Tracey Gibbs » illustration | Tracey Gibbs

Mystery at Riddle Gully

tracey — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 02:33:01 +0000

Not long ago I was commissioned to complete the cover for a detective book titled Mystery at Riddle Gully. It’s a fairly hilarious story for upper primary kids about a girl called Pollo Di Nozzi, her sheep Shawn and their adventures in detective work. I designed 3 covers after reading the story and it was left to focus groups of the target age range to decide which direction to proceed. Here are those covers;

I preferred option 2, though unusually I was happy to go for any of the options. I often have a favourite and it becomes hard to let go of the one I loved, and then proceed with something else. The kids interviewed though loved number one; very mysterious and intriguing they said. So onwards we progressed. The final cover actually isn’t much different to the mock-up which is also quite unusual in the process. Usually I then spend hours and hours refining the cover to get to the final version. This one just needed a tidy up of Shawn’s face and voila!

This I thought was the end of the road for this book. I was really happy with the final product. We opted for a really thick varnish on all of the black areas to add some extra texture and the book itself looks pretty slick (even if I do say so myself).

A few months later, however the publisher called back. They were publishing an abridged version in The West Australian newspaper, 5 sections over 5 weeks and needed 10 illos to accompany it. Here’s where it got tricky.

The reason why the cover process was so quick was because I was working with silhouettes. I didn’t have to worry about eyes matching up, or hair colours or any of that tricky stuff. But now I had to take the cover silhouette and make illustrations to match. 10 full colour illos to feature alongside the abridged version of the book. Here they are;

Buy Jen’s fabulous story here

Sheriff W. Russ

tracey — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 05:17:08 +0000

Last year my lovely boyfriend gave me a set of oil paints for my birthday — a very generous gift considering their price. Since then I have been trying out the technique of painting with oils and so far I love it! I love that it forces me to take breaks- overworking areas become muddy if they aren’t allowed the proper time to dry in between coats. In the past I have been so eager to keep going that I quite often ruin the work in the process, not giving it the proper thinking time along the way. So anyway, to practise my technique I have set myself mini projects and this is one of them. Meet Sheriff Wally Russ, he is now the protector and companion for a tiny new human called Everett- lets hope he keeps baby Everett in line!

My first fanmail

tracey — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 08:40:56 +0000

So I know it is hard to believe, but this is my first ever piece of fan mail. Kids from Mount Claremont Primary coloured in the colouring-in sheets I gave out at their school and sent them to me. How sweet

Thanks Mt Claremont Primary

A new technique.

tracey — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:40:21 +0000

Following the amazing Eric Carle of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, I thought I would have a go at a more artisan style of illustrating. With no REAL plan in sight I started painting paper and worked from there. The result is this, a whimsical bird who is a touch confused at the flower which seems to be sprouting the same antennae as him. It took around 6 hours and is simply watercolour paints, pva glue and paper. It felt great to be back crafting again- it has been too long.

The Gym Man

tracey — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 07:59:36 +0000

Hi everybody, so it has been a little while since I have uploaded a post. I have created a lot in that time but most I can’t show you (for legal or contract reasons). I have however in my spare time been sketching, one sketch made it to colouring stage. Here it is! This is a man who comes to my gym. It is done entirely in Photoshop. I hope you enjoy Click Read the rest of this entry to see the whole illo.

Christmas Card 2009

tracey — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:38:41 +0000

I have been toiling away at this years Christmas Card and here it is. A cheeky, slightly psychotic elf who just can’t wait to give you a gift

1000 Aussie Legends sold!

tracey — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:49:42 +0000

Aussie Legends cracks 1000 in a month! Wow, what a whirlwind- Our book has sold over a quarter of its initial print run in just 1 month- We are thrilled. If you haven’t got your copy yet, you can order it at your local bookstore or you can purchase it online here.

Aussie Legends Launched

tracey — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:48:39 +0000

October 2^nd

Aussie Legends is released. A nervous Tracey Gibbs had to give a speech this day. I have to say- having been to dozens of book launches in the past, I never gave any thought to the poor authors and illustrators who are waiting to launch their babies into the world, for critique, review, success or failure- it is a very nerve wracking time. I was so lucky that I was in good company- around 150 librarians and teachers in town for the national ASLA conference. http://www.asla.org.au/. It was a breakfast launch at the gorgeous kings park overlooking Perth City and the Swan River, it also was a great opportunity to meet the dozens of people who are encouraging young Australians to engage with literacy and their history. I loved it, a big thank you to the ASLA organisers for their encouragement and inclusion.