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Emmie: the art process

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.

Books Q&A with Deborah Kalb

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

Enjoy!