Zipping and Shipping
2026 March Roundup
It has been a long time since I “shipped” a larger project. The past few years have been spent starting pitches or completing small, one-off images. I haven’t sent a project to print since my first self-published book through Kindle Direct Publishing. And that book is a great marker of where I’ve come from, but I feel my work has improved ten-fold since then.
This month I got it in my head that my son needed a custom book for his birthday (…April!). He is turning 3 and absolutely loves reading books, with and without help. I loved the idea of a short book with language he understands, a story he’s very familiar with, and images he can relate to…so he could eventually read (memorize) it himself! I wrote a small board book about a typical day in his life, which he’d be the first to call “a good day”. He’s the funniest, jolliest guy I know and I hope he loves this creation.
I’ll share some sketches and process now, but you’ll have to wait until next month to see some final spreads until the physical book arrives (hopefully before his birthday!)
I “stole” the color palette from a gift bag. I have no shame in my super elegant sources of inspiration.
Spoiler Alert: I’m not one of those “beautiful sketchers”… My ideas are about 2 inches big and usually illegible to other people. Below you’ll see how the sketches are refined and evolve into color comps, super tight drawings, and contrast maps.
I’m eagerly awaiting the finished product in the mail and can’t wait to share it!
This month I also “zipped” a little project for my best friend’s daughter’s birthday: a coloring page! We made one last year and it was so fun. I’ll keep making them yearly as they’ll let me…even if I’m the only one that colors it!
I’ve got a busy month ahead but I’m hoping to carve some time to write and draw!