Aug. 18, 2025 - New Characters Evolve

For the last few days I've focused on the evolution of Devaro, the wizard, from my children's picture book A MOST CURIOUS MAGICAL TALE. The original Devaro was part of a genealogy program I developed in the '90s. Below you can see what he looked like originally on the left, and how he evolved to the pencil sketch in the middle and finally, the image on the right, which I just finished this morning. I'll use this image as the guide as I work on the illustrations for the book. As you can see, I've kept the main features and added a few new ones, like the pose, trousers, a tip on the cap, and foot positions.

The next character I plan to work on is Bruce the Spruce - an elemental who plays a key role in the story. He wasn't part of the genealogy program, but rather one of a series of paintings I did about trees as elementals. I have a copy of the original painting on canvas. I'll work with that to help me expand the character and create views from different perspectives.

The final character to create is a little girl named Taylor. That will be developed from scratch, so will require several preliminary sketches.

Once I've finished all the characters, I'll create a storyboard. My grandsons, ages 8 and 11, having been guiding me in terms of the types of illustrations they would prefer to see in the book. Their help has been extremely valuable and I appreciate their input!

Best wishes always...

P.S. Welcome to my blog! My intention is to keep followers up to date on my latest writing adventures. My current focus is on fiction genres including children's picture books and YA/NA historical romanticies. I'm also preparing to write an epic fantasy for the young adult audience. As a debut author I face all the challenges of breaking into the traditional publishing market. I need your interest and support to do so! Please consider following me here and on other social media platforms, which you can access on the Home page of my author's web site. I'll be adding more in the weeks to come so please check back from time to time. Thank you so much, in advance, for following my blog. You are potentially helping me enrich the lives of future readers. I just need this break to attract my first agent representation! Your efforts will make all the difference! Thank you once again.