Box of Dreams: Sketches

BOX OF DREAMS, written by Faith Kazmi and illustrated by me, was just released into the world one week ago already! If you don’t know anything about our book yet, here is a summary: 

“A little girl watches as her mama fills up a big box, but this is no ordinary package. It has a special name: the balikbayan box. They pack all sorts of gifts & treats for their family in the Philippines, but the girl has a secret wish to send along Inside. A wish to fly with the box to meet her cousins, Lola, and their family and see and experience all the places where Mama grew up. A wish she hopes will one day come true.” 

You can learn more about BOX OF DREAMS here. 

I started working on this very special book in summer of 2022 and completed finishing touches all the way to the end of my pregnancy in summer 2023. When my agent first sent me the email, I remember thinking “YES, yes 100% I will absolutely work on it, I have to work on it.” What a gift to feel that as an illustrator, and I look forward to stories that make me feel that way. 

Today, I wanted to give you a peek into the early character sketches for BOX OF DREAMS! On most of my projects, I like to give the book team (the editor, the art director, designer, and so on) options for how the characters will look. Here are options for the main character and her mama.

And here is our main character after some feedback from the team! I start to explore the character expressions and iron out details for when I draw her later on. 

Finally, here are some sketches of the balikbayan box, our title character. “Balikbayan” meaning “return to home” in the Philippines.

 I love including familiar branding without being too “on the nose.” Looking back at these sketches now, I see that I wrote in my late grandmother’s name as the person I would like to return to. I miss her a lot. 

I hope you enjoyed this small behind-the-scenes. Happy AANHPI Heritage Month! 

Wishing you the best,

Christine

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Here is a new section in the blog about my new hobby, collecting Pokemon card art. I need to share this with you all, because LOOK HOW PRETTY. I love the slice-of-life feeling in these illustrations. If you know me, you know I love cozy interiors and food haha. 

Artists: Makura Tami, Yuu Nishida, Asako Ito (who makes sooo many cute crochet & miniatures art ahhhh)

I’m already so excited to share more for next time!!

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Order BOX OF DREAMS!  HarperCollins | Bookshop | Barnes & Noble | Amazon