During the My Father Wrestles Alligators children’s book Kickstarter, drawing original art like custom cartoons and the title page sketches, was such a blast. It was so much fun sitting down at my desk and hand-drawing art specifically commissioned for friends, family, and even some new fans. While it is a traditionally printed book with printed accessories like stickers and bookmarks, I spent the majority of my time creating the book digitally.
My Father Wrestles Alligators was mostly a digital creation
I documented much of this process on my Instagram and have even started creating some time-lapse YouTube videos. Fans seemed to enjoy getting peeks behind the curtain to see how characters were designed or hear how the story was told to me by my brothers as a kid.
But when the Kickstarter launched, the two most popular rewards for this book were the Lucha Gator package and Title Page Character Sketches. The Lucha Gator Package was a reward where the backer sent a photo and I drew that person wrestling Lucha Gator. Title Page Character Sketches had backers choosing any character to be hand-drawn on their copy of My Father Wrestles Alligators. Both of these rewards sold out very quickly and I received many messages asking about getting original art in the future.
Sketch cards seem like the obvious companion
Sketch cards are pretty popular with artists online. They are a great way for fans to get original artwork at an affordable price. Each card is hand-drawn and inked. Since I spent so much time creating My Father Wrestles Alligators digitally, I am really loving working on these offerings traditionally. I think I will also open up options for some watercolor as well. Check out the video below and grab a sketch card or sketch card bundle for the holiday season.
