Grrr! This is the part I dislike the most – spending 3 days trying to work out a composition. Somewhere in those scribbles lies the answer (which I’ve since figured out).

It’s been really hot recently, which hasn’t helped the work process. But at the end of each frustrating drawing day, I took myself down to the ocean and went for a swim, and tried to solve the drawing in my head while I bobbed in the waves. Getting out of the studio like that helps me think of things in a different way. Thinking about the illustration while I’m swimming helps me not think about how dark the water is and what might be swimming around underneath me.

I’m still working on the final drawings for the current book. I’m working on four spreads at a time and have planned to bleed each spread into the next which makes for some challenging transitions. I found Child’s Easle Roll at my local art supply store and it works great for the long drawings. It’s a roll of cartridge paper but it’s the perfect depth to allow me the dimensions for my artwork plus a bit of sketching room at the top while not being to deep as to completely cover my desk space. As I go along I roll up the bit of drawing I’ve finished.

As an aside, I’ve been following James Gurney’s blog for some time – I’d recommend it for anyone who’s interested in illustration. Recently he’s blogged his process, complete will little videos, for an illustration for a poster for the Utopiales festival in Nantes, France. His illustration took him 12 days, including 2 days to build a maquette for reference. This is part one of his process, make sure to click through them all to the end (there are 7 installments). Also, watch for the bird.