Layne Johnson is a native Texan who graduated from the University of Houston with a BFA degree. He has been a freelance illustrator for more than 20 years. He loves illustrating children’s picture books and has also done magazine covers for Highlights for Children. Mr. Johnson was invited by the Reed PTA this week, to present two different programs to the students. He explained that it is the illustrator’s job to take the story to another level and to do this one very important tool is needed – imagination. You must put yourself in the subject’s shoes and see things from their perspective. If you’re drawing a kitty, lie on the floor and see the world at their level or climb a ladder to see it from a giant’s perspective. For grades 5-6, he walked the students through the step-by-step process showing them examples along the way – manuscript, thumbnails, pencil sketches, color art, and finally publication. On average, a 32-page picture book takes six months to complete from start to finish. After accepting the manuscript, an illustrator draws thumbnails or very small pictures to create 15-16 spreads. In between each of the remaining steps, the publisher makes changes and corrections before moving on to the next phase. The second and most important step is transforming the thumbnails into large pencil drawings with all the tiny details. From here, the sketches are turned into colored works of art. Upon completion, the illustrator sends the images to the publisher who then sends them to the printing press to be scanned on large, round plates for reproduction. The final stages are publication and public appearances to autograph the books. For grades Kindergarten through 4th grade, Mr. Johnson used a very interactive program called “Faces with Feelings!” He explained that faces show feelings and emotions which make books more interesting. The children learned that eyebrows say a lot about how someone is feeling – slanted eyebrows show anger, rounded eyebrows show happiness. After talking about the face basics and showing some examples, he gave the kids a handout with blank faces for them to draw expressions on. The children loved this because of the hands-on interaction and they were able to see that they too can be artists. It was a terrific program for Reed Elementary students. For more information about Layne Johnson go to www.laynejohnson.com.