All the Things Lenore is Not
A personal creative project I used to enter and win 1st place in the
SCBWI MI 2025 Illustration Mentorship Program
“Tell me what she looks like and I’ll search far and near.”
Gigi furrowed her brow, her wrinkles wrinkled as wrinkly as they would go. She thought real long and hard. She started to glow!
Finally she said with some buoyancy, “I don't remember. But if I saw her, I am sure I would know.”
Outside we found plenty of animals! Could one of these be Lenore?
“Look Gigi, here.” (granddaughter catches a clown fish)
“Nope”
“Ok, how about this one?” (sand dollar)
“Certainly not.”
“Is this your pet?” (pufferfish)
“Couldn’t be.”
Then it came to me, a brilliant idea! “Tell me what Leanor is not. We can work from there!”
“So smart, my minnow. ” She shined in glee, and began pointing out animals exuberantly.
how it starts
Since this was my very first children’s book, it was also my first time tackling a full book layout.
Below, you can see how one of those early doodles grew
into a more polished illustration.
grandma mermaid
One of the main characters in my story is inspired by my late grandmother.
You might have already read a bit about her on another page where I show one of my favorite illustrations ever!
If not, feel free to check that HERE!
In this design I have combined some of my grandmother's most endearing traits, with her love of the color purple,
to create a perfectly silly, memorable character.
