Blueprint of a Work in Progress

Since the beginning of 2024, I have been  steadily pursuing a personal project. While I do not want to give too much of it away, since it is still very much a work-in-progress, I have been enjoying the process so much, and it has been such a focus of my creative energy for nearly 2 years, I decided it was time to write about it. 

I am working on my first picture book!

I came up with the initial concept in 2020, when I had a lot of time on my hands due to being laid off from my job as an assistant manager in a bookstore at the start of the ongoing pandemic of Covid-19, and needed a focus. I spent months on what I now consider to be the first draft of the current book, though both the story and illustrations are quite different now than they were 5 years ago. At the end of that spectacularly awful year, I put the drawings in a cupboard and they have been there ever since. Even though that version has been scrapped, the essence of the story remained with me, and ended up being the foundation for what was to come a few years later.

The elemental piece responsible for finally bringing this narrative to life was a simple brush pen and watercolor illustration I did back in 2022. The idea came to me one night, and the next morning, without sketching it out beforehand, I put it down on paper. My husband took one look at it and said, “That is the best thing you have ever done. There is a whole story there. ‘Monk and Puppy.’”

With his encouragement and support, I went on to draw a series of illustrations based on the first one that featured the two friends on the beach. 

After I had done seven or eight illustrations with the characters in different scenarios, I started to see a theme and a natural story arc, and began sketching and brainstorming ideas for a picture book. Once I felt that I had something to work with, and was ready to commit myself to what I knew would be a major undertaking, I purchased a large sketchbook to use exclusively for the project. 

By then, It was late 2023, and with the holiday season approaching, I decided to do a bit of preliminary research on current picture book publishing standards and guidelines, so that I would have a framework for structuring the overall layout. My years of running children’s departments in several bookstores, as well as my own amassed collection of children's books, provided me with the essential knowledge, which meant I wasn’t starting completely from scratch. I already had an understanding of industry terms, and knew how picture books are created, published, distributed, etc. I just needed the details to help me fill in the blanks to go from “bookseller” to “book creator.” 

As the year was coming to a close, I took the information from my research, my new sketchbook, the list of illustration ideas I had jotted down, all my notes and sketches, and compiled everything all into a cohesive roadmap, setting myself up for the new year.

In January 2024, I cracked open my project sketchbook and reviewed everything I had prepped at the end of the prior year, and began working in earnest.

An edited version of the list of illustrations was my starting point. Using this, I created a thumbnail thirty-two page picture book storyboard, and began arranging the illustrations into a story arc. It was at this point I realized how crucial the concept of “page turns” is. I was surprised at how tricky it was to get all the elements that I wanted in the book to fit together cohesively into a flowing narrative.

Once that was finished, I drew rough sketches in the sketchbook of each illustration, in book-order. Then I did them again, with revisions, and added a bit of color to get ideas for the color palette, and general style.

After the second round of sketches, I set everything aside for a few weeks, to give myself a bit of space from all things “Monk & Puppy.” I had been working nearly exclusively on it since the start of the year and it was time for a break. The pause re-energized me, and when I took everything out again, using the sketches as a reference, I did each illustration in watercolor and pen, to get an idea of how it was all shaping up, then set it aside again for a while.

This brings things up to today, which is just over mid-way through 2025. I recently finished a physical “book dummy” with revised sketches, which will be converted into a digital file when I am ready to begin the process of querying agents and publishers. (In our digital age, I had assumed book dummies were passe, but that is not the case. While they are no longer typically submitted on paper via mail, they are still very much required or requested in digital form, even if you are an analog artist like myself.)

I am currently working on the first of 3 revised color illustrations based on the updated sketches, which I will be submitting along with the dummy.

During my brief stint working at a publishing house in Berkeley, CA many years ago, I was occasionally tasked with processing the “slush pile,” so I fully recognize, and am familiar with, the realities and chances of getting published, which is even more difficult in today’s world. For now, I keep reminding myself to fully embrace and appreciate the creative process as I continue to work on the book, as I know that one day, it will be finished and I will look back at this time and wish I was still in the midst of it.

So, that is what I have been stealthily working on, as I also continue to create pieces for my online shop and my portfolio, and write blog posts. And, of course, I am also always open to freelance opportunities, and am still searching for an agent who will represent my art and illustration work. (So, if anyone has any leads....)

I have big plans for this little book, but am taking things one step at a time, and pacing myself. I love having a large project to work on, though working in a vacuum is a challenge, to say the least. If you are quietly working away on your own passion project, please know that there is someone out there who is with you. Keep at it!

I know this was a long one, so kudos to you if you made it this far! I hope this little peek into the process of creating a picture book has been an enjoyable read. I always like a behind-the-scenes look at an artist's project, so I thought it would be fun to do one for my own labor of love.

I hope, when the book is finally finished and out in the world (in one way or another), that it will bring a bit of much-needed calm, peace, and quiet joy to all who choose to invite it into their home, and onto their bookshelf.