CHILDREN'S FICTION
the
PROJECT
Creator / Illustrator / Writer
July 8th, 2016. North Palmetto Point, Eleuthera, Bahamas. After an eventful day, herding conch and exploring overgrown jungle trails, I helped lull our then 8-month old son to sleep, by recounting his adventures of the day. That night, while savoring some local cane rum under a star speckled sky, I knew that I wanted to share my narrative with a much greater audience.
Storytelling
Illustration
Character Development
Creative Production
Lars running with his favorite plush, Piggy...
... the spirited sidekick in his slumber-land adventures.
Lars running with his favorite plush, Piggy...
my ROLE
My son has inspired me to illustrate and author a series of travel themed children's stories. I handle all art, narrative and marketing.
Responsibilities: Character design, illustration, storytelling and creative direction / ownership of young children's fiction.
Adobe Photoshop CC
Adobe Illustrator CC
Microsoft Office 365
piggy
& LARS
Piggy has been Lars' life-long companion - is just a few months shy of 3 years. When out and about during his waking hours, Lars takes Piggy everywhere. In my bedtime stories Piggy comes to life in Lars' dreams. While they are tucked in for the night in his little bed, Lars and Piggy embark upon fantastic adventures in slumber-land.
MODEL SHEET
LARS
PIGGY
LARS
PRIMARY PALETTE
PIGGY
Skin
#F7C2A7
Hair
#D6BE76
Shirt
#CF3D0C
Pants
#4D7284
Shoes
#2D363D
Skin
#FFCED4
Hands
#2F435E
SECONDARY CHARACTERS
Little Lars' Bedtime Adventures -
The Great Fish Fry
On location - Eleuthera, Bahamas
Eleuthera Island cab service Tabby
Blue-tailed Lizard Palmetto Bluff
island-farm hand
North Island ferry Bahama Oriole
crew member
Governor's Harbour fish-fry Halloween Crab BBQ pit master
Queen Conch fish monger, Tarpon Bay street-stand
SAMPLE SECONDARY CAST
the
STORY
The story begins with a little boy, in this case, Lars, drifting off to sleep in a cozy bed - only to be rallied awake, in his dream, by his favorite plush animal, eager to whisk him away into a fantastic adventure. In a dream realm devoid of grown-ups (or any other human), Lars and his trusted travel companion revisit memorable locations while interacting with the indigenous wild-life along the way. As the story draws to a close, Lars is fast asleep, surrounded by Piggy and the mementos of the day's exploits.
the
STORY
The story begins with a little boy, in this case, Lars, drifting off to sleep in a cozy bed - only to be rallied awake, in his dream, by his 2 favorite plush animals, eager to whisk him away into a fantastic adventure. In a dream realm devoid of grown-ups (or any other human), Lars and his trusted travel companions revisit memorable locations while interacting with the indigenous wild-life along the way. As the story draws to a close, Lars is fast asleep, surrounded by his 2 plush friends and mementos of the day's exploits.
mood
BOARD
colored illustration for story page - driving across Eleuthera
colored illustration for story page - shopping at the island farm
colored illustration for story page - boarding watertaxi
colored illustration for story page - driving across Eleuthera
the
SCOPE
I am currently working on 3 stories - at varying stages of completion - in the Little Lars' Bedtime Adventures (this title is tentative) series; on location on Eleuthera, Bahamas (sampled in this case study), the Inside Passage, Southeast Alaska, and historic Savannah, Georgia. Alongside the unique sites and experiences from our travels with Lars, I draw inspiration from some of my favorite childhood storytellers; Windsor McCay (Little Nemo in Slumberland) and Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbs).
In regards to my workflow, I sketch each page, along with secondary character designs, based on a loose outline (or shot list). All final compositions are colored digitally. I work on the text after the rough illustrations are complete, adapting and embellishing the words to each specific layout.