The Yali team has been busy, busy, busy. While Kala has been hard at work, tweaking and editing the story, I have been creating the artwork, one spread at a time. I thought it might be fun to share the process with you, dear readers. Here is how it is done at Yali HQ.

First, a rough sketch to position the elements of a scene. The sketch acts as a guide and more often than not, the final artwork evolves in a slightly different direction.

I have chosen to illustrate Bye, Bye, Motabhai! using a paper collage technique. I use textured, colorful scrap-booking paper and construct each character (and scene) by assembling them piece-by-piece.  I draw out the shapes, cut them with my trusty knife and glue some of the smaller pieces together. My pretty, pink cutting mat is pictured below.

I then scan the pieces at a very high…