@Annabishop @Tiffany-Thomas @Melissa-Bailey-0 All good points! Thanks guys. Despite my hesitations, I think I'm going to push through to the finish. I did originally want to prove to myself that I can finish a larger project, so I do want that sense of accomplishment. And you're right Melissa. Part of the reason I wanted to do a longer challenge was to work my way up to making a full dummy, so I do think it's important to get over this stepping stone. Thanks for your advice everyone!

@Kevintreaccar waahhh!

@Adam-Thornton-0 thank you!

@davidhohn thank you! This is really helpful information!

Awesome, thank you Amber!

Don’t know if this site has been discussed here before. It’s a group mainly for graphic novel creators. I recently signed up and started looking through the information there. Seems like a good resource if you’re into graphic novel creation.
https://www.kidscomicsunite.com/share/Rzsba0PjH3RMYqaI

@burvantill oh oops, a bit late then I guess, ha,ha 😉

@Chip-Valecek LOL I dunno! I've seen people around here wearing shorts while shoveling snow! Hardcore Wisconsinites! 🙂

Hi, everyone
I considered doing recording with my digital painting in the past. I used the Apple default screen recorder, which works fine technically. My biggest challenge was the workflow to produce something useful for others to watch, my big problems are:

I often forgot to pause when I take a break from painting. If I remember to pause, then I forgot to start recording until half way into the next session of painting. The video files are big, and hard to preview, how to organise them? Editing? I know a bit around iMovie, but that is it.

Do any of you do digital painting recording regularly? what is your workflow like to produce a painting recording video?

@davido Awesome to know! I appreciate help!

Got'cha, the story is not the issue. Do you continue to have concerns with the storytelling (or have you identified another culprit?) and are you able to elaborate?

To help you diagnose the issue in the process, check out this 'making of' series:
The Making of Cloud Country (a children's book by Pixar Animation Studios artist, Noah Klocek.)
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQrUBrzOKfI
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZJ-l2KsP_k
Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qmTdPXcJcI

Maybe this panel talk can help as well:
Lightbox Expo: Art of Storytelling Panel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTH6wReURlc

You shouldn't feel your process is 'amateurism'. I don't think there's any successful project that has ever stuck to the original plan. It's maturing organically 🧐

As for your thumbnails, here are one person's thoughts…

I think the 1st is a nice establishing shot. For scene 2, is there a reason why the viewer is placed so distant from the characters? We want to see kitties😽 😺 Can the image be cropped or are we meant to see something in the backyard and alleyway? Are the cat’s tails suppose to be linked? Since this is a book format, have you considered putting scenes 3 and 4 onto one page? When separate, it was difficult to make the correlation between the two actions. But, if you plan to add narration then that’ll resolve it. Scene 5 looks too rough, but I want to say it could benefit from having more suspense🙀 It's interesting how the objects crowd and are angled towards the girls, creating tension. Is that your intent?

Hope this helps.

@RachelArmington Your post reminds me, when I was a kid, only the rich kids had lunch boxes. The rest of us brown bagged it and no store bought treats either. Mom baked goodies for us. One day, out of nowhere, Mom drew a cartoon fish on my bag. She didn't know but I ripped it off the bag and kept it for years. Thanks for sparking that wonderful memory for me. Cheers!

This is a helpful and interesting thread. Thanks @Nathalie-Kranich! Does anyone have info about any good book design courses online? 🙂

@tenmei you’re so very welcome! Glad that you found that info helpful, and that you found me on Instagram! (I’m following you too!)

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I've tried both SC and AP and found the latter better. The thing for me was mainly the relation with the main display. In AP you get a much better experience in this regard due to how you can manage what appears in your screen. It also seemed more snappy, but YMMV, as my iPad is a 9,7 Pro, so screen size was at a premium, my iPad is old and with not much RAM, and I'm on an Intel Mac--not an M1, which is leaps ahead in terms of performance. Maybe on your 12,9 the SC cramped screen will not be a problem.

You're aware that AP Pro (or whatever they call their higher tier) has an evaluation period, aren't you? I'd really like to be able to test the regular AP (one-time purchase vs subscription on the Pro one) to see if it would be enough. I even wrote them to ask if they allowed me to do what I already knew wasn't possible, but no dice... haha

EDIT: corrected some typos

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What a fantastic painter, thanks for sharing.

@lizardillo Hmm, that's interesting because she mentioned educational for me. But I would really be more interested in storytelling. She also said that she wasn't really a children's lit person. But it was still good to get another opinion!