In April 2009, I attended three of five sessions of a children's lit conference, hearing talks by James E. Ransome, an award winning children's book illustrator, painter, and author; Gary Neri, an author of books targeted to inner city teens; and Tonya Bolden, a writer of children's biographies, addressing the African American experience. All three were dynamic speakers, conveying their love for children, and their love for what they do; all three with advanced degrees and extreme talent, who have decided to devote their energies to children, literature, and the art of the printed book.
Visit any children's department throughout the United States, and you will encounter James E. Ransome's illustrations. He's illustrated over 40 children's books. Among his many awards and commendations, he won the Coretta Scott King Award for illustration in 1995 for a book called Creation (Holiday House, c1995), and the Coretta Scott King Honor Award for Uncle Jed's Barbershop (Simon & Schuster, c1993).
James Ransome spoke about growing up in Rich Square, North Carolina, a small town with three traffic lights. He knew he wanted to be an artist from the third grade, and he learned how to draw from comic books and from MAD magazine, copying the illustrations and creating his own, because there were no art classes in the schools and no art teachers in the town. Later, he moved to New Jersey, with what he termed an incredible art program in his high school, though he chose to concentrate on animating films. When he went to the Pratt Institute and majored in illustration, he met Jerry Pinkney, another renowned illustrator of children's books, because Pinkney's son was a fellow student. Jerry Pinkney became a mentor and a lifelong friend. (I had the pleasure of speaking with Jerry Pinkney, a wonderful man, a couple of years ago at a similar conference.)
Of interest to writers, I think, aside from Ransome's ongoing contributions to children's literature, is his description of his process, and his evolution from self taught student to professional illustrator and writer. He's also written and illustrated books of his own, and collaborated with his wife on several children's book projects. His wall size murals are installed in museums and libraries. He's worked in oils, and later in both acrylics and watercolors.
In response to a question from the audience, he thinks his direction will become all three mediums, using whatever is best for an individual project or using a combination of the three. He said he tends to use oils when the subject of the book is historical, and acrylic when the feel is modern and contemporary. However, the next book he's illustrating, with realistic people, is in watercolors, and another book will be done in prints. His research methods are meticulous, based on posing the models he calls characters as if he were casting a play, photographs, site visits, and a personal library of books.
Ransome titled part of his talk, How I Illustrate a Book:
(1) Thumbnail - He begins with a thumbnail sketch, 5 to 10 for each page of a book.
(2) Research - He begins his research studying pictures of everything pertinent, from animals to artifacts to period clothing, and when he is able, incorporates trips to places like the Caribbean and even visits to Disney World's Animal Kingdom (He has four kids, so it makes sense! And he inferred it's quicker and less expensive than visiting Africa.).
(3) Dummy Book - He creates a "dummy" book, a mock-up with text and pictures, to see how the pictures and the text work together (a major goal of children's book illustration and the basis for earning awards). The mock-up is sent back and forth to the publisher, three to four times, with notes and suggestions for changes.
(4) Model Shoot - He does a model shoot, posing his characters in period costume, and taking photographs. (He noted that Jerry Pinkney was the model for one of his characters in the book, Uncle Jed's Barbershop, and that at other times he has used his children, his parents and other relatives. It must be great to have yourself immortalized in a quality children's book, because Ransome's illustrations of people are the equivalent of professional portraits.)
(5) Drawing - He begins the actual drawings for each illustration, using tracing paper to build up layers and make a final drawing.
(6) Painting - Painting begins with a wash of color to dull the pure white of the page. He begins filling in with flat colors, and then the subsequent layers of paint. When it's oil or acrylic, if he doesn't like something, he changes it as he goes, re-working the illustration until he is satisfied with the color, the composition and the facial expressions.
In response to other questions, he said, once he begins a painting, with standard interruptions, like picking up his kids from school, answering phone calls, etc..., it generally takes him one week to complete it, and that painting faces take the longest (and faces are the most fun). It takes about a year to complete a book, he said, but he's working on different stages of other books and projects at the same time. He also said, doing illustrations for a book is a matter of interpretation, not a literal rendering of the text. He used a wonderful analogy, saying illustration is like a song; every singer should sing the song a little differently.
I was impressed by James Ransome's warmth and his dedication to Children's Literature, and the importance of what he does. Through multimedia, he introduced the audience to his wife and children, the places he grew up in, and where he lives today, in Rhinebeck, New York, including an intimate look at his artist's studio, located on his property, a free standing structure the size of a small apartment. He also teaches at Syracuse University. Here's a link to his website.