Why it Takes so Long: The Book Jacket

In mid-May, my plan of attack looked like this:

• 4 pencil drawings awaiting feedback,
• 11 drawings ready to be inked and then painted,
• 9 inked drawings in the process of being painted.

Then, all of a sudden, the publisher needed sketches for the book jacket--a thing I hadn't even begun to think about. It was a steep learning curve for me, full of back-and-forth, hurry-up-and-wait, and it's not over yet! But so far, the process has gone roughly like this:

Pencil Sketches


Ideas for the Endpapers

A Jacket Sketch with an "Active" Feeling


A Jacket Sketch with a "Quieter" Theme


Now we wait for feedback from the sales and marketing team. In the meantime, I've gone back to my previously scheduled plan: inking, painting, inking, painting...and pausing once in a while to touch base with you. Thanks for keeping me company on this long journey!

(P.S. Were you surprised by the shape of the book jackets? They're designed to wrap around the whole book, and they include those flaps that fold inside the front and back covers to hold the jacket in place. That's why they look so long and skinny.)