I spent a lot of time searching for an artist, many years in fact. I never thought in a million years I could draw the characters and pictures for my book by myself. Of course, I know the characters well and have thought about them continuously for over a decade. I decided to try my hand at an illustration for the first time in 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like most times when I\u2019m truly inspired, I was on vacation in Puerto Rico, visiting family and friends. Of course, the island was locked down the day after I arrived. We were confined to our yard except to buy groceries and perform other essential tasks (groceries are the only excuse I can think of, though I\u2019m sure we could have left our house for a medical emergency or hopped on a plane). I was also laid off and had a few weeks to myself.<\/p>\n
So, I sat down at my computer, opened Photoshop, and began to sketch. I wanted to draw the scene when Campeon discovers the pirate ship in the hidden harbor. In my mind\u2019s eye, I could see the image of a small orange cat standing in a forest clearing, looking out at a pirate ship docked in a small bay. The first drawing took eight hours, but I was on the right track.<\/p>\n
Then, I decided to render the characters as I saw them. I did a few sketches in Procreate, which I used for Campeon, Captain Kitty, Cali, and Alfie. You can view many of the character sketches here<\/a>.<\/p>\n