It’s always fascinating to learn about the creative process of a children’s book creator, so I was drawn to Il Sung Na’s session on “Korean Picture Books: The Power of Picture” at the AFCC Writers and Illustrators conference last month.
Il Sung Na is the writer and illustrator of several acclaimed picture books, including “Zzzzz: A Book of Sleep,” “The Thingamabob,”” “Brrrr: A Book of Winter,” “Hide & Seek,” and “Shhhh: A Book of Babies.” Born in Seoul, he studied illustration in London and is now based in Baltimore, USA. His illustration work is mixed media and digital.
In “The Power of Picture,” Il Sung Na discussed several creative exercises that inspired his body of work, which I thought was particularly helpful to the creators in attendance at the session.
“There are so many ways to start from one idea: a phrase, a character, an incident, an image, a joke,” Il Sung notes. “You can get an idea from your own curiosity, your experiences, even a single word.”
His book, “Zzzzz: A Book of Sleep,” came about because he was curious about how animals sleep and he did some research on the sleeping habits of different animals. “I used the Owl as my main character. The Owl observes all the animals as they sleep, and leads the reader through the book,” Il Sung explains.
I think it’s clever, really — being nocturnal gives Owl the perfect vantage point, and the character appears as a visual cue across the pages of the book.
For his book “Thingamabob,” the idea came from a list of words that he made. “I listed down some random words I wanted to draw at that time, and then picked out the words ‘elephant’ and ‘umbrella.’ I quickly made up a story and some sequential stories, and it was kind of a one-day project. It’s about an elephant who found an umbrella and didn’t know what it was so he tries to find out,” he elaborates. “I played with the umbrella as a parachute and as a boat, because that’s what I did as a kid. There are so many strange things in the world, especially for a kid, and they can be more imaginative than we think.”
“Thingamabob” is absolutely funny. Just the idea of an elephant with an umbrella is funny, but it becomes downright hilarious when Elephant tries to figure out what the ‘thingamabob’ is for.
For a new project, Il Sung draws inspiration from his experience of living and working in different places around the world. “I’ve moved from from Seoul to London, back to Seoul again, and then now in Baltimore, but I’ve always felt my home is the most comfortable place, although it’s not perfect. There are so many nice places to visit, but as soon as I come back to my home, I feel relieved,” he narrates. “The story I’m working on is about a bear who thinks his home is boring and nothing special. So he visits his friends’ place, but none of them was quite suitable or satisfactory for him. So he realized his place is the most comfortable and safe place for him, in the end.”
A book can come from a simple concept, stresses Il Sung. “If you have your own voice, you can tell a story and illustrate it in your own way.”
Il Sung also underscores the importance of learning from failure. “It is important to have failed because you learn something — it is a critical resource to know what is working and what is not.”
I got myself a copy of “A Book of Sleep” so I could have it signed:
Ironically, when I got back to Manila, his books kept popping up at one of my usual haunts, so now I have three board books:
Not that I’m complaining.The books are arresting in their simplicity, and they’re such a joy to read, so I think I’ll keep hunting down the rest of the titles.
Meanwhile, my AFCC recap still isn’t over — I have some more posts coming up (I can’t transcribe my notes fast enough!), a ton of photos to show you, plus a giveaway, so I hope you hang in there until I get them all out.