Great post!
LikeLike
Thanks Nate 🙂 Love looking at your Stone Quadrilogy images.
LikeLike
Thanks for sharing. Good point … as I read this, I thought of one name I often use in draft stories. That name may be my red shirt and blue pants!
LikeLike
Ha ha! That’s interesting! It’s a challenge to steer away from those things — now I seem to put all my characters in capri pants.
LikeLike
Your witch may not have a red shirt, but she still has red shoes! 😉 Thanks for the insights into illustration. I love the girl holding the stinky, leaking bag!
LikeLike
Ah yes, that red keeps showing up. The leaky bag was a just-cleaned-out-my -locker image — unintended science project!
LikeLike
No wonder I liked it! I’m big into science.
LikeLike
Vey cool learning process. It’s interesting to see that when creating a character the core process with writers and illustrators is the same. You call it specificity we call it voice. Either way the character needs originality.
LikeLike
Hi Paul! Thanks for your thoughts 🙂
LikeLike