Reading · Creativi-Tea Time

Last Friday I shared about the first sloppy marks in my book-making process, here:

Once the overall book layout has been worked into place I can zoom in and work page by page — getting those sloppy marks turned into final art. Sometimes I paint my books traditionally in ink and watercolors, for others like this Cozy series, I work digitally (in Procreate, Adobe Fresco & Photoshop).

Here’s a progression of one spread from rough thumbnail to final art.

…brought up to full size to refine in Procreate on the iPad.

I sometimes sketch pieces on paper and add pics of them to the digital layout.

Working in Adobe Fresco on refined shapes and lines…

Working the spread up to a nearly finished grayscale painting…

then colorizing the shapes and lines in Adobe Fresco on the iPad and in Photoshop on a Cintiq — I use a lot of masks on layers.

Sometimes this mark-making process is joyful and feels like play, sometimes it’s slow and frustrating, and most often it’s just the plain work needing to get done to plod forward in creating that final beautiful book.

Thanks for letting me share the process with you — ‘til next time,

☀️ A COZY SUMMER DAY: Great for cozy people of all ages,
but extra great for your favorite 3-5 year old ☀️
OUT MAY 26, ‘26

Order SUMMER COZY

How I Start & Finish Each Page

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