Bryan Collier
Encyclopedia
Bryan Collier, award-winning author and illustrator, has illustrated numerous children's books, including Rosa by Nikki Giovanni
which was awarded a Coretta Scott King Award
and a Caldecott Honor. He also won a Coretta Scott King Award
for Uptown, his first attempt at both writing and illustrating.
, Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
, Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
, and Where the Wild Things Are
by Maurice Sendak
. He said that he wouldn't read the books at first; he would only look at the images to tell him the story.
He started working with watercolors and photo collage when he was 15 years old. He said it was something
that sort of clicked in him overnight and the next day he starting painting.
While in high school he won first place in a Congressional Competition and his painting was displayed in the Capitol Building in Washington D.C for a year
Collier received a scholarship through a national talent competition through the Pratt Institute
in New York City, one of the leading art schools in the United States . He later graduated from Pratt Institute
with honors.
While at Pratt, he was a volunteer at the Harlem Horizon Art Studio located within the Harlem Hospital Center
. The center is open to the children of the hospital as well as the children of the community. He later became the Program Director, a position he held for twelve years.
Collier said that one of the biggest reasons for wanting to become a part of children’s books was because of an experience he had in 1995 at a book store where the books he saw did not look or feel or sound like him or his children. He thought that he could do better, so that’s what he worked towards.
Today Collier continues to be active at the Harlem Horizon Art Studio but now as a volunteer. He believes it’s important to be a positive role model for kids. He says, "It gives the community, the schools, the kids, and the parents the opportunity to come together for a very positive uplifting cause—the building and re-building of self-esteem, teaching the appreciation of art, and keeping the kids connected and involved and away from negative influences." He also spends time visiting schools to talk with teachers, librarians, and students about books and art.
The first thing he does before creating the illustrations is a photo shoot of either his family or friends acting out the story. Sometimes he uses up to ten rolls of film. He believes that by having people act out the story, it shows him the important gestures that illuminate the scenes.
Next, he carefully selects some of the photographs that best fit the text and begins sketching. After the sketching is complete, he begins painting in watercolor and the collage follows. He gets pieces for his collage mostly from magazines like Elle
.
Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Award
Coretta Scott King Award
and Ezra Jack Keats Award
Nikki Giovanni
Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Her primary focus is on the individual and the power one has to make a difference in oneself and in the lives of others. Giovanni’s poetry expresses strong racial pride, respect for family, and her...
which was awarded a Coretta Scott King Award
Coretta Scott King Award
The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association...
and a Caldecott Honor. He also won a Coretta Scott King Award
Coretta Scott King Award
The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association...
for Uptown, his first attempt at both writing and illustrating.
Biography
Bryan Collier was born in Pocomoke, Maryland. As a child Bryan Collier had a great collection of quality children’s books that his mom, a Head Start teacher, would bring home. Some of his favorites were, Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack KeatsEzra Jack Keats
Ezra Jack Keats , Caldecott-winning author of The Snowy Day, was one of the most important children's literature authors and illustrators of the 20th Century....
, Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Ezra Jack Keats
Ezra Jack Keats , Caldecott-winning author of The Snowy Day, was one of the most important children's literature authors and illustrators of the 20th Century....
, Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
Crockett Johnson
Crockett Johnson was the pen name of cartoonist and children's book illustrator David Johnson Leisk...
, and Where the Wild Things Are
Where The Wild Things Are
Where the Wild Things Are is a 1963 children's picture book by American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak, originally published by Harper & Row. The book has been adapted into other media several times, including an animated short in 1973 , a 1980 opera, and, in 2009, a live-action feature film...
by Maurice Sendak
Maurice Sendak
Maurice Bernard Sendak is an American writer and illustrator of children's literature. He is best known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, published in 1963.-Early life:...
. He said that he wouldn't read the books at first; he would only look at the images to tell him the story.
He started working with watercolors and photo collage when he was 15 years old. He said it was something
that sort of clicked in him overnight and the next day he starting painting.
While in high school he won first place in a Congressional Competition and his painting was displayed in the Capitol Building in Washington D.C for a year
Collier received a scholarship through a national talent competition through the Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
in New York City, one of the leading art schools in the United States . He later graduated from Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
with honors.
While at Pratt, he was a volunteer at the Harlem Horizon Art Studio located within the Harlem Hospital Center
Harlem Hospital Center
Harlem Hospital Center is a 272-bed public, municipally owned teaching hospital in New York City founded in 1887. It is located at 506 Lenox Avenue at 135th Street in the Harlem community of Manhattan.-Overview:...
. The center is open to the children of the hospital as well as the children of the community. He later became the Program Director, a position he held for twelve years.
Collier said that one of the biggest reasons for wanting to become a part of children’s books was because of an experience he had in 1995 at a book store where the books he saw did not look or feel or sound like him or his children. He thought that he could do better, so that’s what he worked towards.
Today Collier continues to be active at the Harlem Horizon Art Studio but now as a volunteer. He believes it’s important to be a positive role model for kids. He says, "It gives the community, the schools, the kids, and the parents the opportunity to come together for a very positive uplifting cause—the building and re-building of self-esteem, teaching the appreciation of art, and keeping the kids connected and involved and away from negative influences." He also spends time visiting schools to talk with teachers, librarians, and students about books and art.
Illustration Style
Collier uses a unique technique of combining watercolors with collage.The first thing he does before creating the illustrations is a photo shoot of either his family or friends acting out the story. Sometimes he uses up to ten rolls of film. He believes that by having people act out the story, it shows him the important gestures that illuminate the scenes.
Next, he carefully selects some of the photographs that best fit the text and begins sketching. After the sketching is complete, he begins painting in watercolor and the collage follows. He gets pieces for his collage mostly from magazines like Elle
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...
.
Awards
Coretta Scott King AwardCoretta Scott King Award
The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association...
- Freedom River by Doreen Rappaport
- Visiting Langston by Willie PerdomoWillie Perdomo-Overview:Willie Perdomo is a prize-winning Nuyorican poet and children's book author. He is the author of Where a Nickel Costs a Dime , Postcards of El Barrio , and Smoking Lovely , which received a PEN American Center Beyond Margins Award...
Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Award
Coretta Scott King Award
The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association...
- Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill
- Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport
- Rosa by Nikki GiovanniNikki GiovanniYolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Her primary focus is on the individual and the power one has to make a difference in oneself and in the lives of others. Giovanni’s poetry expresses strong racial pride, respect for family, and her...
Coretta Scott King Award
Coretta Scott King Award
The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association...
and Ezra Jack Keats Award
- Uptown by Bryan Collier
Books Illustrated by Bryan Collier
- Your Moon, My Moon: A Grandmother's Words to a Faraway Child (written by Patricia MacLachlan), Simon & Schuster, 2011
- Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave (written by Laban Carrick Hill), Little, Brown 2010
- Doo-Wop Pop (written by Roni Schotter), Amistad, 2008
- Lincoln and Douglass: An American Friendship (written by Nikki GiovanniNikki GiovanniYolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Her primary focus is on the individual and the power one has to make a difference in oneself and in the lives of others. Giovanni’s poetry expresses strong racial pride, respect for family, and her...
), Henry Holt and Co., 2008 - Barack Obama: Son of a Promise, Child of Hope (written by Nikki Grimes), Simon & Schuster, 2008
- Lift Every Voice and Sing (written by James Weldon Johnson), Amistad, 2007
- Cherish Today: A Celebration of Life's Moments (written by Kristina Evans), Jump at the Sun, 2007
- 12 Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali (written by Charles R. Jr Smith), Candlewick 2007
- Welcome, Precious (written by Nikki Grimes), Orchard Books / a division of Scholastic Press, 2006
- Rosa (written by Nikki GiovanniNikki GiovanniYolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Her primary focus is on the individual and the power one has to make a difference in oneself and in the lives of others. Giovanni’s poetry expresses strong racial pride, respect for family, and her...
), Henry Holt and Company, 2005 - John's Secret Dreams: The Life of John Lennon (written by Doreen Rappaport),Jump at the Sun / Hyperion Books for Children, 2004
- Skull Talks Back and Other Haunting Tales (written by Zora Neale Hurston),HarperCollins Publishers, 2004
- What's the Hurry Fox?: And Other Animal Stories (collected by Zora Neale Hurston; adapted by Joyce Carol Thomas), HarperCollins Publishers, 2004
- I'm Your Child, God: Prayers for Children and Teenagers (written by Marian Wright Edelman), Jump at the Sun / Hyperion Books for Children, 2002
- Kiss it Up to God (selected poems by Nadine Mozon), Fly By Night Press, 2002
- Visiting Langston(written by Willie Perdomo), Henry Holt and Company, 2002
- Jump at the Sun Trasury: An African American Picture Book Collection (an anthology compiled by Andrea Davis Pinkney), Jump at the Sun / Hyperion Books for Children, 2001
- Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr. (written by Doreen Rappaport), Jump at the Sun / Hyperion Books for Children, 2001
- A Freedom River (written by Doreen Rappaport), Jump at the Sun / Hyperion Books for Children, 2000
- Uptown (written by Bryan Collier), Henry Holt and Company, 2000
- These Hands (written by Hope Lynn Price), Hyperion Books for Children, 1999