16/02/2026
Last summer I illustrated my first children's book while living my Seattle dream - and it was a game-changer.
"A Cat Named Zucchini" by Jeffrey Slotnick follows a homeless cat's raw journey through loss to finding love and redemption. I passed on quick AI sketches and built something real: endless AI iterations just for compositions, then hand-drawing every single detail from scratch in Adobe Fresco on my iPad - fur textures, expressions, perspectives, all of it.
Biggest hurdles? Bringing 4 real-life characters to life (3 cats + the author's daughter as adopter) without that creepy uncanny valley feel. I zeroed in on their standout traits and gave them just enough stylization to stay charming and emotional. Then, two visual worlds: gritty, wild dark tones for the rural wilds, flowing into soft, warm dreamy strokes that fade into cozy home vibes - letting kids feel the story's heart visually.
Swipe to see the details up close → grab the printed book on Amazon.com 🐱📖
This pushed my skills to new places. Love the art? DM for your book project!
