By Allison O'Keefe
“There once was a bee.”
This is how Lauren Thomas’s children’s book begins, with the artistic digital coloring of a happy bumblebee. The bee alone took her 20 minutes to make on her drawing tablet, but she doesn’t stop until it’s absolutely perfect.
The project, a children’s book she both wrote and illustrated, was Lauren Thomas’ senior project. Her goal was to combine her love of art and her love of reading to make something enjoyable for kids while also trying something new. Her ambition to do something creative was what kept her going through the long and arduous process that book designing constitutes. She didn’t have any previous experience with
“There once was a bee.”
This is how Lauren Thomas’s children’s book begins, with the artistic digital coloring of a happy bumblebee. The bee alone took her 20 minutes to make on her drawing tablet, but she doesn’t stop until it’s absolutely perfect.
The project, a children’s book she both wrote and illustrated, was Lauren Thomas’ senior project. Her goal was to combine her love of art and her love of reading to make something enjoyable for kids while also trying something new. Her ambition to do something creative was what kept her going through the long and arduous process that book designing constitutes. She didn’t have any previous experience with
writing and little experience with digital art, having usually focused on painting and hand-made drawings.
“I love abstract,” she says, smiling. “I love the colors, the intention, the interpretation. I also love drawing, but drawing by hand and digitally were two different things. I eventually got used to the change, though, and even though it takes longer I found that using the tablet was a lot of fun.”
The moral of the story is one of kindness, love, and friendship between an unlikely duo of ten year old Sadie and her best friend the bee. Currently, she is unsure of whether or not she will put in on sale, but the experience was one of an educational transformation.
The making of a children’s book comes in three waves: writing, storyboard, and final draft. According to Thomas, her writing took about 2 hours, whereas the storyboard took 3 hours, and the final draft a whopping 30-40 hours. Her work adds up to nearly double the required logged hours of a regular senior project, but Thomas is always up for the challenge, an exemplar of true artist dedication.
“Overall, I am beyond overjoyed with what I have accomplished, and I hope this book will be the first of many,” she says.
Lauren Thomas is starting school as an illustration major at MassArt this fall. She hopes to get her degree and become a children’s book writer and illustrator in the future.
“I love abstract,” she says, smiling. “I love the colors, the intention, the interpretation. I also love drawing, but drawing by hand and digitally were two different things. I eventually got used to the change, though, and even though it takes longer I found that using the tablet was a lot of fun.”
The moral of the story is one of kindness, love, and friendship between an unlikely duo of ten year old Sadie and her best friend the bee. Currently, she is unsure of whether or not she will put in on sale, but the experience was one of an educational transformation.
The making of a children’s book comes in three waves: writing, storyboard, and final draft. According to Thomas, her writing took about 2 hours, whereas the storyboard took 3 hours, and the final draft a whopping 30-40 hours. Her work adds up to nearly double the required logged hours of a regular senior project, but Thomas is always up for the challenge, an exemplar of true artist dedication.
“Overall, I am beyond overjoyed with what I have accomplished, and I hope this book will be the first of many,” she says.
Lauren Thomas is starting school as an illustration major at MassArt this fall. She hopes to get her degree and become a children’s book writer and illustrator in the future.