How to Illustrate Books for Children: Expert Tips from a Professional, Part Three: Creating Characters

Excerpt from “The Conjurers Book 3: Fight for the Fallen”

Today’s excerpt from book three features everyone’s favorite character, Pimawa! He is certainly my favorite, but how did I come up with him? Thought I’d share his origin’s and also a few tips on how you can create your own characters for your story.

The idea behind the Conjurian was that it was a land of magicians, where they could be free of persecution. That meant, when they crossed over into our world, “The Flat World” as magicians like to call it, they had to disguise the secrets they brought over. Now, from day one, I did not want to inclcude the cliched rabbit out of a hat. However, during one brainstorming doodling session, I sketched these rabbit like creatures called Jimjarians. They are sort of like butlers for magicians. They were too interesting (and cute) to discard. I had to work them into the story.

Thank goodness I did. As the Jimjarian history revealed itself to me, I discovered they were much more than cute, fun companions. Their past is intricately intwined in “The Conjurers” story, as you saw in book two. Even more so in book three. No spoilers here. This happened because I put in the time exploring Pimawa’s personality and his family’s past. The point is, great characters take time.

I’ll share a few simple tips you can use to make your own unforgettable characters.

Tips for Writing Character Biographies

A character biography should provide readers with a sense of the character's background, personality, and quirks.

A great way to start writing a character bio is to answer these questions:

- What are some of their hobbies?

- What are their favorite foods?

- What do they like in bed?

- Where would they go on a dream vacation?

- What's their favorite TV show or movie?

These questions might seem very personal, but remember that making your characters as real as possible will make your story more compelling.

How to Come up with Great Ideas for Storylines

To come up with great ideas, one should be creative in their thought process. One can also look at the different aspects of a character or setting that can help them develop something interesting.

There are various methods to come up with ideas for storylines. One of the most popular ways is taking inspiration from real life events and developing it into a fictionalized version. Creative thinking can also lead to interesting storylines, by asking questions about the world and trying to find answers for them.

It is important to note that one does not need to have all the answers for an idea before they start working on it as they will come up with new ideas while they work on their project.

What's the Difference Between Protagonist and Antagonist?

In a nutshell, the protagonist is the good guy, and the antagonist is the bad guy. But not all heroes are good and not all villains are bad.

A hero can be a protagonist in some stories and an antagonist in another story. It's all about perspective. The same goes for a villain- they can be an antagonist in one story and a protagonist in another.

Conclusion: Writing Characters is a Tough Task but not Impossible!

You can do a great job of creating believable and compelling characters. The key is to understand the audience, genre, and story you are telling.

The most important thing when writing a character is to make sure that they are interesting. Create a character that has strong desires or motivations in order to give them something to act on. They should also have flaws or weaknesses that they struggle with and have an arc throughout the book - going from weak to powerful by the end of the story.

As always, send any questions my way or suggestions for what you’d like me to post about next. Cheers!

The Lighter Side of Book Promotion

Book Promo Art for The Conjurers Book One

I love making promotional images. However, I noticed I had fallen into a rut. Or, more accurately, doing what everyone else does. Not a terrible thing, because it works.  Mostly you slap a picture of your book on top of the cover art. It looks nice. The colors work well and it creates a harmonious drama to the image. 

One thing I try to force myself to do is to deconstruct something and try building it completely differently. This is super hard when re-writing stories. You’ve put a ton of work into an outline or a first draft. it’s difficult to scrap all that work. I know, I’m attempting to do it right now with a picture book that’s been sitting around for a couple years. Thankfully, it’s much easier to do with art.

Scratch up a doodle in a couple minutes. Don’t like it? Scratch up another one. Each time I do, I attempt to redraw it in a unique style or angle. It’s the same with book promos. I’m fortunate that I’m also the artist. I don’t have to charge myself for a few extra drawings. That’s why I should push myself more outside of the creative comfort zones.

With this image, I thought it would be cool to have a few of the characters loitering around the book. And I wanted them on a white background instead of a heavy, moody background. Voila! A few doodles later and I have some of the cast just chilling. Looked good on a white background but I tested out throwing in a subtle background. It works...kind of. I need to test it out and see if people respond to it. 

The lesson learned is that even when you’re doing something you enjoy, you need to prevent it from becoming a grind and step outside, walk around it and see it from fresh vantage points. Creativity doesn’t just happen. It takes thought and discipline. 

Writing and Illustrating Middle Grade Fantasy Books

Another peak at “The Conjurers” book two. Another double page spread. The text will be overlayed in white on the dark, crosshatched top half of the illustration. It’s technique I love and try not to overuse. Too much can be annoying to the reader methinks. But it is a fun way to blend the prose with live action shots.

I think this is from chapter nine. Can’t tell any details, although it is a big moment in Emma’s character art. After all her struggles, it was cool to come upon a scene in which, while everyone else was running from danger, she was running straight at it.

Aesthetically, I once again employ using deep perspective to make the drawings lift off the page and add drama. Perspective is an amazing tool and one I encourage young artists to work with. It can be terribly frustrating and I rarely get it close to correct, but the effects are worth it. I think I’ll include a simple perspective lesson in one of my live-streams.

Speed Doodle from Book Three

I'll be handing over the manuscript for book three at the end of May. I won't start on the illustrations for some time. First have to get books one and two all illustrated up. However, as I work through the prose, I take a little time here and there to whip out a speed sketch from one of the scenes. It gives me a chance to at least have drafts of the final drawings lying around. It also allows me to work out the style for the final images. Trying to keep them light and sketchy and moving.I won't be posting a lot of illustrations from book three as they will contain a lot of spoilers for the first two books. Never the less, there will be plenty more to post when the actual drawing begins.

Sketch Warm Up - Meet the Cast

Warming up to illustrate book one. Like I mentioned yesterday, I'll be editing book three and cranking out the drawings for book one over the next few months. Yesterday I drew my favorite supporting cast members, the Grubians. Those of you who have read the webcomic will be familiar with these rapscallions. And if you liked them there, wait till you get a load of them in the novels.Fair to say, these guys are my Shakespearean clowns, although they play a pivotal role in the first three books. My inspiration for them goes well past Shakespeare. My magician friends will notice a similarity to another tall and short magic duo. Except my big guy is the non-talker. Yep, Penn & Teller. Two of my biggest influences in magic since the third grade. They were the starting point for these two.Halfway through writing book one, I realized another influence for this pair were Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar. If those names aren't familiar, google them and then get the book that pops up in the results. I also recommend getting the comic adaptation and the BBC tele-play and of course the BBC radio drama version. Trust me on this.Lastly, the names. Was it too obvious? My devious Grubians are named after Clive Barker and Neil Gaiman, the two writers I can't live without. Well, also Susan Hill, but I have another character based on her we'll get to later.That's it for today. Back to editing book three and sketching up the art for book one. I'll be sure to post my progress on both.

"Dream Jumper" - A Quick Review

Right, in full disclosure, I'm a little biased. I'm a big fan of Lucas' work. That said, he and Greg have made something special with "Dream Jumper". My initial reaction after reading it the first time was the craving for more. I want more of this world and, more importantly, these characters. That's where this dynamic duo really rocked. They hook you right away on the main characters. So many times I've read graphic novels that use worn out, on the nose, horrifically obvious tools to get you to like the people in the story.

You know what I'm talking about, the literal "save the cat from the tree" scene, that has proliferated graphic novels and movies alike. They rarely have the intended effect of making the reader go "awwww!" with glassy, anime eyes. Instead, they jolt you right out of the story, ruining the illusion. Not in "Dream Jumper". Again, I won't mention specifics of some of these subtleties, but they're there and they put you right next to the hero. And off you go.

I guess my only complaint is that it wasn't enough. I wanted more, and thankfully, more is coming. So, Lucas, if you're reading this, stop! Get back to work!

P.S. Sophie had one complaint after reading it: The paper was not bacon flavor.