DIY Illustrations

Tonight, dear readers, I was going to take a page from Keith's ledger and get on my own soapbox. I was going to tilt against the windmill of the hoary giant that is ISTEP. However, I suspect that I am merely a single voice in a vast chorus of protest of parents with school aged children. Those that need to hear what I would say seem to be deaf to such complaints, so I will not waste my energy. I will only say this: Public education is not a business, nor should it be treated as such - EVER.

Now that I have that out of my system, I will continue on with more writerly concerns. I want to pick up on another of Keith's topics and discuss illustrations. Specifically, I want to discuss my Wild Man Series.

Now, this series is intended for children (more or less) and I have it in mind to add illustrations within the three stories as well as on the covers. I am thinking along the lines of A.A. Milne or Beatrix Potter when I visualize these drawings. I want more of the early 20th century look to them as opposed to something more Nickelodeon. To that end, I have been looking about for an illustrator that can manage my vaguely described, but clear in my mind requirements. And yes, Keith, you are right (though I cringe to say it) specific illustrations require a specific type of artist.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, really. Writers do not generally venture outside of their preferred genres. The same is true (in general) for musicians, painters, and the like. Oh, I realize that there are many examples of  artists who have crossed genres, but I am making a broad generalization to illustrate my point (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). At any rate, through friends and relayed contacts, I have found a few artists who would fit the bill, as it were.

But here's the thing, They all want money. I am not opposed to the concept of getting paid for your work - far from it. Actually, I hope to get paid excessively for my own artistic offerings someday. However, I don't have the kind of money required to do all the illustrations I want to do and feel are necessary for the story. I suppose I could manage it if we all ate chipped beef on toast for dinner for three months or so, but really, there's a limit to suffering for your art.

So what am I to do? I could reduce the number of illustrations, but going from five to three doesn't help all that much. Thus, I have decided to try and give it a go myself. In the spirit of Mr. Milne (who coincidentally wrote operas for a living prior to creating the world's most lovable bear), I am going to try to put brush to canvas and DIY some illustrations. Tune in next time to see what could possibly go wrong.