YOUR OWN VOICE. Face to face 2024 Istanbul

Your Voice has to be discovered.

This is the first drawing of which I am aware, a row of Egyptian soldiers painted with wax crayons when I was 10 years old. I found it at my mother’s house last summer. Above, the Swedish army of Fortimbras in the book

Hamlet by Shakespeare published in Spain when I was 45 years old.
Your Own Voice is something that belongs to us and defines us. It distinguishes us like our fingerprints do and it is inside each one. That’s why it is something that can be discovered, it is found, it is not invented, because I insist, it has been always there.The techniques can be perfected with time, your talent can be increased by working hard, but your way of saying things and how you say them, your Voice, is there and you just have to discover it.It is what will make you different and original. Nothing more than that.

This is an artist’s most important work.
And this is what this workshop is about.

We are starting on October 14.

For any questions and enrollments, please send an e-mail to;
info@shhhbooks.com

Dates: October 14-18, 2024

Place: Irmak Schools – Alumni Building – Winter garden. Caddebostan, İstanbul, Turkey.

Address: Aşıklar Çıkmazı, No:1, Caddebostan, İstanbul, Turkey.

• The workshop is open to everyone.
• Duration: 39 hours.
• Fee: 380 Euros
• Language: English (Turkish, Spanish or Italian translation will be provided if necessary).
• Capacity: Limited to a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 20 participants.
• Participants who successfully complete the workshop will receive a signed certificate at the end of the training.

Schedule:

Workshop Materials:
Participants need to bring their own technical and artistic materials.
Each student should bring the materials they find most suitable, wish to perfect, or simply prefer. The choice of materials is an important part of the creative process.

Basic Requirements:

A travel or sketchbook*
2 illustrated books (those that interest you the most)*
A selection of works (up to 20 and at least two originals)*
A previously prepared book or sketches by an artist (if available)*
Colored papers (especially special papers, a selection of about 10 sheets)
Glue*
1 USB pendrive (to load files you will use during the course)
Painting Materials:

Watercolor set normally used by the student (tube, tablet, etc.)*
Primary colors and white oil paint
A small box of wax colors
Acrylics (at least black and white)*
Pastels*
Black Chinese ink*
Colored inks (2-3, at least one sepia or brown)
Ink for engraving on water or oil (water preferred): 1-2 colors
Tools and Supplies:

A Pentel brush () black (or other brands). Even 1-2 empty brushes if found (very useful for drawing from life and traveling)
Your favorite brushes*
Flat brushes (2-4)*
2B, 6B, or softer pencils*
Pencils and charcoals (very important!)**
Scissors and cutters (Be careful at airports, DO NOT CARRY them in your bag!)
Favorite tips*
Rags (1-2)
Bowls for mixing colors (white plastic plates are good)
Engraving rollers (one small, one larger). The cheapest available will be sufficient.
Modeling clay (soft rubber that can be shaped and used to define lights, etc.)*
(*) A Pentel brush is a plastic travel brush with a container that can be filled with liquid watercolor or water. It can also be used with colored inks.

Papers:

Different types and textures of papers you prefer*
About 5 sheets of watercolor paper. 35×50 cm
5 sheets of engraving paper 35×50 cm (white or cream Fabriano or similar)
1 sketchbook* your favorite brand (Canson, Guarro Fabriano…), one A3 and one A4 paper*
5 sheets of acetate paper A3 size

Important Information:
You do not need to bring every material listed here; these are just suggestions. The mandatory materials are underlined.
Participants can also bring other materials or objects not listed that they find interesting or useful.

Javier Zabala was born in Leòn (Spain) in 1962. He studied Illustration and Graphic Design at the Art School in Oviedo and Madrid. He has illustrated more than 80 books, and written some of them too. He has collaborated with some of the most prestigious publishers in the world and his books have been translated into 18 different languages. He has illustrated the works of Cervantes, Shakespeare, García Lorca, Rodari, Melville, Čechov, Van Gogh and many more.
He currently works both as an illustrator and as a professor, holding illustration courses and conventions at universities and art schools in Spain, Italy, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Iran, Cuba, Brazil, Venezuela, Israel, Singapore, Croatia, Portugal, Chile, Argentina, France, Malaysia, Russia, China…
His works have been displayed in many personal and collective exhibitions across the world. His many awards include: the National Prize for Illustration in 2005 and two honourable mentions for the Prize within the Bologna International Book Fair in 2008. He was one of the finalists at the Andersen Prize in 2012 and he was the candidate for Spain during the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA). In 2015 he was awarded a Golden Apple at the Bratislava Biennale and in 2016 he won the Golden Medal of Times Illustration Book Award 2016 in China.

“The work of Javier Zabala is characterised by the combination of different elements and by the expressionism that he applies to children’s books. None of his works leave us indifferent; they always inspire continuous discoveries of elements that enrich the text with his avant-garde and pictorial language. Every one of his books is different; he never repeats the same patterns, and yet there is always something that connects them”.   – Rafa Vivas, Director del Màster iconi

“During his brilliant career as an illustrator, Javier has undertaken some undoubtedly complex works, such as illustrations for “Don Quixote”, for “Santiago” by García Lorca (for which he gained an Honourable Mention during the Bologna Book Fair) and for an illustrated edition for adults of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”. He has also illustrated various stories by Melville and Rodari. In short, he made sure to gain a wide experience! He probably doesn’t hesitate when it is time to face new challenges, and this is an attitude that I really appreciate, because it shows a strong will to keep on evolving, researching and studying; a will that, in my modest opinion, a professional should never forsake. All of his books are different from one another, and yet they are united by a thread that resides in his sensitivity, in his vision of the world and in his ability to express them through images, adapting the language to every specific audience.”  -Cristiana Clerici. Specialist in picture books (The tea box / Seven Impossible things before breakfast. Blogs).

** Registrations occur after the payment process is completed. Refunds are made only if the event is postponed. In cases where participation is not possible after payment, people have the right to register for future workshops. Fees may differ.
** To register, please send an e-mail to; info@shhhbooks.com