With school underway, you'd think I'd have time on my hands once again, but I find I'm on a stop-watch. Between school drop-offs and trying to get a run in, I find I may have 45 minutes to an hour to spend on the final illustrations of my new book. After school collections and after-school activities, I may have an hour again, before preparations for dinner begin. The day is gone so incredibly quickly, and I feel frustratingly no closer to getting this book completed than I did at the start of the summer when I had no time to myself at all!Still, I'm determined to get it done and have set myself an ambitious deadline: October. I may get a little stressed as we head towards the middle of September, but I figure if I keep plugging away during the sporadic breaks I get, I'll get it done (Well in time for Christmas I hope!).
I've given a few sneak previews of some of the illustrations of the new book which is about a frog called 'Miro'. There are 20 illustrations in total, so it has been pretty intense. Making sure each illustration offers something 'new' is a challenge when the subject matter is the same as the previous pages. Nature, however offers an endless and varied source of inspiration, so I enjoyed the conception stage of the drawings.
These illustrations are all done on watercolour paper. I start with an acrylic/watercolour background, working in depth with shadow and hi-lights, and finish the detailing with acquarelle pencils. The colours are bold and vibrant and I hope they will capture the attention and imagination of every child that reads it.
