Fixing and Correcting My Children's Book art- new art style + better tools

 

I know when you finally get the nerve up to follow through with your idea and put color down on paper. You might stand back and look proudly on that wonderful piece of art work. As you should, it takes courage to create, design, write, illustrate, draw etc. All creativity comes from a special place within each of us. Yes, we all have it. 

But if you look and think too long you might start to NOT like your work, we all do that too, we over critique ourselves right out of completing some of our works, or we just put it away and move onto something else. OK that is me. Not anymore though, I am done with feeling overwhelmed with all that is life, so much that has come my way. OK I'm veering off the artwork track, sorry. My thoughts get ahead of my.

Everybody gets side tracked with all the responsibilities in life, I completely understand. I can't even count the things I've started, stopped and never returned to over the years. 

Maybe your a little like me, get bored and long for something new?  I really like NEW challenges and am finding that my children's books are not giving me that, sure each page is different, but I am not very interested in drawing the same character and same clothing and keeping each page " aesthetically pleasing" or staying cohesive throughout the pages of the book. Originally I made every page a new character, each different colors, clothes, etc. Then when I saw all my page files together, that's when I realized it looked all over the place, my eyes were overwhelmed and that is when I understood the reasoning behind keeping the subjects, characters etc. looking the same throughout your books.

Yes, I get it.

My first children's book I created in 2014, each page I did in soft pastels, I sent the files of to a local printer, I had 16 books made. I no longer have them because I overthought my artwork and got rid of each one!

A hard lesson learned, as " bits of an Artist life"

https://www.sandihester.com/

https://youtu.be/t9QDahh51dQ

I just love to binge watch her videos!

Anywho, Sandi says, " do not get rid of your works, whether you like the way it turned out or not...

Sandi is right, the good, the bad, and the ugly is all part of your art history and you should keep all of it, even if for your eyes only. If you have room of coarse, part of why I no longer have my old artworks is because I often clean out clutter, no pack rat here. That is why I no longer have old artworks. It is my dream to retire on a beach somewhere and so I do not want to have to pack up too much stuff. That being said I do wish I still had some of those works....

No crying over it though, I am always creating, moving forward and onward it's what I do. So should you. There are too many other worries in the world to bog yourself down with lost works. 

You can create a little challenge for yourself and recreate some of your lost art, by memory, what fun that would be. I am looking forward to consistently sharing my videos and process with you. Though I still remain torn with my preferred work. Story telling is such fun, so is illustration, painting and designing. But the process of full color pages of children's books is so time consuming. 

And on top of it, I start my new job Monday, that's in 2 days!

So much for my semi retirement and new art career. ( insert smirk here)

I will just have to be diligent and keep working towards my goals, sharing positivity, joy and happiness with all of you. Because it's good for the world.

God Bless!

When a Mindful Activity Zine/Book is Too Big - Make It Four Books/Zines

This activity book is going to be too thick as in too many full color pages and too costly to make it affordable. Also, I do not want this activity book to be overwhelming when seeking to enhance and improve oneself.

Here you can see why my decision to split the Happy 365 activity book into four separate activity books or zines as I prefer to call them.

Each activity zine will contain one activity a day for 3 months or a quarter year. If you complete each book, or zine, you will have complete one year of self-improvement activities.

With these completed pages which are just over 100 pages it would be a very big book or zine. I want, I need this activity book/zine to be inviting and not intimidating. When someone, anyone picks up the 

Happy 365 activity zine - Happy 365 activity book

My wish it that it draws you in with the colorful pages and easy to understand and follow activities. The activities will be fun, creative, and positive. A mindful set of tools at your fingertips.

Each page is designed to work with the tools you already have. Some skills you may not even know you have. We are built with human emotions so trust me you do have skills, the skill to love, the skill to hurt, the skill to want, the skill to move forward. You are an energy source, you just need to learn how to focus your energy on the right path for you. And how to channel your energy towards all things positive and good. You can control your emotions; you can create a future that is productive and meaningful.

With only one Happy 365 zine you can complete the activities over and over again. Look at the activities differently, complete the activities with a renewed insight, challenge yourself to try again. Grow and learn as you go. Sometimes the best way to learn is to do one simple thing at a time.

GET YOUR ACTIVITY ZINE 🠞 LINK HERE - https://shorturl.at/78X5G

 

Making coloring Zines with Canva + KDP #makeazine #diy #smallbusiness

 

I enjoy writing and illustrating, but sometimes illustrating gets in the way of my beloved writing. And other times writing gets in the way of my beloved illustrating. Thankfully with all the wonderful Artists and creators out there. We have options to create with a variety of tools, many of which provide commercial use illustrations. Of course you cannot resell a creators art but you can change it and add it to your new creations and then you can indeed sell your new creations. These tools make it so easy to get to the fun of creating. And that is what I enjoy most.

The Perfect Children's Book

I made some color corrections and fixed some spelling error and voila!

I have the perfect Children's book ( in my opinion ;) I am loving how my book 

BUGS, INSECTS, & ANIMALS IN THE BACKYARD

I love, love, love how this book turned out. I am so inspired I am now changing the artwork in my other children's books. This style reminds me as I have said before, it reminds me of The Hungry Little Caterpillar by Eric Carle

                                         A much-loved Author and much-loved series of books.

 I would call this book a success if my book were loved by just one child. Creating and writing brings me so much joy. For all my books I use a digital process starting in the procreate app. on my iPad, then I move the files to my PC and use the free online program Krita to convert from RGB to CMYK, then I use Canva to add the words (it's just easier in Canva) I also make the front and back covers in Canva with my own art, and then I download the pdf files for KDP and once reviewed and approved it's ready for print. I order my Authors copy to proof and if perfect I post for sale. If errors, then I go back into the original files and fix the errors until I get it right.

#self-pulishing # Author # Illustrator # KDP Select # Author Central # write a children's book # children's picture books

Changing RGB Color Profile To CMYK for Print for a children's picture book

Here is a fun showing of how I change the RGB color profile of my children's book to the CMYK printable color profile

"Bugs, Insects, & Animals in The Backyard"

I am working on the page about bees and getting the yellow/gold to look write is a bit of an effort. Even after completing this video, I still had to do some color correcting and return for another round of adjusting. But that is how it goes and if you want your book to look perfect for your reader you will do many more until you are happy with how it looks. Each page of a colorful illustration needs to be scrutinized when going from digital to print. I will add that art applications have gotten much better than way back in 2006 when I first started writing and illustrating children's picture books, I used traditional watercolor and pastels on art paper and transferring that to digital form was impossible for me at that time, which is why those books are not in print...

After I am happy with the illustrations and have converted each page into a CMYK Jpeg file I import the pages into an online program called Canva just for the ease of the program which I am a paying member. I do not know of a free program, though Canva has a free option with limitations... I am not here to promote anything just sharing what works for me and hopefully inspire you along the way.

The program I use is called Krita and it is free open source, of course you can give a donation to the developers if you like. The program competes well with Adobe Photoshop

HAPPY CREATING!

#picturebookillustration, #childrensbooks, # RGB to CMYK, #self-publish, #krita, #canva, #digital art, #illustration, #KDP, #author, #illustrator, #artist

 

Making my novel book cover Jimmy Jha

My very first novel book cover, designed by me. A novel written by me.

I am currently working on the last half of my novel, then I will start a first draft edit. I feel so close to the finish line. Seeing the book cover and releasing this to the world definitely motivates me to complete this novel. 

I had to design and create my own cover; I could not allow someone else's vision on my book. Not yet, at least for now. Since it is my first novel I feel very much, a helicopter mom. I will coddle and nurture my baby until I feel ready to let go. And then it will be ready for the world.

The cover is showing the two main characters each with their own journey, and some colorful creatures within the story. There are some hard lessons, grief and loss, love, anger, growth and compassion. Through it all people learn to rise above, discovering what is most important in life...

Did I mention the pirates? No? How about the Skywalkers?

This is a novel about overcoming adversity, self-discovery and finding purpose in life. Crossing oceans and learning new ways from new friends.

Let me know if you would like to be a part of the first readers club?

Leave me a comment either here or in my video comment section, link is below to the video same as above.

Making my novel book cover Jimmy Jha (youtube.com)

Once the novel is complete, I will notify you how and where you can get the book for free, in eBook format. I have to learn how to start a free book promotion on Amazon.

How To Write A Novel As A Pantser

 

In this video I show how I, a self-proclaimed panster write my novels.

Showing you how if you want to be a writer than really all you need to do is write.

You can use just a pen and paper, it doesn't have to be expensive or difficult. I use online tools though it isn't necessary to have online tools. In fact, all a panster really needs is paper and pencil.

I have tried many a time to be a plotter and failed miserably. I do best just writing, and fitting my stories together, like sticking a pattern together... I have an idea for a story and the plot plays out in my mind. It runs like reel clips in my head, at night, when driving, when I should be thinking about other things. That is how my brain works. A good story sticks in my head and I add to it with random thoughts that push themselves to the forefront of my conscious. I like the dramatic sound of that!

I share how I use tasks to sort of outline or at least get scenes down as a task, so I remember to put it in my story. Now that I have stepped out and looked at my process from a different angle. I like it, no more trying to be a plotter like so many I have tried to emulate because they appear to be so organized and know what they are doing. I know what I'm doing, and I know what I'm writing. And so will you, it just takes some time to feel like you do in your own skin. And I personally believe it will come after writing a good amount. Your stories will start to become clearer, and they will pop out in your mind. For me this is how it works.

Finding Your Art Style Takes Practice

Click the photo to watch my video

 I know first hand what it feels like to work on something for hours and hours, pouring your creative mind into every move you make. All the while saying to yourself this is going to be wonderful. A fervor you quite enjoy. Only to feel so blinded by your dislike of the finished work. What happened, you wonder?

Nothing happened, you are like so many Artists and Creatives. I feel your pain. Literally, that is where I stood and still do sometimes. Though as of only recent ( and I am 59 today my birthday!) I rejoice in discovering exactly what my art style is and what it looks like. So do not be discouraged, be patient. Take a look at those you admire for encouragement. See if you get some inspiration to keep going. I found a few Artists I enjoy and I discovered the ones I truly followed did not even make art like mine. So I thought to myself I love these Artists for slapping down paint and messing things up with their hands and or a cloth. What I discovered is their not messing their artwork up at all. Each stroke is precise and planned though it looks like somewhat of a big mess at times. It eventually becomes a masterpiece of color, shadows, and what sometimes only resembles a person, flower, or animal. That is when I realized my art is to stiff, too exact. Like I'm trying to copy a picture. But I prefer a picture to be a picture and my artwork to be My interpretation of what I see. For me that is where I believe an Artist really shines. Don't think for one minute I do not also love Artist who paint realism. I love them the same. I have a great respect for Artists of many genres. Being creative requires great skill and passion at all levels. 

    I'm saying hive yourself some breathing room. Stop being so critical of yourself. allow your mistakes to shine through. You will discover yourself along the way. I personally loved my art in my children's books initially and gathered praise from family and friends. Even with those praises, I guess it is the imposter syndrome which I didn't fully understand I was feeling until now. Feeling like I truly get it. I get art, my art. I feel it, what I want to create, I see it in my mind and that is exciting. so for you who are not quite where you want to be. Here is some things that worked for me.

Keep creating, drawing, painting, writing or what ever it is you do. Keep doing it and don't throw anything away. You will look back at your work and discovered it isn't as bad as you though it was.

The more you try and do, the better you will get at it. It's true "practice makes perfect" perfection is in the eye of the beholder so remember yours is the most critical. Be kind to yourself.

Love your mistakes and know it is necessary to make mistakes in your style discovery.

As a creative there really are no mistakes, it's all a journey. Like when you hear "one persons junk is another persons treasure". So it goes in art and creativity you will discover many lovers of your art and many not interested in your craft. Either way, if you love it that is all that matters and you will find a tribe of people who will support your work and value your time and effort. Keep on doing and creating, never stop! The world needs you!

    You thought there would be a magic answer to find your art style. Nope just practice and try different things. That is the magic. Try pencils, maybe you like it, maybe you don't. Try painting, maybe you like it maybe you don't. That is how you will learn what interests you and when you find what you enjoy. Practice doing it every which way you can. 

    The internet gives you many subject matter to consider and many samples to try. Not sure where to start? Think about what you like, for example if you like chocolate draw chocolate, if you like birds, paint a bird. That is how you start. Maybe you like abstract art, try closing your eyes and putting color down make circles, lines, dots etc. open your eyes and see what it looks like. Do a study on your creation imagining what you could make that piece into, a storm, a meadow, maybe add funky houses?

Or just keep going with more color and shapes until you are ready to stop. Put it aside and do another piece. Step away for a while and come back later to study it again. Keep this up and you will eventually find what you gravitate towards and then you can nurture that by continuing the process with your preferred subject and tools for creating. If your a Writer, you can use the same formula, write your poems', mysteries, love stories and more, write shorts or novels, just write! I do that too.

Self Authored & Illustrated The Book Of Love

An introduction to The Book Of Love

Here is my self authored and illustrated children's book. It is call " The Book Of Love" I have been and still am working on my art style and finding my niche. I am very proud of this book, it took me a very long time to figure out how to get the colors corrected to CMYK for upload to the KDP/Amazon platform. I am still working out getting it down smoothly. Really it has more been an issue of time and effort. I recently " semi retired" which has given me more time to work on Writing and my art. I am building this blog up and working on several other books as well.

But this one is The Book Of Love and I do hope you enjoy the video and if interested you can purchase any of my books through Author Central and my other shop, the links are below.

Author Central :   shorturl.at/tK029

De La Life shop:  shorturl.at/rxyAP

Happy Creating & Reading!

Spread Joy & Happiness!

My Writer Author process

* Pro create for creating my illustrations after I sketch them out on pad or paper

* KRITA art program to review large scale and complete editing artwork

* Libre Office to format and put the JPEG files together

* Google Docs to format and put the pages together

(I use the above programs interchangeably)

* completed PDF interior and PDF cover file is then uploaded into KDP 

( Kindle Direct Publishing - formerly Createspace)

* a sample print is sometimes ordered, sometimes not

* start marketing via blogging, you tube introduction, post on a variety of social media outlets