"El verano en que llegaron los lobos "
Patricia García-Rojo Cantón / Gran Angular Prize 2023, Grupo SM
Spanish only.
Es difícil encajar en un pueblo de pájaros cuando eres un ciervo.
El verano que vi luces en la isla, yo esperaba muchas cosas. Algunas grandes y otras pequeñas. Esperaba que mi padre aceptase que quería irme del pueblo; esperaba que Samuel bajase a la playa; esperaba que Alicia y Clara me viesen tal y como era, y no como querían que fuera; esperaba encajar de alguna manera, aunque fuese para despedirme…
Cover illustration process!
1/
In first place, I read the text carefully and took notes as the story progressed: what was the role of each character in the story, what were the most outstanding elements…. And I carefully reviewed the references sent to me by the author and the art director. Then I made these quick notes!
2/
I shaped all those notes and ideas into a more defined sketch, and sent it to the art director justifying my decisions and explaining each element. We agreed that the deer ears would stay, but hiding them a bit.
3/
Afterwards, I prepared a sketch with the colors I intended to use: warm, vivid colors reminiscent of summer and nature. At first I had opted for cooler colors, but it is a book full of energy and light, and it seemed to me that they were not appropriate, so I sent another version (the one you see above) before getting a response! Once approved, I went on to work on the final illustration.
4/
This was somewhere in between the sketch and the final illustration. I was shaping the characters and the birds, and trying to find a point that I liked. In Ana’s figure there were still many changes to be made.
5/
Illustration finished and approved 🙂