Friday, 13 December 2013

How do I prepare the art sent in to be used as illustrations for The Talisman Chronicles?

Are you wondering why my work on the illustrations for the anthology are taking so long? Here's a look at what I am doing, using one of the illustrations drawn and submitted by one of the children who are contributing stories to the anthology.

Original:
 drawn by Maddison, age 7

To make the pictures presentable for print so that the lines are clean within the book, I trace around the picture in a drawing program on my computer and then fill in the colors, trying to get close to the colors chosen by the children. I try and trace the picture as exactly as possible. Of course, even filling the colors in leaves some edging that I have to trace back over in the color it is edging against. (Not sure if I am explaining the process well.) It's not difficult, but it is very time-consuming. 

Below is the ready-for-print version:

Please note: There will be both a color version and a black and white version of the book. 

Also, if anyone who sent a picture for the anthology would like me to e-mail them the updated version (to use in blog posts, to create gifts at sites like CafePress , Zazzle or Printfection, etc), just let me know. (If the picture you sent did not have any color, I will have also added color to it for the color version.)

My own daughters have done some drawings for the anthology. I will share them in a later post.

Sunday, 8 December 2013

Table of Contents and Blurb Reveal for "The Talisman Chronicles"

Blurb (rough draft):
Children of all ages, including teenagers, have been finding magical charms all over the world. In some cases, the talismans take them on a magical adventure and in other cases, the magical charms give them a vision of someone else's magical adventure. These stories have been gathered here in The Talisman Chronicles as each child tells their story. Delve into the imaginations of children and enjoy these enchanting stories, written by children from around the world.

Below is the Table of Contents for The Talisman Chronicles. If your child has contributed a story, please make sure that their story is listed here and that their name is spelled correctly. Also, make sure I have the correct age for their age when they wrote their story (or their age now, if that's what they'd prefer), and, if I do not have an age for them, please let me know. I also need short author bios for each child. At the moment, I only have some author bios. (They don't need to be more than a sentence long, but they can be. They just need to say something about your young author.) (The children's ages will be listed under their bylines with their stories but not on the Table of Contents in the actual book. I am just listing them here in order to find out which of them I am missing the ages for.) 

1. Introduction
2. Prologue
3. The Dragonfly Charm by Angelina Destiny Marie Carte', age ?
4. King Beanameatus by Henry Gatenby, age ?
5. Pirate Dogs by Maddy Willoughby, age 6
6. Ember's Wish by Caitlin Shambrook, age 14
7. The Lost Fairy by Isabella Fyfe, age 8
8. The Excuse by Nathaniel Khalinsky, age 11
9. The Dolphin Adventure by Maddison Cook, age 7
10. Mommy Mermaid by Cameron Fyfe, age 4
11. Dragon Magic by Amelie Crimp, age 8
12. The Lucky Dragon by George Redhead, age 6
13. The Steel Fairy by Gabriella Fyfe, age 11
14. Tiana, Ariel, the Bear and the Knights by Stephanie Hart, age 4
15. The Talking Cat by Connor Fyfe, age 7
16. The Dragon and the Two Brothers by Romy Cole, age 5
17. Project Seahorse by Amelie North, age 7
18. Love and the Love Heart Locket by Jade Tonks, age 12
19. Stitch Gets Lost by Aijay Willoughby, age 5
20. Grandpa Ted's Fishing by William Hart, age 6
21. Mermaidina and the Catfish Snack by Lila Cole, age 2
22. The Three Shooting Stars by Jack Redhead, age 9
23. Georgia and the Thunderstorm by Charlotte Cook, age 4
24. The Dragon Orbs by Harry Redhead, age 10
25. Lizzie and Coraline: A Mermaid Adventure by Isabella Fyfe, age 7
26. Why Butterfly? by Nathaniel Khalinsky, age 11
27. The Metal Dragon by Gabriella Fyfe, age 11
28. The New Princess by Maddison Cook, age 7
29. Ben's Dragon by Cameron Fyfe, age 4
30. The Healing Cat Charm by Isabella Fyfe, age 8
31. The Iron Mermaid by Gabriella Fyfe, age 11
32. The Magic Book Talisman by Isabella Fyfe, age 8
33. Epilogue

I can be reached at Rebecca (at) Fyfe (dot) net.