Book Sequence and Layouts

Step 4: Storyboards

Once I established the characters and their world, I began storyboarding. Like film or video, storyboards are used in the initial stages of writing and designing a children's picture book. They are a series of rough sketches to map out the basic plotline and layout of each spread in the book. Common children's book lengths are 16, 32, 40, or 48 pages, due to folded and gathered book spreads which yield four pages per sheet.

Step 5: Map

After completing rough storyboards, I created a map of the New England farmstead setting to ensure consistent placement of the landscape, buildings, and objects from multiple points of view in the scenes throughout the book.

Step 6: Book Prototype, or "Dummy"

Using my storyboards and maps as a guide, I began developing preliminary pencil sketches which I placed with the text in a book prototype, or dummy. Then, with the author, I read the book out loud multiple times to synchronize page turns with the rhythm and flow of the action. 

As with writing, the dummy goes through several revisions before arriving at the polished narrative, suitable for publication. In this stage, I also strengthened the illustration compositions to clarify action and heighten drama.

Book cover prototypes

Sketch prototypes