Fuzz: The Incredible Story of a Dog’s Best Friend
Illustration and Graphic Design
2021
After being selected as the illustrator for Fuzz, my first step was the character design. I created the initial character sketches aftermy first read-through of the book and getting to know each personality. After sharing the initial designs with the author to ensure that our visions were aligned, and making edits, I then began storyboarding each page; separating the story into memorable images that would carry the readers through the narrative, even without the words.
One of the biggest challenges was learning how to create emotive and relatable personalities in all of the dog characters, a new subject for me. I wanted each of the characters to be memorable and distinct and have consistent traits that would endear them to the children and adults reading the stories; for example, Piddles’ wagging tail or Bongo’s drooling mouth.
Compared to my previous illustrative work, which I created primarily by hand, this was my first fully digital illustration project. To ideate and finalize designs fully in the digital realm while maintaining a sense of craft was a unique challenge and I spent a lot of time initially trying to develop a style and workflow that felt authentic and sustainable.
Illustration and Graphic Design
2021
After being selected as the illustrator for Fuzz, my first step was the character design. I created the initial character sketches aftermy first read-through of the book and getting to know each personality. After sharing the initial designs with the author to ensure that our visions were aligned, and making edits, I then began storyboarding each page; separating the story into memorable images that would carry the readers through the narrative, even without the words.
One of the biggest challenges was learning how to create emotive and relatable personalities in all of the dog characters, a new subject for me. I wanted each of the characters to be memorable and distinct and have consistent traits that would endear them to the children and adults reading the stories; for example, Piddles’ wagging tail or Bongo’s drooling mouth.
Compared to my previous illustrative work, which I created primarily by hand, this was my first fully digital illustration project. To ideate and finalize designs fully in the digital realm while maintaining a sense of craft was a unique challenge and I spent a lot of time initially trying to develop a style and workflow that felt authentic and sustainable.
character studies: