Somehow, Yay! which I started working on in September of 2022(!) is almost here! Publishing is such a weird industry and deadlines and pub dates can and do shift. This book was originally supposed to come out in 2024, but got pushed to 2025. It’s been so long since I handed in the art that honestly I sometimes forgot that it was out there in the ether, waiting patiently for it’s turn to be in readers hands.
But in two weeks it will be here and I am so happy to share it with you. Jessica wrote a really sweet story and I am so lucky to have been able to illustrate it.
I thought I’d share a little peek into my Yay! sketchbook. I do a lot of sketching digitally, but everything starts in a sketchbook like this one.
My book sketchbooks are blue, but when I want to use a sketchbook that doesn’t start out blue then I paint it blue. (Or at least the spine, as in this case) While it is probably a bit anal, it’s also extremely helpful for digging out the right sketchbook from my messy desk. (if you read last week’s newsletter and saw a picture of my studio, this will be more clear)
Inside my sketchbook is a mix of book-related doodles, notes, brainstorming and general chaos as I try to figure out the world of the book.
Mostly, the chaos is in pen or pencil without any color but occasionally I like to play around a bit with different materials. This sketchbook is actually great for mixed media unlike the sketchbooks I normally use, so I SHOULD have taken more advantage of it.
My sketchbooks are the first step in any book and they are with me for notes or additional clarification doodles as I move into other stages of the book. Some books I use my sketchbook more, some books I use them less, this book I almost finished, which isn’t always the case. In any case, they are a big part of my process and a fun thing to look back on when the project is done.
So anyway, Yay! for Yay!
I filmed a video of the whole sketchbook, but I feel weird (shy?) about having it just hanging out on the internet, so I’m going to pop it behind the paywall. I’m not sure that it’s interesting enough to subscribe for, but hopefully a nice perk for those of you who do.
But before I lock that part of the post down, I wanted to end this part with a little colophon(?) of what I used for the drawn part of this newsletter. Hallie Bateman started doing that recently in her newsletter and I think it’s fun so I wanted to join in.
Seeya next week!
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