All of the lettering on the cover of my new Monster Safari book is now finished. Today I will be working toward finishing the cover illustration. I will add in more background behind the creature and perhaps make some changes on the creature as well.
I have some issues with the little creature in the Pooka's grasp. When you're dealing with a young audience as I do, you have to be extra careful about any negative implications. Will the Pooka soon be including the helpless little creature on his lunch menu? Or are they best of friends? I will have to resolve that issue. Mothers are always very protective of what they expose their children to. A big monster eating a little monster might move the book from the "G" rated category into PG territory. It's frustrating to me, but that's the audience. Has Barney the Dinosaur ever gobbled up a smaller dinosaur on camera? I seriously doubt it. That's my audience.
The entire book, from the cover to the end is hand-lettered, with the exception of the ISBN page. I hand-lettered the very first book that I wrote and illustrated. It was called The Great Thistledown Flood. I was thrilled to learn that it became a Gold Medallion Honor Book, and I attended the Gold Medallion Awards in Denver, Colorado. That was a memorable night. Because of the painstaking hand-lettering, the book also introduced me to carpal tunnel syndrome.
The next post will reveal what I came up with for the cover art. It will either be the finished sketch, or the final art. Stay tuned.
