Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Illustrator reference books?

This is a little off topic, but a few weeks ago, I had gotten two great suggestions for books that have made great reference sources (Scott McCloud's Making Comics, and Bruce Blitz's The Big Book of Cartooning), and I was wondering, what books do ya'll have on your bookshelves that you find yourself constantly referring to?

Personally, I recommend - Writing with Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children's Books by Uri Shulevitz. It's very helpful in understanding the process involved in creating a picture book.

3 comments:

Lisa M Griffin said...

I will need to look up this book, as it is one I am not familiar with. As far as books go, I own many different art books that I draw inspiration from, as well as my collection of childrens books. I also enjoy "The Artists Magazine"... I don't subscribe but pick it up often when it has a technique or article that interests me.

Linda Kay said...

Michelle: I always return to Uri Shulevitz's book (many, many times)--it's the best of the best. Also, I subscribe to Chilren's Writer: www.ChildrensWriter.com which has a lot of market news. Another book "How to Write & Illustrate Children's Books and Get Them Published," editors Treld Pelkey Bicknell & Felicity Trotman--it's good; Barbara Seuling's "Write a Children's Book and Get it Published" is good. Another thing I do is "surf" through SCBWI's illustrator sites--it's very inspirational (haven't done this in a long time because it's very time consuming!). Thanks for sharing what you read :)

Leeza Hernandez Illustrator said...

Illustrating Children's Books: Creating Pictures for Publication by Martin Salisbury is one of my absolute faves alongside Uri's book. This book shows examples of dummies, thumbnails, existing books, novelties etc and is modern - Uri's book is more about getting into the nitty-gritty of creating
a PB through understanding the compiles process of story-telling. Another recent book by Martin Salisbury is play Pen -- which highlights some of todays' top children's book illustrators from all around the world. V. cool...

if you are interested I actually have a downloadable PDF of an entire book list on my Website...

visit leezaworks(dot)com and click on the links button. On the far right under photos/articles is a Book List. Click on that and you'll get a PDF.

Another great magazine aside form Bulletin, the national SCBWI rag is Sprouts, which is subscription only at $24 per year. It is the New Jersey chapter full-color magazine and has all sorts of great how-to articles for writers and illustrators as well as really cool interviews and business advice. Illustrators who subscribe can get an illustration showcased, too.

This magazine is mailed to about 60 editors, agents and ADs in major publishing houses, so it's a good platform to display your work and know
key industry professionals see it.