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Picture Book Illustrator
A Webquest for 3rd-5th
Grade Art
Designed by
Sarah Nies
sarahnies@hotmail.com
 
Introduction | Task
| Process | Evaluation
| Conclusion | Credits
| Teacher
Page
Introduction
You are an illustrator and writer of picture books and you are trying
to publish your first book. There are so many choices to be made
and you want to make a good first impression, you want to make the publishers
pay the money to publish your book. This activity will take all of
your creativity and individuality so that your book will stand out
from the thousand of other books and their authors that are trying to get
published every day. What is your story that you want to let other
children read about? Think back to all the illustrators we have learned
about. Remember how their own life stories were often similar to
the stories they write. How can you use your strengths as an artist
to show the rest of the world that you've got what it takes?
The Task
You
will be creating your own picture book for other students to read.
This lesson will give you the ability
to :
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define illustration and picture book
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research different illustrators and
learn how they make their books;
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recognize your strengths as an artist
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Draw from your own life's experience
to tell a story
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understand the process of making picture
books
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create your own picture book using
the blank books provided,
publish your books, and place
them in the school library for other children to read.
The Process
To accomplish the task, there are
many choices you must make and steps you must follow in order to get to
the final product of a picture book.
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First you'll need to research several
illustrators to learn about the process they go through in making their
books. Click on authors
and illustrators to find a list of children's authors a-z.
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Once you're there choose at least
three of them and explore the information provided about their lives and
work. Use the worksheet to answer questions
about them and to help you get started on your own picture book.
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choose from the links provided to
learn how to use different techniques to improve your illustrations for
your book.
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now that you have had the chance to
review different techniques, choose a medium to create your illustrations
(This can be anything we have studied such as collage, watercolor, drawing,
cartoon, or photography)
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choose the story you want to tell
in your book and make preliminary illustrations for your characters in
your sketchbook (you can use animals or people for your characters)
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Choose how you want to layout the
text for your story with your illustrations by writing the words under
and around the illustrations
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When you have gotten your illustrations
and text approved by the teacher, you will use a blank book provided by
your teacher to make the final copy of your story.
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At a date set by your teacher, we
will publish our books as a class, for circulation in the school
library.
Evaluation
Your story will be graded on the
basis of effort, artistry, and consistency.
|
Beginning
1 |
Developing
2 |
Accomplished
3 |
Exemplary
4 |
Score |
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The Story's
Illustrations
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The story has
a few drawings, but these are not complete and are messy, with little detail
in them. There isn't any clear evidence of an overall theme or idea behind
them.
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The Illustrations
are of similar subject matter, but lack consistency and do not seem to
be completely worked out yet. The time spent making them was not significant
and they seem rushed.
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The Illustrations
show a level of creativity and thought, as well as many details.
They may not all be completely worked out yet, but show potential. The
drawings are similar to one another and tell a story.
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The stories
illustrations show signs of original thought and creativity. The author
has taken the time to make sure each drawing is detailed and consistent
with the rest. The illustrations tell a story that is interesting
and engaging.
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Text of the
Picture book.
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The text is
incoherent or nonexistent and isn't tied to the story and its meaning as
a whole. There doesn't seem to be much time or effort placed into them.
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The text has
many holes in it, as well as grammatical and spelling errors. The
text seems added on and doesn't flow along with the story. The story stays
on the surface level.
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The text reflects
thought and effort to tell a story. The text is appropriate
for the illustrations, but doesn't go beyond the basic requirement and
needs some more details.
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The text is
carefully thought out and goes along with the illustrations on each page.
It is carefully worked out so that the story flows and has a lesson
to be learned from it or at least a purpose.
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The Presentation
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The story as
a whole seems poorly put together and without much thought or time put
into it. It is sloppy and has many holes that detract from the story.
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Although the
elements are there, they aren't put together with care and have many jagged
edges or excess markings.
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The presentation
is neatly done and shows that the author spent time and care in the making
of the book. There is a minimal amount of mistakes.
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There is evident
planning and consideration that went into the layout of the book.
The author spent much time and effort making sure that their book was the
best it could be.
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Conclusion
The process of creating our own picture books has given us an appreciation
of the hard work that goes into making the stories that we know and love.
You should have come to recognize some of your strengths as an artist while
being creative and having fun. You are now the proud author
of your own picture book and now you know what it takes to be an illustrator
of children's books.
Credits &
References
Thanks to the following web sites for the information and resources
they provided:
http://www.sanford-artedventures.com/create/
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/authors.html
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