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An illustrator's voice on illustrating nonfiction
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From: Lauren Stringer <laurenstringer>
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2005 16:45:19 -0500
A few days ago, Lisa Peters sent me these e-mails on the illustration of Our Family Tree and asked me if I would like to respond to this. I am in the middle of painting a book on deadline, but I have been enjoying the conversation and decided to take a little time out to put in my two cents on my experience as an illustrator for nonfiction. Maia Cheli-Colando
But with nonfiction in general and science in particular, the usual relationship between writer and illustrator must be different:? for, how exactly do you fact check illustrations?? Take Lisa's Our Family Tree as an example.? Writing accurate text shouldn't have been too difficult; the material is fairly straightforward.? (The rendition of the material, however, is gorgeous; this was one of my favorite purchases of last year.)? Instead, it was within the illustrations that the greatest opportunity for error lay.? Without a scientific editor, how can you assure a visually accurate work?? This problem isn't as likely to arise within Seymour Simon's books; the photographs are what they are.? But it seems more problematic for illustrations that are creative, unless the author is also the illustrator...?
Kathleen Horning I agree that illustrations are important, and provide essential information in science books for the young.? I would think that as much research goes into the illustrations of a good science book as the text, and it is possible (especially for a content specialist) to fact-check illustrations.??
When my editor first sent me the manuscript for Our Family Tree I immediately fell in love with it and knew I wanted to do it. Lisa's poetic text touched me deeply and I loved the inside/outside rhythms throughout her story. It helped too that I had a four year old daughter who had just asked me, while brushing her teeth, how did we get here? I was aware of the controversy of evolution and knew that my illustrations would have to be extremely accurate in order for it to find a viable place on any library bookshelf. Our editor also emphasized this: "You have never illustrated nonfiction before, how do you feel about research that will have to be checked with a fine-toothed comb?" I was terrified, but determined. I am not a science illustrator, nor do I have a science/biology background but I loved Lisa's story and I was honored to have been chosen as the illustrator.
I spent two years researching for Our Family Tree. Lisa, who lives nearby, offered some of her books. I checked out every book on evolution from our local library, Barbara O'Connell, a professor of Anthropology at Hamline University opened her lab and library to me anytime I wanted to go in for reading and sketching. When I begin researching for a book, even fiction, I start a journal in which to keep notes and sketches. The walls of my studio become bulletin boards of sorts where all the images and sketches begin to find a place in my field of vision from where I sit at my drawing table. In the case of Our Family Tree, it soon became apparent that my studio walls and small journals would not hold 4 1/2 billion years worth of information. Just outside my studio on the second floor of our Victorian home is a long wall that goes down the hall and turns to continue down the stairs. I hung sheets of paper on this wall to create a timeline that was 4 feet high by 20 feet long, placing Lisa's text at intervals that coincided with the geological eras. I then began to collage images found from books on evolution, art history and biology books, present day ancestors who still resemble ancient ancestors (eg. the salamander for the amphibian stage that evolved lungs for us to breathe with). With this timeline I could make note of when the landscape was frozen and arid because of glaciers or when it was more tropical and hot. I could see when the first flowers evolved. These details were extremely important because often, when I'm working on a book, I will decide to add a flower or a tree for color or texture-- but what if they didn't exist yet?!
When I illustrate fiction books I paint from memory and imagination. The paintings come from "inside"as well as outside experience and observation. For Our Family Tree, I had to rely on research and the illustrations of specialists in the field of evolution. My imagination came in when I tried to make it a picture book that would dance along with Lisa's text, illuminating her words and creating the extinct worlds of our past without becoming "dry". When I finally began painting the original paintings for the book, I had memorized my research enough that it came from inside me. I felt as if I had taken walks through the Devonian swamps and across the arid landscape of Pangaea. When I painted the dancing volcanoes, I knew I would be able to blend my personal vision with the scientific facts and still be accurate. I knew I had done my research well when I felt a deep connection to each of our ancestors and could picture in my mind where they lived, how they moved about, and what they eat. The day I painted the Permian Extinction I found myself in tears thinking about such an enormous loss of life on this earth.
When the illustrations were done, Lisa and I had them checked by professors of paleontology and geology at the University of Minnesota. They had already proofed the text and now it was time for the illustrations and the timeline. They went over every detail and I was proud to be able to back everything up. The only changes came on the pages of primates. I had painted a tortoise by the tree on the left and a lemur that was fairly contemporary looking. Both of theses animals existed at that geological era, but they suggested something other than a tortoise to make it less contemporary looking. I replaced it with a creodont and added color to the fur of the primates that suggested something not as familiar as what we see around us today. Even after the book went to print we checked our facts on the visuals again and again. Stripes were digitally removed from the saber-toothed tiger on the grasslands pages when it was decided to distinguish between life on the African continent as opposed to the Asian continent.
It was very important for me to be able to synthesize my research with my artistic vision that would be both accurate and do honor to the text, as well as be aesthetically pleasing as a picture book.
Lauren Stringer www.LaurenStringer.com
New!
- FOLD ME A POEM written by Kristine O'Connell George - "This unusual poetry volume is a dazzling celebration of imagination." -- Publisher's Weekly, starred review
Received on Fri 15 Jul 2005 04:45:19 PM CDT
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2005 16:45:19 -0500
A few days ago, Lisa Peters sent me these e-mails on the illustration of Our Family Tree and asked me if I would like to respond to this. I am in the middle of painting a book on deadline, but I have been enjoying the conversation and decided to take a little time out to put in my two cents on my experience as an illustrator for nonfiction. Maia Cheli-Colando
But with nonfiction in general and science in particular, the usual relationship between writer and illustrator must be different:? for, how exactly do you fact check illustrations?? Take Lisa's Our Family Tree as an example.? Writing accurate text shouldn't have been too difficult; the material is fairly straightforward.? (The rendition of the material, however, is gorgeous; this was one of my favorite purchases of last year.)? Instead, it was within the illustrations that the greatest opportunity for error lay.? Without a scientific editor, how can you assure a visually accurate work?? This problem isn't as likely to arise within Seymour Simon's books; the photographs are what they are.? But it seems more problematic for illustrations that are creative, unless the author is also the illustrator...?
Kathleen Horning I agree that illustrations are important, and provide essential information in science books for the young.? I would think that as much research goes into the illustrations of a good science book as the text, and it is possible (especially for a content specialist) to fact-check illustrations.??
When my editor first sent me the manuscript for Our Family Tree I immediately fell in love with it and knew I wanted to do it. Lisa's poetic text touched me deeply and I loved the inside/outside rhythms throughout her story. It helped too that I had a four year old daughter who had just asked me, while brushing her teeth, how did we get here? I was aware of the controversy of evolution and knew that my illustrations would have to be extremely accurate in order for it to find a viable place on any library bookshelf. Our editor also emphasized this: "You have never illustrated nonfiction before, how do you feel about research that will have to be checked with a fine-toothed comb?" I was terrified, but determined. I am not a science illustrator, nor do I have a science/biology background but I loved Lisa's story and I was honored to have been chosen as the illustrator.
I spent two years researching for Our Family Tree. Lisa, who lives nearby, offered some of her books. I checked out every book on evolution from our local library, Barbara O'Connell, a professor of Anthropology at Hamline University opened her lab and library to me anytime I wanted to go in for reading and sketching. When I begin researching for a book, even fiction, I start a journal in which to keep notes and sketches. The walls of my studio become bulletin boards of sorts where all the images and sketches begin to find a place in my field of vision from where I sit at my drawing table. In the case of Our Family Tree, it soon became apparent that my studio walls and small journals would not hold 4 1/2 billion years worth of information. Just outside my studio on the second floor of our Victorian home is a long wall that goes down the hall and turns to continue down the stairs. I hung sheets of paper on this wall to create a timeline that was 4 feet high by 20 feet long, placing Lisa's text at intervals that coincided with the geological eras. I then began to collage images found from books on evolution, art history and biology books, present day ancestors who still resemble ancient ancestors (eg. the salamander for the amphibian stage that evolved lungs for us to breathe with). With this timeline I could make note of when the landscape was frozen and arid because of glaciers or when it was more tropical and hot. I could see when the first flowers evolved. These details were extremely important because often, when I'm working on a book, I will decide to add a flower or a tree for color or texture-- but what if they didn't exist yet?!
When I illustrate fiction books I paint from memory and imagination. The paintings come from "inside"as well as outside experience and observation. For Our Family Tree, I had to rely on research and the illustrations of specialists in the field of evolution. My imagination came in when I tried to make it a picture book that would dance along with Lisa's text, illuminating her words and creating the extinct worlds of our past without becoming "dry". When I finally began painting the original paintings for the book, I had memorized my research enough that it came from inside me. I felt as if I had taken walks through the Devonian swamps and across the arid landscape of Pangaea. When I painted the dancing volcanoes, I knew I would be able to blend my personal vision with the scientific facts and still be accurate. I knew I had done my research well when I felt a deep connection to each of our ancestors and could picture in my mind where they lived, how they moved about, and what they eat. The day I painted the Permian Extinction I found myself in tears thinking about such an enormous loss of life on this earth.
When the illustrations were done, Lisa and I had them checked by professors of paleontology and geology at the University of Minnesota. They had already proofed the text and now it was time for the illustrations and the timeline. They went over every detail and I was proud to be able to back everything up. The only changes came on the pages of primates. I had painted a tortoise by the tree on the left and a lemur that was fairly contemporary looking. Both of theses animals existed at that geological era, but they suggested something other than a tortoise to make it less contemporary looking. I replaced it with a creodont and added color to the fur of the primates that suggested something not as familiar as what we see around us today. Even after the book went to print we checked our facts on the visuals again and again. Stripes were digitally removed from the saber-toothed tiger on the grasslands pages when it was decided to distinguish between life on the African continent as opposed to the Asian continent.
It was very important for me to be able to synthesize my research with my artistic vision that would be both accurate and do honor to the text, as well as be aesthetically pleasing as a picture book.
Lauren Stringer www.LaurenStringer.com
New!
- FOLD ME A POEM written by Kristine O'Connell George - "This unusual poetry volume is a dazzling celebration of imagination." -- Publisher's Weekly, starred review
Received on Fri 15 Jul 2005 04:45:19 PM CDT
