1. Story board

A story board is an opportunity for me to quickly jot down my ideas, to become familiar with the story and interpret the text visually. It helps me to get a feel for the overall book.

‘People always ask me how long it takes to do an illustration. It’s difficult to say - the final watercolour may only take a few hours, however the work that goes into the storyboarding and sketches may take a few months.

2. Research

I enjoy spending a lots of time researching my character animals. The internet and library are a good places to start, even a trip to the zoo!

‘I had trouble finding visual information on platypus feet! Most of the photos had their webbed feet hidden under muddy water. A trip to Taronga zoo was helpful as I spent time with my sketchbook getting a feel for how the platypus swim underwater however, the little creatures were moving so fast I found it difficult to see any kind of detail. I ended up finding an old book about Australian wildlife at the library. The book had photos of a dead platypus, foot dismembered! Although disgusted, I finally managed to appreciate the detail of a platypus foot.’

3. Ideas to final sketch

Having become familiar with the characters of a story, I then swork on individual spreads.

When I'm happy with the final layout of my picture, I enlarge the sketch to full size, then work in more detail.

‘ The mistakes I do here will save me making them when I'm working on the final illustration.'

4. Final illustration

This is the bit that I enjoy most, the icing on the cake! All the preparation and research has finally paid off, and I can now confidently work on the final illustration. I trace my final sketch with a light pencil onto a sheet of watercolour paper. Using my pencil sketch as a guide I start painting. I like to lay down the colour quickly with a large brush allowing the watercolour move and do its thing before coming back with more detail.

'The trick is to not overwork the watercolour illustration. If I make a mistake I prefer to start over, this keeps my illustrations light and freshl.