HAVE YOU SEEN MY HOT DOG
I MADE A THING!
...and that thing was a children's book!
Every creative person has that dream project. Maybe you are a woodworker and you dream of building some elaborate shelving unit or tree house. Maybe you fiber artist and you dream of creating a larger than life couture statement piece. Maybe you just love hot dogs and you want to be like that kid who eats hella hot dogs in that Coney Island competition for fame and glory but also manages to not get fat... what I'm trying to get at is that everyone has that one aspirational project they want to accomplish but doesn't really have the opportunity to execute.
I'm super excited to have been able to cross one of those dream projects off my list: illustrating a children's book!
I was approached by Blurb to create a photo book. I was completely flattered when they said they liked my hand lettering and wanted me to create a portfolio of sorts. I loved the idea, but punted around the idea of possibly making a children's book. There might have been some intial hesitation on their end, but when I shared my idea of the book being about my two wiener dogs, it was hook, line, and sinker! Who can say no to wiener dogs?!
The book is called "Have You Seen My Hot Dog?" and it's the tale of a blind wiener dog and his best friend Harriet as they try and find out what happend to their beloved hot dog. Step aside Jane Austin. Angie is coming through with the hard hitting fiction stories guarunteed to change American literature forever.
I have toyed with this storyline for a long time, inspired by the unique friendship between my sweet Harriet and Jager (who is very much blind in real life). When I began to iron out the details, I pulled characters and animals that I have known and loved over time from my own life. I storyboarded out what was going to happen, and the order of events and began doodling away.
One of the biggest challenges creating this book was creating consistent images across each page. Are Harriet's bangs perfect in each drawing? Did I capture Jager's essence correctly as he searches for his hot dog?
The easiest part about putting this book together was using the Blurb BookWright software.
I illustrateed everything in my iPad Pro using Procreate and then Air Dropped the final images to my dekstop and imported them into BookWright. The software is so intuitive and easy to use that the hardest part was picking which kind of book style I wanted. I chose the Lay Flat book because it made for rediculously incredible page spreads with no lost real estate in the center. Why does that matter? It matters because I can create pages like this and not worry about how it will look in the center.
In the end, I've created a book that I am super excited and proud to have created, and I'm honored to have Blurb support my work and to allow me the opportunity to create something I'll cherish forever.
Check out the feature and write up they did on me and Have You Seen My Hot Dog!
Sponsored project and post by Blurb Books.