After I had finalised my storyboard sketches, it was time to create a digital-art version of them. I wanted to show any prospective publishers that I am professional and can create high quality, aesthetically pleasing artwork. As there were over 50 original sketches, I set myself a target of digitising five pages a week.
A couple of years ago, I received a digital art tablet for my birthday. I have used my tablet to create many pieces of artwork for various projects, such as wedding invitations, business logos, a book cover and concept art. It’s very different drawing on a digital art tablet compared to pen and paper and it takes a bit of getting used to. It really tests your hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness. Thankfully, the other early projects had really helped me to develop my skills and create art in a more modern way.
As I was still working full-time as a teacher at that point, I worked hard most evenings meticulously turning my rough sketches into colourful, vibrant images. Initially, I wasn’t sure what style I should use to colour the images so I drafted five copies of the same picture in different styles. I asked a small group of close family members to tell me which style they liked the best… the winner was unanimous.
It took several months to completely digitise the artwork to a level that I was happy with. Now that was done, I was moving on to the next part… writing the words.
