Monday, July 6, 2009

HOW'D HE DO THAT? (Reading Nathan Clement's Blog)

In this School Library Journal article, Diantha McBride (a librarian) tells children's publishers a thing or two - things she'd like them to do differently with children's books.

Her list includes 10 thought provoking points. A few of those items are # 1 - Bulk up those bindings, # 2 - Better editing, # 3 - Give that cover a makeover and #4 - Where's the art information?

So let's just focus on #4 for a moment. McBride says that out of 100 picture books she examined, only about 20 gave info about how the art was created. She says she's always teaching students how illustrators work. She'd like a little help from the illustrators and publishers with that.

Unfortunately, Nathan Clement (and the quietly impressive Front Street Books) do not include such info in his recent picture book, DRIVE. I wish they had because I'm fascinated with the graphic art employed there.

How'd he do that?

According to Booklist, "the artwork features clean lines, even shading and strong compositions".

The good news is, Clement does reveal some of his art processes at his blog. I've been watching him for a few months now and am enjoying little peeks at how he's building a new portfolio.

Please note as you peruse his Stickman Studio website that Clement already has a healthy list of illustration credits.

Drive, by the way, received starred reviews in both School Library Journal and Kirkus!

1 comment:

  1. I agree, Joyce. I thought they'd include something about what kind of art this is and thought they might even ask me. But, when it came out, alas. So, if there's another book, I think I will offer that info. for them to include.

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