Illustrations by Boris Silvestri
Excited bark, "Here you can learn how my Illustrator, Boris Silvestri decided on which drawings to use and some cool information about how he drew them. I wish I could draw like him. Maybe you could be an Illustrator of books when you grow up. I would love to see some of your drawings of me and the other animals on Cownley Farm. Please post them on my blog or my facebook page so that I can see them."
Boris Silvestri
"Establishing what Ben the kelpie would look like meant gathering as much reference material as possible. This involved receiving actual photos of the real dog from the author, Jenna, (see below and the Animal Facts Page) as well as researching numerous images of kelpies both in books and on the internet."
1
I drew a pencil rough of what Ben would possibly look like. Please see image No1. It was decided between the Editor, Author, Publisher and myself that the initial drawing was too realistic.
|
2
I redrew the pencil rough in a more stylised, less
sketchy drawing to simplify Ben’s characteristics. Please see image No2. |
3
A third rough was needed as the second one didn’t have the life of character established yet and a small tweak to the eye was all that was needed to bring Ben to life Please see image No3.
|
A picture from the Author, Jenna, of the real Ben asleep on his bed
|
Ben's picture brought to life through illustration in Ben the Outside Dog
|
"When drawing the character of the Master for “Ben The Outside Dog” I needed
to keep in mind the typical characteristics of the typical Australian
farmer."
The clothes typically worn are:
Cotton shirt - Usually collared and long sleeved. The reason for this is to keep the harsh Australian sun off the
skin. The sleeves can be rolled up when the heat isn’t extreme.
Blue jeans - For comfort but also being a tough material, it can withstand the daily hard work on the farm.
Wide brimmed hat - Usually an Akubra, again this is a must to keep the Sun away from the face and avoid burning the face’s sensitive areas like the nose, lips and ears. It also keeps the sun away from the neck.
Leather work boots - Slip on, slip off no laces. Comfortable but hard wearing, for daily rough treatment working on the land.
Australian farmers work long hours outdoors nearly every day of the year. They know better than most how to look after themselves against the sun, but as careful as they are the relentless exposure to the sun’s rays ages them earlier than the city population. It is important to show this on the face, as it means years of hard earned work.
Cotton shirt - Usually collared and long sleeved. The reason for this is to keep the harsh Australian sun off the
skin. The sleeves can be rolled up when the heat isn’t extreme.
Blue jeans - For comfort but also being a tough material, it can withstand the daily hard work on the farm.
Wide brimmed hat - Usually an Akubra, again this is a must to keep the Sun away from the face and avoid burning the face’s sensitive areas like the nose, lips and ears. It also keeps the sun away from the neck.
Leather work boots - Slip on, slip off no laces. Comfortable but hard wearing, for daily rough treatment working on the land.
Australian farmers work long hours outdoors nearly every day of the year. They know better than most how to look after themselves against the sun, but as careful as they are the relentless exposure to the sun’s rays ages them earlier than the city population. It is important to show this on the face, as it means years of hard earned work.
Keep checking this page for more updates from Boris ...
|
"These are some samples of black and white graphite pencil portraits of customers beloved pets. This is my favourite medium to illustrate pets as it captures the animals look and personality best. Drawing animals in this realistic sense is a great starting point in creating the illustrations in Ben the Outside Dog." |
|
|
|
|
