Nobody's Family Is Going To Change

Barbara Grzeslo the designer of The Baby On The Way, my first picture book, recently asked me to illustrate the cover of Louise Fitzhugh's Nobody's Family Is Going To Change, a book that was written in the early 70's that the publisher wanted to give a fresh look to.Fitzhugh is most well known as the author of Harriet the Spy. If you're a fan of This American Life like I am, there's a really good episode based on the idea behind the book. Here's what they have to say about it. "On the surface, it sounds like a rather menacing title for a kids' book. But in fact, the story is about how kids can finally find peace if they stop hoping that their parents will ever be any different. The question is, though: is it true? Does anyone's family ever change?"
These are a few different versions of the sketch that was chosen for the cover as well as an early version of the final art.My sketches start with really rough thumbnails like the one above.

Once elements are established in the drawing I photocopy the sketch and make refinements to the photocopy with pencil and paint.

I usually make more than one copy so I can try different things and compare.

The publisher was worried that the art would be too blue so they asked me to give dimension to the buildings in the background as a way of getting rid of some of the blue.

And the final.