What Do Illustrators Do?
by Eileen Christelow
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Book Summary Information
Author: Eileen ChristelowEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-12-17
ISBN: 0618874232
Number of pages: 40
Publisher: Sandpiper
Book Reviews of What Do Illustrators Do?
Book Review: A great job description
Summary: 5 Stars
Eileen Christelow has written a wonderful book depicting the working habits of an illustrator. Not only did she write it, she also illustrated the book, "What Do Illustrators Do?," which can serve as a kind of job description.
Her story actually begins on the back cover with a conversation between an illustrator's dog and her writer-friend's cat. Actually, the illustrator in the book could be Ms Christelow since both are artist/writers. (I don't know who the male writer is.) Now look at the front cover. The two writers are partitioned and asking a book question. He: How can I make this giant look really big? She: Should I draw with a pencil? pen? brush? (Note: Both are picture book writers, however his pictures are created by a professional illustrator hired by his publishing company, whereas she creates her own.)
The title page shows a pencil sketch of a building. The next page shows the sketch colored in. Through the windows on one side is the writer, on the other is the writer/illustrator, with the point of showing how each page can be creatively used.
Now the problem: "Suppose ... two illustrators each decided to illustrate Jack and the Beanstalk. Would they tell the story the same way? Would they draw the same kind of pictures?" Curious Leonard (cat) and nosy Scooter (dog) are peeking to see what their humans are doing and are shooshed away. Now they can get together and complain (mildly) about their humans and tell each other what the humans are creating--a wonderful narrative device, by the way, because in summarizing the story for Scooter, Leonard is really telling it to children-readers, who love animal stories.
The reader also learns that picture books have 32 pages, so the illustrator must carefully determine what he wants his limited number to be. We learn about the dummy (no, Scooter, not you!) and sketches and point of view for EACH sketch.
The illustrator must think of the design of the page, i.e. where each item will be placed on the page, how it will work in that location, or not work. The writer guy says a surprise should come with each page. Sometimes writers use family members, including pets, to pose for their pictures to get a more realistic nuance for the scene. Both Leonard and Scotter and Jacqueline, the woman's daughter, and the writer himself have significant places in the story.
Scooter (the dog) worries why anyone would buy two versions of the same story (after all, the writer/illustrator is his mealticket). That's when Leonard (the cat) explains how each book is different in the making. What font will be used? Which illustrator? Which art technique? Coloring technique? Paper changes the look of the story. Which paper? Exactly which colors? For what look?
At the end the writer/illustrator and Scooter (the dog) and the male writer (whose book was illustrated) and Leonard (the cat) and the woman's daughter celebrate the publication of the two books and all their hard work and each one's hand and paw in the story.
"What Do Illustrators Do?" is a must-have for a school library and class libraries, especially of teachers who emphasize writing and even "publish" books written as a joint class effort. It's a worthwhile book for any child to show just what goes into creating that book in her hands (or your hands).
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