Brace yerselves mateys! Yer in for one heck of a treat!
Welcome back Ashley!
Me: I love the idea of picking one of the tamest animals in the world and turning them into pirates! What gave you the idea for this story?
Ashley: Thank you! Haha! I have always loved using animals as main characters in stories, and this one is certainly one of my favorites. I grew up on a sheep farm in West Virginia, so farm animals have always been at the forefront of my imagination. I used to wonder what the animals did after I was asleep or when I wasn’t watching them, so I would fantasize about them having adventures like they do in this story. So, this is something that I’ve carried with me for a long time and it’s lovely to see it come to fruition in a book like this. 😊
Me: That’s so fun! I also love all the little things going on in the background of this story. There’s a sheep that keeps getting a starfish stuck on his face and so many puns, like the names of the islands on the map. Your sense of humor really shines through. Were all those pieces intact from the beginning of the story? Or did the story go through a lot of revisions as you were creating it?
Ashley: The story went through several revisions, but I always make a lot of revisions, haha. I feel like I start with the concept and then work on it layer by layer until I get down to the true plot. Then once I’ve got the main structure of the story, that’s when the art takes over. Most of the ideas for the secondary narratives come to mind during the sketching process. I also tend to add little things during the color process, but at that point, I try not to change too much. I think a lot of the visual humor happens as I sketch. It’s almost like the characters themselves are presenting opportunities for jokes! This experimentation process is my favorite part!
Me: Between wool and ocean waves, I love the variety of textures you have in the artwork. Did you have to do anything new or different with the illustrations for this book that you haven’t done before? How long did the illustrations take you?
Ashley: Thank you! Yes, I worked hard on the textures throughout this book. Texture is something that I have been working on layering into my artwork for the past few years. Since I illustrated my first book, FRANKENSLIME, I’ve been working with teams of amazing art directors. Working with such great mentors has helped me grow as an artist. The original versions of the sheep characters were not nearly as textured, but, my art director came back and asked if there was any way I could make them look fuzzier, so I ended up creating a variety of new brushes and experimenting quite a bit. It was honestly so much fun! And as always, I learned something new.
The art process from start to finish took about a year. The whole process is always different for each book, and that’s also what I love about my job. The book-making process is never the same twice!
Me: I love that! I also love the variety of sheep characters in the book. They all seem to have distinct personalities and little side stories going on with them. Did you have to create a chart or map to keep track of so many different characters? How did you work on so many different storylines that didn’t have any text involved with them?
Ashley: I’ve never worked on a book with so many characters, but that was one aspect I was excited about with this project. I wanted to make sure that each sheep had their own personality, so I am thrilled that’s coming though. It wasn’t confusing to keep track of all the different narratives because I made them each look different visually, so the visual hierarchy helped me to track everything. I am a visual person and keeping spreadsheets is far too organized for my creative process haha. I am trying to be more organized in general but one step at a time!
Me: Is there one sheep (or other critter) that is your favorite or one that you are drawn to more than the rest?
Ashley: I am partial to Captain Hoof and the sheep with the eye patch haha. It was also super fun drawing bandanas on some of the sheep, but the one with the eye patch is the silliest. I also love the parrots! I think birds are hilarious in general, and anytime I can add a bird to an illustration, I do it! I just love those guys!
Me: The birds are definitely hilarious here! What is one thing that surprised you in creating this book?
Ashley: I was honestly surprised by the ending of this story haha. I worked on this concept for a few years before it was ready to be submitted, so it went through several iterations before I landed on the final concept. Sometimes when I’m working on a story, I’ll think of the ending first, and then work backwards from there. But this one did not necessarily work like that. In this case, I thought about the beginning first and then worked forward. I think it’s neat how each creative person has a different type of process and it’s always fun when we learn new things about our specific ways of working.
Me: That’s so true. I adored this book for so many reasons. Are there any plans for a sequel to this book? (Please say yes!)
Ashley: I hope so! I have ideas, so I hope to continue with these sheepish adventures 😊 Thank you again for hosting me on the blog!
I’m hoping too Ashley! Thank you for stopping by my blog again today.
Dear readers, if you haven’t had a chance yet to track this book down, I highly recommend it. If you love swashbuckling tales full of puns and humor, you will definitely enjoy this book! You won’t want to miss it.