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Illustrating a children’s book • Part 1: Discovering of the project
Illustrating a children’s book may seem simple, but the reality is quite different. Several months ago, I began working on a “big” project: an illustrated children’s book titled The Adventures of the Teenies Weenies. Now that it’s finished, I am so pleased to present it to you. I want to create a series of posts to take you along with me on this long journey, sharing each step, my challenges, successes, and advice. Discovering of the project Like most of my projects, this one came to me through my network. Someone was looking for an illustrator to bring to life the texts his grandmother had written about forty years ago.…
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What if we could stop setting “good” resolutions for the New Year?
The beginning of the year often rhymes with “good” resolutions. I have always found it quite challenging to stick to promising to do or not do something because it often came with a heavy sense of guilt on the days when I couldn’t keep my promises. In The Four Agreements, there is this motto that says “Always do your best” with the nuance that the best is not the same as the better. The best, for me, is doing what we can with the energy of the moment. Some days, my best is finishing my projects, taking a walk, cooking with the children, doing gym… and then another day, my…
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How do I create a magazine cover?
I love magazines that combine the beauty of illustrations with subjects that are dear to me. Respire magazine, Open Mind, and Flow magazines are on this list, surrounded by many others. Inspired by their work, which I find magnificent, I felt like creating my magazine cover using my illustrations. This gives them a new dimension that I adore. Here is the beginning of my process: I painted my character following an autumnal color code. The lines were done in ink with a dip pen and the colors were in watercolor. With the completed character, my next step is to find and arrange the perfect composition to showcase the illustration. And…
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Did you ever play with Paper Dolls?
I have always played a lot with dolls, but what I loved was inventing stories and preparing my dolls. Once these steps were completed, I didn’t feel like playing anymore. One day, my parents took away my dolls for some reason I can’t quite remember. I felt empty and needed to release all those stories bubbling inside me. So, I remember drawing them on paper, cutting them out, and feeling relieved because I could once again immerse myself in that universe. Indeed, drawing has never been an end in itself for me, but only a step in creation. Drawing allows me and still allows me, to then play with my…
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In the middle of the storm, Remember to Breathe
Did you have a good weekend? We’re almost at the end of August, and it’s as if I didn’t even see it go by! It’s incredible how it flies by. I’m working on a new children’s book talking about yoga, nature, and meditation. The characters are magic creatures, living in the middle of the forest, but I’ll say more about this project in the future. Anyway, I wanted to remind myself to “breathe.” 💨 especially when everything goes crazy! So I’ve prepared this wallpaper for my phone using one of my illustrations for the children’s book project. And every time I use my phone, I see this small and kind…
