I’m delighted and honored to have Tommy Doyle, the illustrator for my newest picture book LITTLE EWE (Beaming Books, 2021), here today to share the creative process behind his wonderful illustrations. After he describes his process, enjoy a nice selection of several early sketches and their final colored counterparts. Take it away, Tommy!
Thank you, Laura, for giving me the opportunity to talk about my process for Little Ewe. I immediately identified with Little Ewe when I read the story and I loved how children can also learn counting throughout her journey.
The first thing I do when I start a new book, is read the script and the notes a couple of times over a few days so my brain starts creating pictures in my head.
One of the first thing that stood out was that there was another part of the story that was just as important as Little Ewe, her environment. Knowing that made me realise I had to do a good visual research to help me gather all the inspiration I needed. So before starting on the pencils, I went on several image banks and gathered pictures related to each of Little Ewe’s encounter.
I then spent a couple of days on my iPad Pro sitting on the couch creating the storyboard. Once the storyboard was approved, I moved onto the colouring part.
I also wanted the reader to visually feel the mood and emotions of each spread as they got further into the story. There are a lot of fun moments but also some moments where you can feel that sense of distress. I wanted to have each moment as strong as each other so that in the end we really feel that moment of resolution and joy.
You did a wonderful job, Tommy! I love each and every spread and so do the little ones I have shared the story with at school visits. I especially love how you use color to capture the varying moods on each spread. The result is fantastic. Thank you, again, for sharing your process.
Now let’s enjoy a sampling of pencil sketches and final art. Can you spot any differences? Enjoy!
ABOUT TOMMY DOYLE: Tommy is a Senior Illustrator and graphic designer based in Melbourne, Australia. Originally from Montreal, Qc Canada, he now resides in Australia.He’s worked in the industry for over 20 years. Illustration is a big passion of his and he finds it is an effective and creative way to communicate a message or an emotion. His work is bold and rich in simplicity. He loves playing with shapes and textures, mixing digital and traditional mediums. Learn more about Tommy at https://www.tommydoyle.com
Everything starts with a line, doesn’t it? I LOVE seeing the process
Yes, I hadn’t thought of it that way before but everything does start with a line. Lovely!