I’ve been a designer for quite a while now, and in the last half decade with a heavy emphasis on publications, but illustrations were always more of a hobby and something fun I did for myself. When Brianna was ready to get her book, YiaYia’s Kitchen, from manuscript to reality, she wanted to work with with people that she could really connect with and would really be able to bring her story to life, so a friend recommended she come talk to me and Autumn (a-lit partners). I’ll be honest and say on our first conversation I was terrified. I was excited and I really really really hoped she’d want to work with us, but deep down I was also having doubts and some serious case of imposter syndrome. But Brianna was firm, she wanted me to illustrate, she didn’t want me to find and art direct someone else.
On Easter weekend, Autumn and I sat in my kitchen with donuts and lots of scrap paper to storyboard YiaYia’s kitchen and started giving shape to this book.
Hey, the storyboard portion wasn’t pretty. It was fast and quick jotting down ideas on paper and draw some stick figures to give Brianna na idea of the direction we were going with. Some spreads ended up completely different from the storyboard to the final product, and some stayed exactly the same.
After we had Brianna’s approval on the storyboard, it was my turn to shape up and get a first illustration done to make sure I was still the right person to do this—and also for me to see if this was something I really wanted to do. The first illustration I did, was from the first spread. It turned out so good, we even made it the cover. It was just so sweet and a perfect representation of what little Koukla and her YiaYia (Greek for Grandma) were like. This illustration was the moment I finally got over my imposter syndrome and got really pumped for this project.
I had a really busy summer ahead of me, so the next stage came in slowly. I wanted to take some time to get some other drawings done and warmed up for the book. I signed up for a character illustration course online and did a ton of exercises to get the lines loose and my style figured out. I also got a bunch of expressions for our main characters on paper: I wanted to get to know them better this way. It was really fun to put it together and I wish I could have used every face in the story! Koukla, especially, was a really silly girl.
The style Brianna wanted was a very casual one, with the pencil lines very obvious. I mixed that idea with a little bit of watercolor textures on backgrounds and large areas, and classic comic book style of coloring (personally, my favorite part).
Then September, October, and part of November were spent getting all other illustrations drawn and colored and into book format! The ending there was kind of a whirlwind, and I worked on this book almost every day for two months! But hey, it’s worth it. Now, as I am writing this, the book was just sent off to its first test print (I am hoping to come back to this post and update it and publish once the book is officially out and for sale). I can’t wait to see it in person! Seeing your work printed is one of the coolest experiences.
When we sent the book to its first test print run, Brianna emailed me ti say how emotional it was to see it sent off to the printers: “You've helped me bring something to life that I have been working on for almost 20 years.” And this is why I love doing what I do: because I can help people bring to life their stories, be it by illustrations or putting a cover and words together beautifully on a page. It’s a privilege and an honor.
You can purchase the books on Etsy.
