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I am a hopeless experimenter. Like an alchemist, I’m always mixing one thing with another, hoping to create gold. This happened to me after I finished writing and illustrating my fourth Max the Duck book (Sitting Duck). As lovable as Max is, my painting style for him was, well, inside the lines. When I paint my illustrations I slowly build up layer upon layer of watercolor in a technique called glazing. Everything is controlled: every line, every hair, every shadow, every pattern is placed slowly and meticulously to form a perfect whole.
I once thought perfection was my goal, but these days I’m after imperfection. I’ve discovered that while perfectly graduated colors are beautiful, there is also a beauty to the splash of color that falls uncontrolled, outside the lines. After Sitting Duck, I found myself ready to switch gears and paint with wild abandon, to escape the controlling person within. I was ready to take advantage of the beautiful irregularities of watercolor. I dreamed of capturing energy on paper.
April Pulley Sayre‘s book, If You’re Hoppy, turned out to be a great vehicle for this new style. It’s a silly, wild romp. It’s all movement and rhythm.
It was my opportunity to break out. But, how to do this? I not only needed to change my viewpoint, I also needed to paint with something that would encourage me to let loose and not worry the details.
I realized quickly that my usual way of painting wouldn’t work. For my Max the Duck books I used tiny brushes. These allow for a lot of control and fine details, needed for this style.
I needed a tool that was more dramatic for my new style.
I started by using some bigger brushes like this Chinese one.
You can see how much bigger it is in comparison to my usual brushes.
And I chose this handmade brush for my outlines because of the marvelous lines and squiggles it created. It brought life to the outlines of the animals.
But as I worked, I thought again about brushes. While my outlines were loose, my colors were still too stodgy. I still needed some tool, technique, or some way of thinking that would allow me to capture that sense of movement, of life.
I found it, of all places, in a tissue box. Tissues are a great painting tool. And cheap to boot. I layered swipes and dabs and smudges on top of what I’d already painted with brushes.
BREAKTHROUGH! You can see that the color surrounding the “hop” lines is rough and that the background color is full of irregular splashes.
You can see the dabs of purple over the bear’s head. While his fur was painted with brushes, his nose was done with tissue. The outline shows the quirkiness of the brush here, especially in his nails and nose.
You can see the effect of the tissue just above and below the cricket.
I decided to apply my new tissue technique to the end pages. I used both tissue and sponges to create the background behind these footprints.
Inspired by what I’d learned I tried yet another new technique. (I told you I was hopeless!) I needed to create a series of shadow puppets. My first thought was a smooth graduation of blue and black. The usual shadow colors. But I was on a roll. I wanted them to be more colorful, more vibrant. So I tried a new technique: I drew a light outline of each shadow. Then I painted a layer of water inside those lines. I laid paint on top of the water. Paint floats on top of water and moves to the edges. I put down one color, then another, watching them move and blend.
Jackie Urbanovic is the New York Times best-selling author and illustrator of Duck at the Door, Duck Soup, Duck and Cover, and Sitting Duck. Her newest book, If You’re Hoppy, by April Pulley Sayre, went on sale last month!
I love these … and especially your use of color. Wow!
It always amazes me to see how a picture book comes to life. I have this book and love it! The illustrations are bright and colorful and certainly show lots of movement. Very well done!
You’ve inspired me to experiment!
Your work is so lovely! Not only have you inspired me but I must purchase your book.
This is a great article. That is always the struggle, to capture the freedom and energy of unorganized color and line, in an organized manner.
Well done, and thankyou for the inspiration.
of not only all visual artists, but ofillustrators in particular. Your words are particularly apt for me at this time as I come to the finish of a series of books I wrote and illustrated and look for new and fun ways to experiment with freedom in paint.
I am going out to buy ALL of your books.
What a fun glimpse into your illustration techniques… and also into the workings of your creative mind! Thanks Jackie!