I did the typeface for the book with help from the brilliant typographer Andreas Pohancenik
I quite like squirrel playing peek-a-boo in this early version of the cover.
I designed half of the book in Korea ...it was published first by the amazing Borim Press.
...and the other half in Mexico ..so I could concentrate fully on it. I had to stop working on other jobs!
I had some reference images spread out on the hotel floor and was worried they were going to get tidied up.
The final spread of the owl falling
In the finished pages you can see the mother hidden in the top left as her child is running around looking for her. The silhouettes of the running animals were inspired by the earlier work with the running birds.
The panoramic final scene is also based on the imagery from the earlier story
The final cover as it is now in English
Thank you to Chris for this fascinating insight into how the concept for a picture book develops and moves forward ending with the beautiful finished book!
We have more guest posts coming soon from Niamh Sharkey and David Lucas and an exciting competition to win books including a mystery prize so stayed tuned to the Picture Book Picnic!