©DON TATE ILLUSTRATION

Say Hey! A Song of Willie Mays Published: Spring 2000 Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children Imprint: Jump at the Sun Notes: SAY HEY! A SONG OF WILLIE MAYS is my first published, fully illustrated children's picture book. For reference on the Mays character, I used a 3D computer generated model as well as a human model. The computer model was created with a program called Poser. This program allowed me to make a virtual model of Mays that I could pose, reposition, adjust lighting on and print out to use as reference for my paintings. The human model is my brother Brian. He somewhat resembles Willie Mays and has an athletic build like a baseball player, so I thought he would make a good model. I think the cover is the most important painting in a childrens book since it is the first image that readers will see. The cover sets the tone for the rest of the book. I wanted to do something inviting and friendly. I thought it important that a friendly, positive African American face smile out at readers as they approached bookshelves. I proposed a baseball card design to the editor, Andrea Pinkney. The art director liked the idea, too.