5.18.2015

Cover Story: Creating new DOG DIARIES cover art!

I just recently finished some new cover art for a paperback edition of Dog Diaries (Henry Holt, 2007). It doesn't officially published until April 2016... but it's a popular choice with school visits and I'm very excited to have a paperback version in the mix.

Why a new cover? Well, as much as the good folks at Holt (and hopefully the authors!) liked the first cover, they actually liked the cover of Cat Diaries (see below) just a little bit better. Since there will be a simultaneous paperback release of both books, the art department wanted to create a "companion" cover of sorts that was a little more focused on a single dog.

Just like the original, the new cover was painted with watercolor, ink, and colored pencil. Scroll below for a glimpse of the process -- from early sketches and options to final art -- and I'll remind you again when the books are available next spring :)

LOTS of sketches... some pencil and some digital.

And then revisions to the consensus pick of the Macmillam Art Department and on to final sketches...
...and then the final art :) A little mock-up here on my part, but it should be pretty close in the final version.

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