I always like to see how other artists and illustrators work so I thought I'd show how I work in the studio.
These are the first two smaller Productions Boards I had when working on PEARL and PEARL'S LOST PEARLS.
This is the Main Production Board right above my drawing board.  As I'm working I can pin sketches, layouts, character studies, notes, etc. as I'm working on any given project.
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I love drawing Pearl!   This was a little exercise playing with her head position.
In many ways I work like an animator.  I sketch the Key Character on a piece of paper and then trace the character onto vellum or tracing paper making changes to head of body position as needed.   This way I can keep the character's proportions consistent throughout a book project.
Here are a few of the pages in the dummy for Pearl's Lost Pearls.  I like to see the progression of the sequence of events so this method allows me to see eight pages at a time in order to keep track of layouts and story progression.
Here are a few of the dummy page layouts for Pearl.
Once I have the layouts and the dummy for a book worked out I will proceed to doing colour studies.   My editor and book designer like to see just how the finished art is going to look..
This is a colour study for Pupper and the Fireflies.
Many years ago I created a series of notecards that were illustrated front and back as well as on the inside.   This card is a tri-fold card that has cut-out figures, animals, and woven paper pockets to store them all in.  I love making these cards and may design a series that will be produced commercially.
This picture shows the tri-fold of the card.  You can see the front (door opens), the back (shutters open), and one side of the interior.  The interior has a front side and back side, both which are illustrated.
This picture shows one side of the interior fold out.  I am obsessed with the details when painting even a simple notecard.
Interior with farm animals.   Note how the Highland cow is standing inside one of the woven paper pockets.
This painting is titled Winter Farm.  It hangs in the upstairs hallway here at Henwoodie.  It is one of my favorite paintings that I have ever done.   In real life the painting is NOT this dark.