Inside the Illustration

Spread 4: Ladybug

Most people think that I started with the cover or spread 1 when I began illustrating the pages of Symbols I Send. I will let you in on a little secret - I started with spread 4, the ladybug page. Though I did not know where this page would fall in the order, I knew the ladybug would be relatively easy to draw, and I had a vision in my head of the boy laying in bed, reclined and relaxed looking up at the ladybug. Since I already had it in my head, it was the natural place to start. 

I did the initial line drawing with a graphite pencil on white paper. I colored in the drawing with colored pencil, blended slightly with a Q-tip, and finally outlined with a Sharpie fine tip marker. The vertical lines that are present are from the texture of the paper. I scanned the illustration, did a little photoshop / post-processing work, and finally formatted bleeds and copy in Adobe illustrator. 

Hardest part: Getting the perspective lines right on the bed / nightstand (it is still not perfect)

Easiest part: The ladybug

Favorite part: The boy’s facial expression and tousled hair