I am so pleased to reveal the cover and title of my next book, which will be hitting stores in 2018: Positively Izzy!

This is the spin-off of Invisible Emmie, starring Emmie’s lovably brainy bff, Brianna, and an entirely new character, Izzy! Can’t reveal much more than that, but I guarantee it’s just as engaging as Emmie. I’ll post when pre-orders are ready.

This has been another labor of love — I can’t wait for you to read it!

Last week I posted a brief evolution of the Emmie art, from sketches to finished book illustrations. This week, I thought I’d do the same for the Katie art.

If you’ve read (or peeked through) Invisible Emmie, you’ve seen that the Emmie and Katie chapters are stylistically different. Emmie’s chapters are told in prose with spot art, while Katie’s are graphic novel-style.

Using an example from page 86, here’s a little explanation of how the Katie chapters came to life.

First, just like with the Emmie art, I started with a sketch on simple computer paper.

Next, I switched to the digital tablet. I used a (digital) template for sizing. Here it is, in all its pink glory:

I drew on a digital layer above the template, just so I’d get the sizing right. Here’s an example of a finished line drawing over the template layer. Normally I’d fade out the template so that it isn’t as pink and distracting as it is here:

Next, I deleted the template layer. Much better!

Finally, I colored in the line drawing, which was fun because I was able to use bright, vibrant colors…a little different than the muted tones of the Emmie art.

And voila! A finished page. I enjoyed switching off between Emmie and Katie chapters simply because it kept me from getting bored with one or the other. And now that I have the process down, it’s time to move on to book 2…which, by the way, has MUCH more art. Wish me luck!

EMMIE is selling fantastically, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. In celebration, I thought it would be fun to do a little post about my artistic process. I’ll even divide it into Parts 1 (Emmie art) and 2 (Katie art) for the sake of suspense. Below is an example of the evolution from sketches to full-blown book art, using some Emmie illustrations from pages 92 and 93.

First, I  simply sketched the art in pencil on plain old computer paper. I tried to fit as many sketches as possible on one sheet.

Once the art was approved and ready to be polished up for the book, I drew it right on my digital drawing tablet (called a Cintiq). Here’s what the art looked like, all finished in black and white.

But that’s not all. My editor and I decided the book should be in full color. So…

Easy-peasy, right? WRONG. I had to do, like, hundreds of these. So as much fun as it was, it took forever. BUT I gave myself little goals, like completing a certain amount of chapter art per day. That helped so I wasn’t overwhelmed.  And eventually, it all got done in time.

Stay tuned for some Katie art. In the meantime — if you haven’t already — go buy the book! And enjoy.

Here’s a really nice interview about Invisible Emmie with author, editor, and blogger, Deborah Kalb.

Enjoy!