Irony and Contradiction

While the riots in Charlotte were going on, I was in my studio listening to the news and creating this illustration for an educational publisher here in the US. My directions were to include an Asian teacher, a Hispanic girl, an African American boy, a white girl and a white boy. The irony and contradiction of it was mind-blowing. Was I really in the same country?

Writers and illustrators for children have always been mindful of the variety of races that surround us not only in the U.S but in the world. Including people of different ethnicities, and writing about different cultures make literature that is enlightening and illustrations that are rich and interesting.

The same goes for life.

Storyboarding for Film vs Storyboarding for Books

Although I have been creating storyboards for my books for many years, I was curious to know how to make them for film. Are they different? This summer I took a storyboarding class at RISD with the talented Drew Gormley and learned there are many differences. As a picture book artist, the one that I found most notable is that in film there is more time and space to tell your story. When you storyboard for a picture book, you have a limited number of pages (usually 32 for most traditional picture books) and you lose the first 3 or 4 pages to front matter. The images you choose to tell your story are limited to the remaining 28 or 29 pages. But in a storyboard for film, you are creating camera shots rather than pages and while each shot must move the story forward, there is more freedom to spend a little time within a scene if necessary to create drama, build suspense or land a punchline.

The prompt for this little storyboard was; a tortoise, a lady, and a bench.

I just came across this lovely review and some lessons librarianarika created around my book, Boris and Stella and the Perfect Gift. It is such a pleasure to see how my story and pictures are shared with children and thought it would be fun to answer her students questions here.


By librarianarika Elementary Library Lessons for Boris and Stella and the Perfect Gift

2nd and 3rd grades:

Fact: I almost never read any December holiday stories. This year, though, I couldn’t pass up Dara Goldman’s Boris and Stella and the Perfect Gift.  It was perfect for so many reasons: a little bit of Christmas AND Hanukkah, a thoughtful story that would provoke good questions, and (my favorite!) a version of O. Henry’s classic short story “The Gift of the Magi”.  Goals: review last week’s TAG lesson, discuss A=Ask a Question about the characters / problem as a class, write T=Tell What You Like independently.

For each class, the questions started out slow.  One thing I explained to them was that the ability to ask a good question (one that we don’t already know – and can’t infer – the answer to) leads to deeper thinking and reflection on a story.  Eventually, they hit on some winners: 

Question:  Are the two bears married?  

Answer: Are they married is a question I get often and which concerned my book publisher, Sleeping Bear Press in the beginning. Would parents have trouble with Boris and Stella living in the same apartment if we did not reference marriage in the text? We even tried a revision where Boris and Stella lived in separate apartments. It seemed to take us off the track of the story and became confusing. In the end, we decided to put them back into the same apartment together just like the original O Henry tale.  

Question:  Why did the illustrator choose to make the characters bears instead of humans?

Answer: I chose animal characters over people because I wanted to make this story more accessible to younger children. I also like to draw animals more than people. But Stella wasn't always a bear. At first she was a pig, and then I tried drawing her as a mouse too. Finally, it was a honey colored bear that seemed just right to me.  

Question: Where do the bears live – Russia, Italy, or somewhere else?  

Answer: Boris and Stella live in Boston because the street scenes I drew are from Newbury Street. Also there is a bear on the first page spread wearing a Boston Red Sox hat and jacket.  

How old are the bears?

Answer: Boris and Stella are each 8 years old because that is my favorite number and a good age for bears.

Writer's Block

Been quiet for awhile cause I'm writing... make that, trying to write.  This is what I do when I find myself sitting at my desk totally blocked.

- Begin anywhere.  Sometimes the first sentence doesn't come first.

- Write a crummy first draft, cut out the boring parts, write a slightly better second draft.

- Clean my house.  When I'm stuck in shades of gray, it's extremely satisfying to clean.  There's no gray in cleaning.  First it's dirty, then it's clean.  When a friend stops by during the day and I'm vacuuming, they usually know I'm stuck. If the baseboards are clean, they know I'm in big trouble.

- Take my dog for a walk. Monty is down 5 pounds and extremely fit right now. We found an old cemetery near my house we like.   I've gotten some of my best ideas there (makes me wonder if I am getting a little extra help.)

- Drive somewhere that takes at least an hour.  There's something about the scenery rolling by while the rest of me is stationary, and the knowledge that I can't be interrupted or distracted by anything, that is inspirational.  A train ride is the best because I don't have to navigate at all.  Beginning to fantasize about an Amtrak trip to the wild west for my horse book.

But the very best advice I ever got came from my friend, the late Michael Palmer, a NYT best selling author who wrote medical thrillers. He said, "Floss your teeth every morning. That way if you get nothing accomplished all day, at least you will have accomplished that."

Trying something' new ...

Been working with a new medium these last couple of weeks. There's something about cats that calls for pastels and pencils instead of watercolors.

The great thing about pastels is that you can brush away the pastel crystals if you change your mind about something.  With watercolor, if you change your mind about something, you usually have to start all over. The great thing about watercolor is you can mix any color you need from just a few tubes. With pastels, you need to have as many colors as possible.

I have an assortment of different colors made by different companies. I'm learning that my favorites  are made by Girault.  The pastels are soft and blend well, but not so soft that they crumble. You can create a nice hard edge with them, and the colors are rich and velvety!

A Guide to Drawing Characters

If you have ever drawn a character you know there is a lot more to it then just capturing the actual physical design.  Even when you know exactly what your character looks like, and you draw him just as you imagine, he still isn’t right! This is probably because you haven’t drawn your character’s personality yet. 

How do you draw personality you are wondering? Here are some tricks I use to help bring my characters to life.

First make sure you already have decided what your character looks like. His facial features and body proportions, how much or little hair he has, and any oddities you may want to include.

Now take your character out of the story and think about him alone.  Answering the questions below will help you know him better, and will make him more 3 dimensional and interesting! Do a little rough sketch for each bullet.

• Is your character frail or sturdy? How would he look on a windy day  

or lifting a heavy object? Can he climb things easily, do back bends and hand springs?


• Emotions have behaviors. Is your character shy? Does he talk into his shirt or is he outgoing and use his hands to make gestures? What other body behaviors might your character have? Think about the seven dwarves. Is he sleepy, sneezy, grumpy?

• What does your character look like walking? Is he a type A; high energy, and quick moving, or type B; laid back, and slow moving? Is your character happy and bouncy, or sad and sluggish? (Think Eeyore and Tigger from Winnie the Pooh)  Is he clumsy?

• How does your character do a simple task like eat a piece of cake? Is he well mannered and tidy, or is there chocolate all over his face?

• How does your character interact with another character from your story? Are they annoyed with each other, loving, silly?

• What is your characters biggest fear, or greatest joy? Is he afraid of dogs or horses? Draw a quick sketch of him walking a giant dog, or ten giant dogs, riding a wild mustang, or climbing a mountain…this is how the special abilities of your character are demonstrated.  Don’t worry about drawing the horse or dog or mountain right now, use simple shapes for anything you haven’t worked out yet. The important part to draw is the action.

By the time you've finished these little sketches, you will know your character a whole lot better, and it will show! Keep your sketches … you never know when one of them will be just what you need!

My Story Board Wall

My storyboard wall is made of two sheets of  4' x 8' white homasote fiber board.  Its the best thing I ever put in my studio, besides the antique bubble gum machine, which I keep filled with M and M peanuts.  I like to pin all my sketches up so I can refer to them easily as I work. Of course it helps to have a big wall. My last studio was so small I had to wrap it around the room. 

This story board is from Boris and Stella and the Perfect Gift, and I'll be taking it down soon.  I always feel a little sad doing this, a little excited thinking about what will be next, and a little terrified because...

well, look … isn't this scary?

Stella's Bakery

No one has ever had as much fun drawing an illustration as I had drawing this one.  I wanted it to be simply scrumptious!  My research brought me to bakeries throughout the city of Boston and many of its surrounding towns.  I started in December, even though I was still drawing thumbnails then, because the stores and shops were full of holiday themed treats.   One of my favorite bakeries is Party Favors in Brookline.  Entering their store is a feast for your eyes. Their glass doored refrigerators are always stocked full of their standard fair which can be bought every day, and is not only stunning but delicious.  Friends and family got involved too. They sent me pictures, and sometimes even surprised me in my studio with something beautiful and tasty.  I gained five pounds while I was working on this picture.  So did my dog Monty.  He ate 17 cupcakes from a platter when my back was turned. The platter had 19 cupcakes on it - which means now I know his limit!  

To see my reference photos of cakes and pastries, visit me at: http://www.pinterest.com/daragoldman/cakes/

                                                                                                                                                                                                         

                                                          

Pssst …
Most of the cakes and pastries in this picture are favorites of my friends and family.

Print and Color!

Pssst … 
Try printing this on white resume paper, or something with a little texture!

The Dreidel Shop

Pssst … One of the reasons Boris and Stella is so special to me is because of the personal details I included in the illustrations. The pretty colored lamps hanging in the dreidel shop are from one of my favorite restaurants, a tapas bar in Waltham, MA called Solea. The tapestry on the wall was woven by my mother, who is reknown for a kind of weaving called, Bound Weave.  I chose it from among her other designs because the row of red brick townhouses reminds me of the town house where I grew up in Brookline, MA.  I also like the way it repeats the city theme. The little wood box in the shape of an upside down ice-cream cone comes from Africa and sits on my nightstand.

Tapestry by Eileen Goldman

The Research

At the RISD Nature Lab in Providence

Once I've finished all my thumbnail sketches and picked out my favorites, I'm ready to draw the full size sketches. This part requires LOTS of research.  When I first started making children's books, I used to have to go to the library to search for reference material.  The internet has changed everything! However, there is nothing like drawing from the real thing!

Newbury Street,  Boston

The Storyboard

When I'm satisfied with the pagination, I'm ready to begin drawing the storyboard. To do this I must decide the size of my book. Will it be a horizontal book, a square book, or a vertical one? (If the story is about a giraffe, it will probably be a vertical book.)  Looking at other books and holding them in my hands sometimes helps me imagine what my book will look like in each of these formats.

The questions I must ask myself are endless. What should the first page look like? Should the text go on the top or the bottom? Should it be a two page spread long shot to establish location? A single establishing shot at the start can set the scene, and  give the reader a sense of time, atmosphere, and environment. It not only establishes a location but defines the position of the characters to their surroundings and to each other. Or maybe I should begin with a single page close up view to establish my character? 

Pacing and Rhythm:

Think like a movie director! The way I plan my storyboard will control the speed with which the reader moves through the book. A large 2 page spread invites the reader in causing him to pause, while many small pictures will cause him to move quickly. 

Composition:

 The composition of each page dictates the reader’s viewpoint, forcing him to look at a scene the way I intend. I can also direct the readers eye to a focal point within each illustration by using various compositional devices. 

With these things in mind, I draw hundreds of little boxes that are proportionate to the size of my book and fill them with rough sketches. These 'thumbnail' drawings allow me to quickly try different possibilities. My intent is to transfer all ideas from my mind onto paper. The process of actually creating the thumbnails often leads me to something I didn’t think of at first. This method produces unplanned thinking, and it is often the product of unplanned thinking that becomes the fruit of our efforts.  

Thumbnails can take me 2 - 4 weeks to complete, and I don't choose my favorites until I have finished thumbnails for the entire book. 

How do I choose my favorites? 

Sometimes this can be tricky and I find myself caught between several favorites. But in the end, my favorites are chosen not only for their composition as a single image, but because of the way they work within the book design as a whole.

  

Pagination

When I begin a new book,  I always find myself a little overwhelmed. It doesn't matter that I have illustrated 18 books now … it is a daunting feeling to be faced with 32 blank pages… and a deadline! Choosing which words will fall on each page or,  'paginating' the manuscript is where it all begins. There is no wrong or right way to do this because it is personal to each artist.  The main question I ask myself as I go is, "Does my reader feel compelled to turn the page?" A suspenseful moment can be made or broken here.

To do this I sit quietly with my manuscript and imagine pictures as I read. The first 3 pages I leave blank for front matter: subtitle page, copyright page, and title page.  The story almost always begins on pages 4 and 5, and ends on page 32.  I make backward L's with a pencil after each chunk of text, and I break it up into 2 page spreads. This is not as hard as it sounds!

Pssst … Music with words distracts me when I do this so I listen to instrumental music, or to music with words I don't understand, which is practically anything besides english!

The Perfect Latke Recipe

When I first began drawing Boris and Stella's apartment, I wanted old city charm. I found the perfect  apartment building on Newbury Street in Boston.   Okay, okay … Boris and Stella could never afford real estate on Newbury Street ... don't tell anyone! Their  apartment had to be scantily furnished so I chose simple cabinetry and white plates and bowls that would disappear into the background. But in this scene, I couldn't resist including a pair of ironstone pitchers in the cabinet. Fellow antique lovers will know that white ironstone is quite collectible.


Pssst … I have a small collection of white ironstone pitchers too!

The Perfect Latke Recipe

This recipe came from my grandmother Minnie who was a Russian immigrant. We have all changed it slightly in my family to suit our own tastes. I've added more onion, and use flour instead of matzo meal. When I grate the potato, I don't let the pieces get too fine. A little chunky is better than too fine. And this is the secret…you are probably not going to like it…you must use Crisco shortening to fry them! 

2 lbs Russet potatoes or Yukon Gold

2 Large onions

1 egg

2 teaspoons of salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Crisco shortening

Grate potatoes. If using a food processor, do this in small batches or the mixture will get too fine. Let grated mixture drain in colander at least 10 minutes. Then allow fluid to stand 10 minutes too. Pour off liquid reserving starch that has settled in the bottom and add it back into potatoes.

Mix in other ingredients.

Heat shortening in pan. (Make sure it is sizzling hot before you add batter ( if you add it too soon, your latkas will absorb too much oil, fall part, and taste oily.)

Cook about 3 minutes on each side - transfer to paper towel to absorb extra oil before you put on platter. Add shortening as needed.

Serve family style with large bowls of sour cream and applesauce!

Happy Latke! Can you spell Hanukkah?

Print and Color Me! 
(click here)

Dreidels!

Last year at this time I was creating the sketches for Boris and Stella and the Perfect Gift. It was especially wonderful to be surrounded by the holidays as I worked.  Their was an abundance of reference material out there to inspire me, and lots of holiday spirit too!  Creating the sketches is my favorite part of making a book. This is where I get to imagine anything I want…and draw it! I don't live in the city above a little Italian restaurant, or bake cakes in a bakery, or wear kooky hats (well, maybe sometimes) but through Boris and Stella, I do!

When I was trying to imagine the dreidel that Stella gave Boris, I looked at a lot of dreidels. Not only did Stella's dreidel have to be different from the other dreidels, it had to be special.  I decided the only way I could know if Stella's dreidel would be special, was to draw Boris' other dreidels first.

 I drew lots and lots of dreidels until I finally figured it out.  It would have a heart on it of course!

Pssst … To see some of the dreidels I looked at for inspiration click on the link below.

http://www.pinterest.com/daragoldman/pins/

Danforth Museum Exhibit - just in time for the holidays!

This week brought a wonderful surprise. Katherine French, executive director of the Danforth Museum, asked me if she could exhibit the paintings from my new book, Boris and Stella and the Perfect Gift in the Danforth Museum's Children's Gallery.

We have all been dashing around madly because guess what? The exhibit opens next Sunday on November 17th! It will run through February 23, 2014.   I hope you will stop by.

Follow the link below to learn more!

http://www.danforthart.org/daragoldman.html

Watch the Trailer!

A giant thank you to my talented producer/designer sister, Amy Putman, and my incredibly savvy, and patient production assistant and designer daughter, Sammi, for creating this book trailer. It was a family affair! 

We Art Boston Fundraiser

This is the print I've donated to We Art Boston (weartboston.org) where it will be part of a group of more than 60 paintings, drawings, and prints donated by illustrators to raise money for the Boston Children's Hospital Trauma Fund.

Why this one you are probably wondering?  Because I drew it on Newbury Street!  The charming architecture of the shops and apartment buildings there was the perfect reference material to help me create Boris and Stella's world. It is also just a couple of blocks away from the site where the bombs went off during the Boston Marathon.  I was painting it that day in my studio, and stopped working to hear the news and grieve with the other artists in my building, and with the rest of the country.  The Boston Marathon is near and dear to me.  I grew up in Brookline and walked to Beacon Street every year with my family to watch the runners go by.  When I had children, I walked them up to Beacon Street to watch the runners go by too.  

Pssst ... The bear pushing the baby stroller is wearing a Red Sox hat and jersey. 

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A Beautiful Review ...

I am deeply touched by the beautiful review of my new book, Boris and Stella and the Perfect Gift, by Marc Pollick, president and founder of The Giving Back Fund. He found the perfect words to convey a message in my story that is most meaningful to me. Thank you Marc!

"Every once in awhile a book comes along that reaches out and touches your soul.  In Boris and Stella and the Perfect Gift, author and illustrator Dara Goldman offers a gift to children everywhere replete with a timeless message of gratitude and generosity.  How appropriate for the holiday season!  The brightly colored pictures are so endearing and evocative that the artwork literally competes for your attention with the very moving storyline.  And yet they are woven together masterfully and delightfully.  You almost can't wait to turn the page to be able to enjoy the next set of pictures.
At the heart of the story is the selflessness displayed by boyfriend and girlfriend bears Boris and Stella.  It called to mind a phrase from a book I once read as a young teenager. "Life's greatest possessions, are those which when shared, multiply; those which when divided are not diminished." I think if children can learn that concept--if all humans could learn and manifest that concept, our world would be ever so much more peaceful and harmonious. This beautifully illustrated book, eloquently exemplifies that concept. Thank you Ms. Goldman for contributing to the increase of kindness and giving in the world!"  

- Marc Pollick, President and Founder, The Giving Back Fund

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