Great news! I'm illustrating another picture book!
I'm thrilled to be diving into illustrating a new picture book, Boomer, written by my cousin, Lorraine Fitch.
I'm very exited to be able to bring this story of a loyal farm dog to life. Boomer loves to keep his sheep in order!
![It starts with a text dummy](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/19acd0_df83e26203d44aa8a7c68bce729b929b~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_980,h_1057,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/19acd0_df83e26203d44aa8a7c68bce729b929b~mv2.png)
This is how it starts:
1. I print out the text
2. I fold together nine pieces of ledger paper into a dummy book.
3. I break up the text (14-16 sections for a 32 page picture book) and paste each section onto a spread of the dummy book to establish the page turns and get an idea of what each spread's story will be.
![Text Dummy in progress](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/19acd0_8584cbb553ce40ce9726a781b16aec49~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_980,h_765,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/19acd0_8584cbb553ce40ce9726a781b16aec49~mv2.png)
Now I have the first edition of the picture book -- the text dummy. This also provides me with a sketchbook of sorts for the story where I can doodle and sketch out visual ideas for each spread. This is where the visual storytelling starts.
After my first explorations into the visual story, I start developing the characters.
![Character development in process](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/19acd0_88c97b107c54461aade227b82576ee00~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_980,h_735,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/19acd0_88c97b107c54461aade227b82576ee00~mv2.png)
I hope you've enjoyed the start of a new picture book. I sure am enjoying it!
Stay tuned for more updates as the process continues of picture book making!
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