This is what my studio looks like, but it never looks like this.
The most special thing about my studio is a priceless collection of gifts from fellow book creators and little things I keep for inspiration.
This one of a kind cutest ever dump truck was given to me by Melissa Manlove the editor of Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site when the book first hit the NYT bestseller listThis quip on a print from Eric Rohmann refers to my belief that nothing is funnier than an elephants behindI got this Dan Santat drawing at a doodle exchange with other illustrators at a conference Dan ended up with some chicken scratching of mine he definitely got the short end of the deal
The singularly brilliant Amy Krouse Rosenthal sent me this Groovy Cup of Joe to commemorate the release of my first Groovy Joe bookAn exquisite little painting from Julia Sarcone RoachA shellpencil from Beth Ferry I hope to do another book with her so I can put this to useOvercoming procrastination is a daily struggle Once I realized its a way of avoiding failure if you dont start you dont fail I wrote this reminder to myselfSpeaking of reminders this is a one word mantra about making stories and pictures for kids adjacent to a man who did it better than anyoneA few reminders to give it all youve got from David Shannon Andrea Pinkney and Patrick McDonnellThe engine room of the studio A drawing board Ive had since college two computers slightly newer and a cabinet full of stuff to make marks on paperThe cabinet has a drawer for each medium here colored pencilsIn full watercolor modeA book at the finished sketch layout stage Everything goes on one big board so I can see it as one piece and keep track of progressA menagerie of critters because I never know what kind of animal Ill want to draw and kids are particular about details like how many digits a T Rex has
Tom Lichtenheld’s Creative Process
My process is: drawing, editing, more drawing, designing, collaborating, and coloring.
Publisher’s Synopsis: At last—here from the team behind the beloved international bestseller comes a companion to Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site. All of our favorite trucks are back on the construction site—this time with a focus on team-building, friendship, and working together to make a big task seem small! Down in the big construction site, the crew faces their biggest job yet, and will need the help of new construction friends to get it done. Working as a team, there’s nothing they can’t do! The millions of fans of Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site are in for a mighty good time!
Tom Lichtenheld is the illustrator of #1 New York Times bestsellers Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site and Steam Train, Dream Train, created with Sherri Duskey Rinker, as well as Duck! Rabbit! and I Wish You More, created with Amy Krouse Rosenthal. He lives near Chicago, Illinois.
Discover more books like “Mighty, Mighty Construction Site,” written by Sherri Duskey Rinker and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld, on The Children’s Book Review by following along with our articles tagged with American History, Civil War Books, Debbie Levy, Gilbert Ford, and Non-Fiction. And be sure to check out more authors and illustrators featured in our Inside the Studio column.
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The Children’s Book Review, named one of the ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children) Great Web Sites for Kids, is a resource devoted to children’s literacy. We publish reviews and book lists of the best books for kids of all ages. We also produce author and illustrator interviews and share literacy based articles that help parents, grandparents, teachers and librarians to grow readers. This article was written and provided by a guest author.
1 Comment
Elaine Pease on
Lucky enough to have a Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site on my shelf so found it fascinating to compare the pages with Tom Lichtenheld’s final layout pages here!
Mighty, Mighty Construction Site
1 Comment
Lucky enough to have a Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site on my shelf so found it fascinating to compare the pages with Tom Lichtenheld’s final layout pages here!