At My Desk: Dreaming of a Quinceañera

Hello!

It’s been a while, and I apologize for my delay in writing. I hope I can catch you up sooner rather than later. For now, I would like to give you a look at the sketches for one of the newest picture books I’ve illustrated – Dreaming of a Quinceañera! Written by Yamile Saied Méndez and published by Scholastic.

Here’s a little behind the story of Dreaming: “Two sisters, Ellie and Isabella, have been dreaming of Isabella’s quinceañera for months and now the day is finally here. The house is bustling with preparations for the party and Ellie is determined to help make her big sister’s day as special as possible. But making flower arrangements is harder than Ellie expected and decorating the cake almost ends in disaster! Will Ellie be able to do something special for Isabella before the party is over?”

I mainly illustrated this book on my iPad, in the throes of postpartum with my baby. Thankfully, she would sleep and I would draw, and it was a good system. But I’ll always remember what a triumph it was to finish this book during that time. When the color proofs were finally ready, I had already moved to Texas from New Jersey, and my baby was almost 1 year old! Publishing will always be a journey, and I love the way memories are attached the the books I’ve worked on. 

CHARACTER SKETCHES

I started with potential combinations of what their family could look like. I wanted a range of ideas to see what looks could go together while also capturing the personalities I read in the manuscript. 

Ellie. I wanted to capture her energetic personality, eager and easily frustrated, but ultimately full of light and joy. 

Isabella. The birthday girl! If I remember correctly, she is meant to be 10 years older than Ellie, and I wanted to emphasize this maturity. Here, she is in her Quince dress as well as in her casual, everyday look. 

THUMBNAILS

I’ll be honest… I totally forgot I drew these, haha my memory isn’t what it once was. But I’m so glad to stumble upon these thumbnail sketches while going through my files! So cool to see the whole book spread out in tiny drawings. By the end, only one of these spreads made a drastic change. 

COVER SKETCHES

In the first round of cover sketches, these were my favorites! I wanted to try something new and incorporate a border into this cover, filled with the Quinceañera traditions. But of course, you can never get too attached to one sketch, as it will naturally go through a few rounds of notes and edits. 

In the next round of sketches, we wanted to focus more on how close Isabella and Ellie are as sisters, as well as elements of the party surrounding them in the background. 

We ultimately went with a version of the sketch you see above. Beautifully designed by art director Doan Buu! 

Feel free to get in touch with any questions and read more about Dreaming over on my website! It is also available for purchase on Bookshop.org.

I’m so happy to see this book in stores, and hope it brings readers a sense of sibling love.

Until next time, 

Christine

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CURRENTLY READING 

Cat’s People by Tanya Guerrero