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Superdog Jake
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Written & Illustrated by Nikolai Deleff
Superdog Jake: and a Whole Lotta´ Cake is a comedic and poetic tale of my furry friend Jake, who on his birthday discovers an abundance of doggy cake! Jake sets out to decide what to do with all this sweetness, balancing decisions and choices that make his journey fun and memorable.
Project Details:
Year: 2024
Role: Author / Illustrator
Format: Children's Picture Book
Medium: Traditional illustration / digital production
Status: Published
Pages: 35
Meet Superdog Jake
Jake went through many different forms before I arrived at his final look. I explored his proportions, expressions and superhero identity through traditional pencil sketches.
Early Exploration
One of the first sketches i ever made of Jake.
In this study, I go about figuring out Jake´s hero pose.
Character Development
Final Jake
Go behind the pages of Superdog Jake as I work through the illustration process and share some of the ideas behind the book.
Behind The Scenes
Go behind the pages of Superdog Jake as I work through the illustration process and share some of the ideas behind the book.
From Rough to Final
Scene #1 - Countryside Drive
The Idea
Superdog Jake hits the road! In this two page illustration spread, our furry friend begins his adventure with an exciting car ride to refresh his brain. Deciding what to do with so much cake can be an overwhelming task! Thanks to fresh air and the wind in his face though, he's sure to find a solution.
Study Sketches
Doing study sketches of a car that i will include in the scene helps me prepare for the final illustration.
I make various sketches to explore Jake's pose.
Revised Sketch
This is the sketch I used as reference for my final watercolor illustration.
I then begin drawing the illustration on watercolor paper: first pencil, then overlaid with ink.
THE FINAL ILLUSTRATION
Watercolor on cotton paper, 16x24´´
Nikolai Deleff © 2024
Scene #2 - Ice Cream Mania (Deleted Scene)
From Rough to Final
The Idea
Superdog Jake finds his way to an ice cream truck! Woah and behold, he barks for more scoops!
Study sketches
I set out to explore and make studies of an ice cream truck in pencil.
Final Sketch
I put together all the study sketches and made one last final sketch before the...
Watercolor on cotton paper, 16x24´´
FINAL ILLUSTRATION
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Nikolai Deleff © 2024
Scene #3 - Motorcycle Mischief
From Rough to Final
The Idea
Jake and his human return home on motorcycle .... but not before grabbing some fresh street hotdogs!
The Process
For most of my illustrations i make a ton of sketches. For some reason, the first watercolor sketch of this scene was all I needed to move onto the final illustration. Its one of my favourite scenes of the book for its color, vibrancy, and sense of movement.
FINAL ILLUSTRATION
Watercolor on hotpressed cotton paper, 16x24¨¨
The Story Development
Nikolai Deleff © 2024
Behind The Scenes #2
Go behind the pages of Superdog Jake as I work through the illustration process and share some of the ideas behind the book.
Developing the Story
Mockup Books and Manuscript
What started out as poems on a looseleaf paper slowly found its way onto my computer where i wrote the manuscript (which took countless revisions to get to its final stage!)
Storyboarding and Scene Organization
This image showcases my efforts to storyboard the scenes taking into account their page number.
Mockup Book
Making a mockup book proves to be very useful to get a sense of the story before its finished
FINAL ILLUSTRATIONS
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