About Riyaaz

Why Riyaaz

The Riyaaz Academy for Illustrators was set up

jointly by the Parag initiative of TATA TRusTs,

Eklavya, Bhopal and illustrator Atanu Roy in

2015. The Academy is a platform for budding

artists and young illustrators to explore different

forms of illustrations through a dual mode – one

week of theory and intensive hands on practice

and three weeks of distance mode every

month, supported with mentoring by a group of

eminent professionals.

The one-year certificate course aims to refine the perception, professional skills and intellect of students interested in illustration, especially picture book illustration.

In the first year, Riyaaz has trained 16 young

illustrators who have already illustrated books

and magazines for several publishers including

Pratham Books, Eklavya, NCERT, Room to Read

and Agha Khan Foundation, unique features

(Pune), Takshila educational society (Patna).

The importance of picture books and

illustrations in children’s development cannot

be over emphasized. Children learn to read

pictures much before they learn to read text.

Therefore, richly illustrated picture books play

an important role in engaging children in the

process of reading. In India, where a large

number of children attending government

schools are first generation learners who lack a

print environment at home, pictures become the

first medium of introducing them to stories and

the world around them.

With 350 million children, the need for age appropriate, graded, original and contextual children’s literature in India is huge.

A handful of publishers in India are engaged

in this. In the absence of story books and

libraries, textbooks become the only source

of visual reading for children. But illustrations

and pictures in textbooks in India are not free

of biases – be it gender, representation of social

groups, religion or didactic images that aim

to “teach” children rather than stimulate their

thinking.

Illustration by sunita

illustrating for children

The children’s literature market is growing at

20-25% annually. To generate great content,

both in terms of stories and illustrations,

capacity building of authors and illustrators is

required.

The idea behind Riyaaz Academy is to train young students to illustrate from a child’s point of view, keeping in mind children’s developmental milestones, and being sensitive to the fact that children in India today are growing up in a multilingual and multicultural world.

Riyaaz illustrators will be trained to bring in

humour in their work because children enjoy

it and generally it is not found in most of the

publications. At the same time they will address

social biases, champion values of sustainable

development, equality of gender, caste and

religion and break stereotypes.

First BatchThe first batch of Riyaaz was a mix of students,

some with fine art training, others coming with

strong foundation in folk art and a few with

only passion for illustrating. students have

successfully worked on several professional

assignments with leading children’s publishers,

non-profits and educational institutions. Riyaaz

aims to train illustrators to engage children,

trigger their creativity, push their comfort

zones and encourage them to reflect.

To learn more about Riyaaz, visit us at:

www.riyaaz.in

Language of instruction and resource material

Batch Size

BIlInguAl (EnglIsh & hIndI)

20 pARTIcIpAnTs

course features and design

• DualModeprogram with one week of

contact session every month and home

assignments

• Continuoussupport and feedback from

faculty during distance mode

• Arangeofexperiencedprofessionalsin

illustration, publishing and education as

faculty

• Fieldvisits to practice sketching at

historical landmarks, nature reserves, and

other scenic areas

• Richvarietyofartmaterials provided by

the academy

• Scholarships available to deserving

candidates

• students can earn 60% of paid professional

work they get through Riyaaz; Other 40%

goes to Course Development Fund

• While the main campus is in Hoshangabad,

M.P, exposure to various institutions that

may host contact sessions over the year

• Exposuretovariousnationaland

internationalplatforms such as the

World Book Fair in Delhi, the Asian Festival

of Children’s Content in singapore, and

Bookaroo Children’s Festival, Delhi

What does Riyaaz provide?• understanding of good quality

children’s literature

• strengthening of Techniques -

Composition, drawing, sketching etc

• understanding of children’s

illustrations

• Application of skills to illustrate

for children

• Ability to conceptualise and

illustrate own picture book/s

• Exposure to children’s publishers

• Opportunity to do paid work

• Interaction with leading illustrators

• Increased knowledge of exposure to

other art forms

• Opportunity to work with variety of art

material

• Challenging projects

Illustration by Hariom Patidar

In addition, candidates must:

1. Be able to commit to one week sessions

every month for a year

2. Be passionate about illustration, especially

children’s illustration

3. Practice at home and be able to complete

assignments in timely manner

4. Communicate with faculty outside a class

setting

5. Have some knowledge of literature and

how to analyze literature

The candidates seeking admission to the course should be graduates in Applied Art from recognized

institutes of art with a keen interest in pursuing a professional career in illustrations, especially in the

area of content for children. Talented candidates with a natural aptitude and interest in this field can

also apply.

who is this course for

Illustration by Hariom Patidar

scholarships will be provided on needs-based

cases. students with exceptional arts skills

and interest in children’s illustration can apply

for scholarships to reduce course fee. These

scholarships are meant for individuals completely

devoted to children’s illustration, having no full-

time employment or subsidiary income. Partial

course fee, accommodation and local travel will

be covered under this scholarship.

The certificate of course completion is granted

at the end of the term and students are

graded on various aspects including idea and

conceptualization, drawing and sketching,

comprehension of texts, technical application

and subject knowledge, aesthetics, general

awareness and art appreciation, participation

in contact sessions, and ability to take on and

complete professional work.

scholarshipscertification

Illustration by Vibhuti Pandey

Course Content

ThE onE-yEAR cERTIFIcATE couRsE WIll covER vARIous AspEcTs oF IllusTRATIons

Illustration by sunita

RolE And ImpoRTAncE oF IllusTRATIonRole of images with reference to the fact

that exposures of childhood leave a lasting

impression on the thinking of creative people.

understanding the role and responsibility of

an illustrator (originality of work, professional

commitments, etc.)

undERsTAndIng ThE TExTReading the text for pleasure, reading to

unravel its layers, to understand the plot

and identify interesting, important passages

and turning points or best moments; to

comprehend the backgrounds of various

characters in the scenario; identifying

underlying social issues.

concEpTuAlIsATIonComposition of the protagonist and supporting

characters in their appropriate environment;

focusing on details of the situation or

background and get-up of the characters;

deciding on number of illustration- main or

supporting; balancing of the text with dynamic

and inert visual elements; Visualization.

Role of illustration and its relation to the

text. understanding social responsibility;

Interpretation of the situation and characters

in order to take the illustration beyond the

written text.

vIsuAlIzATIonRough drawings, working on the details

of individual components; trying lay-out

possibilities, planning for spaces and preparing

dummy.

skETchIngDeveloping outdoor sketching as a tool of

observation; understanding its purpose and

technique; study of various possible locations,

set-ups and characters; sketching for improving

and strengthening quality of line and

grasping the form. Regular al fresco visits and

submission of monthly sketchbooks to master

the skill.

mEdIumIntroduction to various colour media. Pencil,

charcoal pencil, coloured pencil; inks, water

colour, pastel and crayon and techniques for

their effective use; Handling of paper collage

as a medium of illustration. use of appropriate

qualities and grades of papers. Opportunity

to develop innovative styles and techniques

through exploration and experimentation with

unknown media.

FInIshIng oF ART-WoRkAfter completion, finishing and making the

illustration camera ready. Technical awareness

regarding production. scanning and saving

the image in appropriate file type; various file

types in use and significance of images sizes

and resolutions.

lAy-ouTFundamentals of lay-out; understanding of

image area, bleeding and cut size; Reader

friendly and playful lay-outs. Cover lay-out.

Types and sizes of printing papers; arriving

at the shape of the publication, pages and

pagination; binding. Knowledge of various

types of printing techniques; visit to printing

press.

suppoRTIng sTudIEsLibrary: The academy has a well-appointed

library with limited edition publications on

photography, illustration, graphic designing,

caricaturing and related fields. students will

be encouraged to spend time in the library and

referencing for their project work.

Films:Every session there will be special

screening of selected films related with the

ongoing topic followed by discussion for its

right appreciation.

Otherillustrators:Familiarization with the

works of outstanding old and contemporary

illustrators in their respective fields including

cartoonists.

Knowledgeofotherartforms: stressing the

significance of interrelationship of various

art forms efforts would be made to inculcate

interest in other art forms viz. photography,

theatre, dance, music, sculpture etc. Aesthetics

and Perspective: special talks focused on the

understanding of aesthetic sense and concept

of perspective with context to Abhinav Gupt,

Ravindranath, western and Indian ideologies,

Japanese aesthetics school (Wabi-sabi the art

of imperfection) etc.

Homeworkassignments: students will be

required to maintain daily diaries, monthly

sketch-books and regular feedback on their

work and that of their colleagues. They will

be expected work on various projects aimed

at developing the skill of presenting their

works.

Illustration by Mayukh Ghosh

The course fee for one-year is Rs 30,000.

This includes accommodation and food during

the contact sessions at Hoshangabad and

any other institution selected. The amount of

partial scholarships available will be offered

based on merit cum means basis. To apply for

a scholarship, please fill the appropriate section

in application.

coursefee

Application process

1. Prospective students must complete online

application form.

2. Next, applicants must submit a portfolio of

sketches and finished illustrations online.

3. shortlisted candidates will be called for an on-

the-spot test and interview at Hoshangabad.

Complete online application form

WWW.RIyAAz.In/ApplySubsidised course fee

Rs. 30,000Application submission deadline

31 dEcEmBER 2016Written Test & Interview

lAsT WEEk oF JAnuARy 2017Course Commences

22 FEBRuARy 2017

Illustration by sunita

dIlEEp chInchAlkERDileep Chinchalker grew up in an environment

of painting, literature, theatre, music and allied

arts. He has dabbled in designing, advertising,

bird watching, journalism, teaching, acting,

writing, public speaking, publishing and

continues to look for new things to try. He

has been an art critic, visiting faculty member

at Indore university and trustee of Bharat-

Bhavan Bhopal. He has a long association with

Chakmak, the children’s science magazine

and Gandhi-Marg. His work can be accessed

at www.vishnuchinchalkar.in and www.

learningbeyondclassroom.com

ATAnu RoyAtany Roy has been illustrating for children over

the last four and a half decades and published

over 150 books. His first picture book was Tails

for the National Book Trust. He has worked

as a creative consultant across seven states

for educational programmes including sarva

shiksha Abhiyan. His toughest challenge as an

illustrator was Magical Indian Myths for Puffin

India. It was an opportunity of a lifetime doing

fifty stories together for one book. He also

conceived Riyaaz in partnership with Eklavya

and Parag and strongly advocates quality

illustrations in children’s books and magazines

in India.

TAposhI ghoshAl A Graduate of the College of Art, New Delhi,

Taposhi is a freelance illustrator and designer.

she has illustrated several books for leading

children’s publishers in India including The Mud

Baby, The story of Hanuman, The Winning

Team, Bani, The Magic Flute: Folk Tales from

All over India, and Fairytales: Four stories By

Johann And Wilhelm Grimm (Traditional Tales).

Taposhi has also been the Indian nominee for

the International Board on Books for Young

people (IBBY), Honourlist 2006 (Group) & 2007

(individual).

chAndRAmohAn kulkARnIChandramohan Kulkarni is an artist and

illustrator. His work has been shown through

individual and group exhibitions at eminent

galleries. He has constributed significantly to

Marathi literature by designing several book

covers and illustrated children’s books including

Angat Pangat, Mouse, Harin Balak, Pankh Yeti

Pakshyala and The Road. From painting to

sculpture, photography, digital graphics, art

direction, writing and advertising, he has done it

all. His work has been honored and preserved at

the Imperial War Museum, u. K.

Faculty profile

shAshI sABlokshashi has worked with Eklavya for the past

22 years. she has been editing srote, Eklavya’s

Journal of science and Technology and handling

other publications of Eklavya for over a decade.

she is also co- editor of Chakmak, Eklavya’s

magazine for children.

sushIl shuklAsushil is the editor of Chakmak for the past

decade. He has been associated with the field

of children’s literature for over 18 years now.

He is a writer and poet and has 10 titles to his

credit, the most recent being Chiknik Chu, with

Eklavya. He works as a consultant with NCERT

and has been involved in the conceptualization

and editing of children’s magazine Pluto. He is

one of the key faculty who conceptualised and

planned Riyaaz. He is responsible for leading,

visioning and anchoring of the course.

participants will also get an opportunity to interact with other sector experts invited to lead select sessions as guest faculty during the contact sessions. The mentor group will comprise experienced professionals from the fields at the interface of language and learning, library education and children’s literature.

The students will also be exposed to an eclectic

mix of guest faculty from different fields to widen

their understanding and exposure to art and

aesthetics. some of the faculty may include the

following names:

shRIRAm Jog Theatre person and artist

kAmlA BhAsIn Activist and social scientist

suddhAsATWA BAsu Painter, Illustrator

RAJA mohAnTy Faculty, IDC, IIT Bombay

AnupAm mIshRA Author, Environmentalist

AnIl AWAchAT social Activist & Writer

vARun gRovER Writer & lyricist

nAchIkET pATWARdhAn Film Director

course Anchor

guest Faculty

Illustration by Habib Ali

Eklavya was set up in 1982 as a non-government registered society.

It took up the academic responsibilities of the landmark Hoshangabad

science Teaching Programme (HsTP).

Eklavya titles are also available in English,

Marathi, Gujarati, Bangla and urdu. It has

published some titles in non-mainstream

languages such as Gondi, Korku, Malwi and

Bundeli. It publishes three magazines - srote,

a weekly feature service for newspapers

focusing on science, technology and science-

society interface issues, sandarbh, a bi-monthly

teachers’ resource magazine and Chakmak, a

science magazine for children.

It developed and implemented the innovative

social science Teaching Programme and the

Primary Education Programme (PRAsHIKA) in

the government schools of Madhya Pradesh.

More recently it worked with the NCERT in

developing the National Curriculum Framework

(NCF) 2005. Eklavya continues to actively

seed and develop academic programmes for

curricular change in elementary education.

Eklavyaisaleadingpublisherfororiginal

andqualitychildren’sliteratureinHindiwith

over250titles. To learn more about Eklavya, visit www.eklavya.in

Parag is the flagship program of the Tata Trusts that aims to make literature

a part of every childhood by supporting availability and access to quality

children’s books.

and educators besides creating resources on

setting up and running active libraries, book

selection and using libraries to enhance reading

skills. Recently, Parag has started two flagship

professional courses – Riyaaz and the Library

Educators Course. The Library Educators

Course aims to strengthen the capacities of

stakeholders working with children’s literature

to run vibrant libraries that inspire children

to read for pleasure, strengthen their reading

skill and expose them to different ideas and

perspectives.

Parag supports the development and

dissemination of children’s books and literature

in Indian languages. It works with partners

to rejuvenate libraries for supporting literacy

and learning through children’s meaningful

engagement with books. Overthepast8

years,Paragbookshavereachedouttoover

1crorereadersthrough350originaltitles.

Parag has supported school and community

libraries for ensuring access to quality books. It

has created avenues to promote young talented

authors and illustrators. Parag workshops and

programmes have trained librarians, teachers

Illustration by Mayukh Ghosh

Complete online application form

WWW.RIyAAz.In/Apply

Application submission deadline

31 dEcEmBER 2016

Contact

RIyAAz@EklAvyA.InMobile

0 94254 84077 (Swetha)

0 89895 44927 (Shashi)

Course Commences

22 FEBRuARy 2017

Written Test & Interview

lAsT WEEk oF JAnuARy 2017

Illustration by Ashika Harbhanjka