Sketch, sketch, sketch…
“Sketching is key – the most important process,” says Rohan Eason, who’s illustrated children’s storybooks and young-adult novels. “I produce a story board with the simplest scribbles and from this I make a first round of sketches. The client will see these and hopefully agree with my choice of images. I then make more detailed second-round sketches, with fully developed characters and environments. If the client is happy, I may re-sketch individual pieces many more times, until I’m happy with the composition and characters. Sketching is the best place to work everything out. I redraw again and again, until it’s a smudgy mess, and from that I retrace for the final piece.”