A Basketball Story – Interior 7

November 28, 2021November 19, 2021Leave a comment

This image covers about a page and a half, with the gutter running between the boy leaning against the wall and the poster. The gray wall color extends all the way to the left, with text overlaid in that empty space.

Aside from the cover, this is our first and only close-up of members of the Sea Turtles team. They’re discussing how, if they work very hard, they can keep the Jackrabbits from going 10 – 0 for the season.

Again, this is for the picture book, titled A Basketball Story: Always Be Humble, which I just finished illustrating for Entrepreneur Media Inc.

In a school hallway, three members of the Sea Turtles basketball team stand around a poster showing the Mid-Season League Standings for four teams. One boy leans on the wall, the girl has her hands on both boys shoulders. And the other boy faces away from the viewer with one hand in a fist.

A Basketball Story – Interior 6, Right Side

November 27, 2021November 19, 2021Leave a comment

Here’s the right side of the interior I posted yesterday. Coach Miles is explaining how he’ll take the team to FUNZone if they win all ten games in the season.

Coach Miles is standing in front of a classroom white board with "10 - 0 -> FUNZone" written on it. Two players in the front row are incredulous.

A Basketball Story – Interior 6, Left Side

November 26, 2021November 19, 2021Leave a comment

The next interior has two images, one on either side. Here’s the first one. Someone taking the team picture. This same picture is also used on the cover.

An illustration of someone taking a team photo using a cell phone. Only the picture-taker's hands and phone are visible, with the team visible on the screen. The actual team is out of focus in the distance.

A Basketball Story – Interior 5

November 25, 2021November 19, 2021Leave a comment

A wide view of the team’s first game for the picture book project I just finished. The text for this page fits in the white space over the bleachers on the left side. This image gives you a good view of the logo I designed for the Jackrabbits. This image took longer than you’d think because, even though the people are tiny figures there are 28 of them and most of them had to be drawn and colored consistently with the depictions of those same characters on other pages. Uniforms do save time on coloring, though.

A wide view of a children's basketball game in a school gymnasium. A few spectators and the players on the bench cheer from the bleachers while players from both teams hustle on the court.

A Basketball Story – Interior 4

November 24, 2021November 19, 2021Leave a comment

And another interior for Entrepreneur Media, Inc.’s picture book. This two-page spread only has a little bit of text, so there’s room for it in the white space over the bleachers. Coach miles is taking his new team through drills.

Four kids are practicing dribbling basketballs under their coach's supervision.

A Basketball Story – Interior 3

November 23, 2021November 19, 2021Leave a comment

Here’s the next interior for Entrepreneur Media, Inc.’s picture book. Another two-page spread, with text to be overlaid on the blank spot to the upper left. The children are eagerly gathering around Coach Miles.

Children dressed in shorts and T-shirts eagerly gather around their basketball coach.

A Basketball Story – Interior 2

November 22, 2021November 19, 2021Leave a comment

Here’s the next interior image of the picture book I just finished for Entrepreneur Media, Inc. This one’s a two-page spread, with text overlaid on the blank wall on the upper left. The children are excited about basketball tryouts!

A cartoon illustration of a classroom of children raising their hands for Basketball Tryouts.

A Basketball Story – Interior 1

November 21, 2021November 19, 2021Leave a comment

Here’s the first interior page of the picture book I just finished for Entrepreneur Media, Inc. This image will have text overlaid over the sky and maybe the tops of the buildings. This is a nice spring day.

A Basketball Story – Cover

November 20, 2021November 19, 20211 Comment

This week I finished illustrations for a new picture book for Entrepreneur Media Inc. Here’s a mock-up of the cover. The final text will be formatted a little different, probably a different font, but this gives you the idea.

A little behind-the-scenes detail: I originally had a different cover design concept in mind (below) but the client wanted this one (above) because they wanted to show everyone on both teams and didn’t want them to look aggressive.

A rough cover mock-up for a picture book titled A Basketball Story: Always be Humble, based on a true story by: Miles Davis-Majors and Illustrated by: Karen B. Jones.

Two basketball players, both around 10 years old, hold a basketball between them with one hand each. The other hand for each is a fist. The Jackrabbit player on the left is frowning with eyes narrowed and eyebrows down. The Sea Turtles player on the right has a similar aggressive expression, but with his teeth showing. The Jackrabbits player is an African American boy with his hair bleached blonde on the top. The Sea Turtles player is an East Asian boy with thick, shaggy hair. A crowd seated on bleachers is out of focus behind them.

The Neighborhood’s Night – Page 12

April 4, 2021March 25, 2021Leave a comment

Here’s the 10th illustration for the book project I just finished for Learning A-Z. Page 12 of The Neighborhood’s Night by Juliana Catherine.

In the gym again, this time all crowded around a new character, Juana, who is covered in ash.