Portrait of Liv Lorkin, a talented author, illustrator, and designer. She is captured smiling at the camera, showcasing shoulder-length short brown hair and a freckled face. The background features illustrations on the wall, providing a glimpse into her creative and artistic environment.

Australian children’s book author, illustrator and visual storyteller. I weave magic, creativity and fun into all I do.

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9 Missteps to my First Graphic Novel

I’m just over a month away from releasing my ninth book, and while it was a whole lotta fun, I also had some missteps along the way. So here are my 9 *almost* slip-ups for my debut graphic novel, Gnoming About: Tree Mail Adventure.⁣

1.

I *almost* didn't give myself enough time. Four months was WAY too short for my first graphic novel, but lesson learned and sleep pattern now restored.⁣

2.

My storyboard was all over the place. I had a vision, and that slowly evolved without me going back to the drawing board, until even I was confused about what was next. ⁣

3.

I tried to include everything. I wanted a jam-packed magical book, but too much going on waters down the story. I stopped myself and saved those ideas for more books.⁣

4.

I got bogged down in the details. I've done six picture books and figured a graphic novel would be similar, WRONG. I could not include every tiny detail on every single panel; I'd never be finished world-building if I kept that up.⁣

5.

Last-minute editing. Now there is a certain point when you know it's done, but the perfectionist in me wanted a few more tweaks here and there. Once I hit send to the printers, I haven't looked at it since.⁣

6.

Limiting my colour palette. Technically, the book is printed in black and white, but I did the entire thing in colour (just in case) and had my Procreate colour scheme selected from the beginning. I realised halfway through it was too limited and added more purples, greens and yellows to create contrast.⁣

7.

Forgetting my capital cities. There are 100 postcards of towns and cities from across Australia sprinkled throughout the book. I swear I included Melbourne, my home for three years, until I got to the final edits and realised I included Bathurst twice. A close and lucky catch.⁣

8.

I almost gave up. This was a self-directed, self-funded and self-published book, and there were absolutely times when I didn't believe my work was worth putting out there. I'm enormously grateful to my husband for whisking me off to the creek and taking me on inspiration walks to keep me grounded.⁣

9.

I avoided the work. I sat musing on the idea of a gnome book for over two years before giving in to the creative nudge. I love gnomes and should have realised I'd be doing a book sooner rather than later.⁣

Missteps happen, and I’m entirely grateful for this tree-lined, magical journey. 

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