So I made a book!
-
Good morning, afternoon, and night! Back in September 2020 I stepped down from my 15 year retail management career because my wife and I had no childcare since the kids were going to school remotely (that blasted pandemic!). I joined SVS in November and "the guys" said to "create what you want to do." That had a big impact on me so I wrote this 32 page story and after about 4 months I finished illustrating it and it's for sale on Amazon!
https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Feed-Ducks-Jeremiah-Brown/dp/B08Y4RLQNJ/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=don%27t+feed+the+duck+book&qid=1615210165&sr=8-2If you like it let me know and if you don't like it I would love criticism. I'm very new to this and don't have many artist friends so I've relied on Youtube, SVS, and these forums to grow as a storyteller/illustrator. Thanks to all of you on the forums! You've been so helpful!
-Jeremiah
-
Congratulations @Jeremiahbrown, it looks great! For a first book, you have amazing skills! Look forward to seeing more of your work. Wish you huge success in sales!!
-
@Tiffany-Thomas btw, I ended up just resizing the images to a square to work with Amazon. I had done most of them by the time you messaged and it was easier than I anticipated so I went with that. Thanks again for the suggestion though and if you do use that website let me know how it goes!
-
@Jeremiahbrown Thanks for letting me know! I will probably get some advice from you about your experience and Amazon listing, once I get to that point. We're still in the re-write phase so it might be a while, lol. I just ordered your book and I'll be sure to give my full review once I have received it (I'm pretty sure it will be awesome). Congratulations, seriously, you should be proud!!!
-
Congratulations! @Jeremiahbrown From what I can see with what you shared, it looks very polished and professional. Kudos to you for this. I hope it sells well!
-
Thank you @Jeremy-Ross , @chrisaakins , @Tiffany-Thomas thank you for the kind words!
and @Tiffany-Thomas I'll definitely share what I know. Thank you so much for buying the book and I would love to hear your feedback (negative/opportunities too!)! -
@Jeremiahbrown Congrats!!! This is such a huge step! I love the giant rubber ducky idea!
-
@miranda-hoover Thanks so much!
-
WOW! That's an awesome achievement @Jeremiahbrown ! I am inspired by your skills and initiative. Amazing work!
-
@Jeremiahbrown It looks fantastic! Congratulations, and great work
-
@Valerie-Light and @Jacy13 Thank you! It means a lot!
-
It is awesome. Congratulations!
-
Hi Jeremiah, what a wonderful achievement! It is amazing you have brought your imagination into reality by creating this lovely book..and what a nice duck!! I have no criticism but praise :-)... Congratulations!
-
@Jeremiahbrown Hi Jeremiah, I received your wonderful book and wanted to spend some time with it so I could give you my full review. First I want to say I love your character, he's totally relatable and reminds me of both myself as a child and children I have known.
I'll try to break it down so I can capture my notes, I apologize in advance if this seems a bit segmented.
-The cover is very compelling and draws you in right away, the text integrates well and I really love the expressions on Devante & the duck's faces, it communicates the theme of the book in that single image.
-The first page after the dedication/copyright - I love the introduction of the character, his gesture is so expressive and the use of green both in his shirt and on the duck is brilliant, immediately setting up the story and the relationship between the two.
-I really love the expressions and interactions of the characters (Devante and his mom in particular) and the page where the feathers are flying after he's (secretly) fed the ducks is fantastic, it's that perfect moment after something has happened and I love how the composition of the bridge really leads you to turn the page (actually, as I'm looking now you've really done a fantastic job of this throughout the book).
-Devante's room is wonderful! There's so many small details to get lost in: the drawings on the walls, all the wonderful toys, the dirty sock & "poop" written on the chalkboard (hehe) they all really give you a better sense of who he is.
-I love the pages that begin when there was nothing left in his room to feed the duck - they are so dark and shadowy and the angles and POV shifts are fantastic they really heighten the drama/guilt of the character.
-When the duck crashes through the house, I love how really zoomed out from Devante the imagery becomes (things have clearly spiraled out of control) and those following pages are full of amazing illustrations: the angles, details, colors...sooo good! And when it comes back to his face crying and zoomed in you can feel the cumulation of emotion he went through.I think my only critical note is the inconsistency in the shirt Devante is wearing, in the middle after he's been grounded and the last scenes his shirt goes from green to his striped pjs (not sure if this was intentional). I do think there is an opportunity to really use his shirt symbolically, like it is shown on that first illustrated scene. Really this is pretty minor though and overall your book and illustrations are wonderful, you should be so completely proud of what you've done.
I can't wait to read book #2!!!!
-
@Tiffany-Thomas Wow, I'm really touched that not only did you buy the book but you reviewed it! Woot, woot! Thank you so much, it is hugely appreciated!
Your review is lovely and so encouraging! It makes me even more excited about finishing the new book. It means a lot when you say the illustrations are "amazing" given the high caliber of your art and skill!
About the shirt inconsistency criticism I knew that might be an issue and was wondering if anyone would ever notice and/or comment on it, haha. It was intentional at first but was sort of a placeholder until I came up with a better transition idea later. My original thought was that some kids might notice the shirt change right away and begin to piece together that the rubber ducky portion of the story was a dream even before they got to the end which could be rewarding but to be honest it never sat completely right with me. I never ended up going back to it and it ended up staying in the final book. I appreciate you pointing it out and giving criticism! It will definitely encourage me to address placeholder ideas in the future
I can't wait to see your book when it is finished btw! If it looks anything like your Yeti cooking image it will definitely be a winner!
Warm Thanks!
-Jeremiah -
@Jeremiahbrown Seriously my pleasure, you are so talented and it's really awesome to see a full book of your work ;).
-
@Jeremiahbrown it’s really inspiring to see this! Like a lot of people here, the pandemic has revived my artistic ambitions and it’s so great to see somebody who’s actually made a THING from that opportunity. I’m only just beginning to convince myself to just make the thing you want to make (it seems so obvious when you write it down!) and this was just the kick I needed to get me started, so thank you!
The book looks great, really well drawn and designed, and I wish you lots of luck with it and many more to come. -
It's great!
-
@Athenahoros-P Woah, thanks a lot!!
