{"id":4847,"date":"2019-03-29T00:01:47","date_gmt":"2019-03-29T06:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=4847"},"modified":"2019-03-29T09:16:05","modified_gmt":"2019-03-29T15:16:05","slug":"what-im-doing-at-kirkus-this-weekplus-what-i-did-last-week-featuring-soyeon-kim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=4847","title":{"rendered":"What I\u2019m Doing at Kirkus<\/em> This Week,
Plus What I Did Last Week, Featuring Soyeon Kim"},"content":{"rendered":"

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“Clouds rain fresh water to quench your thirst.
Your lungs swell with oxygen that plants create.”<\/em>
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\nI’ve got babies on the mind today over at Kirkus<\/em>. <\/p>\n

That is here<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n

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Last week, I wrote here<\/a><\/strong> about Laura Purdie Salas\u2019s Lion of the Sky: Haiku for All Seasons<\/em>, illustrated by Merc\u00e8 L\u00f3pez. (I featured some art from the book in yesterday’s 7-Imp post, which is here<\/a><\/strong>.) I also wrote last week about Elin Kelsey’s<\/a><\/strong> You Are Never Alone<\/em>, illustrated by Soyeon Kim<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n

Today, Soyeon (pictured below) shares process images and talks about creating the three-dimensional artwork for this book. I thank her for visiting. I’ve also got some final spreads form the book. (You can also see more about the book and the artwork here<\/a><\/strong>.) <\/p>\n

Enjoy!<\/p>\n


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Soyeon Kim<\/em>
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\nSoyeon<\/font><\/strong>: I started to create diorama art when my family immigrated to Canada. We had a lot of cardboard boxes lying around in our house after the big move. Each box was packed with our personal items and everyday objects that we brought from Korea. As we started to unpack, I thought, why not re-use them to create art? After all, the purpose of a box was to collect, package, and\/or present something.<\/p>\n

When I started to incorporate a box as part of my main art material, I was really excited with its endless possibilities. A box could hold my feelings and thoughts. The space within a box was private and personal when it was closed, but it was also shareable by opening. Boxes came in different sizes and shapes, which I could also stack and arrange in any ways I wanted to. Creating the world of my own inside a box, I came to diorama art. <\/p>\n

Here are my thumbnail sketches [for You Are Never Alone<\/em>] \u2014 brainstorming and quick sketches with idea notes:
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Thumbnail sketch of the opening spread<\/em>
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Thumbnail sketch of the whale spread<\/em>
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Thumbnail sketch of the urban cityscape spread<\/em>
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\nHere are my rough sketches (more detailed, planned sketches before moving to the final art):
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Rough sketch of the opening spread<\/em>
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Rough sketch of the whale spread<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center>
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Rough sketch of the urban cityscape spread<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center>
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\nHere are character sketches (character studies, considering ethnicity, clothing styles, etc.):
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Character sketches of boys<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center>
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Character sketches of girls<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center>
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\nNow to the woodshop and building diorama frames:
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Starting with planks of wood …<\/em><\/center>
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From planks, pieces are cut into appropriate sizes …<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center>
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Gluing frames (top and bottom) …<\/em><\/center>
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Gluing frames and columns (diorama skeleton) … <\/em><\/center>
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Stretch fabric on top and bottom<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center>
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\nNow to the art studio, where all the drawing, painting, cut-outs, and assembly magic happens!
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Starting with rough placements …<\/em>
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Painting a large piece (whale)<\/em><\/center>
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Painting and cutting small pieces<\/em><\/center>
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Actual size of the cut-outs in my hand<\/em><\/center>
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Rough placement of the cut-outs and painted piece on paper<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center>
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Assembly of pieces<\/em>
(Click each to enlarge)<\/center>
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Mock-up photo shoot with different background colours<\/em>
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Cut-outs and painted pieces (from urban cityscape spread)<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center>
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Rough placement on paper<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center>
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Mock-up photo shoot<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center>
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\nThese are pictures of a photo shoot \u2014 from 3D diorama to picture book illustration!
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Photographing a scene<\/em>
(Click each to enlarge)<\/center>
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\nHere’s a video walk-through inside a diorama:
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