Children’s book illustration

Class assignment

Make a double page of a children’s illustrated album called “In the woods of Pennsylvania”, by Gloria Fuertes. The format, colors and technique are free.

The attached poem should be illustrated:

“Cuando un árbol gigante se suicida,
harto de estar ya seco y no dar pájaros,
sin esperar al hombre que le tale,
sin esperar al viento,
lanza su última música sin hojas
sinfónica explosión donde hubo nidos,
crujen todos sus huecos de madera,
caen dos gotas de savia todavía
cuando estalla su tallo por el aire,
ruedan sus toneladas por el monte,
lloran los lobos y los ciervos tiemblan,
van a su encuentro las ardillas todas,
presintiendo que es algo de belleza que muere.”

The creation process

The task was to create a two-page illustration, so the first step was to create a canvas with the size of the two pages. Next, I reserved the safe spaces by adding the margins, including the ones between the pages.
Thinking on the level of difficulty of the poem, I think the best option is for ages 6 and up, in which I can create more figurative representations.

I sketched some thumbnails to focus on the composition and not getting lost in details.
After that, I chose to work with the method of digital collage, for sketching, and digital watercolor for the final artwork.