Sketchbook

Can a list of 101 things really contain all of the ideas I want to draw? Absolutely not. But it’s a start.

Next, I decide on character palette.

For initial character design, I will sketch everyone in a couple of different angles. I will see what works and doesn't, and then I will know how to improve my characters on the next round of drawings or page sketches.

I will really go over different concepts for the main characters. I wanted the girl to be someone very relatable. Not too fancy, not too stylish, not too boyish. I landed on the center sketch for this character.

After the initial character design, I will put everyone together, decide how I want to color them, make character color palettes, and make notations of which brushes or techniques were used.

Often, I want the characters to flow with their environment in colors and technique. I did a rough concept sketch of their house. It's a hacienda/adobe style, with cactus, rock work, stained glass, flowering vines, and happy color. This is where I see my family living.

Once I have an idea of the character design, I divide up the story to the desired page count and with the most interest for our young readers. I then make a very rough thumbnail sketch to explain the ideas to the author.

Some stories will have a color palette throughout the entire story to make it very cohesive. If this is the case, my storyboard will have colors dropped in for reference.

Once the thumbnails are approved, I will go page by page in sketches. I will create a template that shows gutter, bleed, and safety lines so I don't make errors in my sketch. I keep the thumbnail close at hand. I insert the text in the correct size so I have an idea of my boundaries. I draw the different elements in different colors so that I don't get lost in the sketch.