The theatre room of the Olympus Theatres in Sheraton Mall was transformed into a space fit for the world of story book readers on Friday at the launch of the inaugural Barbados Children’s Book Illustrator and Author showcase.
At least eight primary schools were invited to the showcase sponsored by the Sandy Lane Charitable Trust and featuring live readings and presentations of works from authors such as Cherisse Harris, Ruth Amanda, and Yolanda T. Marshall.
Internationally acclaimed award winning author and illustrator Amanda hoped the showcase will shed light on what people in Barbados can do to create literacy projects that children will love to read.
“We hope that children will learn that creating stories is a very fun way to use their words and their skills and their imaginations. So we are hoping to inspire a whole new generation of literary creators, authors, illustrators, combinations,” Amanda said.
To help, Amanda created a step by step guide to help children make their own illustrated stories, noting that current digital illustration methods were becoming more popular in the digital space.
“You still have the computer-drawn images where people are using Procreate and other programmes, that are not AI, to create their own art using digital means with the brighter colours. So there is so much out there. So my advice to children wanting to learn
illustration is to keep practising. “I created a step-by-step how to draw, so the students will be able to follow the steps . . . take an inspiration, take a photo, recognise the shapes, draw the basic shapes, add the details after,” she said. The showcase was hosted by Bookspace Studio, which is focused on developing book illustrations and puppet making workshop services. Harris hoped that the showcase will drive an interest into the creation of these books.
“Our mission for this event is to spark an interest in how books are made, highlighting the important role of reading, writing and illustrating in that process, as well as inspire Barbadian children to be creative thinkers in any field they pursue,” she said.
(JRN)
