Visual Voice by Fred Koehler

I'm fairly certain that I am the least qualified illustrator on this blog in many of the technical areas of illustration. I could start to list my deficits, but I think you'd get bored and I'd get depressed. Instead, let's talk about something that seems to have carried over successfully from my career in advertising, and that's the concept of Voice.

Silly Fred, Voice is a writers' thing, isn't it? Yes it is. But it also has major implications for the marriage of words and pictures in the creation of successful storytelling. It's why the illustrator's name goes on the cover of the book. Because illustrators lend their Visual Voice to a project just as much as the author brings a Narrative Voice.

Here's an example from a follow-up book I'm working on to Dad's Bad Day (Penguin 2014).

"Little Gray helped his dad with the dishes." 

If you gave this line to a hundred different illustrators, you'd get back a hundred completely different illustrations. And here's where illustrators with practiced Visual Voice can differentiate themselves as storytellers.

Sketch 1 - Little Gray is an elephant, his dad is an elephant, and the little guy is helping the big guy do the dishes. TA DA!!! Here's a sketch.

The Visual Voice of this image is sweet. It's cheerful and it's a great moment between father and son. But is it the right Voice for the illustration? See, I happen to know Little Gray pretty well, and I know he's quite a cantankerous little elephant. The scene pictured above is much less likely to happen than the following sketch.

Visual Voice. Get it? Same words + different images = completely different stories. Pretty cool, huh? Here's another example from the same story.

"Little Gray got extra-special dressed up for the occasion."

Sketch 1 - I go with the words of the story.

Sketch 2 - I get inside the character's brain and draw what I think he might actually do.

  Same words, completely different stories.

There are bunches of illustrators who do this really really well. Here are three for you to check out–all brilliant, all with compelling Visual Voice, and all with books on the shelf of your local bookstore.

Dan Santat
In "Oh No," Dan takes a very short text and invents a gorgeous world to propel a fantastic concept into a really fun and adventurous final storytelling product. The nuance that he adds to his work is phenomenal.

Molly Idle
In "Flora and the Flamingo," we don't even need words to hear (and see) an amazing Voice. The story is told in simple expression and interaction between unlikely friends who make for great characters. Love it!

Jon Klassen
If you read "I Want My Hat Back" without the illustrations it might make sense, but it would be a completely different story. Jon uses visual nuance to imply a much funnier tale than the words themselves actually communicate.

That's all for today. Thanks for reading. Fred out!!

Being an Idea Factory by Fred Koehler

Dan Santat illustrated like seven books in one year. My friend Janeen Mason told me she can have a dozen projects at various stages of development all up in the air at once. At a recent SCBWI conference I heard repeated again and again that successful writers and illustrators are idea factories.

So while book numero uno, DAD'S BAD DAY, is in full swing, I'm keeping up the writing and the sketching and the concepts. Here are a couple of recent ideas that I think have some promise.

The Pink Princess Problem - wherein a poor little giant is pestered by princesses who are kinda snarky, mean, and evil.

The Happiness Emporium - wherein a penniless boy encounters a curious shopkeeper with the secret to lifelong happiness, and it's for sale.

Thanks to all of the friends of pixelshavings, and check in with us next month!

-Fred Koehler
freddiek.com

How to Get a Publishing Contract in 3 Easy Steps by Fred Koehler

Okay, okay. So perhaps that title was a bit deceiving. But, after reading this humorous post on How to Win the Caldecott, I thought I might give it a shot as well. This is a general description of how I sold my first two books to Penguin USA. The first, "Dad's Bad Day," will be out in 2014.

Step 1. Get Really, Really Good at Something. Whether it's writing, illustrating, or even concept and storyboarding, put in the 10,000 hours you need to become successful at your craft. Because all work feeds your art, it doesn't matter where those hours come from. You want to be a writer? Blog. Volunteer to write press releases for a local charity. Write letters. Just write a lot. Same deal with illustrators. Start a sketch blog and add to it daily. Doodle in meetings instead of paying attention (and convince everyone that you listen best while doodling). One day it's going to click. Something original is going to emerge from your work. You'll stop in the middle of what you're doing and say "Whoah. Where did that come from?" Congrats. You've found your voice.

Step 2. Hang Out and Be Cool. For "big people" publishing, I don't know how to be cool. Grown-ups frighten me honestly. For children's publishing, join SCBWI and just go and hang out. Invest some dollars. Sign up for multiple classes and critiques at the conferences. Bring your "A" game. Bring the work that embodies that original voice and still makes you say "Whoah" when you look at it. Be proud and be excited about it. And don't be creepy or stalker-y with the agents and editors you meet. The ones I've met still talk to me because my attitude has always been that "I'd love to sell something, but I'm really just here to learn and make friends."

Step 3. Listen, Learn, and Repeat. At a conference I heard an editor say, "Anyone who submits work to me in the next two weeks hasn't been paying attention." The purpose of attending conferences is to learn how to improve our craft for revision. It's not about landing the deal. When you get that one-on-one time, offer yourself up completely defenseless. Demonstrate your ability to listen and accept advice. And for some people, that's the hardest part. You're sitting across from the person who could give you your break, so whatever they tell you to do, DO IT!!! Now go back to Step 1 and repeat until successful. And remember, the equation for success is "Every Single Miserable Failure + One More Try."



Cheers,

-fred
freddiek.com