Making "Bee my Valentine's"

For the recent Valentine’s day I wanted to paint something cute that would be good for the ongoing ladybug series and as a colorful piece for social media and my portfolio. I touched upon some of my painting process in the last blog post and I wanted to show it in a simplified way that would hopefully help others who enjoy this art style.

Sketching

I often start on paper as I feel it brings out better ideas that on a tablet. My first thoughts were of a ladybug painting Valentine day cards, however I decided on including a bee to be her admirer and (I later switched up these roles as I felt that she would be the more dominant character)

Painting Process

I try to keep my workflow as simple as I can by taking on one stage at a time. The image below shows a rough view of this process.

1. Thumbnail Sketch

2. Line Art

3. Neutral Colors

4. Shadow

5. Light

6. Details

Painting the Bee

A - Spend time on the linework to avoid wasting time making changes later on.

B - Fill the area with color and lock “Transparent Pixels” (Layer Window) This gives you the freedom to stay within those boundaries.

C - Paint in the neutral colors. I went with orange/red for the notebook and tie to compliment the color of the ladybug

D - Added a hue/saturation with a layer mask to darken everything (I personally like the work from dark to light) and paint in the shadow areas.

E - Focus on the light source and start painting in the lighter areas. Sometimes I will use a soft light layer or overlay, however in this case it weas a normal layer

F - Build up the colors slowly. Highlights need to stand out in contrast with whats beside it so avoid making everything too light.

G - I fill in a color dodge layer with pure black and lock it to the main painting. Then use a grey on the mask layer to enchance their vibrancy.

Thank you for reading and let me know in the comments if you have any questions or if there is anything you would like to see more of in future blog posts.

Making "Petey Perfectpants and the Silly Sock Puppet Problem"

Making "Petey Perfectpants and the Silly Sock Puppet Problem"

I had the good fortune to work on"Petey Perfectpants and the Silly Sock Puppet Problem" with Jimmy Vee, who is a great author and stand up guy. Jimmy has spent many years in the field of ventriloquism (something I definitely lack the skills in) and because of this it had inspired him to make a book about a boy becoming friends with a sock puppet. We were also given a lot of support from Melinda Martin, whose experience in publishing really helped get the book to higher professional level.

STORY

The book is about a smart, kind, and well-mannered boy who has achieved a lot. However, it seems that he lacks the joy of having friends. Because of this, he decides to make his own friend in the form of a sock puppet. However, after deciding that it looks too silly, he throws it away—only for it to appear on his hand in the morning as he sits in an unusually messy room. Following this, the puppet leads Petey on a journey of silly and messy antics, ultimately helping him reconnect with other students and find true friends.

MY THOUGHTS

When choosing a book to illustrate, I have to enjoy the story if I am to do it justice in my own style. When I read the first draft of this book, I loved the contrast between the main character and the puppet causing havoc around him. The story felt original and had a heartwarming theme, focusing on finding a friend. Having a young child myself, I try to find stories that I would want to read to him—stories that teach and guide, but also help him understand that being silly is okay.

GETTING STARTED (Character Design)

After reading the copy many times over, I thought about the character’s key attributes:

• Kind

• Smart

• Tidy

• Socially Awkward (?)

I started sketching out ideas for the design of the main character and his sock puppet sidekick. I finally came up with five main designs for Petey, of which I initially felt like "A" was the strongest. However, after discussions with the author and reviewing the designs again, we decided that "B" would be the most suitable. If you feel like leaving a comment, I’d be curious to know which design you would have gone with.

From there, I set about finalizing his design and the choice of colors. The design of the head in the initial sketch felt a bit too long, which made the character look slightly older than what I wanted to go for. I also wanted to keep the color scheme balanced while still being colorful, ultimately going with red, green, and blue. I wanted Petey’s colors to both contrast with and feel similar to those of the puppet, to emphasize their conflict and connection.

For the design of the puppet, I wanted it to mirror Petey but be more representative of his playful side. I didn’t want to go too far with its design, but it had to stand out and be something that a young, smart boy would be capable of making. To test out the final design, I even built my own sock puppet. However, it unfortunately literally fell apart before I could write this blog.

THUMBNAILING

While designing the characters, I also begin doodling some rough thumbnail sketches of the story to start building the foundation. I always find that the beginning of illustrating a book is both exciting and daunting, as it is a blank canvas with multiple pages. However, once the framework is in place, things start to flow much more smoothly.

I do a lot of my thumbnailing on paper, but in most cases, it’s hard for an outside observer to decipher what’s going on. After that, I take it to Photoshop to solidify the ideas a bit more. Here is a sample of a few designs I had for some of the spreads. Once I am happy with a design, I refine it further (2nd image) and then create an even more detailed line drawing before painting the final image (3rd image).

Thumbnail Stage 1

Thumbnailing Stage 2

Final Illustration

PAINTING PROCESS

Once I have most of the story laid out, I generally start working from spread 1 and usually move numerically from there. However, sometimes I jump around a bit if I get stuck on an idea. Everyone’s painting process is different, and my methods are by no means the best way—it’s simply what works for me. That said, I’m always looking for ways to improve both the quality and speed of my work.

To show an example of my own process, I will use the first page as an example. The text on this spread was:

Petey was perfect in every way possible.

His room was pristine.

His manners were impeccable.

And his grades were perfection.

The only thing Petey wasn’t perfect at was making friends.

When he played games, Petey always followed the rules perfectly.

When he ate lunch, Petey always used his napkin properly.

On picture day he always dressed professionally.

But the other kids just said, “You’re too perfect, Petey Perfectpants!”

I wanted the first image of Petey to showcase him in front of all his achievements, allowing the reader to quickly become familiar with the main character. The second page would then highlight how he compared to other children at his school.

I began with a thumbnail sketch of Petey and then refined it further. Once the line work was ready, I painted in the base colors (1), focusing on background colors that would complement Petey’s tones. Next, I added shadows and built up the colors (2), and finally, I refined the details in both the background and Petey’s clothing (3).

Originally, I planned to place the illustration within a circular frame, but I later changed it to a photo-style design to better match the illustrations on the following page. This required adding more details to the background—something that could have saved time had I decided earlier. Once the background was complete, I slightly faded it by overlaying a layer of white, drawing more focus to Petey.

Painting Petey Perfectpants

In my initial concept for this spread, I wanted the supporting photographs to fill page 2. However, I later realized that the large amount of text required me to adjust the layout to make everything fit. By painting the photographs in a separate file, I was able to easily resize and reshape them, which saved a lot of time.

Placing the text correctly is just as important as creating strong illustrations, so planning the layout in the early stages is crucial.

Supporting Petey “Pootographs”

Throughout the rest of the book, I mostly followed this process: thumbnails, line work, base colors, and then adding details. I kept my client updated during key checkpoints, using Zoom calls and emails to ensure we were all on the same page. This helped us avoid major revisions and allowed us to discuss how the book was progressing.

I believe this approach helps build a strong working relationship. Personally, I think it’s important to know who you’re working with and to have open communication. However, I understand that some illustrators and authors prefer a less social approach—each to their own.

For this book, there was an adjustment to the final spread toward the end of the project (something I prefer to avoid), which led to it being split into two parts. Fortunately, because we had good communication, we were able to resolve it quickly.

If you have any questions about my illustration process, Petey, or are interested in working with me on a future book, feel free to leave a comment or send me a message through my contact form.

I hope you find some of this information helpful, whether you’re an author, illustrator, or simply a reader who loves Petey Perfectpants!

Gary Wilkinson's Illustration Blog

Hi there! I’m Gary Wilkinson, a children’s book illustrator based in Japan, passionate about bringing stories to life through art. Having collaborated with talented writers like Jay Miletsky (Mr. Jay) and Jimmy Vee, and after working on the best-selling Patrick Picklebottom series, I wanted to share my thoughts and processes on working in the freelance illustration field.

Here on my blog, I’ll be sharing behind-the-scenes insights into my creative process—from character design to book collaborations—as well as advice, inspiration, and the adventures of working in the world of children’s publishing.

Whether you’re an aspiring illustrator, a fellow artist, or simply someone who loves children’s books, I hope you find something here that sparks your creativity. Feel free to explore, leave comments, and join me on this artistic journey!

Thanks for stopping by, and happy reading!

– Gary