I must admit that I have never made so many sketches for a project of that size before. Usually when I set to make any illustration (one piece about 21x28cm, that is to say one piece about 8.27"x11.02") I already have a clear picture in my head, and I make one or two sketches and take a few notes to make sure that I will not forget anything while I am painting. But this time the approach to it needed to be different, as I had to integrate a lot of specific elements into an A4+ piece of paper. And as you see I am the kind of person who dwells a lot on details, not to mention the trifling ones... The risk here is to overload the illustration with too much information and make it illegible - ugly and a strain on the eyes. The sketching process helped me find the key spots where I could place each character - furry and not furry - so that all had their bit of paper on which to shine, stand out, without overshadowing the others. I did my best to find the right balance, and for the time being I am quite satisfied with my work - in the near future I might think otherwise...
At first my sketches had followed a different path from the last ones that were made. I had intended to draw the client's house - always looking for an opportunity to draw houses, obsessed as I am - with a view of the living room seen from the outside through wide windows. Eventually I had to give up that idea as it did not emphasize enough the occupants and the homey feeling. Furthermore, I remembered the size of the working surface which would have restrained me from being as meticulous as I wanted to be while remaining 'legible'. I had to depict an interior scene, and a living room seemed to be the most cosy place in a house.