07 February 2009

Bunny Village





It's good to look through some old files every once in a while! 

I just found these scans of the Philadelphia Zoo's children's book called, Bunny Village. I have the original art but I was never able to scan them in since they were such a large size. This was the first real rush job I had ever done. It's a long story but they needed 16 illustrations completed in 7 days (basically a full children's book that a publisher would give at least 6 months to do). I remember I wanted to have a nice texture to the painting so I choose a cold press rough Arches watercolor paper to do the finishes, which is fine and good for watercolor but when it came time for inking it was very difficult. The inking pens quickly wore down and after each page I had to soak my hand/arm in hot water since it hurt so much. Thankfully I was completed in 6 days but the downside was that I dreamt about bunnies for about a month.

I wish the scans were larger but I'll take what I can get.

2 comments:

Robert Squier said...

16 illustrations in 7 days?! That's insane! Judging by these three pages it looks like you pulled it off. These are nice to see–softer than your cartoony/graphic style. Very "children's book".

How big are the originals? I just bought an 11x17 scanner–it rocks!

Chuck Dillon said...

Thanks, Robert. I need to do some more stuff like this. I prefer it actually but I have just gotten so used to tight deadlines and rushing my work with Photoshop coloring. I'm hoping to making some portfolio pieces for my portfolio with my time off this summer.

I have to get me one of those 11x17 scanners! We have one at Hussian (where I teach) but the students are usually using it and they take precedence.

The bunny village illustrations range from 6" wide to 28" wide. They were done for a series of outdoor signs that had the illusion of being an open children's book. They stood in front of the "real" bunny village at the zoo.