It takes a talented illustrator …

Written By Angela Clawson

“Teamwork makes the dream work.” ~John C. Maxwell

Thanksgiving is approaching fast, and we are gearing up for the Made in Mathews Open Studio Tour. The tour takes place over two weekends and 5 days, so you can easily choose a day to visit Mathews if you are in the area. Find the list of artisans and schedule here, Made in Mathews

Two of Mermaid Cove’s current projects include children’s picture books. When illustrating and designing full-color picture books, it takes great communication and collaboration between the illustrator and the designer. And when you have a talented illustrator with a great eye for design it’s even better. The understanding of layouts, dimensions, and the use of consistent color palettes, as well as having an artistic hand, are attributes of a talented illustrator.

Children’s book layouts can change several times from first conception to final layout. As Helena and I work together on the layouts and illustration concepts for these books, we frequently decide to make changes to the rough designs of each illustration. Which in turn leads to layout design. Each story requires a different color palette and layout, whether it be full-spread illustrations with pastel colors, or a design closer to a graphic novel layout with bright and bold colors. Establishing the color palette and layout concept with rough sketches at the beginning of the project saves time and any frustration later. It is a pleasure to have Helena on our team as a very talented illustrator with a great eye for design and layout. See Helena’s work in her portfolio.

Below is an example of how we went from the first rough sketch and layout, to the finalized layout design in one of the books we are currently working on.

Mermaid Reads: Book recommendations and what we’re reading.

True life mermaids (or mermen) believe in themselves, they embrace their creativity and live life to the fullest.

Updates from the writer’s desk…

 
Angela Clawson
Next

The turning of leaves …