Art Process and Thumbnails
Before I show you some process posts I’m going to start with a poll I posted on social media. This was a question asked by Tara Santoro (@JerseyGirlDraws on twitter).
This is pretty reflective of the people I’ve spoken to. Most believe thumbnails are essential. There are a few that think they aren’t important.
Brian McLachlan (@McLachlanBrian on twitter) said as a response, “Once you’ve done enough layouts you don’t need to thumbnail everything.” Which makes sense!
There are some of you that hate thumbnails and think it’s silly to use them. I think not using them may be a harder path, but that path is up to you!
Initial thumbnails should take you no more than a few seconds on each one. It’s just to figure out proportion and where things go. More than a couple seconds makes it stressful. Too much detail in thumbnails can be stressful. Keep them simple, and if you want to do detailed thumbnails do that after!
Some Final Art Resources
Here are some resources you may want to look into before creating your final art! In fine art the idea is to make a beautiful piece that will last a long time. With kidlit your final art doesn’t necessarily have to last a long time (it does help, though). It does have to look good. Instead of giving you a bunch of resources for fine artists or illustrators, I’m going to show you some art projects that are mostly for kids that may inspire or inform your own art!
Want to find a process in your medium? Just go to Pinterest or YouTube and type in your art medium and then “projects”. You can add “for kids” if you want to find easier projects.
Watercolor Techniques: https://www.projectswithkids.com/watercolor-techniques-for-kids/
Blending Colored Pencils: https://www.mybluprint.com/article/blend-your-way-to-smooth-colored-pencils
Scraping Painting with Oil Pastels: http://krokotak.com/2019/06/scraping-painting-with-oil-pastel/
Acrylic Painting with a Fork: https://www.projectswithkids.com/palm-tree-fork-painting-for-kids/
Painted Collage Art: https://layers-of-learning.com/painted-collage-art/
Torn Collage Art: http://www.onecolorfulday.com/free-printable-night-sky-collage/