I’ve done two new animals on the list. The first I did was the sockeye salmon, but I don’t have a picture to show you because I forgot to save the sketch and only have the fully rendered tiff. These bright red fishes look like they got bonked on the head like a cartoon character. I tried to lean into the silly facial expression they have as much as I could. I’ve decided I’m going to draw all the animals fully before I write the poems, so I’m saving all that extra research beyond appearance and habitat for then. But I do know these guys have an amazing migration each year, and they’re so brilliant I just had to include them.
The second animal I did was the Kingfisher (Eurasian/Common Kingfisher specifically) I first learned about this bird from a book that described their bright colors as if they were painted. In America where I live the most common kingfisher is the belted kingfisher, which is usually grey-blue in color, but can look slightly cyan in particular lights. It has a large crest, so I was surprised to learn that the common kingfisher, which is what people in Europe, Asia, and North Africa would see most often, does not have a crest. They are also unmistakably an iridescent cyan color (the reason for their being specifically chosen for this book), but are otherwise visually similar to their American cousins. I’m quite fond of kingfishers and how colorful and cheery they are, so I’m happy to place them in this book.
My Favorite Animals ABC 