I have had three people in the last week tell me that I should be writing a children's book around some of my animal drawings (and no, they weren't relatives). The concept is an interesting one, but I know little about where to start or how to start or even if I should start.
I have been a little inspired by an article in this month's Artist's Magazine in which Geordie Millar's large-scale drawings of a female moose chronicle the animal's imagined responses to the gallery viewers. The responses of geese to any viewer?? I have enough drawing inspiration residing in the barn to last for years. The initial image that sparked the book idea was my adventures with Blizzard, the orphan gosling. Since then there have been plenty more goslings and chicks and geese to choose from along with rabbits and moose and foxes and coyotes and bears...the list goes on.
Drawing them would be a pleasure for me as animals are my favourite thing to draw. Creating a storyline around that would be secondary. Perhaps the illustrations would spawn the storyline.
That being said and supposing I were to accomplish this, then there is the question of having something published and printed. Never a cheap proposition or an easy one. I had a browse online and discovered several 'do it yourself' versions that will print and bind books for reasonable prices if I wanted to see myself in print.
Lulu.com Lulu is the web's premier independent publishing marketplace for digital do-it-yourselfers. What is a lulu? Well it's not your grandmother's kitty, that's for sure. Ever hear the phrase "Boy, that's a real lulu"? Well, even if you haven't, we think of the word lulu as an old-fashioned term for a remarkable person, object or idea.
Or you can turn your blog into a book. Might be the perfect way to keep a record of your writing and images. Blogbinders is one that I came across.
I'll have to experiment with the book idea and see what evolves. And for tonight, a sketch of Kit, the remaining horse. She's big and goofy, but loveable and will mug you in a second if she thinks you have treats!
Technorati Tags: publishing, book, illustration, animals, drawing
2 comments:
Presumably you could self-publish on to a CD using any reasonable graphics program?
Don't you have somewhere near you called Gander something - I just started to think of variations on "Babe: Pig in the city" - and was meadering along when "Goosing in Gander" came to mind!
Oh yes, I'm sure that any word processing/graphics program could produce something usable.
Gander is about 4 hours away from me in central Newfoundland. The possibilities are endless! Goosing in Gander made me smile.
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