Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Coming soon!


The F&Gs for LUCKY BEANS by Becky Birtha came in yesterday! (For those se of you who don't know, F&G stands for "folds and gathers" and is an unbound copy of a book)

It's my newest book coming out this Spring from Albert Whitman & Co. As with many of the books I illustrate, I have lots of mixed feelings while I work on the art - ranging from elation to despair! This particular book takes place during the depression, so I needed to do a lot of careful research.

I also like to challenge myself, so I drew scenes with more perspective, and layering. It was very difficult! So when I was finished with this one, I really wasn't happy. It wasn't perfect, it wasn't what I saw in my head. Months later, I'm seeing it again for the first time in context - words and pictures, trimmed and folded.

It really works, and looks nice! The team at Albert Whitman was great to work with, as well. Kudos to them! Hopefully the book will receive good reviews, too. :)