But, how though?
How does Lauren Eldridge do it?
How does she create 3D characters and scenes out of everyday things? How does she make static objects crawl and careen and captivate?
With raw materials, art tools, and crazy amounts of talent, Lauren Eldridge - the illustrator of new title HUSTLE BUSTLE BUGS - builds picture books that feature not only humans, creatures and critters, but entire ecosystems that reflect our world at its most alive, exciting and magical.
Jaw-dropping, mind-blowing stuff, Lauren makes.
Wanna see? Check out this video…
Lauren’s dimensional illustrations are stunningly detailed and expressive. They also have palpable presence and power — to stop you in your tracks and capture your imagination, to incite laughter and spark wonder, to hold your attention and stoke your curiosity.
I’ve been awestruck by Lauren’s work since first seeing CLAYMATES (depicted in the video above), a completely original story by Dev Petty, featuring clay characters imagined and enlivened by Lauren. I reviewed the ground-breaking story in a Kidlit Craft feature a few years back, which marked my introduction to Lauren and her unique process, perspective and storytelling.
Lauren’s talent is also front-and-center in the beautiful bedtime picture book SLEEP TRAIN, written by Jonathan London, and brand new book, HUSTLE BUSTLE BUGS, written by Catherine Bailey. Feast your peepers upon Lauren’s crazy cool creations on this soaring, skittering cover…
HUSTLE BUSTLE BUGS (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), which publishes Feb. 22, 2022, is a playful non-fiction picture book about tuning into the world of bugs around you and recognizing the important role that bugs play in our environment. Set in a charming backyard, with skyscrapers seen in the not-too-distant beyond, readers follow two children - one in overalls, the other in a sunny tunic - as they set out to record and explore.
As author Catherine Bailey’s rhyming text gently bounces in introduction, illustrator Lauren brings us in close. Lean grass blades cluster and bend. Veined waxy leaves filter and reflect the sun. Fluffy soil below crumbles and compresses. The detailed cross-section lets readers know they’ve arrived — as special visitors to “secret cities” that buzz and crawl with activity and purpose, where lady bugs soar, butterflies perch and grasshoppers lurch…
The fun, fact-filled text draws clever parallels between bug work and human work, reminding readers that tiny critters aren’t pests, but busy and purposeful contributors to the planet. Spiders are architects. Termites are soldiers. Each bug has an important job to do that directly impacts the food chain, all the way up the ladder and back down again.
Each spread of HUSTLE BUSTLE BUGS brings a different bug into focus. But nothing about the presentation is predictable. Sometimes, the horizon line arches and slopes, showing that our planet isn’t a series of tidy horizontal layers, but a dynamic and varied place. Other times the setting takes us deep, such as into the golden, glowing center of a honeycomb — a gorgeous sweet-treat for the eyes. Adding an extra layer of storytelling, the out-of-view sun slowly sets over the course of the book, communicating that bugs don’t stop hustling when the stars appear. It’s just another time for the critters to shine.
Do you want to know a little bit more about how Lauren creates this singular style of magic? If you’re like me, and you’d love a ticket for a trip into her studio, here it is! Come along on my first-ever Illustrator Spotlight with one of my all-time-favorite creators (and people!), Lauren Eldridge:
3 Questions with Lauren Eldridge
The bugs you created in HUSTLE BUSTLE BUGS are incredibly vibrant and life-like! What was it like living with all these creatures for so long?
Thank you! They are pretty life-like but, thankfully, they don't really register as real bugs because they are so big. Most of the insects are between 8-12 inches long and (fun fact!) are bigger than the environments I created for them. It was actually pretty helpful to be creating them when I was because I shared my space with a pod of third graders a few days per week (thanks pandemic) that were learning all about insects at the time. They were able to hold up the bugs and discuss things like what/where a thorax or mandible might be with their teachers and classmates via zoom - which was really cool to see! However, the spider did kind of creep people out because that guy looks like it could possibly be a real bug.
What materials did you have at the ready (or were indispensable) while creating these fascinating bugs?
Welp, I absolutely needed wire, epoxy, foam footballs, Sculpey and paint for the majority of the bugs. The butterflies required cardstock and I used dried flower petals to give other insects (especially the bees!) more interest and texture.
Which was the most challenging bug to create, and how did you solve that dilemma and bring it to life?
I think the firefly was the most difficult because I wanted it to actually glow. Most of my process is trial and error (I learn a LOT through "failure") and this bug definitely made me learn a LOT. After trying many different methods of putting a light inside of the insect, I pivoted and decided to put on many, many coats of glow-in-the-dark neon yellow paint. Which also didn't work on its own. SO... I ended up really focusing on lighting during photography. I used gels to color the lights and had several very small, controlled beams pointing only on the insect's abdomen while the rest of the bug was lit differently. In the end, it worked through photography and I didn't have to mess with it in post production!.
Thank you so much for visiting the blog, Lauren! You can order HUSTLE BUSTLE BUG now, HERE!
PS: Are you following Lauren on Instagram? Whatcha waiting for?! At @eldridgestudio, you get to go behind the curtain to see how her creations come together, piece by piece. And that’s something you don’t want to miss!
Lauren Eldridge is a 3-dimensional photographic illustrator. She earned her BA of Environmental Design in Landscape Architecture from University of Minnesota, her MA in Early Childhood Exceptional Education with a focus on Culturally Responsive Literacy Instruction from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee and taught in special education settings for five years. Lauren employs materials like wire, clay, foam, cardboard, acrylic paint, paper, glass, plaster cloth, wood, fabric, and anything else a story calls for to achieve her visual creations. She lives with her husband and two mini-me studio assistants who keep her equal parts motivated and distracted in their home in Austin, TX.
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