We’re very pleased to welcome Renée Treml to the WestWords site. Renée‘s first picture book, One Very Tired Wombat, is delightful, and we’re sure you will enjoy reading here how she created the gorgeous illustrations. At the end of the post, find out how you can win a copy of Renée‘s book, courtesy of Random House Australia.
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One Very Tired Wombat did not start out as a book – it began as a series of illustrations after my first wombat-encounter at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane. This was not a very notable encounter… wombat (not surprisingly) managed to sleep the day away while kids, cockatoos and kookaburras were chattering and screaming nearby.
[Note: he did manage to rustle himself out of his nap for a mid-day snack.]
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At the time I do not remember being very impressed with this little barrel shaped creature – all it did was sleep. However, the significance of its fantastic ability to just sleep struck a chord with me and a few weeks later I was inspired to create an illustration featuring this very tired wombat.
The series of illustrations quickly grew in number (wombat with one frogmouth to wombat with five black cockatoos…) and became the foundation for a counting picture book.
This was my very first wombat illustration ever.
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When I started thinking of One Very Tired Wombat as a book, I kept saying, “I am an artist first and an author second.” I think my initial attempt at the story fully supported that statement. The text was literally a series of image captions:
One very tired wombat
One very tired wombat with two curious curlews
One very tired wombat with three furtive frogmouths
… and so on.
(I am not even sure if it really qualified as writing.)
After reading loads of books to my newborn son, I realized that I did not enjoy reading concept books that were just lists. I loved reading catchy rhymes and silly stories. My favourite was One Hungry Monster by Susan Heyboer O’Keefe and illustrated by Lynn Munsigner. It was clever and fun to read out loud – exactly how I wanted my story to be – so I forced the author in me to step forward and carry her own weight. (And quite surprisingly, she had a great time creating rhyming text.)
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I decided to continue using scratchboard to create the book. To some people, working with scratchboard is quite tedious. I would agree if we are talking about illustrating the rear end of a peacock (which I have done before, and for the record it was not fun). For a small furry wombat with birds, it can be a relatively quick and easy process.
Here is a brief overview of how one of the illustrations was created.
Instead of using paper or canvas, I start with a surface called “clayboard.” Clayboard is a rigid board that has been coated with a thin layer of soft white clay. I transfer my drawing to the board and outline it with a pen. With a brush, I paint black ink onto the clay surface, avoiding any areas that I want to keep white.
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Once the ink is dry, I use a sharp craft knife to scratch through the ink and reveal the white below. I also use a fine brush and black pens to add additional details.
This stage involves a lot of back and forth with my brush and knife. I paint a little, and then I scratch a little. While I am cringing at showing this ‘in progress’ image publically, I think it’s a great example of the distinctive ugly-intermediate-phase all my pieces go through as part of the process.
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As I finish up the illustration, I use a pen to add little stray hairs and whiskers. I also use my knife to scratch away any splattered ink spots or smudges. (Unfortunately, I’m not a very tidy painter.)
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To get the illustrations ready for One Very Tired Wombat, I scanned the finished artwork and deleted the white backgrounds using the computer. With a set of digital paintbrush tools, I painted the shadow and background, and it was complete.
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…OK, so maybe some days the process was a little bit tedious, but in all fairness, it was not the scratchboard process, but the hundreds of birds I had to draw for the book.
Writing and illustrating my first picture book has been an incredibly rewarding experience. I initially thought my biggest challenge would be writing in rhyme, but quickly realized that following all the characters I created through a 32-page book was really intense. Several times I chastised myself for not writing a book that was easier to illustrate. (What was I thinking when I wrote 54 frolicking birds into one page spread?!)
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Poor old wombat – can’t get a good night’s sleep. What keeps you awake at night? Tell us a story about something that kept you from sleeping. Perhaps it was some pesky creature, like a bird calling all night, or a family pet who hogs the bed, an annoying younger brother or sister, or maybe someone in your family snores! Make it funny and creative and the best comment, as chosen by WestWords staff, will win a copy of One Very Tired Wombat. Schools are also welcome to submit comments for a chance to win the book for your library.