Illustration: The Magic of Thumbnailing
In art, a thumbnail or thumbnail sketch is just a fancy way of describing a tiny, rough drawing you make quickly to get some basic information about an image you want to make.
They are small (like your thumbnail, lol) and the idea is that you get down some ideas quickly to try out different compositions and concepts without having to commit to anything bigger or more time consuming.
I like thumbnailing because it does save time in the long run, and I’m both busy and lazy. It’s also sometimes more fun than finishing a big fancy illustration. It’s much looser and there’s no pressure.
Thumbnail to figure out space
Here’s an example of me trying to figure out the lay out of a classroom quickly because I hate drawing interiors lol.
With a picture book, thumbnailing is especially helpful because you can quickly whip out a bird’s eye view of what you’re thinking for the whole story. And because the story and art will probably change a bunch through your drafts, you can save time and work by thumbnailing before committing to bigger illustrations.
Thumbnail to plan out composition and light
Thumbnails for writing a picture book
I also use thumbnailing to help draft the story. It’s easier for me to just write down a few words and draw some little blippy sketches to map out the story. And when I get stuck in the actual manuscript or dummy down the road, I can go back to my trusty thumbnailing process to rework an idea quickly. Once it’s figured out, I go back to the more refined sketches and text, and have probably saved myself a lot of time and headaches.
Here’s an example of some of the (many, lol many) thumbnails I made for Lloyd Finds His Whalesong.
And here’s a more specific example from the book where I was trying to figure out how to draw a ship and then where to place it on the page to allow for space for the character and text. (I actually drew lots of other versions of this—these are just a couple of examples.)
And here’s how the final page turned out.
Thumbnails are for everyone
Lots of artists use thumbnails—illustrators, painters, printmakers, and the list goes on. I think it’s probably helpful for writers too. It’s also a really excellent way for kids to experiment with drawing, especially if they’ve reached the stage of feeling like they “can’t draw” or aren’t “good enough.” They are, but thumbnailing can help take the pressure off and make drawing fun and experimental!
Thanks for checking out my sloppy lil sketches, and if you know anyone who likes to draw, I hope you’ll share this post with them! I hope to share more book news soon!