Before you is a DRAWING STORY. While reading it, give free rein to your imagination, because in this book you can paint anything in any color and draw wherever you want! Therefore, everyone will have their own special story about Princess Nisol, who began to deal with completely inappropriate things for the princess. Once she accidentally got into the royal kitchen, where everything was out of order: the banana is not cleaned, the fire in the oven goes out, and even a pack of hungry cats will attack. And then the head chef Tili-Dough went somewhere! Who will save the royal dinner to which so many guests are invited?
Little princess is counting on your help. You don't have to be able to cook to help her, you just need to take your favorite pencils, felt-tip pens or paints and start reading history.
Interview with the author
Violetta Borigard: Books are trees in the past, so it is a pity to translate them into nonsense
03/29/2016 /> Author: Kateryna Kundelska
This year, "Critics' Rating" marked the best children's and teen books of 2015. Among them were three books by Kyiv artist Violetta Borigard. In addition, in one of the books she became not only an illustrator but also an author. The publication "Princess Cook" won the favor of critics, children and their parents. Bloggers in their reviews especially noted funny names and bizarre situations.
Chitomo talked to the illustrator and learned about the idea of creating the image of a capricious princess-cook, asked about the secrets of publishing unique publications for the Ukrainian market and how artists-authors avoid graphomania.
- How did "Princess Cook" come about? Was it your own idea or an order from a publishing house?
- This is my own idea. Once I came to a friend to show my previous book about the Monster. And by chance I saw a princess drawn by a child's hand on the table. And on the way home, while riding the subway, I came up with a plot for this princess. Then I edited it all for a week, drew for a long time. But I wrote very quickly - all from one visual image.
> - And how did the princess get such a profession - a cook?
- That children's drawing was signed by "Ira Kuhar". And somehow it happened to me: the princess - Ira Cook, the princess - Cook. So the main character got this profession.
- In the book, the princess is a little picky - even cakes run away from her. Is there a prototype of such a princess in real life?
- As such there is no real prototype. This book is, rather, my childish protest against correctness, beauty, perfection. Since childhood, I do not like the idea that all princesses should be right and turned on all sides. Because it's boring, I'm tired of it.
It just doesn't occur to me since childhood that a person can be unequivocally so positive: white, fluffy, so good. And my Nisol - she was bored, she was bored. As a princess, she was forced to do nothing, which is difficult. Yes, it is very difficult to do nothing (laughs - Chitomo).
- Your book is a coloring book. Didn't you want to finish and finish your drawings? Show how you want to see them?
- My niece did it for me. Here she gave me two copies. And there everything is finished as it should be. My niece and grandmother can't draw, but she still has very original drawings. Probably because no one shows her. Imagine, she only has 50 species of cats. I can't do that much, but she succeeds. In general, I wanted it to be a joint work of parents and children. That's why I made the drawings and tasks in the book simpler and more difficult - so that parents could also join.
> So this is a coloring book for parents as well? Readers - not just children?
- You can say yes. The fact is that parents also want to draw. I used to teach drawing courses to young children. The parents who brought the children could not sit still, so they immediately began to prompt. Yes, they say, the sun is yellow, the trunk of a tree is brown, our grass and tree are green, and our houses are also brown. I was annoyed: what are they telling me? Why set frames for children? But then I started making up classes to get my parents involved. Unfortunately, for some reason, many adults cannot afford to paint, explaining that they are not artists. That's why this book is for joint classes.
- There seem to be too many coloring pages on the market right now. Anti-stress, interactive, with stickers. Weren't you afraid that yours would be "lost" among other publications?
- When we published this book, there were no similar ones on the market. That was three years ago. Because of this, there was no competition. Many publishers, when I showed them the book, said: "Here you need to finish painting, here you need to finish something, and let's you better draw stickers in general - they are now popular." But stickers are not a child's development. It's boring.
Similar to conventional coloring pages. This is unrealistic boredom. Moreover, in such quantities as they are now released. This does not work at all for the development of some creative skills in children. If you do thematic coloring pages for adults, say, about Harry Potter, it's a completely different topic. Because this is a separate world in which a person draws, sculpts, glues something. Everyone has their own story behind it. But for children, such coloring is of no use. Especially where there are many contours, small details.
- How do you choose "your" projects? For example, your tandem with Oksana Lushchevska is, without a doubt, very fruitful. Does the "sense" of class books work?
- This cannot be logically explained. When I was working on our first joint book "Avia, Bird Dispatcher", Oksana and I were not acquainted. Two independent processes started: I enthusiastically drew pictures on the theme of sea voyages, and Oksana wrote poems about sea inhabitants. She liked the pictures, I liked the poems. And we decided to make a book.
Such parallelism happens to us constantly - both at work and in personal life. For some reason. We live on different sides of the planet and meet once or twice a year for a few hours, no more. Maybe that's why I feel Oksana's lyrics so deeply.
When I read her manuscript from the screen, it's as if I'm watching a movie. Very cool and bright. I immediately make a sketch and send it to Oksana. And I wonder - why are there any illustrations at all? How can you deprive a reader of his own film? But Oksana writes something like: “Oh, yes! This is it! That's what I saw when I wrote! " What you do here, you have to finish.
- How do you go about creating illustrations for books by other authors?
- When I read the manuscript, I already see approximate illustrations to it. If I don't see anything, I don't start a project. Why squeeze pictures out of yourself if someone can do it better? After reading the book I make small sketches, sketches. Then I frame all the editions. It is very important for me to see the whole book. Then I move from the general to more detailed drawings.
Sometimes I think about the design of the book. If the publisher says: "Here, the text - and we give you carte blanche", then you need to anticipate more moments. You need to understand which concept you choose for yourself: you will follow the author's text in parallel or literally.
Literally - a bit boring approach. And it is most likely suitable for very young readers. For example, if it is written that a girl was crying in the park, and you draw that she is sitting on a bench and crying - it's very boring. And if you draw the knees on which the book lies, and it is wet with tears - this is a completely different approach. Because there is no point in drawing what readers will read anyway - they will see from the text. In addition, I do a lot of research into topics that I like. One of the last - "Living Herbs". To show children that this is an interesting world that does not talk, not as interactive as a dog, but no less beautiful. But I'm not ready for that yet. Now I am looking for experts in this topic so that it is not superficial. My books are all different. I don't have an industrial approach yet. And everything comes from ideas, not commercial grounds. This, of course, has a downside in the context of making money, but what can you do: so far.
- Nowadays, illustrators rarely work only with book illustrations, because publishers often cannot afford high fees and regularity of orders. More and more high-level illustrators want to work abroad, in advertising and so on. Are you working in other fields, or is it not interesting for you?
- I would like to focus on books, paper games. Yes, fees do not allow you to relax and just draw pictures. You need to look for additional use of your talents constantly. My colleagues dilute the illustrative everyday life with ceramics, jewelry making, teaching, working with photobanks, sewing, painting… and a lot more. But at some point I wanted to rest a bit and just calmly paint.
- It seems impossible not to pay attention to the fact that more and more artists do not illustrate other people's texts, but create their own. Is it due to the low quality of other people's texts, unwillingness to cooperate or desire to implement your own idea from a to Z?
- Rather the last. For example, I wrote fairy tales for myself, and illustrated them myself when I was studying. Because I didn't want to take something too famous, and I didn't have time to look for unique stories.
- Obviously, artists 'texts often lose to writers' texts. You have managed to set a record with this book. How do artists avoid common mistakes and graphomania?
- Great happiness for the artist - a professional editor or art director. A person who can delicately point out mistakes or suggest directions. Unfortunately, I did not have such a person. So I doubted for a long time. I learned at the "Critics' Rating" ceremony that the book "Princess Cook" is really good. Graphomania should not be avoided. I want to write - write! Just do not publish everything in a row in paper form! In search of fame, you can use virtual platforms - blogs, social networks. After all, books are trees in the past. It's a pity to translate them into nonsense.
- What are you working on now? What books should you expect from you in the near future?
- An interesting New Year's story of my authorship should appear in the publishing house "Bratske" before the New Year. Now I have many friends with whom I am planning projects. One of them is an interactive guidebook about museums. My friend-guide seems to have seen it in France: in order for children to go to museums, they are given interesting guides. Well, we did something similar, only Ukrainian.
- How has motherhood influenced your work and approach to illustration? Did it add new opportunities, impressions, ideas?
> - To be honest, motherhood takes a lot of time. It may seem that I work a lot, because several of my books were published last year. But I've worked on them before. Last year I drew only "Peace and the Sea". Soon “Fall asleep. Wake up ”- stories about a peaceful sleep and a cheerful pretext authored by Halyna Vdovychenko.
To draw, I need 3-4 hours a day. Because you have to delve into the process and create something. Drawing is also a skill that is forgotten over time and needs to be honed.
One of the great benefits of motherhood is that I understand what cardboard books should look like. We have those that are published - mostly all - are not suitable for children. Everything is too detailed. The child sees it as a haystack. This set of lines, colors.
Everything should be more concise, spotty, with fewer details and contours. Less too bright emotions: "smiling beetle" - and painted smile. This is not necessary. The child must guess what the emotion should be in a particular case. She thus becomes an accomplice to the text. And when everything is painted, even with small details, it completely kills thinking.
- Will it be possible to meet at the Book Arsenal with Nisol?
- I think you can see Nisol's holiday dress. And take pictures in it. The princess has an urgent business trip for this day. But she doesn't know about it yet (laughs).
According to Chitomo http://www.chytomo.com/interview/violetta-borigard-knigi-ce-dereva-v-minulomu-tomu-shkoda-perevoditi-iix-na-durnici
