Layout Sketches

Here is a behind-the-scenes look into the making of Mariachi. This is what the book looked like early on, while I was planning out some of the scenes from the story.

Gustavo's Daydream

In one of the pivotal scenes in the book, Gustavo dreams of what it would be like to be in his family's mariachi band.

I sketched out this spread early in the making of the book. It is a big doodle made with a ballpoint pen, filling a large page in my sketchbook. This was one of my first drawings I ever made of Gustavo and the rest of the characters.



A refined version:



When I painted the illustration, I did it in pieces. First, I made the "daydream" portion of the image.



Next, I painted Gustavo and his dog.



Using the computer, I placed them together to create one picture.



To finish, I added a little bit of texture onto the paper to make it a little more interesting.

Sketches

A behind-the-scenes look into some of the scenes from the book:

Drawing Gustavo

The Making of the Cover

This is a rough sketch I created for the cover of Mariachi.

After I had the general idea, I went on to refine the sketch. I started by researching different types of cacti to make a more authentic desert setting.

Next, I refined the designs and poses of the characters.

Here is my finished revised sketch.

Next, I created a few color studies to help me decide how the final cover might look.

The Final Painting: