Illustrating The Yellow Tutu, Part 10

Margo's first reaction is surprise. I tried here to show her feeling tiny, exposed and alone for a moment, buckled with shock.


I manipulated some of my sketches, including this one, in Photoshop. Here, I scanned in a watercolor wash, and added it as a layer below the drawing. I then double-clicked the drawing layer, and changed the mode to "multiply." This separated the lines in the drawing from their white background, and let the layer beneath show through. I love me some multiply mode.

Illustrating The Yellow Tutu, Part 9

Margo's imagination comes clashing into her classmates' group think. A couple of kids take the opportunity to bully and insult her. The left-to-right dynamic here is all against Margo. I tried to show her straining against it physically, with all her might.

Illustrating The Yellow Tutu, Part 8

Still walking, now in the real world, Margo wonders what her classmates will think. This spread has another of my favorite lines from the text: "Would they think she was the actual sun and not look straight at her because they wouldn't want to hurt their eyes?" Margo clearly has the other kids' attention by now. Their opinion of her fashion choice remains to be seen.

Illustrating The Yellow Tutu, Part 7

One of my favorite lines in The Yellow Tutu is, "Would the pavement heat up when she walked by, warmed by the brilliance of her rays?" But, loving the idea is one thing; trying to depict it is another. How does one visually express hot pavement in a way that might interest kids? I went with a klatch of squirrels, wringing that sunny spot for all it's worth.



I placed those words in the grass above the squirrels, and the following text above and below the peeking Margo.



No bikinis on the squirrels in the final version. I gave up trying to reconcile scanty swimwear with a coat of fur.

Illustrating The Yellow Tutu, Part 6

Margo has decided to go to school with the tutu on her head. As she sets out, she imagines the effect her sunny headwear might have on her surroundings. In this spread and the next, I depicted her imaginary walk to school, rather than her real one. Here, she wonders "if she would make the flowers grow because she looked just like the sun." She moves from left to right, toward the next page, flowers growing huge in her wake.



Note: I ditched the bluebells from the sketch, to emphasize vertical growth.

Illustrating The Yellow Tutu, Part 5

Margo gets ready for school. The bear and ribbon anchor her back in her home setting, after all that dancing against blank backgrounds. They keep the story tied to the first spread, and give an added sense of her whimsy. The bear's gaze and the direction of the ribbon maintain the dynamic from left to right, and the focus on Margo's actions.

Illustrating The Yellow Tutu, Part 4

Margo realizes she'd look more like the sun if she wore the tutu on her head. Singing "I Am My Sunshine" (to the tune of "You Are My Sunshine"), she dances off stage left, and on to the next page.


While I decided where the text would go in each spread, the art department took care of type design, consulting me along the way. This spread only had text on the left page.