I was really excited last September when I learnt that the Society of Children's Books Writers & Illustrators (British Isles) was offering a Master Class entitled, Making Your Picture Book Buzz. I hesitated and the course was over subscribed. I was delighted when I heard that they would run it again and I signed up like a shot. Today was the day. I traveled up to London hoping to learn some tricks of the trade and I've learnt. The workshop was conducted by author/illustrator, Garry Parsons. There is only one word for it:
Garry comes to picture books from an illustrating background and he showed us how to see material from this perspective. Picture books are usually written in less than 500 words. I've been struggling with an idea, wrestling to trim it down to size. Garry's tip was let the images do the talking. He showed us how to apply this concept and I think I'll give it a go.
I was fortunate to get Garry alone for a few minutes and discuss my upcoming book, Ping Pong. His feed back was positive, and he gave me some tips on how it can be tweaked to buzz. A day well spent.
The above image was from sirwiseowl, Flicker.
Brilliant.
You can check out his work at http://www.garryparsons.co.uk/.
Garry comes to picture books from an illustrating background and he showed us how to see material from this perspective. Picture books are usually written in less than 500 words. I've been struggling with an idea, wrestling to trim it down to size. Garry's tip was let the images do the talking. He showed us how to apply this concept and I think I'll give it a go.
I was fortunate to get Garry alone for a few minutes and discuss my upcoming book, Ping Pong. His feed back was positive, and he gave me some tips on how it can be tweaked to buzz. A day well spent.
The above image was from sirwiseowl, Flicker.
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