It’s a couple of years since I wrote my most popular newsletter ever, ‘My Digital Secrets’ so I thought it was time for an update.
I have learned so much over the last couple of years, it’s been a real adventure. I have learned what digital stuff makes me happy and what makes me want to rip it from its socket and stab it to death with my dip pen.
Along the way I accidentally bought a haunted/ cursed Wacom Cintiq, I’ll come to that later. 👻
I am a paper lover.
I love working on paper, I have made nearly every picture book since I was first published in 1998 by hand on paper, like ye olden days. I love the feel of paper, all the happy accidents, the unpredictable marks... Drawing on paper pleases my hand and my heart, I won’t ever stop drawing on paper. But I have spent the last few years exploring the digital alternatives for making picture books.
I wanted to know, will working digitally make my practice easier, quicker and better?
Why easier? When I can’t get a drawing to work, when nothing looks the way I want it to, or when I make a mistake, I have to grab a new piece of paper and start again. It can be time consuming and frustrating. Wouldn’t it be nice if everything flowed more easily?
Why quicker? Why is working quicker a goal? Maybe it’s not even possible. A book takes as long at it takes. Maybe that’s right but publishing advances aren’t going up and the cost of living certainly is, so working faster would be great.
Why better? We are always striving to make better work aren’t we? We never stop learning, no matter where we are in our careers. Aspiring to make better work is what keeps me motivated and inspired.
Before I get started I should answer something I get asked a lot. Do publishers mind how you make your work?
No.
I have made nearly all of my books by hand on paper, and recently I have made a few books digitally, and both are entirely acceptable to publishers. They just want good work, they don’t mind how it’s made.
Always have a chat with your publisher about how you make your artwork, just to make sure they can print from your artwork or file type.
Here are some techniques I tried
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