philippine children’s books

Ang INK is accepting applicants

February 23, 2017 rommeljLeave a comment

Reposting for my organization:

Ang INK is now accepting applications for new members this 2017. If you would like to be an official INKie, complete the following requirements:

1. Five (5) sample illustrations from your portfolio.
• Individual images should be at least 1000px on one side and be not more than 72 dpi.
• Compile all 5 images in 1 PDF. File should NOT exceed 7mb.
• PDF name should follow the format: APP2017-YourName-PORTFOLIO.

2. Three (3) illustrations based on the PBBY-Salanga Prize winning story Dalawa Kami ni Lola by Genaro Gojo Cruz
• Read the story here: https://tinyurl.com/Dalawa-Kami-ni-Lola
• Individual images should be 9”(h) x 14”(w), and should not be more than 72dpi.
• Entries do not have to be based on consecutive spreads/parts of the text. You are not required to layout/include the text in your illustrations.
• Compile ALL 3 images in ONE PDF. Total file size of the PDF should NOT exceed 5mb.
• PDF name should follow the format: APP2017-YourName.

3. Download and complete the application form https://tinyurl.com/INKAppForm2017

4. Compress ALL REQUIREMENTS as a ZIP file with the file name: APP2017-Surname-FirstName

Once you have finished the steps above, send your COMPLETE ZIP file to hello@ang-ink.org with the subject line: APP2017-YourName

DEADLINE: March 18, 2017 (Saturday), 11:59 PM
All applicants will be notified of the results through email on the first week of April. For questions and clarifications, comment below or email us at hello@ang-ink.org.

Ang INK’s website at http://ang-ink.org

Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/AngINK.org/

Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/hello_ink/

Pictures and Words

September 14, 2015September 13, 2015 rommeljLeave a comment

My friends and I gave a talk at the Philippine Literary Festival held at Raffles Makati last August 30, 2015. With me in the panel were Liza Flores, Ray Sunga, and Sergio Bumatay III. We were a bit surprised by the turnout; we actually expected maybe ten attendees tops.

Liza Flores gave an introduction about our organization Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan and talked about her process for her recent book “My Big Sister Can See Dragons” written by Rocky Sanchez Tirona and published by Canvas. The book’s development underwent the usual process that a children’s book goes through in the Philippines, wherein a publisher commissions an illustrator to provide images for an existing story. Liza’s illustrations for the book were all large scale papercuts mounted on wood. During the book’s launch, the illustrations were exhibited at the University of the Philippines Vargas Museum.

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Sergio Bumatay talked about out his process for his book “May Darating na Trak Bukas” (literally translated as “a truck will arrive tomorrow”) written by National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario and published by Adarna House. Serj’s experience on the book was a bit different since it didn’t originate from a previously written text. Instead, Serj was asked to develop several studies that can serve as inspiration for a new story. From the studies, Adarna House chose one image for Virgilio Almario to base his text on.

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Ray Sunga narrated his personal experiences in being a children’s book illustrator, as well as his process, and his inspirations. He gave insights into what we as illustrators experience in the Philippines (notably how you can’t live on illustrating children’s books alone).

I talked about my research on word and picture interactions in picture books as well as my learnings from a writers and illustrators workshop I attended in Bintan, Indonesia (more about this in a coming blog post). The point of my presentation was underscore our role as co-storytellers in picture books, a fact that many in the local industry may have glossed over because of the preeminence of the purely written text as primary sources of stories.

The idea of teaching visual storytelling and visual literacy in general seems to be in its nascent stages in the Philippines. Personally, I’ve heard anecdotal evidence that parents shy away from stories that are purely pictorial or at least with very few words. I don’t have the facts as to how visual literacy is being taught in Philippine schools nowadays, but I hope illustrators will have a greater role in shaping the conversation in the future.

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“One Mighty, Awesome, Incredible Rescue”

September 9, 2014October 4, 2014 rommeljLeave a comment

The Manila International Book Fair is just around the corner (it’s happening on Sept. 17 – 21, 2014) and I’ve been busy finishing a children’s book for OMFLit under their Hiyas banner. The book is called “One Mighty, Awesome, Incredible Rescue” and it’s a retelling of the Exodus story written by Yna Reyes.

The book is currently being rushed to press to make the Book Fair, but here’s the cover art as a preview.

Nanay Coring’s Book Launch

October 10, 2012October 10, 2012 rommeljLeave a comment

This Monday (October 8), the Studio Dialogo team headed over to the newly opened National Bookstore at the Greenhills Shopping Arcade for the Book Launch of “Nanay Coring: The Story of National Bookstore’s Socorro Ramos”. The book was written by Yvette Fernandez and Dialogo’s own Liza Flores.

Socorro Ramos or Nanay Coring, as she’s fondly called, grew up from poverty during the Second World War. She built National Bookstore from nothing and had to rebuild the business twice during the early days when a fire and then a typhoon wiped out everything they owned. Now, as everyone in the Philippines knows, National Bookstore is the leading bookstore in the country, selling everything from books to giftwrapper, school supplies to safe boxes.