This past week I have completed drawings 8 through 10! Its been fun adding a new character to the book and I cannot wait to get to the last few pages that will be drawn with northern lights across the skies. I am enjoying every moment of this project and it reminds me of my first year in the academy. I have many places that my inspiration for the books illustrations and messages come from. I am an artist and artists have to draw their ideas from other artists and experiences. In my first book I was inspired by the local artists in Banff, Alberta. Many artists had a fauvist style with rainbow animals or landscapes local to the area. I adored the lively colours in those paintings and took that idea and turned it into my own, creating my own characters and animals with my own materials. I also draw inspiration from other illustrators online and through Instagram. Its helped me develop my own style in my books and create different emotions that are easily conveyed to kids. One of my favorites children’s books I had myself as a child, “Where Does the Butterfly Go When It Rains?” by Mary Garelick is my main inspiration for my second book, “What Makes Me Special?”. Mary Garelick’s book was done in all blue watercolour, monochromatic. I wanted to keep my rainbow animals that entice children to be marveled by the characters, though I wanted to take those monochromatic tones for the background of my images. Its given my images a colder arctic feel just like in Mary’s illustrations the blue colour has expressed a wet and rainy feel. My inspiration for my themes and messages in my books have come from lessons I find are most important to identity. Taking risks on learning who you are and being proud of our unique qualities and talents. I am excited to continue developing more of a series of books on identity and lessons children of all ages can take from! Wanting to become a kindergarten teacher I can see myself reading my books and teaching the lessons to my students! This next coming weeks I will be continuing my illustrations and documenting my progress with photos and time-lapse videos.
