Illustrating a Picture Book: Yesterday?

Well, I didn't quite get them quite done by lunchtime, but it was still not a bad day, all in all.


We have a gardener laying a new lawn in the back garden and I lost a bit of time consulting about this and that (standing in blasting winds and spitting rain - what an summer!), plus the usual distractions of emails etc...

Above is my desk mid afternoon, with the koalas done. Phew.

Koalas don't actually have paw pads, but I figured since he's an embodiment of a toy, I can get away with it. I thought the dark pads against white paws (a reverse of big bear's paws) added visual fun, especially since his 'big biffy paws' are a feature in the text.

Here is the little boy, bribing the bear with a glass of milk.

I was glad of the opportunity to do a nice big version of him, to truly get him established for me. I'm really pleased with the bright red jim-jams.

By the way, both koala spreads have the pink background left uncoloured, as we decided to drop in plain colour, allowing us to do away with the 'visual fuss' of the doors, which would otherwise be seen between the banisters.


As you can see, I've started another new spread, rather than finish the one left over from the week before. This may seem odd, but again, I needed to feel some fast progress, as I was already behind my target time for the koalas: it's a tight deadline and I get stressed very easily if I feel I'm falling behind.


I'll do it today (honest Guv) while I carry on with this new spread - the penultimate one, where Mum and Dad get their come-uppence for not believing!

Notice by the way, it's exactly the same process as previously: main background colours in first, then rubbed back to re-expose the characters and other details.