'Hedgehog Hibernates' (written and illustrated by Natalie Simonis)

Here are a few pictures of my completed book!

How To Print The Book....?

To get a professional look to my book I wanted to have it printed by a professional printing company.

I looked up some local printers and deduced who would be best to go with..


Print Companies

Cats Solutions
http://www.cats-solutions.co.uk/

Stroud Print
http://www.stroudprint.co.uk/

MLL Print
http://www.mllprint.co.uk/


In the end I chose to go with Cats Solutions.

To set up my illustrations so they were ready to be printed, I had to create a multi-page PDF file using InDesign.

Page 18

Page 18 sees the Hedgehog's journey come to an end as he finally finds a place to hibernate in.

Here are a couple of sketches in which I've tried to capture the peaceful resting state of the Hedgehog.

For the final design of page 18, I've tried to capture the security a Hedgehog would feel in hibernation by using soft, warm colours.

Final design for Page 18

Page 17

Page 17 is about the Hare showing Hedgehog the way to a safe place to hibernate in. Here are some sketches of the Hare in action...

Below is my final design for Page 17.



Pages 15 and 16

Pages 15 and 16 introduce the Hare character...

The Hedgehog meets the Hare..

Using my sketches as a base, I have constructed a meeting between the Hedgehog and the Hare over the log.

Pages 15 and 16

Above is the first draft of pages 15 and 16. I like the appearance of a conversation between the Hedgehog and the Hare, but I'm not happy with the way the Hare rests on the log - I think he needs some feet...

Below is my updated and final version of  pages 15 and 16.

Final design for page 15 and 16

Page 14

Page 14 is just a page of text - using Tempus Sans ITC font.

Page 13

On this page the Hedgehog is settling himself down to hibernate in the log - not long after he begins his sleep, something wakes him up....!

In the sketches below, I've shown the Hedgehog sleeping (acrylic illustration) and the moment when the Hedgehog is woken up (pen illustration).

Sketches for page 13

In my final design, I decided to show the moment when the Hedgehog is woken up...

Final design for page 13

Pages 11 and 12

Here are some initial sketches for Pages 11 and 12...

I like how the illustrations on the right hand page show the different stages of the Hedgehog passing through the log, giving it an animated feel.

I decided to stick to my orginal designs for my final pieces - just adding in more detail and an Autumnal background.

Final illustration designs to be spread over Pages 11 and 12

Pages 9 and 10

Pages 9 and 10 introduce the Badger characters...

 

Top sketches are design ideas for Page 9, bottom sketches are design ideas for Page 10

I have elaborated on the above designs to create my final illustrations for Pages 9 and 10. 

Page 9

Page 10



Page 8

Page 8 will just consist just of text.

Here are just a few examples of text that I have looked at...

The first font is my own handwritten text - I like the gesture that's captured in a handwritten font, but I think it lacks a professional appearance.

The second font is Tempus Sans ITC - I like how it has a subtle handwritten spin on it, even though its computer generated.

The third font is Times New Roman - a standard font, used in most books. I think it's perhaps abit too boring and 'grown up' to use in a children's book.

 To obtain a more a professional/commercial look to the book, I think I shall stick to an existing font and go with Tempus Sans ITC.

Page 7

Here are my initial page ideas for Page 7...

Out of the two sketches, I prefer the design idea on the right hand page as it shows the inquisitive nature of the Hedgehog as he walks into the Badger set. Also, I think it shows an angle that is more unique than just doing a full landscape shot like on the left hand side page.

Final design for Page 7

Pages 5 and 6

For Pages 5 and 6, I want to do a double page spread of the Squirrel climbing up the tree.

Here are my initial character sketches/page ideas...

Using the above sketches as a starting point made me consider lots of different angles in which to view the Squirrel whilst it climbed the tree.

After some thought, I decided it would be interesting to view the Squirrel from below, as if you were actually looking up at it.

Final design idea for Pages 5 and 6

Pages 3 and 4

Page 3 and 4 introduce the character of the Squirrel.

Here are my initial page ideas...

For Page 3, I like the idea of the Squirrel poking his head from out of the tree as it shows some character expression as he looks somewhat startled.

Final design for Page 3

For Page 4, I like the idea of the Squirrel looking down at the Squirrel as it shows an interation and actually looks like they may be conversing. Though I'm not entirely satisfied with the pose of the Squirrel as his arms look a little akward and disjointed...

Design idea no.1 for Page 4

Below is another design idea for Page 4. I've changed the position of the Squirrel so it looks more animated, and less akward hanging on the tree. I think this is the design that I will use.

Design idea no.2 for Page 4

Page 2

For Page 2, I want to set the scene/environment of the book that the journey takes place in, so I am going to do a full page illustration of the forest...

I will use my forest sketches (above) as a starting point to create a new image on which I can paint on....

 

 

 

 

Below, is my finished illustration for Page 2!

I've used various shades of red, orange, brown, and yellow to create a strong Autumnal feel to the painting. I've also added some perspective to the image to draw the reader in by plotting trees in at various depths, and adding a lighter coloured 'path' for your eye to follow onto the next page in the bottom right hand corner of the page...

 

Children's Book Research

Before I go any further with my book illustrations, I want to research some children's books to get a better idea of how to layout a more professional looking book...

The 'Little Tiger Press' Publishing House (http://www.littletigerpress.co.uk/) represent alot of illustrators that I find have a similar style to my acrylic paintings - for example: Alison Edgson, Jane Chapman, Tina Macnaughton, and Caroline Pedler.


Caroline Pedler

Here are two different layout examples of Caroline Pedler's work for Little Tiger Press.

This first image, a character sketch for the book 'Little Bear's Big Jumper', demonstates a stand alone image (no background) - much like my illustration of the Hedgehog for Page 1 of my book. I must also consider where to place my text alongside my image, like in this sketch.

Character sketch from 'Little Bear's Big Jumper'
Illustrated by Caroline Pedler

The image blow is a double page spread for the book 'A Friend Like You'. This is a good example of how a page layout can be kept interesting by mixing a full page illustation alongside a half page illustration. 

Each page has a different angle that the characters are viewed from - this again makes for an interesting composition for the audience to look at, something I too must consider for my own book! 

Page spread from 'A Friend Like You'
Illustrated by Caroline Pedler

Tina Macnaughton

Here are some photographs of a book called 'Time For Bed Little One', which was illustrated by Tina Macnaughton.

I've used this book as an example as I think it covers a variety of different ways to layout illustrations in a book page - from full page spreads, to double page spreads, to smaller action shots.

It also displays a good example of how to layout text alongside or within an image - something I will look back on once I'm at the stage of adding in the text to my book.

Getting To It...... Page 1 Of My Book!

Design Ideas...

Initial design idea for Page 1

My preferred illustration

After considering a couple of angles from which to approach the illustration of a Hedgehog looking up at some falling leaves, I decided I like the second image the best - I think the angle is more interesting as it's showing us what's happening from the Hedgehog's perspective - instead of just looking down upon him - and it also gives the viewer a more detailed look at the Hedgehog's expression.

Experiment Evaluation...

Texture and Decoration

I think the decorative backgrounds look better with a simple acrylic painting as the bold colours of the paint stand out more against the busy textured background.

My pen drawings, on the other hand, seem to get lost within the patterned background. Perhaps as they are quite intense with detail and use just one colour it's not as easy to fight against a background which is also quite busy - the eye isn't drawn to either the image or the background as there is too much going on within the page.

Collage

I like how the collage experiments turned out, and though I think children would enjoy the bold colouring and simple shapes, I would still prefer to have more detail in my illustrations.


Conclusion

Out of all the drawings I have done, I prefer just the plain acrylic paintings and the plain pen drawings.

Style example of what I would prefer to use in my illustrations...

After careful consideration, I have decided to proceed in doing my illustrations with acrylic paint.

Using paint offers me the opportunity to create bright, colourful, images, as well as allowing me the scope to create a 'cute' softness to the animals using different brush techniques - perfect for catching the eye of both adults and children!

Image Experiments Continued...

Pages 3 and 4

Here are a few design ideas I have for my third and fourth page...



Pencil sketches

I have decided to try out some of the experiments I have been using on my Hedgehog pages with my designs for the Squirrel pages. I think if I try them out on a couple more pages, I will get a better sense of it's continuity and the possible potential it may have to work as a whole book...

Pen sketches for pages 3 and 4

Acrylic paintings for pages 3 and 4

Using the above sketches, I've created some more pages using a mixture of acrylic paintings, pen sketches and decotrative patterns.

I like how using a mixture of styles is quite unique, but I still don't think these illustrations have the right look that I'm after for my children's book...

Image Experiments Continued...

Pages 1 and 2 Continued...

Here I have developed some more illustrations that encompass the collage/decorative theme in which I have been experimenting in...

In the images below, I have tried to brighten up the pen drawings by using bright watercolour washes.

After looking at the work of illustrator Sara Fanelli - who works mostly in collage - it gave me a couple of ideas for my work to again take a different direction...

'First Flight'
Illustrated by Sara Fanelli

  

'Pinocchio'
Illustrated by Sara Fanelli

In the illustrations below, I have used collage to make the trees in the bottom image, but put my own stamp on this method by using my potato prints in the top image.

I have also used a 'quirky', decorative font, much in the same way that Sara Fanelli uses in her books.

I like how the collage experiments have turned out, and though I think children will enjoy the bold colouring and simple shapes, I would prefer to have more detail to my illustrations.