Selected work

A estória do sol e do rinoceronte

An illustrated book by Ondjaki

Illustration and book design
Rinoceronte cover and back shown flat on yellow

For Alfaguara’s original Portuguese edition of Ondjaki’s story, I illustrated a rhinoceros who asks the sun for help with the sadness in his heart. I designed the cover, hand lettering and interior layout, then prepared the files for print.

Publisher
Alfaguara · Portugal
Format
40-page picture book
Deliverables
  • Illustrations and character studies
  • Cover and interior layout
  • Hand lettering
  • Print-ready files

Planning the pages

I planned the words and the centre fold alongside the drawing. On this spread, the text sits in the open space on the left and the rhinoceros enters from the right; the lettering is part of the composition from the pencil layout.

Pink rhinoceros beneath flying dark birds and hanging vegetation
SketchFinal
Pencil spread layout with handwritten text for A estória do sol e do rinoceronte
Pencil spread layout with handwritten text for A estória do sol e do rinoceronte
Pencil spread layout with handwritten text for A estória do sol e do rinoceronte
Pencil spread layout with handwritten text for A estória do sol e do rinoceronte
Pencil spread layout with handwritten text for A estória do sol e do rinoceronte
Pencil spread layout with handwritten text for A estória do sol e do rinoceronte
Pencil spread layout with handwritten text for A estória do sol e do rinoceronte
Pencil spread layout with handwritten text for A estória do sol e do rinoceronte

The characters

Studies of the sun and the rhinoceros establish their shapes, expressions and colours before they enter the story.

Character explorations for the sun and the rhinoceros
Character explorations for the sun and the rhinoceros
Character explorations for the sun and the rhinoceros

Illustration and lettering

Radiating yellow sun beside blue sky and vividly patterned vegetation
Pink rhinoceroses moving through a golden landscape with blue pools
Rhinoceros beneath a large tree facing a bright radiating sun
Close-up of the pink rhinoceros and orange horn beside Portuguese text
Wide golden landscape beneath an orange sun at dusk

The finished book

Cover, endpapers and interior spreads from the printed edition.

Photograph of the printed book, A estória do sol e do rinoceronte
Estória do Sol e do Rinoceronte cover with plants framing a blue centre
Blue back-cover artwork with text inside a ring of colourful plants
Yellow-orange endpaper patterned with slender purple plants
Pattern of slender purple plants on a textured yellow field
Printed Rinoceronte book photographed at an angle on yellow
Stack of illustrated Rinoceronte books on yellow
Open Rinoceronte book with landscape illustrations on yellow
Printed spread of a pink rhinoceros crossing a pale landscape
Open illustrated book showing rhinoceroses beside blue water
Printed spread with a rhinoceros in a golden tree-lined landscape
Open book pairing the sun illustration with a dark golden scene
Photograph of the printed book, A estória do sol e do rinoceronte
Photograph of the printed book, A estória do sol e do rinoceronte
Photograph of the printed book, A estória do sol e do rinoceronte
Photograph of the printed book, A estória do sol e do rinoceronte
Photograph of the printed book, A estória do sol e do rinoceronte
Alfaguara editionPublisher’s sample

Editions and recognition

Published in Portuguese, English and German, with editions from four publishers. My cover, lettering, layout and print-ready delivery were for the original Portuguese edition.

Portugal · Portuguese
AlfaguaraOriginal edition · 2020
Brazil · Portuguese
Pallas MíniA estória do sol e do rinoceronte
Germany · German
Schaltzeit VerlagDas Zweihorn · 2022
UK · English
Tate PublishingThe Sun and the Rhinoceros · Hardback and paperback

The illustration and book-design project was featured in Best of Behance.

The German edition was recommended by the German Academy for Children’s and Young Adult Literature in its literary Advent calendar, January 2023.

Credits

Text
Ondjaki
Illustration, cover, layout and lettering
Catalina Vásquez
Publishing
Alfaguara Infantil & Juvenil · Portugal
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