June 1, 2011

'The Dancing Clock' - Color-Texture - Line


I find there are few things nicer than escaping into a picturebook... especially a picturebook you yourself have made. So I indulged myself and opened the box on the porch.


I was delighted, I have to say... once again the printed digital book seemed to fulfill every expectation. In fact I might even go so far as to say my expectations were exceeded. And that's a good thing.

While creating the illustrations to 'The Dancing Clock' I was curious how the retro-1950's effects might come out in print.

I have this thing about a crumbling brushed line that fades away into textures. I also have this thing about textures... and I daresay, I think they both worked.

I used a brush pen on watercolor paper for the lines... along with digital finishing, of course.

Because the dimensions of this book were large, it is a pleasure to dive into details with the finished book. That's one thing an e-book will never be able to do. And it has a nice booky smell... something no e-book will ever accomplish.

I'm also pleased with how the retro 1950's style turned out... I think the casual brushed line and loose bright colors and patterns came out with a terrific effect.

Thanks, Tiger Tales!

10 comments:

Doug said...

WOW! the books look great! nice!

John Nez said...

Thanks, Doug! I was pleased with how they turned out too.

:0)

Kit said...

lov it John

Gidget Girl Reading said...

this book looks adorable I'll have to find it and feature it on my kid lit blog

Marilee Harrald-Pilz said...

Wonderful, John! I'm also in awe of retro picture book art from the 50's - and The Little Golden Book art of Tibor Gergely. I saw an amazing exibit last year of some of the original art boards.

John Nez said...

Thanks! The parallells between the 50's and today are amazing. Even fashions from the 50's match the spare clean look of 2011. Finally the eyeglasses of yesteryear are fashionable again!

And the illustrators of the 50's were amazing too. They sort of set a 'gold standard' for today's artists. Luckily digital coloring lends itself well to the spare retro styles.

:0)

Phyllis Harris said...

Very well done, John! It looks fabulous!!! I LOVE the large size of tiger tale's books, too! :)

Leanne Franson said...

Your book looks really great, John! Congratulations! Very lively and fresh. Love the yellow orange pompom trees too. Lots of colour. So glad you are happy with it and your "50's feel" worked out. :)

Krissy said...

Great looking book!!

June said...

How wonderful that you opened the box and were thrilled with the final book :o)

The retro style really shines out. The broken line and patterns suits your illustration style so well. I'll keep a look out for a copy of this book in the UK.
Congratulations on a book to be proud of John.