Experimental Techniques for Picturebooks

Start your course by getting to know Catarina and listening to her journey as an illustrator. Take a look at some of her work, learn about her influences, and listen to her reflections on the curious nature of visual storytelling.

The process of creating a picturebook starts by pulling from your intuition and knowledge. It’s important to understand the particular characteristics of the format: its objectness, the word/image interplay, a free layout, and the continuum between pages. Using some examples of children’s books, Catarina describes these basic concepts and gives you her recommendations for determining the right colors and compositions.

Then, it’s time to discover the basic techniques for starting your final project. Learn two mixed media techniques and go through how to build a narrative structure, the starting point for establishing the layout and content of your wordless picturebook.

Discover Catarina’s methods for developing a storyboard, experimenting with materials, and completing your first illustration. Throughout this process, pay attention to your emotions and how you feel being the author of your very own picturebook.

Finish the course by learning how to convert your analog illustration into a digital file for editing and post-production. See how to create a dummy version of your final project and get some of Catarina’s tips for pitching your book to a publisher. Challenge yourself by continuing your picturebook and completing the rest of its illustrations.