Finished covering My French Book Fest! Illustrator Ilya Green showed how imagination and color can turn scraps into stories. Thanks to the Alliance Française and the New Orleans Public Library for hosting.
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Green talks about how her illustrations are turned into books. The pages are scanned and cleaned on a computer to remove glue marks or shadows. “It’s a negotiation,” she says. “We adjust until the colors feel alive.”

Illustrator Ilya Green guides children through an oil-pastel transfer and collage activity at the New Orleans Public Library during My French Book Fest. Participants used recycled paper and ink to build imaginative portraits.

As the portraits take shape, Green tells the group they can give their characters names. “In the book, they live in the forest and can do whatever they want—no parents around,” she says.

Using ink sheets she prepared for the class, Green shows how to add clothes and scenery. Children draw trees, animals and patterns around their portraits, turning them into full characters.

After tracing, the new portraits are cut out and glued to the black backdrops. “Glue the head high if you want a tall person, or low if your character is small,” Green says, guiding the next step.

Children reach into baskets for patterned scraps—orange, blue, florals and stars. Green encourages them to choose what feels right, saying the best colors are the ones “that speak to you.”

Green shows how adding lines or shading changes the look of each face. “The more details you do, the older they look,” she says as kids trace and lift their drawings to check the results.

“No white spots,” Green says as children color the backs of printed faces with oil pastels. Each is taped face-up on colored paper and set on black paper for support. When traced, the pastel transfers the face onto the sheet below.

Today’s technique uses oil-pastel transfer. Participants color the back of a printed face, tape it face-up on black paper, and trace the features with a pen. When lifted, the pastel reveals a colorful, handmade portrait.

The tables are already set with printed faces in the center and small baskets of colorful paper scraps. Children gather around as Green explains that everyone will choose a face and turn it into a new character using color, pattern and collage.

“I’m from France,” Green says, smiling as she shows her art materials. She explains that her illustrations are made from recycled paper and ink. “I like to reuse things—every scrap can tell a story.”