One of the most crucial roles I assumed throughout production of my children’s book was that of Art Director. There is an art to choosing an illustrator whose skills most perfectly match the assignment. In Nicola Sammarco, I had hired an extremely talented artist, and now I had to learn to walk the fine line between effectively conveying my vision while also allowing him to infuse his own creativity into the story. That was not easy; these characters were my babies and I had a specific idea of how I wanted all of this to look. The process took a lot of trust, and much to Nicola’s credit–between my verbose descriptions and rough sketches–he always understood exactly what I was going for. His final artwork nearly always exceeded my expectations.
(my rough sketch)
(my illustrator, Nicola Sammarco's, interpretation of my sketch)
(Nicola's final rough sketch)
(final 2-page color version of the illustration by Nicola Sammarco)
(changes for the digital 3D Dozi the Alligator sculpt by Shane Olson.
Figuring out how Dozi should look from all sides was not easy!)
Figuring out how Dozi should look from all sides was not easy!)
