A picture book is born!

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A picture book is born!

Looks like this lab just had its first successful experiment! I’m so excited to announce the release of my first picture book — Minu and her Hair  —  published by the wonderful Tulika Books. Activity has been low-ish around here because I’ve been busy with this the past couple of months and I was torn between posting about it, or keeping it a surprise. I finally (stupidly) chose to do the latter; it’s been pure torture. Now I can finally stop holding my breath. Phew. Moving onto the book…     Did you write and illustrate it? Yes, and yes. A more accurate explanation is I worked, worked, re-worked, and re-re-worked it.   So, what is Minu and her Hair about?  What? No! Seriously, it’s worth the surprise! Fine, I’ll give you a clue. There’s a girl...

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Keeping it simple: paper, pen & ink...

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Keeping it simple: paper, pen & ink

When I started illustrating, one of the first mediums I was drawn to (pardon the pun :)) experiment with was pen and ink. There is something so classic about black and white, and the intensity and energy of black strokes on paper; I love it. Probably the most basic way of working with pen and ink is the humble dip pen. It is also the most inexpensive start to trying out a medium– basic nibs cost approximately 20-50 cents/12-30 rupees each. If you use them a lot they do wear out pretty quickly, but luckily getting replacements isn’t costly or difficult. If you’re trying dip pens for the first time I encourage you to take a few different types of nibs so you can see the varied results you can get. I started out...

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