Tales of Kings and Enchantments

The second color spread for my picture book dummy, Lore & the Little Star, shows all four of my characters. Lore, having met the kid, the fox, and the bear, starts off on her adventure together with her new friends.  But since her name is Lore, I wanted there to be a moment in their long journey through the nighttime winter forest where they pass the time telling tales.  Who better to do so than Old Bear?  Below is the first draft, when the composition was a bit more complicated.

A few words from my illustration group let me realize what needed to change here, so I simplified the second half of the picture by removing the cub and the griffin, enlarged the whole group, altered the text boxes so that instead of two, there is one, and made Lore carry the Little Goat.  The bear telling tales of the ghostly king is a nod to my abiding love for King Arthur (whose name means "the Bear").  

"Tales of Kings and Enchantments", colored pencil, graphite, and gouache.  Color spread from Lore and the Little Star, written and illustrated by Jessica Boehman. Please do not reproduce without permission.