Picturebook Creation

Do you know the difference between an illustrated book and a picturebook? Illustrator and author of various beautiful picturebooks for children of all ages, Flavia Zorrilla Drago, will show you. She is passionate about telling stories that connect with people through images and words and has collaborated with editorials such as Combel (Ricitos de Oro), Petra (Dientes, Santo Remedio), Delete Dog (Balandra), the Secretary of Culture in Mexico (Tolstoi), and Walker Books (Gustavo, the Shy Ghost).

In this course, she will teach you the basic narrative principles and will guide you so that you find the best idea to create your own picturebook. She will show you how to give life to your story through your illustrations and will teach you her design and coloring process, combining analogical and digital techniques (Adobe Photoshop). You will then learn to build your model with Adobe InDesign, ready to send to editorials, contests, and literary agents.

You will start by getting to know Flavia and her work. She will talk about her travels around the world, of her transition from designer to illustrator, and will show you what she draws her inspiration from.

Learn the difference between an illustrated book and a picturebook, all the different types that exist along with their characteristics. Next, analyze the anatomy of a picturebook and the importance of each element that constitutes it.

Flavia will give you the key aspects to consider as you define the best idea for your book. Write your story’s synopsis and develop your main character through illustration, giving life to the world he or she inhabits. Then, she will go through the difference between “showing and telling”, teaching you some techniques to achieve this, how to narrate through the interaction of texts and images.

Next, you’ll develop your storyboard, discover how to diagram with the typography of your book, and get advice on how to begin and end your story. For the final illustrations, Flavia will discuss the use of color and will show you her illustration process, where she combines traditional techniques (such as pencils, watercolor or crayons) and digital ones, with Photoshop. You will see how to build and color your book cover, and learn how to build your model or dummy book.