Get the picture

Boom Bah! took me three months to complete. This may seem like a long time to spend illustrating a 32 page picture book but in actual fact it was fast going.

By showing you the amount of work that went into illustrating the words: A bell, a tin, some lids, a cup. Ting! Tong! warming up. I hope to demonstrate the thought process that I went through to complete this image for BOOM BAH!.

Scroll down to see more.

Thumbnails not fingernails!

Before I concentrate on an individual illustration I like to get a visual overview of the entire story.

These small sketches are called thumbnails. I roughly draw out 32 squares (15 double pages) that represent the 32 pages of the picture book. After reading the story a couple of times I immediately jot down any ideas that pop into my head.

Here are my very first thumbnails for BOOM BAH! You can compare these sketches to the final pictures in the book and see how some illustrations developed and some have hardly changed at all.

A closer look

Here is my original thumbnail sketch for:
'A bell, a tin, some lids, a cup. Ting! Tong! warming up.'

You can see that I have already established the beginnings of characters holding the various objects, marching in single file from left to right.

Bringing character's to life

After reading the story and sketching the thumbnails, it's important for me to become familiar with the characters.

By looking at these quick sketches, you can see how I'm starting to develop the various characters.

You can see first hand the development of the white mouse. My first drawings shows the white mouse holding a bell in her hand, by making a small adjustment by attaching the bell to the end of a small stick I've created a bigger sense of marching band leader.

Get the picture

Using my thumbnails as a guide, I draw the individual double page spreads onto A4 sized paper. These larger drawings allow me to add more detail but are not too big to bog me down. This size is also very practical for scanning and emailing.

Looking at this drawing, you can see that I've become more familiar with the characters. I've also rearranged the animals. The illustration now reads from left to right, beginning with the mouse holding the bell and finishing with the hen holding the cup.

Inside out

Here, I've only just realised that the animals should still be inside the kitchen. To bring the scene indoors, I've adding a skirting board, a door and a couple of tins of food.

My publisher has suggested that I introduce a second mouse to act as the narrator. As well as narrator, this second mouse helps gather the crowd (including the reader) to join in with the band.

Hello goat!

This story is all about building momentum and sound.
To show this visually, I introduce each animal one by one.
The goat doesn't feature till the next page however,
I decide to introduce him on this spread. Because I'm introducing the goat, I'll decide to also show the box he'll be using later in the story.

I draw the goat poking his head through the kitchen door.
A cut-through-view of the kitchen, the doorway and the outside. It was decided that this cut- through-view was too complicated for the younger viewer.

The complete picture

I draw the scene again. This time showing only the goats head poking through the door. I've also moved the box into the kitchen (setting up the goats instrument for later in the story). With these final changes, the visual story is now starting to come together and I'm pretty happy with the layout.

Before I move onto colour, I complete this standard of drawing for every page in the story.

I enlarge my A4 drawing to the actual size of the book.
(With the more detailed illustrations I would continue drawing in detail at this larger size).

Colouring in

Using a light pencil, I trace the pencil sketch directly onto a sheet of watercolour paper.

It's been about two months since I started work on this book and now, finally I'm ready to get my paints out. Using a large brush I apply watercolour, making an effort not to overwork my illustration.

Once I complete my wash I stand back and take a look.
At this stage the hen is worrying me, I can't quite put my finger on it, so I decide to continue.

On the line

Using a conté pencil, I draw the outlines of my illustration. I like to work quickly, insuring my line work stays fluid and rhythmic.

Even after the line work is complete, the hen is still irritating me. She's looking too heavy, wooden and stiff. I think I have overworked her and decide to do this illustration again.

Try and try again

I go back to my original sketches and see what I can find.
I find this hen I drew earlier on in my character sketches. I draw up the entire illustration again replacing the old hen with a similar pose taken from this new hen.

Knowing when to stop

I'm much happier with my new hen.

After about four days work the colour picture is finally complete.

I now only have 14 more of these to do.