Some old sketches

Apropos of nothing, some old sketches from Humphrey, Albert & the Flying Machine.  This one was written by Kathryn Lasky, who also wrote Two Bad Pilgrims—coming this Fall! Humphrey is set within the Sleeping Beauty story, about two…

The Robin Hood Project

I like to listen to really old classical music, and have attended the wonderful concerts organized by the Renaissance & Baroque Society of Pittsburgh.  I do illustrations for their season brochures. A couple of years ago they booked…

More Henry sketches

Here's the thumbnail sketch for the opening spread of Henry & the Crazed Chicken Pirates.  Like in a movie, this establishing shot offers a broad swathe of visual information that tells the reader where the story takes place.  The crew…

Fireflies

I want to warn you ahead of time that I don't have the finished illustration that would normally follow the series of sketches below.  I must have gotten rid of it, or else it's boxed away somewhere in my attic (I moved last November and am…

Circus posters

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Pete & Fremont and Pete's Disappearing Act are circus yarns spun by the incomparable Jenny Tripp.  Both stories are narrated by Pete the poodle and seen from the point of view of the animals in Circus Martinez. To promote these two titles,…

From the archives—Señor Don Gato

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Here's a book I did a while ago—Señor Don Gato. Due to a copyright dispute, it's no longer in print.  This project was a turning-point in my style.  I closely studied the work of Diego Velasquez: his palette, composition and lighting. …

Storyboard

Leda writes:  “I'm curious, John, just how detailed your story boards are. Can you post a portion of one?” Here’s a complete storyboard for a coloring book idea I had to promote Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies.  This is only 12 pages;…

Model sheets

Before I start a new project, I read through the manuscript a few times.  My first step is to doodle some aimless drawings—to warm up, I guess—then I begin the serious business of drawing thumbnail sketches in the form of a storyboard. …

Pierre le chien

Besides picture books, I've done a couple of chapter books that were lots of fun for me.  Chapter books are for an older audience (9-12) and the ratio of words to pictures is very different!  There is typically one black & white image…

Paper/Pencil/Brush.

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My pal Margeaux Lucas has a blog, Paper/Pencil/Brush.  She shows a lovely example of underpainting in a gouache illustration. Her style reminds me of picture books I read when I was little.  It's all too easy to become heavy-handed with gouache,…