My first published illustration...and how it all came together

I currently work as a Designer at Penguin Books in the Young Readers division, and luckily I was assigned to work on this cover. I began working on it in the spring of 2006. The book is very charming and special, and I was having a hard time deciding how it should look. I began wrestling with it, and bringing my comps and layouts to meetings, but the design just wasn't going anywhere. I began to feel connected to the book, and was frustrated that I couldn't find the right photo or illustration to suit the story or the main character. So, I began sketching out my own ideas hoping that something would click.

I was a bit nervous to cross over and try to become the illustrator and designer of this book, but I showed my sketches to my Art Director and Editor at a meeting, and they actually loved them. I worked the sketches into final art, and now I have my first published cover.