Progress Report...

Well, I have been working pretty hard this week, trying to get Lila and Sausage sorted out, ready to show to Hodder.

I've been working a lot on thumbnails, which is not something I'm used to. I normally work full size from the outset, but that's when I'm working with someone else's text, that's already been edited by a publisher and is more or less set in stone. Because this text is mine, and so far unseen, it can be altered to fit the way the illustrations are shaping up. Or I can edit out a whole section if I want to, to change the way things will look, or to help the illustrations fit the set picture book length (see Planning My New Story).

I've done various drafts of the thumbnails as things are evolving, to perfect the plan, compositions and characters. For example, turning this:

into this:

and then into this:


One thing that's taking a bit of getting used to, is the fiddlyness: even the above sketch is only a couple of inches high. But I haven't got the time for full size, and the images will almost certainly change again if the story gets taken up by a publisher.

I am drawing the occasional image in a more finished way though, to show how the characters could look (although I did this one before the thumbnail rework above, and I now prefer the tiny version!):


I am pleased with how things feel, but it's a new area for me (see Trying To Write), so it will be good to hear a publisher's take on it. I have no illusions though - the hit rate is never good. But nothing ventured...

I'll let you know how it goes. Right, better get back to it.