About the Process: Layering and Layout

As I prepare my book dummy for Dolphins Don't Eat Donuts I am realizing this book involves a lot of layering and layout.  ABC Healthy had a very simple layout where I used only one watercolor painting for each page and I had a simple white (transparent) background.  I did not need to worry if my work would fit on each page.  I have been designing Dolphins Don't Eat Donuts by painting two images for each page.  I am using both acrylic and watercolor paintings: acrylic for the animal and watercolor for the background.  The pages will be full bleed.  The color will have to extend past the page line to ensure there are no funny white edges

I scan two paintings for one image.  I then work in Photoshop and Illustrator to combine the image.  This gives me the freedom of moving my animals around and changing the size of my animals.  I then have to put the combined image in InDesign where I am creating my layout for my book dummy and layer it with the text.  As I started laying out my images and text I have begun to see new avenues for Dolphoins Don't Eat Donuts.  I am imagining a positive ending with extra illustrations to encourage children to eat healthy and live healthy. 

Book making is truly a process.  It is an art in itself.  It involves taking multiple mediums and marrying them together.  I am filled with excitement and look forward to what Dolphins Don't Eat Donuts will become.  Here is a sample of the process.