Tracy Bishop | The Children’s Book Review | April 12, 2016
Tracy Bishop’s Studio Space
My studio space is set up in the dining area. It can be kind of cramped at times but it gets wonderful light and I have easy access to snacks in the kitchen. I chose a fold up desk to hide the computer away when it’s time for dinner.
Tracy Bishop’s Creative Process
When I first get a manuscript, I read it over and over again for a few days and let the story sink into my brain. I want the story and characters to play in my head like a movie. While I’m reading the manuscript I make quick initial sketches of the characters. I like to use my sketchbook at this phase so I can do my work all over the house or at a coffee shop. I send the sketches to the art director and editor and over time we shape the look of the characters together.
Once I have the characters set, I start sketches for the book pages. For Pipsie, Nature Detective: The Lunchnapper, I did all of the initial sketches in my sketchbook. While I sketch, I do a lot of research about the animals that appear in the book both at the library and the internet so I can get the details right.
The pencil sketches eventually get scanned into my computer and all revisions and painting happens on the
computer. I use a tablet monitor on the computer so I can draw and paint right on the screen. This gives me the same feel of painting directly on the paper.
It takes a couple of months to take a book from the initial sketches to turning in the final illustrations. I have lots of fun drawing and getting to know all of the characters, both animal and human, while I’m trying to bring them to life. I hope the readers of the book can feel that sense of fun and enjoy the characters as much as I did.
About Tracy Bishop
Tracy Bishop won an art contest in kindergarten, and she’s been creating art ever since. A graduate of San Jose State University, she is also the illustrator of Not the Quitting Kind by Sarra J. Roth and Pipsie, Nature Detective: The Disappearing Caterpillar by Rick DeDonato. She lives in San Jose, California, where she is inspired on a daily basis by her son, husband, and a hairy dog named Harry.
Written by Rick DeDonato
Illustrated by Tracy Bishop
Publisher’s Synopsis: A nature hunt…and a missing lunch!
Pipsie and her turtle friend, Alfred, are on the best school trip ever—a nature scavenger hunt! The team who finds “Seven Wonders of Nature” first wins. But that isn’t all Pipsie and Alfred have to find. Someone has stolen their PB&Js!
The search is on for the lunch that left, and soon Pipsie and Alfred are following animal tracks and discovering deer, birds, and even some beavers. Can Pipsie make this mystery history and finish the scavenger hunt? And hopefully before lunchtime, because Alfred is one hungry turtle!
Ages 3-7 | Publisher: Two Lions | 2016 | ISBN-13: 978-1503950610
Available Here:
More Fun …
Check out the free downloadable activity kit here! Visit PipsieNatureDetective.com for more games and coloring, fun facts, more details about Pipsie and her friends, along with info about the author and illustrator. There’s also a link to Alfred Z. Turtle’s blog!
Book Giveaway
Enter to win a copy of Pipsie, Nature Detective: The Lunchnapper, written by Rick DeDonato and illustrated by Tracy Bishop.
Giveaway begins April 12, 2016, at 12:01 A.M. PST and ends May 11, 2016, at 11:59 P.M. PST. Enter here »
Follow the Pipsie, Nature Detective: The Lunchnapper Blog Tour
Mon, Apr 11
Geo Librarian
Tues, Apr 12
The Children’s Book Review
Wed, Apr 13
Kid Lit Frenzy
Thurs, Apr 14
Sincerely Stacie
Fri, Apr 15
Where Imagination Grows
Mon, Apr 18
A Rup Life
Tues, Apr 19
Inspired by Savannah
Wed, Apr 20
Picture Book Palooza
Thurs, Apr 21
The Late Bloomer’s Book Blog
Fri, Apr 22
Mile High Books
Discover more books like “Pipsie, Nature Detective: The Lunchnapper,” written by Rick DeDonato and illustrated by Tracy Bishop, on The Children’s Book Review by following along with our articles tagged with Art of Illustration, Nature, Pipsie Nature Detective Series, Rick DeDonato, and Tracy Bishop.