HOW
TO MAKE AN ALIEN:
A look into the making of Bruce Coville's
I Was a Sixth Grade Alien
The Aliens have finally made contact. But when the embassador from another
planet arrives, he insists that his son, Pleskit Meenom,be treated like
any other citizen of Earth. Which is why Pleskit has become the first
purple kid in Ms. Weintraubs sixth grade class...So starts a fantastic
twelve book series written by author Bruce Coville.
Sixth Grade Alien took years to complete, and launched a TV show on
Fox Family Channel. Each book is fully illustrated with strange aliens
and fantastic machines, as well as detailed characters.
This is a step by step look into the making of the illustrations throughout
the series
Remember
that in any type of illustrated book, you are just one person working
with a team of artists. There are authors, publishers, editors, designers,
art directors, and more.
It's almost like a movie, where everyone combines their talents to make
just one (hopefully) wonderful work of art.
But Illustrators still play an important role. It's their responsibility
to visually and accurately represent the heart of the story , to stay
true to the narrative (what the author says is going on), while adding
a bit of their own heart and creativety. For example, Bruce can describe
an Alien as having large eyes, but I can draw it in a number of ways:
There
are very few cases that the author and illustrator get to work together.
Working together can be good or bad depending on how well their ideas
blend or conflict. Since we were friends and both lived in the same
town, we worked together throughout the series. Bruce had gained an
artists eye from years spent collaborating with his wife, illustrator
Katherine Coville, and he gave me valuable advice on the illustrations,
he even altered many parts of the text to suit my art ideas. While we
both gave each other advice, in the end, I had the last say on the art,
and he had the last say with the text, that's after the Editors's say,
of course!
I received the story in printed form called a Manuscript. I read it
and I loved it! Like many of Bruce Coville's stories, it had a wonderful
combination of Whacky
Humor, Weird
Creatures, Cool Adventures, and fantastic characters that learn valuable
lessons about family, friendship, and what evils a Hamster can dream!
So
I've read the story......
Time to start drawing? Nope!
After reading the manuscript one more time, I pick the areas I want
to illustrate. I'm being paid to draw a certain number of illustrations,
so I choose interesting points of climax. I also balance the illustrations
throughout the whole book. Then I take lots of detailed notes about
the characters and the scene of each illustration, to make sure that
I don't make mistakes. I might make a “Personality chart”
of each character, and write descriptions of their personality traits
and physical appearance. I check them with Bruce's opinions of the characters.
Time
to start the drawing? NOPE!
If
I want to draw an alien building or ship I need to imagine that it's
real, that they are solid things.
I try to imagine how they might look and work.
The best way to do that is by studying real buildings and ships.
And of course if I wanted to bring an ALIEN to life, I have to try and
imagine that the aliens themselves are real!, that they have a personality,
that they live and breathe, and have a heart and soul.
So I spend a bit of time researching Real Aliens! I only have 5 weeks
to complete each book, so any research had to be kept under 2-3 days,
but I learned a lot in that time and it helped bring my art to life.
Go to The Science of Aliens
*Art
note —
An illustrator must believe everything they create is real!
If you don't believe in your characters, how can you expect
the reader to?
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*Art
note
— The best illustrators and animators in the world are
the ones who get into the skin of the character- Ollie Johnston,
Founding Disney Animator
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Since
no conclusive Alien life has been found... (yet), I had to guess
what an Alien might look like. Some scientists do the same thing,
they guess. But they can make a better guess by studying a planet
they know is just teaming with weird creatures ... Our own Earth!
So I asked myself how life might have evolved on Earth, how the
creatures on our world live and breathe, how they act and react
in their own environments? How do they use their senses? How have
different creatures evolved in different environments? Then I asked
these same questions about Alien life!
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Earth creatures learn to evolve and adapt to their environments.
Try to imagine how real alien life might evolve in very different
environments. |
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*Art
note
— "The study of the supernatural world begins
with the study of the natural world." — Michaelangelo.
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I used
what I learned about earth creatures to help me draw aliens. Guess
which earth animals helped me create these aliens.
So just
two days of research gives me some great ideas on how to make the characters
and settings seem more real, and it helps me understand some of the
mysteries of the Universe and appreciate the diversity of our own planet.
Not a bad payback!
After
learning about aliens, I collect REFERENCE for each illustration. These
can be books, sketches, photos or movies about weird animals or other
artists/art of the science fiction genre. I may use household objects,
photos of people, models of alien ships or clothing, all of this can
help me create better art . Sometimes I have to travel far for reference,
I know of one illustrator that went to China to draw a special type
of cat in its native habititat, Bruce Coville and I visited a rainforest
while researching Snatched From Earth, but most reference can
be found in your own home or library.
So I learn
about the possibilties of real aliens and have fun doing it, I make
notes about the story and characters, I imagine that everything is real.
Keeping organized saves a lot of time, so I collect all of the reference
for each illustration and each gets a folder with it's name on it, just
a word that reminds me of the scene. That way, I have everything at
my fingertips before I start.
Time
to draw yet? Yes!
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The first drawings are called THUMBNAILS. |
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Called that because they are small sketches the size of a thumb,
showing the basic layout and composition of each piece. At this
point they are not supposed to be very detailed, but it is still
the most important stage of an illustration!
Think of it as a bodies skeleton. We can't survive without that
structure and a great illustration can't be created without
starting with a good composition. I break down each object or
person in the illustration as basic shapes. Then I arrange those
shapes to have a flow, balance, and pace.
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PHOTOS AND ADDITIONAL REFERENCE
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I use the reference I've collected for each illustration, I
show the models the thumbnails and we talk about whats going
on in the story, what the character is feeling.
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ROUGHS |
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Then I begin the rough drawings. It might seem that the research
I had to do takes too much time, but actually, working from
the reference saves a ton of time, and adds vital details to
the art. These roughs are created with specific dimensions in
mind, though most illustrators enlarge the image for details.
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*Art
note —
Look
at things from different angles and with different points of view.
Your first rough drawing isn't always going to be your last.
I
may take time to create very different layouts and compositions
until I achieve the desired affect. Make the art the best it can
be in the time that you have for the assignment. It takes a lot
of hard work and redrawing. The Veeblax (above,) can morph into
any shape and there are many ways to draw a flying shape-shifter.
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FINAL ROUGHS |
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I work and re-work the illustration until I have a detailed
visual of the scene. This final drawing is sent to the Publishing
house, there, the art is checked by Editors and Art Directors
to make sure I didn't make any mistakes in design or perspective,
or in not drawing what the story says is going on ( Ex.- if
my alien has TWO antannae when the book says it should haveTHREE!)
These are sent back to me and I start the finished art...
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*Art
note —
The degree of detail needed at the FINAL ROUGH stage differs
depending on what the Editors need to give them a clear idea
of what you're doing. Some see a "diamond in the rough"
a bit easier than others.
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A
good editor knows your work and may trust in your talent
when deadlines don't allow for a more detailed rough.
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There's little detail in this rough of an alien hollograph
(above) but my editor, Pat MacDonald, knew my capabilities
and was able to see the "diamond" the work finally
became.
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| Changes
are sometimes made, some minor, some not. Here, a monster
is just a bit too scary (above, left) so he's changed (above,
right.) |
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I
went a bit nuts on the antannae for Pleskit's father, (above,
left) so they went as well (above, right).
Editors usually have good suggestions and reasons for changing
the art. |
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FINISHED ART
When the
Final Rough is checked, I start the finished drawing by tracing the
Rough onto a clean piece of paper. That way all of those eraser marks
and mistakes are never in the finished art. After everything is outlined,
I start adding the details, the tones and shadows that add volume and
weight to the art, the textures that add believability to the characters
and setting.
