Saved!!!
Written by Lydia Williams and published by Allen and Unwin 2019
“A wonderfully positive book for Indigenous and non Indigenous kids alike. Lydia’s commitment to finding a sport is empowering for all those who find some sports out of their reach, while endeavouring to find one that suits them shows courage and determination. Accompanied by humorous pencil and watercolour illustrations, readers will enjoy watching the various animals play the sport at which they excel, while eager eyes will note the variety of animals and flora portrayed and become aware of some of the animals’ attributes.”
I had a great time illustrating this fun, warm and empowering story by talented footballer Lydia Williams, goalkeeper for the Matildas. And so did my son Joe! The story is set in Australia’s outback, and so I was able to nab some of the beautiful watercolours he had done for school and incorporate them into my illustrations.
Like this!
And this!
Here are some of my early character sketches for ‘little’ Lydia’ and for the main animal characters Emu, Kangaroo and Koala. Everyone on the team needs to be happy with the characters and the general feel of the illustrations before I start on the storyboard.
Research… who knew roo feet looked like this close up? (usually, I’m too busy gazing into their huge brown eyes…)
Research : South Australia holiday 2004
Research : Orminston Gorge, Northern Territory 2019 (no filter needed)
The next step is the storyboard. I usually do a digital lay-up of the whole storyboard to check pacing (even though it can be a bit fiddly).
For ‘Saved!!!’ I did a black and white storyboard, then digital coloured roughs before moving onto the final illustrations.
Stage 1: Black and white rough
Stage 2: coloured rough (still needs some refining)
Illustrating ‘Saved!!!’ was a happy process, with lots of positive input and no difficult last minute changes. Thank you Team Lydia! Here are some of my favourite bits below (look out for Joe’s watercolours):
