Laurent Linn with the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators in May. YOKO YOSHIZAWA
On May 30, the Tokyo chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) presented a full-day event entitled “The Big Picture: Exploring the Art and Business of Children’s Book Illustration” at Nishimachi International School’s Yashiro Media Center.
Laurent Linn, Art Director of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, first presented a morning master class for illustrators. Participants had been given an assignment beforehand to create a single full-colour illustration of a scene from a children’s story; these were brought to the class to be critiqued.
Lunch was followed by two lectures, one explaining the role of an art director in a major United States publishing company, and the other on art for books. Mr. Linn demonstrated through examples why some book illustrations succeed and others don’t. He began his career as a puppet designer in Jim Henson’s Muppet Workshop, and later became the Creative Director for Sesame Street, winning an Emmy Award.
SCBWI is an international professional organisation specifically for people who are involved in the fields of children’s literature, magazines, film, television, and multimedia. For more information, see http://www.scbwi.jp.
— HOLLY THOMPSON
