Here’s the latest progress on my self-published picture book project Once Upon a Time. To see my previous posts, go here.
Drawing!
Like I mentioned in my last process post, I did all my rough drawings in red pencil. After they were all done, I went back and refined them with a regular pencil. This gives me more flexibility when I take the drawings into Photoshop because I can take out the red and clean up the drawings as I need to.
Some readers have asked me how exactly I do that. I outlined the steps in one of my old tutorials here.
Painting!
I am now fully immersed in the final paintings of the book. I am about halfway through them already. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the characters:
Title Page!
This is a mockup of the title page that I made. What do you think?
Time to PROMOTE!
At this rate, I estimate the book will be done in a few weeks. I am now starting to think about promotion. With my Frosty the Gourdman comic that I released last October, I put up the website and a video teaser a few weeks in advance. It really helped to amp up the buzz surrounding the book, so I want to do the same thing this time around too.
Instead of going with a full website this time like I did for Frosty, I’ve decided to just put up a single web page. It will be simpler for me, plus it can be integrated better into my main website.
So, here it is – the launch of the Once Upon a Time webpage! Check it out! There will be more content to come.
http://danidraws.com/onceuponatime
Related posts:
I really love the way it’s turning out, it’s been fun following your process!
My only suggestion is maybe to play around with a different font for the title. It seems to stand out as being too separate from the drawings and colors, it kind of feels to me like it needs to be softer or more kid-friendly. Or perhaps putting it in a more pastel color or even a lighter brown would tie it in a little better.
Awesome! Thanks for shedding some light on your process. Very cool. Best of luck with the book!
Hi Dani,
This is wonderful.. very lovely/lively characters.
The title page is classic .. Great job.
Btw, do you paint digital or on paper?
Best
–GS
GS – I colored these in Photoshop.
Dani – this is a wonderful series of posts..fantastic characters and really great to see your process. Thank you for sharing this with us. Though your cover tells a tale, I see your character in a more heroic size..he’s just so full of life and I think kids would love to see him bigger. : )
All the best to you in your endeavor! I shall keep following..
Well done, Dani
thanks for sharing and I loved the story, that was so cute…..