A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

Once upon a time there was a man names Scott who loved to paint pictures. He loved it so much that he decided to paint for a living.

Well, something like that.

 

Scott Wakefield is a master’s student studying art at Utah State University. While going to school and working as the director of the Alliance for the Varied Arts in Cache Valley, he is also preparing to self-publish a children’s book he illustrated called Woodchuck Chuck.

 

The concept for the book came from the well-known tongue twister “How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck if a Woodchuck Could Chuck Wood?”

 

“My dad used to say that rhyme really fast when I was a kid, “Wakefield said. “I thought it would be fun to take that concept and turn it into a story book.”

 

While attending the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., where he received his bachelor’s degree in illustration, Wakefield’s idea started to become a reality.

 

He had the unique opportunity to meet with Arthur Levine, the editor at Scholastic Corp. who edited the Harry Potter series. Wakefield told him about the idea, and Levine named the woodchuck “Chuck.”

 

This meeting gave Wakefield the confidence to pursue his venture. He teamed up with is friend Richard McDermott who had a talent for writing rhymes and was a dental student at the University of Southern California at the time.

 

“When Scott told me he needed help creating a story based on the woodchuck tongue twister, I was ecstatic,” McDermott said. “I had always watched Scott work from the sidelines because I have no art talent in me. When I got involved in the project with him, it was like I had been a bench warmer who was suddenly promoted to the quarterback position with my best friend as the receiver. The best part about the process was the synergy we created as the rhyme came together.”

 

McDermott’s story has the same rhyme and rhythm as the original tongue twister. Their story is about a little woodchuck who starts chucking all of his friends because the woodchuck rulebook deems him too young to chuck wood with the grown woodchucks.

 

“I always loved children’s books,” Wakefield said. “My mom teases me that I stopped reading when the pictures disappeared.”

Creating a book is a more laborious process than people might think. The book has gone through more than four revisions since its start in 2003. Wakefield has also worked on several illustrations for the book, starting with black-and-white sketches and progressing to 12’’x16’’ full-color paintings.

 

Despite all the work that has already gone into the book, there is still more to be done.

 

With the help of Robert Winward, USU art professor and his faculty advisor, Wakefield has decided to focus his master’s thesis on exploring and developing style.

 

It is important to develop a distinct style in order to be competitive as a children’s book illustrator, Wakefield said.

 

“I’m going to take eight scenes from the book and redo each one using a completely different style and different mediums,” he said. “For example, I’ll do one in a Dr. Seuss style with oil paint and another in a Bill Watterson style using linoleum cut and Photoshop.”

 

Once he has completed all eight styles, he will choose his favorite and illustrate the entire book using that style.

 

Through his experience working to self-publish a children’s book, Wakefield has developed an online company called Illustratemybook.com. The site serves to connect writers with illustrators and helps both parties set up a contract and administers all monetary transactions. It also helps self-publishers find printers and distributors for their books.

 

In January 2008, David Herrmann, lecturer in the Management and Human Resources Department at USU, encouraged Wakefield to enter his Web-based company into a competition called “Opportunity Quest” sponsored by the Jon M. Huntsman College of Business.

 

The contestants wrote business plans, and a panel of judges from community leadership positions judged them. Wakefield’s team won first place among contestants from USU and was given $3,000 to put toward the business. He went on to compete with contestants throughout Utah and was one of 27 semifinalists out of 180 teams. With the prize money, he was able to get the site designed and hosted.

 

Wakefield plans to teach art at the college level once he has finished his master’s degree and continue to freelance as an illustrator for children’s books. As a master’s student, Wakefield had the opportunity to teach Illustration Studio and work as a teaching assistant for other classes in the Art Department.

 

Because of Scott’s unique teaching methods, I now take into consideration why I create and don’t simply focus on what I create,” said Michelle Zundel, a senior studying graphic design and student in Wakefield’s spring 2008 Illustration Studio class. “While taking his class, he briefly discussed the creative process of Woodchuck Chuck and even used one of his scenes as a technical demonstration on how to more effectively use and manipulate acrylic paint.”

 

While she only got a glimpse of his project during class, Zundel has become one of his biggest fans.

 

“When the book is completed, I’ll be the first to reserve a copy,” said Zundel. “Not only is the artwork stunning, but the story is fresh and original. I am definitely excited about this book.”

 

Thanks to the support from this fans, the artist lives happily ever after.

 

The End.

 

For more information: www.scottjwakefield.com, www.illustratemybook.com