The Challenge: Girls With Wings, a non-profit organization with a passion for teaching kids that GIRLS CAN BE PILOTS, TOO! came to me with an idea. They had a character who needed a remake, in order to be featured in a new book that the director, Lynda Meeks, was writing.
Since their target audience was kids ages 4-9, I was tasked with giving Penelope Pilot a new look. Their direction, "...like Dora the Explorer. A similar color palette. And not mature yet, so young kids can identify."
Meet the new Penelope. Today is her first day as Pilot!
First tasked with illustrating the book, my role was expanded to be the designer of the entire layout. Take a look at the final approved sketches of this educational children's book, and then the final full-color, shaded artwork. Here are a few samples:
"Penelope arrives at the Terminal!"
"The Air Traffic Controller tells Penelope when she's cleared for takeoff..."
"Up, up and away!"
The cover of the book went through several rounds. Once the concept sketch was chosen, it was taken to Final... here's the chosen concept:
And here's the final cover!
All illustrations had to not only be kid-friendly and engaging, but also absolutely technically accurate. First off, the book was to be educational. Secondly, adults in the aviation industry would be the most likely buyers of the book. When reading it to their kids, they would be the first to find fault with any of the illustrations.
Every page was meticulously evaluated, revised, and critiqued again for accuracy by both Lynda (the author, as well as a commercial pilot) and Cindy (my project manager, also a commercial pilot). In the end, I probably learned more than the kids who read the book!
One of the most popular parts of the book with young readers was the "Flat Stanley" concept - We included a punch-out Penelope doll on a cardstock insert. Kids could make their own Penelope, bring it along on their travels, take pictures with her and then submit those photos to the Girls With Wings site for inclusion on upcoming blog posts. Parents and kids loved it!
Following the release of the book, I created coloring pages using the line-art layers of my original PSDs. These coloring pages were provided as PDF downloads from the Girls With Wings website, to support the mission of teaching kids that Girls Can Fly, Too!
The closing spread of the book spanned both pages. It was beautifully colored to engage kids and give them an inspiring end to story time with their parents, teachers, aunts or uncles.
