Shapes in the Sky is a children's book that focuses on grief, written and illustrated by me. The journey that Harriet goes on to understand death and grief is inspiring, and it is lovely to see her supported by her mam. The book shows loss and love as a silent, ongoing presence.
Sketches before colour
This project was long, running from January to May. Creating it was a very clear step-by-step process, starting with writing a story. This story is very moving and emotional, without being too harsh, considering it is written to help children and their emotions/feelings when it comes to losing a loved one. Inspired by some of the memories that happened when I was young, such as searching for conkers with my dad and the warmth of my mam after the loss of my dad.
Illustration with colour
After writing the story, my next step was to create a storyboard and character designs. Storyboarding is a really important part of the process; getting everything right at this stage makes the next stages go smoothly, reducing the chances of mistakes. Creating Harriet came easily after I figured out the correct style I wanted to draw in. Harriet its 5 years old, with curly brown hair and rosy cheeks. She struggles with the thought of losing her dad and growing up without him around, not being able to watch her play and draw. She learns throughout the book that her dad is still with her in her heart, and she can still feel his love.
My colour choice for the book was very intentional. I didn't want colours in there that were too bright due to the type of story it was. I felt that if I had put bright colours in there, the brightness would have been too distracting from the story and Illustrations. To give the book some more warmth, I chose a cream background, and I also printed the book pages on cream paper, which really added more of a comforting feeling.
