B is for Bigfoot - Countdown

Suz at the Mac laying out the book.

Last winter my foundation drawing teacher in college suggested I do something with my art, like a children's book. I think this drawing of the Princess and the Pea is what may be why she brought it up. Whatever the case, I took her advice and started working on drawings for an alphabet book. 

Pencil drawings for "B is for Bigfoot." See the letter B.

My process started with pencil drawings, traced in ink on a light table. Then I applied color and shading with colored pencils. Once scanned I did a little digital touching up here and there.

We used Prismacolor colored pencils to add color to the ink drawings.

During the summer Matt and I decided to collaborate on our writing and this fall we really started to pour-on-the-coal with "B is for Bigfoot" for release in December. I've spent many lunch breaks at Barbacoa with my sketchbook creating the letters, sharing the table with a bowl of chicken soup and corn chips.

I re-drew my giant robot drawing to include in the book.

Read "B is for Banana Bread (and Bigfoot)" a snapshot from October when I was working on
the cover drawing. I posted some pics along with my favorite banana bread recipe.

Applying colored pencil to the ink cover drawing of the sunflower that frames the ABC's.

It was nice to have Matt help me with the poems with his cracker-jack writing skills! (if you haven't read his Cora Frost novellas, I hope you'll look them up! They're spine-tingling, spooky, and an interesting spin on the late 1800s and spiritualism. Read more about the series. You can read Cora Frost: The Fasting Spider for free on the Kindle and Nook.) Matt's also been helping as colorist on some of the illustrations. (Check out what he did with "W is for Werewolf" for example, it turned out really cute!)

The cover work in progress.

The last letters have been scanned and the book is in it's final edit. The eBook will be published to Kindle and Nook later this week. Fabled Garden Press is a small digital press that's very grass roots. We hope you'll share B is for Bigfoot with your friends and help us get the word out!

Most of all we hope that this book will help share worldwide myths and legends with children at an early age and open a conversation about the creatures, the cultures they come from in a fun and colorful way!

B is for Bigfoot will make a great eGift that you can always have with you on your mobile phone or mobile device. Read it at bedtime, on-the-go, even when you're out camping next summer!

Take care, Suz