Sketching a scene

Norm, Cate and I met up a few weeks ago to discuss the scene where Josh meets the bullies. We needed a new approach to the scene,  as the old way wasn’t working.

We sat in a cafe and threw some ideas around; in the end, we’d come up with this.

Doesn’t look like much, I’m sure- let me zoom in a bit…

The idea was to have a number of tall panels with a continuous background, and different scenes playing out at different times.

Here’s my rough sketch, where I’m working out the body language and facial expressions of the characters.

I scanned it in and cleaned it up- here’s the panel on the far left after a bit of editing:

…then I used the rough as the basis for a cleaner pencil sketch.

I’ve just started colouring this scene- the sky will be overcast, which could make the lighting tricky. I’ve found some good reference photos though, so I’ll use those as a guide and get onto it.

Author: James Foley

James Foley makes children’s books for children who read books. If you’re a child and you’re eating his books, you’re doing it wrong. His books include Brobot, Dungzilla, Gastronauts, Chickensaurus, Toffle Towers, My Dead Bunny and There's Something Weird About Lena. James lives in Perth with his wife, 2 kids, and a labrador. He is a massive Marvel movie nerd and comes from a long line of queuing enthusiasts. Follow him on FB/twitter/insta/youtube @jamesfoleybooks, or at www.jamesfoley.com.au . View all posts by James Foley