Artist Robin Kaplan

It is easy to walk into the children’s section of a bookstore and get lost in the magical worlds that the authors and illustrators create. That has always been a favorite pastime of mine to do with my young daughter. There is something special about opening up a beautifully illustrated children’s book for the first time. The ability to illustrate in such a way takes practice and a natural ability to create such worlds. Robin Kaplan is such an illustrator and she will be releasing her first book with Penguin, a young reader’s edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz which is coming out February 2^nd.

Robin is also the illustrator for the Mrs. P Grand Prize Winners books. I had a chance to speak to Robin about her journey as an artist and illustrator and she shares with us the turning point for her in her career.

Tell us how you knew you wanted to be an artist and illustrator?

As early as preschool, when I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said ‘artist.’ I also said ‘candy-maker’ but ‘artist’ came first. The thing is, ‘artist’ is very very vague! There are so many kinds of artists, and so few of them ever sounded appealing to me. It took me over twenty years and a degree in Game Art and Design for me to realize that all this time, when I said ‘artist,’ I’d always really meant ‘illustrator.’ I have passionately loved books—especially children’s books—my whole life, and that was the kind of art I’d always thought of first! I was lucky that my exit portfolio class in college was taught by a children’s book illustrator, and when he saw my list of influences and my newer work, he told me to drop everything else and do that. So I did! I created an entirely new portfolio and web presence in three months, and graduated as the only GAD student with a children’s book portfolio. And I never regretted it, because about a week after graduation, I was tapped by Mrs P’s Magic Librarian and Omniscient Webmaster, Dana Plautz, to illustrate for Mrs P.com!

What was the turning point for your in your career?

I think that you could say my professor telling me to go for it was my call to action, and Mrs P’s Magic Library was my fairy godmother, so to keep our Campbellian analogy going, after all the ensuing obstacles, the turning point was landing my first book with Penguin!

Mrs. P has chosen you as the official illustrator for the winners of their 4th Annual Be-A-Famous-Writer Contest winners. Tell us a bit about your creative process in designing a children’s book.

It sounds obvious that I start by reading the stories, but that is such an important step! I want to get the feel, so that I can create illustrations that fit the tone of the text. Often this includes coming up with color palettes, since they effect our emotions so strongly. After a fast first read I do a few pages of sketches to get my initial impressions on the page. Next comes a more close read for details–it is easy to get attached to a character design that contradicts the text, and that has driven me crazy since I was a kid! From there I story-board out the whole thing, page by page, edit those a bit, and get to work! If I’m stuck at any step, I look at other books that remind me of the story’s theme or tone, like asking a panel of experts. This year’s winners both have very strong characters and evoke a lot of emotion for me—one more somber, the other more joyous—and the illustrations are VERY close to my initial sketches because I had such deep impressions of the stories!

Any news you want to share with dandelion moms?

My first book with Penguin, a young reader’s edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is coming out February 2^nd, so keep an eye out for it! It is a level 4, great for kids who’re ready for something a little more complex. Happy reading everyone!
–Robin

Thanks Robin for sharing your journey with us! And congratulations on her your new book release. We can’t wait to see the upcoming books you are illustrating for the Mrs. P Grand Prize winners!