We asked Fanny Berthiaume to take us behind the scenes of the six-part series We’re a Possum Family Band. The first two installments, Rockin’ the Bayou Down in Louisiana! and Glory Days in New Orleans! are out now. Fanny began her career as a model maker, animator and illustrator for various productions. While completing studies in visual effects, she joined Raynault VFX and contributed to major films like Beauty and the Beast, X-Men: Apocalypse and Arrival. She then pursued her career as a concept artist at Digital Dimension where she worked on several animated TV shows, including Zafari and Improbable Pirate Adventures.
How do you start a process like We’re a Possum Family Band?
There’s so much to do when starting a new book. It’s useful to break it down into steps. I usually begin by testing out the various placements for the text across the pages to figure out the overall layout of the book. Working with really rough thumbnail sketches, I focus on creating a good synergy between the words and the artwork so that they feed off of each other and the story flows well.
Once all that is done, I’ll work on refining the story sketches, polishing every element so that everything is ready for colour. I like to do the colour in two steps. First, I’ll do a really rough painting pass called a colour key in order to test different colour schemes and lighting. This allows me to experiment quickly until I am happy with the direction. I will then do the final painting for each illustration.
Although I love traditional painting tools, when I work on a book, my whole process happens on a computer.
Where do you find inspiration for your illustrations?
Every book is a bit different when it comes to inspiration as they all take place in a different city and cover a unique musical genre. Both of these factors greatly influence the colour palette and overall mood of the book.
The first book, for example, is set in the bayou, which is very green and wet and has a peaceful quality that influenced a lot of the illustrations. In contrast, the second book, which is set in New Orleans and is all about jazz music, was designed around flowy lines and warm colours, which reminded me of jazz.
What is your favourite illustration in Rockin’ the Bayou Down in Louisiana!?
My favourite part of Rockin’ the Bayou Down in Louisiana is probably that first spread of the bayou, where we see the houses by the water and all the animals having a good time. It was a nice challenge to capture the look and feel of that very particular environment and set the tone for the rest of the book. It was a fun spread to paint.
Glory Days in New Orleans!
Story and Songs Bïa, Erik West-Millette and Olaf Gundel Illustrations Fanny Berthiaume
Featuring performances by Alexa Devine, Olaf Gundel and Annick Brémault
Mama and Papa Poss continue their musical odyssey on a boat bound for New Orleans when a sudden storm tosses none other than Louis Catstrong overboard. In thanks for Papa Poss's daring rescue, the famous feline trumpet player takes the duo to his club in the French Quarter, where a group of cool cats are scratching up a new kind of music.
Glory Days in New Orleans! is the second story in the We’re a Possum Family Band series, which follows Mama and Papa Poss on their travels that bring them across North America to the birthplaces of Cajun, jazz, country, rock’n’roll, blues, and traditional Quebecois music. At the end of each story, explanatory notes delve into the key figures, instruments and customs behind each genre.
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay informed about our new releases and events and for a chance to win our subscriber giveaway. To order books for your library or bookstore, please contact Hornblower Books/University of Toronto Press (Canada, United States) and MMS/BookSource (United Kingdom). For additional information, email info@thesecretmountain.com.
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Behind “We’re A Possum Family Band” with Fanny Berthiaume
We asked Fanny Berthiaume to take us behind the scenes of the six-part series We’re a Possum Family Band. The first two installments, Rockin’ the Bayou Down in Louisiana! and Glory Days in New Orleans! are out now. Fanny began her career as a model maker, animator and illustrator for various productions. While completing studies in visual effects, she joined Raynault VFX and contributed to major films like Beauty and the Beast, X-Men: Apocalypse and Arrival. She then pursued her career as a concept artist at Digital Dimension where she worked on several animated TV shows, including Zafari and Improbable Pirate Adventures.
How do you start a process like We’re a Possum Family Band?
There’s so much to do when starting a new book. It’s useful to break it down into steps. I usually begin by testing out the various placements for the text across the pages to figure out the overall layout of the book. Working with really rough thumbnail sketches, I focus on creating a good synergy between the words and the artwork so that they feed off of each other and the story flows well.
Once all that is done, I’ll work on refining the story sketches, polishing every element so that everything is ready for colour. I like to do the colour in two steps. First, I’ll do a really rough painting pass called a colour key in order to test different colour schemes and lighting. This allows me to experiment quickly until I am happy with the direction. I will then do the final painting for each illustration.
Although I love traditional painting tools, when I work on a book, my whole process happens on a computer.
Where do you find inspiration for your illustrations?
Every book is a bit different when it comes to inspiration as they all take place in a different city and cover a unique musical genre. Both of these factors greatly influence the colour palette and overall mood of the book.
The first book, for example, is set in the bayou, which is very green and wet and has a peaceful quality that influenced a lot of the illustrations. In contrast, the second book, which is set in New Orleans and is all about jazz music, was designed around flowy lines and warm colours, which reminded me of jazz.
What is your favourite illustration in Rockin’ the Bayou Down in Louisiana!?
My favourite part of Rockin’ the Bayou Down in Louisiana is probably that first spread of the bayou, where we see the houses by the water and all the animals having a good time. It was a nice challenge to capture the look and feel of that very particular environment and set the tone for the rest of the book. It was a fun spread to paint.
Glory Days in New Orleans!
Story and Songs Bïa, Erik West-Millette and Olaf Gundel Illustrations Fanny Berthiaume
Featuring performances by Alexa Devine, Olaf Gundel and Annick Brémault
Mama and Papa Poss continue their musical odyssey on a boat bound for New Orleans when a sudden storm tosses none other than Louis Catstrong overboard. In thanks for Papa Poss's daring rescue, the famous feline trumpet player takes the duo to his club in the French Quarter, where a group of cool cats are scratching up a new kind of music.
Glory Days in New Orleans! is the second story in the We’re a Possum Family Band series, which follows Mama and Papa Poss on their travels that bring them across North America to the birthplaces of Cajun, jazz, country, rock’n’roll, blues, and traditional Quebecois music. At the end of each story, explanatory notes delve into the key figures, instruments and customs behind each genre.
Ages 3-9 | Available April 2024
Find it on Bookshop, Shop Local (Canada), Barnes & Noble, Indigo and Amazon.
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay informed about our new releases and events and for a chance to win our subscriber giveaway. To order books for your library or bookstore, please contact Hornblower Books/University of Toronto Press (Canada, United States) and MMS/BookSource (United Kingdom). For additional information, email info@thesecretmountain.com.
Photos by Derrière ta marque.