Illustration Process: The Baby Bug Parade

Hello! I hope you had a wonderful summer. I can’t believe August has come to an end. 

As promised on my Instagram, here is the trial-and-error process for a recent illustration called “The Baby Bug Parade.” My original idea was called “Into the Unknown.” I’ve had this idea in my head for what feels like years now! I don’t even know if I can accurately tell you the dates for all these upcoming sketches, but I could never able to fully execute this idea, until this past summer.

Thumbnails from late 2019. I don’t even know if these are the earliest sketches, but this is what I could dig up! I was toying with the idea of an inner margin within the composition and the subject escaping from that boundary. Under the sketch I wrote, “Sam Bosma? Line art?” which leads to this attempt…

I was soooo convinced this was good! I thought it was worth drawing each and every leaf of these trees, which was taking FOREVER. At the time, I was working on B&W chapter book art, which was very line art-heavy. But this method wasn’t exactly translating to what I was envisioning. I couldn’t connect with the characters and didn’t have much fun with the background.

2021 attempt. This try took a much more solemn turn. I was deep in some grief and looking to illustrate some hope from that. Not a lot of personal work was finished around this time. 

It’s 2023 and I’m still thinking about going into the “unknown.” By then, I had worked on a couple picture books, and was probably hoping my new experience and skills would help translate to this idea. I try different compositions but never take the next step. These thumbnails aren’t completely fruitless as they lead to these sketches in 2024…

Summer 2024. I’m a mom for almost a year! Time is even more valuable now, meaning when it’s time to draw, it’s TIME TO DRAW. I’m not so stuck on details and thinking more about just having fun! I’m thinking about the word “whimsy” and land on these sketches.

My baby and her stuffed animals ultimately became my inspiration. Here’s the color sketch and the final illustration! The “unknown” transforms into a fun parade, ready for adventure!

If there’s anything I’ve learned throughout this process, it’s to hang on to an idea I believe in. I don’t think we should just wait for inspiration to hit us, but to keep tending to what you’re growing, trying without giving up, and without excessive force, hope we can make art bloom when it’s the right time to blossom. Even if it takes… 5 years?!

Until next time, 

Christine

CARD ART CORNER

This month I’m featuring HYOGONOSUKE! I had been following them online before I knew they illustrated Pokemon cards. What a treat to see a familiar name on a card. Don’t let a simple and flat color rendering style fool you on those common cards, because this artist knows how to layer colors and create a diverse range of illustrations. They do a lot with a little in their backgrounds, and really deliver the personality of each Pokemon.

—–

Buy my digital sketchbook zine {scraps 2020-2023} on ko-fi for just a $1!