Illustrator Interview

Today we drove up to Santa Barbara to meet Mike Gordon. He is a childrens' book illustrator and most famous in our house for "Do Princesses Really Kiss Frogs?" After reading it to the girls one day, I noticed on the back flap that the illustrator lives in Santa Barbara. Cool, I thought. It also said that he did the ink drawings and his son did the color, which I thought was interesting. So I sent him an email and asked if he did any book signings or public appearances as my girls and I would enjoy meeting with him. He emailed me back and said he didn't really do any book signings, but would be happy to meet up with us and do a private book signing!

So we did our homework and checked out a few more of his books from the library. There is another "Princess" book and he also has illustrated an "early reader" series, which was fun for Lizzie. We looked closely at the pictures and talked more about his process. We also talked about questions we could ask him when we met with him. I went on Amazon and bought "Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?" for Miriam and a counting board book with the same characters for Rachel (super cute). I then found another cute princess book he had illustrated for myself.

We had such a nice visit with Mike this morning. He brought us a set of one of his latest projects: "Henry's House." It's a series of books each on different fun subjects for kids: bodies, dinosaurs, Egyptians, bugs, etc. I tried to get the girls talking, but they were a little preoccupied with their muffins. But we asked him about how he drew his pictures. He showed us a pencil sketch that he would start with; the publishers might ask for some changes. After making those, he uses a light table and traces the pencil sketch to make an ink drawing. Then he scans it into the computer and sends it off to his son who fills in the color.
Then he pulled out his Mac and his drawing pad. He showed us one of the drawings he is working on right now for a new "Princess" book! He showed the girls the color wheel and how he can fill in the color on his drawings. Then he let them have a go at it. It was a little tricky using the stylus at first, but they caught on pretty quick. Lizzie took to it like a fish to water. She tried changing the colors and then cleaning up some of the edges. He showed us some other illustrations he was working on as well. Lizzie leaned over and asked if we could buy her a computer like that when she was big so she could color pictures for her job!
We also talked about how he gets his ideas, etc. He said that Google Images comes in handy! We also talked about the pros and cons of the amazing technology he uses now and we showed him our favorite pictures from his books. It was a great conversation. By that time though, Rachel was full of muffin and done being strapped into the stroller. So he signed the girls' books and also drew little sketches of them. So cute!
After our fun visit, we walked next door to Borders to check out their bargain books. Amazingly enough, we all found something fun. Then we drove over to the wharf to wander around for a bit. We ate some fish and chips for lunch and then headed home.