*Gleaned from illustrating the book “Butterflies are Pretty… Gross!” By Rosemary Mosco and published by the incredible team at Tundra Books

If there’s been a defining principle that I’ve ridden since about a year before my first published picture book (hey, Pedro’s Pan!), it’s “just get better.” Feeling great after a kind word from an art director? Just get better. Bombarded with imposter syndrome, spending too much time in the studio, and doubting your existence as an artist? Just get better. It’s a nice way to stay steady and focused. When the goal is progress, no matter how small, joy is properly placed on the journey.

So I thought I’d share some lessons from the latest book I’ve had the pleasure of illustrating, Butterflies are Pretty… Gross! (Tundra Books) by Rosemary Mosco. The book is so fun, the voice so fresh, I think kids will fall in love and want to reread it over and over:

“This hilarious and refreshing book with silly and sweet illustrations explores the science of butterflies and shows that these insects are not the stereotypically cutesy critters we often think they are - they are fascinating, disgusting, complicated and amazing creatures.”

“A proboscis-in-cheek introduction to butterflies that will appeal to reluctant readers and bug enthusiasts alike.”

— Starred Kirkus Review

Lesson 1: Narrator and Non-Fiction

*The first character study of the narrator, butterfly enthusiast and all around swell insect*

The manuscript was fantastic in a lot of ways, but especially in that it had a real clear tone and voice. The narrator (a monarch butterfly) begins by breaking the 4th wall and talking to the reader directly. He then pivots to the gross and weird “facts” the he’s not sure the reader wants to hear about. He returns to the reader later before jumping back into the weird but true. The nice thing for an illustrator is the way it was broken up between these two types of dialouge formed a nice, natural rhythm. The problem is how do you knit the two together? How do you move between the narrator looking at the reader to the stuff he’s talking about?

I needed to introduce a way to weave the two together. I’m pretty sure I was stuck here for a while. Just staring at the empty blocks where the thumbnails were needed to be drawn.

Lesson 2: Character Development

The answer was pretty simple in the end and was in the manuscript already, I just needed to embellish it to solve the problem. What kind of narrator butterfly is so well informed about butterflies that he’s smitten with every gross detail? A butterfly enthusiast, a guy privy to knowledge that might be... TOP SECRET! What kind of gear does a butterfly enthusiast with secrets have? Where does he live?

*This is one of my favorite stages of illustrating a book. It’s like a puzzle that needs solving.*

*This is showing the transition between narrator and fact page.*

Using a window and binoculars, an old reel to reel vintage film projector, and a room marked “Top Secret” in his house as a way to explain more about the narrator and act as a device to get into the gross facts, unlocked the book for me. It also provided a nice coda near the end of the book where we revisit some of the gross facts in a gallery style. Rosemary said this was her favorite, especially the poo in the glass case.

Lesson 3: Yeah, what about the Poo?

One of the less vexing problems! But something I’d not given a lot of thought to until I got to the page where the butterfly is ready to chow down on the nutrient dense brown stuff.

I can only say that folks at Tundra said “who else could’ve made a pile of poo cute?” and I took the compliment in stride.

Then I said to myself “just get better…”