Student Successes: Rong Yuan Ma

Rongyuan (Roya) Ma won the Gold Award in the Children's Market catagory from the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles 54th Annual Illustration Exhibition for this stunning piece of art.

She did the line art in ink, scanned it, and painted it digitally.
Congratulations, Roya! 

© Rongyuan Ma, "Daughter of the Dragon"

More Catching up: Student successes: Sarita Rich!

I'm trying to catch up with a few of the accomplishments of students from the RISD-CE Children's Book Illustration certificate program. Although the program is being discontinued, the students who went through the program are out there doing fantastic work.

Sarita Rich is one of those students. Her book, Hypnosis Harry, came out February 28, 2016, written by Catherine Bailey, published by Sky Pony Press. In the meantime, Sarita is busy working on more books and raising two daughters.

Hypnosis Harry, Illustrated by Sarita Rich

Want to read about how she got an agent?

Read the 7/11/16 blog interview ​
Author/Illustrator Sarita Rich travels the road of Persistence and Luck in acquiring a Picture Book Agent.
 
http://www.moniritchie.com/book-nook/sarita-rich-books-an-agent

Interior spread of Hypnosis Harry, Illustrated by Sarita Rich

Another blog about her first book, Hypnosis Harry:

https://taralazar.com/tag/sarita-rich/

Catching Up and Student Successes: Lesley Breen Withrow, Meg Sodano, Melanie Linden Chan

It's been a long time since anyone posted, but that doesn't mean that nothing's happened.

The biggest event was the the Children's Book Illustration certificate at RISD-CE was discontinued. We are finishing up with students who were already "in the pipeline," and those amazing students will be graduating this year and next.

Great children's book illustration classes continue to be offered.

And the grads and students who went through the program continue to do us proud. Here are a few of the folks who are out there creating amazing books for children!

One of our earlier graduates, Lesley Breen Withrow, had TWO children's books come on the market this year.

"Bunny Bus," illustrated by Lesley Breen Withrow

Here's what PW has to say:  

Bunny Bus
Ammi-Joan Paquette, illus. by Lesley Breen Withrow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux,
Public transit gets a springtime makeover as Paquette (Ghost in the House) and Withrow (You’re My Boo) introduce the Bunny Bus, an anthropomorphized conveyance with a fluffy tail, two large ears, and a bucktoothed grin. Dapperly dressed owls, cats, and other animals clamber aboard: “Room for more? Of course! Pile on!/ The Bunny Bus rolls on and on.” Withrow’s scraggly pencils, lined-paper backdrops, and splashes of color and pattern create an exuberant atmosphere that’s only briefly interrupted when the overloaded bus temporarily breaks down, sending carrots and painted eggs flying. It’s a novel spin on familiar Easter themes. Ages 2–4. Author’s agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Illustrator’s agent: Chris Tugeau, Christina A. Tugeau Artist Agency. 

Interior spread from "Bunny Bus," written by Ammi-Joan Paquette, illustrated by Lesley Breen Withrow

And "You're my Boo," written by Kate Dopirak, published by Beach Lane Books (S&S). 

"You're my Boo," by Kate Dopirak, illustrated by Lesley Breen Withrow.

Meg Sodano, who has two certificates... one in natural science illustration and the other in children's book, has been combining her talents perfectly. Not only did she take an amazing trip to the Galapagos, teaching natural science drawing, but she has a new picture book out! 

 

Meg Sodono's illustrations grace "Lila's Harbor"

 To see more of Meg's amazing work, go to her website: 

https://msodanoillustration.com/

Melanie Linden Chan had quite a year. 

She signed a contract to illustrate a non-fiction children's pickturebook for Tilburyhouse. 

In the meantime, she built and moved into a house, and she and her husband created a beautiful, amazing, perfect baby boy!!!

I will post some more catch-up posts asap. Congratulations to our talented illustrators!!!

Bob and Zoë Alley visit Illustration 3

Instructor Emilie Boon and her students listen as Bob talks about his multi-media technique.

On November 16, Bob Alley, illustrator of the current version of Paddington Bear for the past 20 years, visited Emilie Boon's Illustration 3 class. His wife with his author wife, Zoë Alley. They focused their talk on two graphic novels for young children that they collaborated on, "There's a Wolf at the Door,"  and "There's a Princess in the Palace." 

The couple spoke to Illustration III, with visitors from Illustration I and Book Dummy attending. They met in the newly renovated ISB, Illustration Studies Building, with it's exposed brick and ductwork and updated electronics.

Bob's storyboard with comments, and the finished book

Students look closely at different stages of the Alley's collaborative work.

Their explanation of the process of a husband-wife team collaborating on a such a large-scale project was filled with humor.

Graphic novels are a growing trend in the children's book industry, but graphic novels for young children are still quite rare. These two are a re-take on familiar fairy tales that morph into one ongoing tale. Between them, the books garnered starred reviews in Horn Book Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly and Booklist, not to mention many more awards.

Original crow-quill pen art, and finished art.

Bob shared insights into the process of story-boarding, and explained how he did the artwork. He does all his work traditionally, using mixed media, including ink, watercolors, colored pencils and gouache.





Don't miss Bob and Zoe's great work. Here are some links to their websites.
http://www.rwalley.com/



Go here to see a schedule of places where you can meet the Alley's yourself, and purchase some of their books.
http://www.zoeballey.com/bio.htm

Another semester completed

The Book Dummy class, 2015

This past semester was a good one for Children's Book Illustration. Intro to Illustration, Illustration I, Book Dummy and Illustration III all had wonderful students moving forward with their certificate sequence.

I put a blog post on my website about the Book Dummy, which had a wide range of students this year, with great ideas and projects for children's books. To see that post,

 click here

Student Sucess: Marcela Staudenmaier

Marcela Staudenmaier received the R. Michaelson Gallery Emerging Artist Award at the NESCBWI 2015 conference. This year the award was given to the creator of the best portfolio at the portfolio showcase.

Illustration © Marcela Staudenmaier

Marcela's gorgeous 3D papercut illustrations impressed the staff at R. Michaelson Galleries.  She will have one of her pieces hung in the gallery's 26th Annual Children's Illustration Celebration,

On exhibit: November 8th, 2015 – January 15th, 2016

Opening reception: Sunday, November 8th, 4-6pm



Here's a link to an interview with Marcela and more of her great artwork.

http://www.kidlit411.com/2015/06/Kidlit411-Illustrator-Marcela-Staudenmaier.html

Student Success: Brook Gideon

CBI program graduate Brook Gideon illustrated the middle grade Azalea, Unschooled by Liza Kleinman, recently published by Islandport Press.

The book has been attracting attention, and was recently awarded a Gold Medal by the 2015 Moonbeam Children's Book Award, for Best First Chapter Book.

Congratulations Brook Gideon and Liza Kleinman!