Challenge:
I was commissioned to design characters and illustrate for a passion project by Kent Wilson, who had this crazy idea to write a story about his family’s pets. The Wagging Tales of Shake & TJ is a collection of stories about friendship and found family. The characters each have a real-life counterpart, so Kent sent me photos of each animal to reference for the character designs.
I was commissioned to design characters and illustrate for a passion project by Kent Wilson, who had this crazy idea to write a story about his family’s pets. The Wagging Tales of Shake & TJ is a collection of stories about friendship and found family. The characters each have a real-life counterpart, so Kent sent me photos of each animal to reference for the character designs.
Process:
The character designs started as quick sketches, as I tried to capture the spirit of each pet (for better or worse) within their expressions, proportions, and body language. Once Kent approved the designs and coloring of each of the ten characters, I sent rough layout pencil sketches that were then imported into Procreate and used as references for the final colorized, digital illustrations.
The character designs started as quick sketches, as I tried to capture the spirit of each pet (for better or worse) within their expressions, proportions, and body language. Once Kent approved the designs and coloring of each of the ten characters, I sent rough layout pencil sketches that were then imported into Procreate and used as references for the final colorized, digital illustrations.
The final printed book contains ten full-page illustrations, title design, front and back cover imagery, and chapter marker illustrations. It was completed on time to be printed and given as a surprise Christmas gift to Kent’s fiancée. A grand gesture, and a family heirloom that I had the honor of bringing to life!
