Hi LAC friends!
I am a student in the Illustrating Children’s Books course and thought my fellow students would enjoy seeing some of my outside work. I recently finished (mostly finished, I still have to make the endpapers and cover) my own children’s book, Marlin, the Cat. Marlin is a long picture book with 45 ink and watercolor illustrations, one on each page with a small amount of text at the bottom. It tells the story of a runaway cat and his return home with the help of three unlikely doggy friends.
I have been working on Marlin for nine years – I started it in high school, but college, work, and my greeting card business got in the way. The text was rewritten multiple times, and several pictures were redone. I have a very classic ink and watercolor style – first making a detailed pencil sketch, then outlining it and filling it in. To retail control over the project and its quality, I have decided to self-publish Marlin. Many rising authors are trending this way because of dissatisfaction with the publishing industry. I use a painstaking, literal mom and pop printer who connected me with a wonderful graphic designer. Becca has a natural ability to visualize the final product. She worked with me to enhance the text with appropriate placement and fonts. After much granular editing, I was thrilled to finalize the PDF in December. From here, the PDF will be sent back to the printer, and I will begin marketing the book!
I’ve linked the crowdfunding page for the project, not because I’m expecting donations in this space, but because I’d love to inspire other students. I mainly wanted to emphasize that with a little diligent networking, getting your book in print isn’t hard these days. I thank everybody at the London Art College for their interest in and encouragement of artists.
Ainsley Bloomfield
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