Diane deGroat

Apr 5
4 min

Illustrating a Travel Journal

Unlike a personal diary, a travel journal can be used for reference and for sharing. It's also handy when your memory fails and Google...

479 views0 comments

Diane deGroat

Oct 15, 2023
11 min

Illustrating For a Celebrity

I first learned about Ree Drummond—The Pioneer Woman—when I was asked to illustrate her children’s book series about her lovable dog,...

100 views2 comments

Diane deGroat

Apr 12, 2023
5 min

Becoming Ambidextrous

I am weirdly fascinated by handwriting. It amazes me how differently each person writes, while no one even thinks about how unique they...

168 views5 comments

Using The Whole Book Approach With Robo-Kid

Diane deGroat

Mar 11, 2023
3 min

Using The Whole Book Approach With Robo-Kid

The Whole Book Approach to story time reading was developed by Megan Dowd Lambert in association with the Eric Carle Museum of Picture...

28 views0 comments

7. Working (and playing) with AI as a Tool for Illustration

Diane deGroat

Dec 5, 2022
5 min

7. Working (and playing) with AI as a Tool for Illustration

It seems like more and more people are using Artificial Intelligence to generate images, now that it is accessible to anyone with an...

94 views0 comments

Finding and Using Reference Material For Your Art

Diane deGroat

Nov 3, 2022
6 min

Finding and Using Reference Material For Your Art

Even the best artists use reference material sometimes. I’d have to be Michelangelo to be able to draw everything out of my head,...

45 views0 comments

Diane deGroat

Aug 3, 2022
3 min

Combining Digital and Watercolor Art

The Adventures of Robo-Kid combines charcoal with digital coloring. But I’ve also combined Photoshop with watercolor in a different way....

122 views0 comments

Diane deGroat

Jun 5, 2022
3 min

Illustrating With Digital Art

The first book that I illustrated completely digitally is "Dogs Don’t Brush Their Teeth".

23 views0 comments

Diane deGroat

Apr 28, 2022
3 min

Robo-Kid: The Cover Design

When I was ready to start the final art for The Adventures of Robo-Kid, the editors asked that I do the cover art first so they could...

38 views0 comments

Robo-Kid: Combining Charcoal and digital art

Diane deGroat

Mar 1, 2022
3 min

Robo-Kid: Combining Charcoal and digital art

My latest book, The Adventures of Robo-Kid was a whole new format for me—a crossover between a picture book and a graphic novel....

49 views0 comments

Diane deGroat

Feb 15, 2022
4 min

Robo-Kid: How a Book is Born.

Now for something completely different. Look at the above image. The Adventures of Robo-Kid doesn’t look like a Diane deGroat book, does...

131 views0 comments

Home: Blog2

The Story Behind the Stories

This space will be used as a venue for me to give some (hopefully) interesting information about creating children’s books. I’m starting off with my new book, The Adventures of Robo-Kid, and will expand to include other books and authors. Email me for topic suggestions, and I’ll accommodate wherever possible. Enjoy!

- Diane deGroat

www.dianedegroat.com

info@dianedegroat.com