Happy Birthday Will Hillenbrand - May 31

[Eric Van Raepenbusch]

When I started researching information on Will Hillenbrand, children's book author and illustrator of over 50 books,  I became fascinated by the pictures and description of his illustration process in Starting from Sketch: Inside the Picture Book with Will Hillenbrand.  (Hillenbrand describes his complete art process on his website).  In this downloadable PDF article, Hillenbrand takes the reader through each of the steps he makes to create his illustrations.  He tells about his "unusual technique" of using heavy tracing paper to transform the sketch into a painting.  I wanted to try this process with my children.  I remember loving tracing paper when I was a kid and I was hoping they would enjoy it as much as I did.

I went to the craft store to find vellum or heavy tracing paper. This particular store did not have transparent paper in the art supply section of the store.  However, I was able to find 12" x 12" transparent paper that was thicker than regular tracing paper in the scrapbooking area.  It was $3.99 for 20 sheets! Once we got home we set up our supplies at the kitchen table.  Will Hillenbrand talked about drawing when he was a boy on his website, "I drew mostly at the kitchen table, but also used crayons on stairwell walls.  My early pictures still decorate the basement of my mother's house."

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