Q&A with Victoria Ying

 

Photo by Lauren Justice

 

 

Victoria Ying is the adapter and illustrator of a new graphic novel version of the late Paula Danziger's classic children's novel Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon. Ying's other books include City of Secrets. She also works in the animation field, and she lives in Los Angeles.

 

 

Q: How did you create the art for this new version of Amber Brown?

 

A: I used a few different digital tools to create the artwork for Amber Brown. I first used Scrivener to lay out the script and adapt the original novel and then once that was approved, I moved to my iPad with an app called ComicDraw. In comic draw, I lay out the whole book in rough drawings with the panels and text filled in.

 

After that, I took it into Procreate where I cleaned up the drawings and did final lineart. The colors were done by Lynette Wong in Photoshop.

Q: The writer and artist Terri Libenson said of the book, “Funny and engaging, Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon is a charming take on a classic.” What do you think of that description, and how would you describe the relationship between the original book and your version of it?

 

A: I so appreciated Terri's blurb! A lot of the credit for the book obviously goes to Paula who created such a lovely and classic story of friendship to work with. I'm pleased to be able to do right by this book and fans of Paula's!

 

I tried to stay as true to the original as possible while also finding ways to use the unique medium of comics to bring a new sense of character and emotion to the book. I used almost every dialog line directly from the book, but made sure to emphasize the emotions that the characters were going through in drawings. 

Q: What do you see as Paula Danziger’s legacy?

 

A: Any children's book author whose work is so beloved is a precious legacy. She introduced many young people to reading and was able to reflect their own reality back to them in a touching and relevant way. I'm always in awe of authors who can speak to a child's experience in a way that feels as authentic as Paula's.

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I'm working on a few more graphic novel projects. My next YA contemporary book will be with First Second and is called Chasing Sunspots, due out in 2027! I also am working on a games project that I can't quite disclose yet, but which is opening me up to new ways of storytelling that are inspiring. 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I'm glad so many people are finding the world of graphic novels and I'm so proud to be part of this adaptation! I hope everyone keeps exploring new ways of reading the stories that they loved and sharing them with the young people in their lives! 

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb