I recently received an advance copy of my latest picture book, The Haunted Ghoul Bus, written by Lisa Trumbauer, illustrated by Jannie Ho (me!). Published by Sterling, available in bookstores and amazon in October 2008.
Here is a sneak peek of whats inside!
Here's a small illustration I did for a book denoting a chart to show activities in respect to energy/calories expended. Being a couch potato takes little energy, while a vigorous bicycle ride takes much. Just in case you didn't know that... : ) And below is a close up.
Soccer is the most popular sport here in Norway. It sure looks like these kids are having fun playing! This is painted with acrylic paints on watercolor paper.
(copyright Paula Becker/Lobster Press)
This boy fears the teacher will think he's cheating on a test because his friend is trying to get an answer from him.
"Fear" usually includes lots of lines and sweat droplets shooting from the head area, maybe an exclamation point or two or three to show the seriousness of the situation, sprinkle that with some small curvy lines around the body to denote a shudder or shaking, big eyes with worried eyebrows, and a slightly open, down-turned mouth or maybe showing some teeth (like an upside down smile). Optional: bring a hand up to the mouth like the characters biting his fingernails.
That's how "fear" looks in the cartoon world, anyway. :)
It's so easy for a children's illustrator to end up with a portfolio full of happy pictures of smiling kids and animals. We need variety and have to make a few "darker" pictures now and then, but I think that's a challenge. Even my "scary pictures" tend to look kinda cute and happy. I made this illustration about 6 months ago just to challenge myself. I think I managed to do what I wanted, but I'm still not sure if I like the picture or not.
