Final Batch of Pages!

 

The last page of the coloring book.

I did it. The day I've been so excited for finally came! I just sent the last of the images for the book to the committee for review. NOW my task is to complete a full color cover. I know that I want to handletter and ink the piece, but I'm trying to decide whether I want to do traditional color, a saturated watercolor perhaps, OR do digital color on photoshop. STAY TUNED FOR ANSWERS

Page Process

I thought it would be nice to take you through the process of creating one of the pages for the book.
It starts with a thumbnail sketch like this:

 

This sketch is for the snowy mountain piece, page 10.

Next comes the blue pencil phase. I'm drawing the pages at twice the print size so that I can get all those good details in. 

Strange picture quality on the second one, but you get it.

Next phase is inking. I prefer to use a brush over the nib because the line quality make is second to none. For the lettering and small details I use a Pitt Technical Pen. 

Inking is the most stressful part for me. It's very FINAL.

Here is the image that was scanned in to photoshop.

After some photoshop magic, the final product looks a little something like this, here is the final draft of page 10:

Erie Coloring Book Concept

A little bit about the book itself! It consists of 12 coloring pages, 4 activity pages (connect the dots etc.) and a full color cover. The book is going to be printed at the size of 8.5 x 5.5. The most exciting thing about this whole thing is that the committee has decided to print 2,000 copies! I am so incredibly humbled and honored by the confidence that they have in me.

Since the coloring book is being designed to accompany a DINOSAUR sculpture park, choosing the theme was pretty simple... I decided to design 3 little dinos for the book:

Original character sketches

The names that I had originally chosen are shown in the images above, however Cindy asked that I change them to Mr. Dorris' nicknames- Diesel, Scraps, and GM. I was happy to do so, these names make the project specific to the town of Erie and much more personal. Love it. 

Now for the story line! Our new little friends lived on a beautiful and exotic island called Dino Isle. One day they decided to go on an adventure so they hopped on a raft and set off. Out at sea, Diesel made a new friend- Riptide Rosie (a sea turtle sculpture was named by the local school children of Erie, another lovely personal detail that I was asked to include.) When they reached the shore, they explored the deep, dark, bat filled forest... the hot and sunny desert... and the snowy mountains. Finally they found themselves in a FANTASTIC place called "Kansas" where they find a new home at the Erie Dinosaur Park!

A few rough sketches of my storyboard.

A design for the cover. We'll see if I change my mind.

My next post will take you through the process of penciling, inking, and editing a page in the book!

I'm BACK with news from Erie

Hello there! After quite the hiatus I'm back on the web. My internship with the city of Erie has had more twists and turns than a roller coaster. First of all, I would like to reintroduce you to the project.

In his retirement, Mr. Robert Dorris of Erie, Kansas created large scale dinosaur sculptures in his backyard. They were created with old car and machine parts that Mr. Dorris re-imagined into creatures ranging in size with the largest being 30ft in length! After his passing, the Dorris family donated the artworks to the city of Erie. With the sculptures, a few very dedicated folks have worked hard to display them in the "Erie Dinosaur Park."

Poor quality photo, forgive me, here is the sign for the entrance of the park, designed by a former PSU student, Jenna Spencer.

 The initial project consisted of me designing dinosaur-themed playground equipment for the park. Considering liability and safety issues for children, this concept was scrapped. Next was designing and building park benches, another no-go. We then settled on the creation of a dino style trash receptacle. After testing out the materials this summer, I came to the conclusion that this idea just wasn't feasible. LITTLE DID I KNOW that when I came back in the fall, Cindy Friedrich (the lovely woman who is my liaison for the committee in Erie) had bigger plans for me!

We tossed the previous ideas and my new assignment was to formulate and illustrate a coloring book (right up my alley, huh?) as well as a brochure and a kiosk card for the park.

This new assignment has been keeping me busy all semester. But busy in the best way. I am so enjoying deadlines, something you won't hear me saying in a couple of years, I'm sure! I love that there is a client that is excited and waiting to see what comes next. I also really enjoy the freedom that Cindy and the committee in Erie has given me. Allowing me to be creative and really decide what direction I want to take the coloring book in.

My next post is going to explain the story that I'm telling and a few more details about the book itself.

STAY TUNED!