Creating a fantasy story book illustration

How do I come up with a fantasy scene that I can't draw from life?



First, I find a subject that does exist in our human realm and study it for accuracy.

Horses are my favorite subjects. Growing up on Curacao I learned to appreciate and respect the Colombian Paso Fino horse breed and their trainers.
These gaited Paso Fino horses are graceful and natural dancers and carry their tail proudly. The rider in my picture wears zamarros, chaps which give the rider an elegant appearance. 

This quick study drawing/sketch is created from my own reference pictures and from cherished memories. Horses were the first subjects I started drawing 35 years ago and they are still inspiring me. The more I draw a subject the easier it becomes to draw from memory. To create the right mood I listen to the kind of music that I remember from those Paso Fino horse competitions (Gloria Esefan album Abriendo Puertas). Listening to this kind of music while drawing brings me back to the images of the beautiful horses and I can almost hear their hooves dancing on the beat.

Second, from study to illustration. 

It all depends on what the story is about. This quick sketch could work for a book about Paso Finos. But in this case I needed to create a fantasy illustration. Asking myself questions such as, who are the characters, where are they and what are they doing help me to get an idea.  
Again, I use music (in this case more dreamy music like Enya, Era, classical music) to create the fairy tale atmosphere. But without drawing skills they remain just ideas and daydreams in my head. Only by daily observing and practicing drawing from life can I make my imagination come to life on paper.

For the fairy I used my own pictures of childhood and made my ears just a touch bigger and gave myself a pair of wings as well.  I always carry a sketch book with me and over the years I have not only tried to capture the wings of our own chickens but also the wings of swans and raptors in the wild and captivity. 
These observations from wildlife enabled me to create a horse with wings or Pegasus. Once I have designed the characters, the background naturally unfolded. 
.

No worries about copy right issues 


By working from my own studies and creating my own reference pictures I never have to worry about infringing someone's copy right. Nature provides enough references and my imagination does the rest!


In this self portrait below I illustrated my own happy memories of my beloved first Paso Fino friend and the beautiful beaches of Curacao.
Imagination, observations and memories can be powerful tools for creating illustrations.

What is your favorite tool? Feel free to add a link to your illustration work.
Tweet

Restricting the imagination can be freeing

After my last post I realized that I missed the necessary skills to continue illustrating my children's book and  enrolled in the Illustrating Children's Books Diploma course at the London Art College.

The most valuable lesson I learned from this course is that restriction can be freeing...

Having to follow the instructions of the assignments or sample briefs to the letter sounds very restrictive but it is also very freeing.

The course unleashed my imagination in a contained area, in the same way a wild mustang is put into a round pen to get used to becoming comfortable, responsive and in tune with its rider.
Thanks to these restrictions I was able to create pictures on paper that otherwise would just have been ideas floating aimlessly in my head.

The school didn't teach me how to become imaginative just like the Mustang can't be taught how to be a horse. As a young girl I had a vivid imagination and I could just never draw a normal horse. I had to turn it into a ballerina, add wings or clothes because I always was a dreamer. This course brought out my strengths and helped me improve my weaknesses, enabling to use my imagination in an effective way.

In a couple of months I will be graduating and feel that I have finally have found my artistic path.

This feeling of finding my way has been one of the most joyful experiences in my life.

Holiday Joy Watercolors on paper by Ursula "Ariannah" Brozovich

Therefore, I wish that 2013 will be the year for you to do what you love or find out what you want to do.

Merry Christmas!

You can follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnimalKingdomArt

Difference between Fine Art and Illustration

Fine Art is the expression of the inner world of the artist and an interpretation of the outer world.

The ego of the artist sits in the driving seat. The art work shows something about the artist, how the artist feels, thinks and perceives the world. Since the ego plays an important role in creating Fine Art, this could explain the famous artistic temperaments and flamboyant behaviors of modern artists and artists from the past.  Fine artists (and I am not an exception) usually take critique very personally. This is because their sense of self is attached to their artwork. Every suggestion is seen as an invitation to defend or argue their art background, skills, mediums, style etc.

Himalayan Cat, Pastel on paper 2012

This portrait of our cat is an example of my Fine Art.
My intention was to paint her the way I see and know her, emphasizing her mysterious nature.
This work also says something
about my passion for revealing
what is unseen or taken for granted.
For example, the blue color of her
eyes is only visible in sunlight and
is very difficult to capture with a camera.

   

Illustration is the expression and translation of an idea or story.
 
The artist’s ego takes a back seat and the story is more important. The illustrator doesn’t express their own perception but converts the words of the writer, or an idea, into pictures. It requires humbleness and selflessness from the artist. An illustrator can be seen as a translator for the writer and he or she must produce accurate representations of the story.

Watercolor study of the characters

 

Here is our cat again, now playing a
role in my children’s book.
The main character cannot be
revealed yet until the book is published. 

This picture shows the visual
power of perspective. Yet, it is neither
helping the story moving forward
nor urging the viewer to turn the page,
to see what happens next.
Therefore it is not a good
illustration for this particular book.

As both the writer and illustrator, the biggest challenge for me is to solely focus on the story, letting it unfold by itself and leaving my ego out. It is tempting to use this book for showcasing my (fine) art or skills instead of telling a visual story with my illustrations.  But I am reminding myself that the story is my employer; children and their parents or care takers are my customers. The story is daily telling me what illustrations I need to create in order for the kids to understand and enjoy the picture book.
In the past I lacked the patience to paint the same character over and over again. That is because I approached illustrating as a fine artist. My mindset had to change first. It is no longer about me, my preferences, ideas or expectations. But, it is about allowing lovable creatures having their own feelings, thoughts, habits, struggles and dreams.

In a future post, I will reveal a couple of the real illustrations of my book. 

If you are a Fine Artist or Illustrator, feel free to leave a comment and share your art experiences. Tweet

Bird paintings and nature: Red Tailed Hawk

Remember this sketch I made of a raptor last year in September?

The gorgeous majestic bird of prey that was the reason for selling our beloved chickens?

My suspicion that this was a Cooper's hawk on January 14 2012?

Today, January 17 2012, I am updating and correcting this information (in Italics).

I wasn't absolutely sure so I also sent the pictures to:

Amber Edwards 

Volunteer Coordinator-Raptor Rehabilitation Project

College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri

Education Coordinator-Prairie Fork 

http://www.raptorrehab.missouri.edu/index.html

http://www.prairiefork.missouri.edu/

She solved the mystery and identified the hawk as a Red Tailed Hawk. Thanks so much Amber! 


Apologies to my readers.

Yesterday, my husband spotted this Hawk in the tree in our backyard. I felt very special in the presence of this beautiful skilled hunter, who didn't seem to mind us taking his picture. However, he soon spotted something far more interesting and off he went...gracefully gliding through the air. The first time I saw him scooping up a squirrel, surprising both the squirrel and me, I had a mixed feeling of awe and horror. But this time I was allowed to just take in its beauty and appreciate nature at is best...

The Dying Swan

I can still see this mourning male swan, sitting on the bank of the pond, motionless, waiting for the time to be reunited with his loved one...

For years, I was able to enjoy watching a beautiful swan couple in the park. The male protected his family fiercely against nosy humans like me. After the female swan died, his behavior changed dramatically. He didn't want to eat my bread crumbs, or chase me but just sat there.

According to the park ranger, the swan was dying from a broken heart. He tried to feed the swan and even put him in a pond with other swans but he was unable to save him. A couple of weeks later the male swan passed away... 

The love of this swan for his mate inspired me to make my version of "The Dying Swan" and I called it "Unseen". The hidden animals in the painting represent his pain and sadness which went unseen by the humans who were walking their dogs or reading a book on a bench.


This painting was displayed in a New York gallery in 2009 and only prints and greeting cards are available.



Thanks so much!

Political correctness among animal lovers

To be or not to be politically correct that is the question

Criticism of animal care: justified or unreasonable?
Years ago in the Netherlands, someone corrected me when I affectionately called my dog “Monstertje”, meaning in Dutch “little monster”.  She found this extremely offensive to the dog. As a kid I thought that Cookie Monster was adorable and my dog was behaving in the same cute way, so I didn’t understand her strong reaction.
But the criticism didn’t stop there. To avoid further degrading of my pets, she insisted that I stopped saying my dog, since that implies that I own the dog and that I am a power hungry control freak and dictator.

Is there indeed a correct way for describing love and affection?

My father called me “Ape drol” (Monkey Poop). But I have never doubted his love and affection for me. Nor did I feel controlled or oppressed by him in any way. Actually, I felt warm and fuzzy inside because I knew he was being affectionate and in a cuddle mood. However, often, when he did call me by my name, I knew I was in trouble…
Being civil and sensitive to other people's feelings is wonderful and an automatic result of being closely connected to another person or culture. When we apply political correctness we assume that we know the others feelings or culture. I seriously doubt that this assumption is perceived as “loving and caring”. Unfortunately, I see this also happening more frequently in the United States.

Our cat Lakshmi 2011
Watercolor on paper

Political correctness in the eyes of an animal

All I know is that when I call our cat “Stinky”
or even by her own name, she would just sit
there and doesn’t seem to give a cat poop…                   
However, she will show resentment if
I sleep in on the weekends (delaying her
breakfast), when her litter box is not clean
or when I reject her invitation to scratch
her under her chin or play with her.

I rather prefer to be politically incorrect in
my fellow human's eyes than to be offensive
in our cat’s eyes. Anyone who has had to
endure a cat's silent treatment knows
exactly what I am talking about :-)

Please let us do what is really in the animal’s
best interest. Loving actions speak louder
than the most carefully chosen words.

                                                                                                                       

Transformation

This is a very personal painting that expresses my transformation from
recreational artist into full time professional artist

 - Ariannah- and it stands for every change 

and development in my art career. 

 Emerge 

12x12 Acrylics on canvas 2009

Not for sale

     

With this post I also want to thank not only all the loyal followers and subscribers but everyone that took their time to read my posts. While I had a lot of fun writing my blog, it hasn't been very reader friendly. Thanks to blogger, soon, this is finally going to change!

After nine months of carrying my babies...eh...blog posts, I joyfully announce the birth of my easy blog view! If you have a fast browser that runs scripts (I use Iron Chrome), it will be easier for you, in the near future, to explore, read and discover my posts, -without having to scroll or search for older posts.

Please click on http://www.ariannahfineartandillustration.blogspot.com/view/snapshot 

for a sneak peek. You are only able to view "the future new look" if you are using Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer 8+, or Firefox 3.5+ and if scripts are not disabled by your browser. Please let me know if you are unable to view it or are experiencing other problems.

Thanks again for reading my blog!