Emotional children’s book illustration for a story about adoption
Commissioned by Minerva Publishing House, we created the full illustration and print preparation work for Domitille de Pressensé’s children’s book Pastel Was Adopted. The story follows a little bear cub growing up among dragons, so the visual world needed to feel magical, lovable and emotionally precise at the same time. The project included 21 custom illustrations, layout work and complete print preparation.
Project overview
A little bear among dragons: a sensitive character situation
The story’s central situation required a particularly careful illustration approach. Pastel, a little bear cub, grows up among dragons, which brings together fairy-tale humour, difference and emotional depth. The images needed to show this world in a way that remained understandable and lovable for children, while still preserving the more sensitive layers of the story.
Character design shaped by the emotional arc
When designing the little bear and the dragons, the focus was not only on visual contrast, but also on how the characters relate to one another. In a story about adoption, family and acceptance, posture, facial expression and physical closeness can say a great deal. For this reason, the emotional situations in the illustrations were just as important as the more spectacular fairy-tale elements.
21 illustrations for the key moments of the story
The book included 21 custom illustrations. The images accompany the important events and emotional high points of the story, so they do not function as separate decorative drawings. Each illustration needed to help children follow Pastel’s journey, the relationships between the characters and the inner changes of the tale.
Layout and print preparation for a publishing-house project
The project did not stop at the illustrations. Layout and complete print preparation were also part of the work, allowing the images, text and page spreads to be developed as one coherent book. In a publishing-house project, this is especially important: the final result needs to be visually strong, technically accurate and ready for print.
Do you need illustration and print preparation for a children’s book?
If you are looking for illustration, layout or print preparation for a children’s book, whether for a publisher or a private publication, it is worth treating the visual world and the internal book structure together from the beginning. Send a few details about the story, the planned scope and the publication format, and we can look at what illustration and book design direction would fit it best.
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