Once Upon a Kwanzaa - Rough Character Sketches

Illustrator Extraordinaire, Sawyer Cloud, just sent the rough character sketches for ONCE UPON A KWANZAA as paid supporters of my work as a creative, you get to experience the first look at a few.

Mar 27, 2024

I have celebrated Kwanzaa as an adult with my husband for three years. Christmas felt less aligned, and Kwanzaa felt structured in a less commercialized way with principles for the upliftment of our community and world.

I contacted my good friend and co-conspirator about writing a Kwanzaa book for families and littles together because most children’s books on the holiday were written in the early 90s or before. We knew it was time for a revamp.

Enter Once Upon a Kwanzaa. It was picked up by Running Press Kids (Hatchette) and will be released in late 2025.

I have included five out of the ten families illustrated in the book.

Our pitch and goal surrounding the book:

Kwanzaa is a holiday steeped in ancestral traditions and magic collected over generations by people across the Black Diaspora. Once Upon a Kwanzaa introduces communities of all colors to the interwoven history and lived experiences connected to this time of year when families and loved ones gather to celebrate, share, and reimagine the past, present, and future.

[Art Idea: We think the art panels should showcase seven different Black + Brown families (one family is just a couple—no children) to highlight how different peoples of the Diaspora can celebrate in their communities. The families can be connected to each other through the illustrations. ]

We also contacted Sawyer Cloud (illustrator of Keep Dreaming, Black Child, and Saturday Magic) to illustrate three spreads for us to use in our pitch to publishers with our agents.

Here are the three pre-pitch spreads Sawyer illustrated for us:

Our editor emailed us this week with the first rough draft illustrations of the characters from the book.

Sawyer has sent us the rough character sketches for ONCE UPON A KWANZAA. Because there are so many characters, the sketches are just blocked in with color so you can see skin tone. None of Sawyer’s signature shading/patterns are included as yet.
Also, a note from Sawyer: I’m sending you the rough character samples attached. I’ll still need to work on the clothes and accessories but right now I just want you guys to focus on the different skin tones and general appearances. I tried my best to follow the brief notes.