Underwater Picture Book Making!
5 things from the studio this week
Hey, friends! Ok, that title is a touch disingenuous. I’m not making a book underwater exactly. But the entirety of the book happens underwater, so there’s a sprinkle of truth.
Here’s five things from the week that was (mostly underwater):
1. SOME ART MAKING
There’s been a nice rhythm in the studio this week. I’ve been working on the finals for my 2nd author-illustrator picture book, JUST JELLY (HarperCollins, Feb 2027). I’m about 6 spreads in and really having fun with water texture, seaweed, jelly fish emotions, and figuring out how to render bioluminescence. There’s also a spread with like 50 small annoying jellyfish siblings.
One of the key elements has been using an overlay of texture to provide the murky depth of water. It’s something I stumbled upon in 2020 and had been scheming to use in a live book project since. It’s messy, loose and random. Think translucent texture film collaged and built up on top of itself.
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2. WORK WISDOM
Invite beliefs that are different from the ones you hold and try to see beyond your own filter. Purposely experiment past the boundaries of your taste. Examine approaches you may dismiss as too highbrow or lowbrow. What can we learn from these extremes? What are the unexpected surprises?
What closed door might open in your work?
— From THE CREATIVE ACT by Rick Rubin
I’ve been so intentional in bringing in play and experimentation into this book project. There’s moments where I’m trying to apply an overlay to the whole spread in a complex way and then small mistakes that I’m content to live with in the spirit of being loose. Maybe the most interesting was to collage in some very random old images as the sea bed and not having a clue as how it would turn out. I’m not sure it’s outside of my own filter, but playing on a live project is exciting and feels like new doors are opening.
3. THING I LOVED
You’ve heard of MOONBOW, yes? If you have not and love picture books as an art form, then Taylor Sterling has you covered. I’m a paid subscriber and can tell you unequivocally that it’s worth it. Taylor gives books time. She studies and honors the work.
I saved her latest to pair with a fresh cup of coffee, a quiet morning, and rare spring sun bursting through my window. She dips her toe first into fairytales and then full on into the recently released Rumpelstiltskin by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Carson Ellis. She writes:
In Rumpelstiltskin, Barnett remains remarkably faithful to the Grimms’ tale, but he—like all talented raconteurs—carefully edits his version, simplifying and embellishing it according to his poetic inclinations and the spirit and taste of contemporary ideals. Likewise, Ellis’s handsomely composed, historically inspired illustrations of a medieval world are surprisingly fresh. The result is a book that feels timeless and new.
And of course my favorite part of the retelling is the tension between text and illustration:1
On the following page, the miller (and narrator), describe a girl, who does not precisely match-up with the one we see in the illustration. She is pretty and looks like she has a sense of humor—but likely not in the way the king imagines. The girl we see is dirty and scrappy; she’s not afraid to catch frogs with her bare hands! There is a disconnect between the text and image: they tell us the same thing but differently.
Brilliant.
4. A BOOK TO READ
I mean, obviously it’s Rumpelstiltskin. It’s awesome. I’d highly, highly recommend Mac, Jon and Carson talking about the making of this book on their entertainingly helpful substack, Looking at Picture Books:
5. EPHEMERA, ETC.
I’m not sure of a lot of things, but this thing, this idea that changing our mindset from stuck (“I’ll never get there.” “I’m not good enough.”) to “just get better” was the key for me and likely for you as well.
From this week’s deep dive:
Best,
Jacob
I recently was inspired by love of this tension and began thinking of how to get better at writing and illustrating with this in mind:
