Sunny Duran - Designer

I’m a freelance illustrator and designer with experience in the print and publishing industry. Most of my experience is with small businesses owners and self publishing authors. I’ve illustrated 5 picture books and formatted and designed 6 book covers all for self publishing authors. Because of this I’m very familiar with print on demand publishing and formatting book files for different P.O.D. Publishers. I’m a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and have a Bachelors Degree in Graphic Design. Which I think helps me understand the framework of publishing and how it all fits together.

Typically when I start a project I like to talk to the author or art director first and learn their vision for the project. Then we determine if we are a good fit for each other. After that I like to review the manuscript for the book and give suggestions for page breaks. Then I move on to storyboarding the book or project with thumbnail sketches which the author or art director and I go over together. After that I move on to character development for the main characters. Usually giving several style options for at least three of the characters. Then once the characters have been vetted and developed into color I move onto more detailed full scale line art for each page. After those are approved I move onto coloring each page of the book. Once we get to this stage it’s usually smooth sailing because Character, style and color palettes have already been chosen. After the interior pages are complete I usually illustrate the cover art and any interior matter.

This process can take me anywhere from 3 to 6 months depending on the complexity of the characters, the number of pages and drawings required for the book. I hope this gives a small insight into my work flow and process. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.