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Illustrate a Story

Use what you’ve learned to develop and illustrate your own narrative

You’ve seen how artists like Eric Carle and Maurice Sendak develop children’s books. Now it’s your turn to write a story, create characters, and use pictures to bring three key scenes to life.

Materials

lined notebook paper

graphite pencils

sketch paper

colored pencils

heavyweight drawing paper

kneaded eraser

digital camera

computer

Adobe Photoshop

printer

heavyweight printer paper

Step 1: Develop Your Story

Write your story and sketch the three most important scenes.

Begin by writing your story. Remember to keep your audience in mind. Are the children who will read your book just learning to read? If so, the story should be simple, with short sentences. If your story is for older children, the story and sentences can be more complex. Identify the three most important events in the narrative. Using graphite pencils, make thumbnail sketches of these three scenes. As you arrange your compositions, remember to think about the story’s setting and mood. Show the character’s emotions by exaggerating his or her facial features or gestures. When you are happy with your black-and-white pencil sketches, add color using colored pencils.

Tip: Don’t rely too heavily on the text. Show, don’t tell!

Step 2: Draw Three Key Events

Create more-detailed final drawings using colored pencils.

The student who made this illustration blended the colors to set the mood.

When your sketches are complete, begin your final drawings on heavyweight paper. Lightly sketch your compositions, re-creating each preliminary sketch with greater detail. The illustration style should be appropriate for both the story and the reader. The illustrations for a serious story shouldn’t look silly, and vice versa. Ask yourself whether your drawings should be smooth and controlled or loose and energetic. Once you’ve loosely sketched your compositions, begin working with colored pencils. Select a color scheme that supports your story’s mood. Are the scenes you are illustrating scary, happy, or sad? Use a kneaded eraser to eliminate any smudges or unwanted lines. 

Tip: The setting, characters, and mood should all support one another.

Step 3: Edit Your Work

Edit your drawings and add text using Photoshop or another photo-editing program.

How did the student who made this drawing illustrate the character's personality?

When your drawings are finished, work with your classmates  to photograph your drawings with a digital camera. Then import your photos into  a computer. Use Adobe Photoshop or another photo-editing program to edit your work. Use the clone tool to correct imperfections and the color balance tool to adjust any color/value abnormalities. Using the type tool, add text to accompany each of your drawings. Experiment with several different typefaces before deciding which is most appropriate for your story. You can also try different font sizes and colors. Lastly, print your drawings on heavy card stock. Make sure the print settings are set to “fine” or “advanced” to get the highest-quality print possible.

Tip: If you’re having fun, don’t stop. Illustrate the rest of your story!

Prepared by Peter Yuscavage, Jersey City Arts at Henry Snyder High School, Jersey City, New Jersey

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