NARRATIVE ILLUSTRATION | Primary School Workshop
This month I had the amazing opportunity to lead an illustration workshop for a group of year 6 pupils at a local primary school. I have to say, I’ve been dreaming up sessions like this one for a while now, so when my friend Josh asked if I’d like to come in to show the children what exactly an illustrator does, I jumped at the chance! I decided to choose two fairly simple activities for this workshop, but really emphasised imagination and inclusivity rather than their drawing ability (because anyone can be an artists, did you know that?!)
I was immediately welcomed by the children, who excitedly showed me their sketchbooks which, I’m pleased to say, were full of blossoming talent! Then, after a brief introduction to myself and the type of work I do, we got drawing! We had seven groups of ten children, each given a large sheet of paper and a section of a story that I had typed and printed before hand, based on Alice in Wonderland. However, with the purposes of encouraging the children to rely on imagination rather than what they already knew about the narrative, I exaggerated and muddled the descriptions into things like: ‘A smartly dressed rabbit, searches for his watch in a clock shop’ and ‘A grumpy queen eats too many jam tarts and starts a food fight’. This meant the children could guess what story they were illustrating as their sketches developed on the paper, which really allowed scope for their creativity and imagination to take control. There was such an amazing variety of ideas, including a cat with moons for eyes, skyscraper cakes, and even a Christmas tree!
In the second session, we turned their drawings into a continuous illustration! With their individual pages now filled with weird and wonderful drawings, we connected them together in chronological order according to the Alice in Wonderland narrative, and with pens in hands, the children were let loose wherever they wanted on the paper! I asked them to rotate several times so they could continue to add to each of the drawings, and encouraged them to be imperfect with their illustrations as they collaborated with each other. It was a fantastic afternoon and the children showed real willingness and enthusiasm to create something together. I ended the day with a brief showcase of my own picture book portfolio, and answered their questions about the illustration industry, as well as my own experiences of studying at art school.
Although this was my first school workshop, it was an absolute joy to teach, and I’m already dreaming up other workshops around narrative illustration, character design and more!
If you’re interested in workshops like this one, drop me a line at hicatherinebooth@outlook.com and let’s work together!