Bringing the World of Celebratia to Life.
The first six months writing Ollie & Oona Adventures was capturing Celebratia — the creatures, their holidays, peculiarities, and everyday lives. For example, what do Easter Bunnies do for the rest of the year? What is their school system? Their government? What do they like to wear at home versus when they are out? After answering the creature questions within the world, I was ready to bring our characters to life.
Cristina, our Creative Director, took the reins in finding an illustrator. I grew up reading Tin-Tin comic books and wanted Ollie & Oona Adventures to be illustrated in the ligne-claire style created by Hergé, the author and illustrator of Tin-Tin. "Clear Line" style’s primary characteristics are crisp, strong lines of uniform weight, flat blocks of color, and a lack of shading or crosshatching.
After a global hunt for illustrators that worked in ligne-claire, Cristina came back with 5 potential artists. After narrowing it down, we met with Fabio Corazza, and the rest, as they say, is history.
One of the things that I love about Fabio's art is his firm grasp of the clear line style, and a gentle expressiveness from other styles and forms. Much like playing tennis with those who are better than you, he makes me come with my best work. I delight in in our collaborations. The serious conversations we have about the size of Constable Barkshield's mustache or the bend in Felicity's knee while riding Glitterbomb assure me that we both know the details matter. He is a true partner in the process, and I am so thankful he and Cristina are part of this merry band.
AUTHOR, BRIAN ELLISON:
Check out our first four books and more at the Ollie & Oona Shop!
Oona Grimm
Oona was naturally the first character concept to be developed. Her design set the visual direction for the entire Goblin species, so I explored many different styles in the early stages.
ILLUSTRATOR, FABIO CORAZZA:
Once the overall direction was chosen, I focused on hair studies. Initially, I considered giving her a French bob haircut (à la Audrey Tautou) since the original stylistic references came from Franco-Belgian comic artists.
I also explored different color palettes.
In the end, we settled on a curly hair, messy, and full of movement, which better captured Oona’s lively and adventurous personality.
The final design.
Ollie Grimm
First studies for Ollie, Oona’s younger brother. I made him shorter than Oona to create a nice visual contrast between the two.
In the first sketches, Ollie wore glasses, but we eventually dropped that idea as it gave him too much of a Harry Potter vibe.
The final design.
Ollie & Oona – Concept art.
Dilly Grimm
Some early concept sketches for Dilly, Oona and Ollie’s father. Dilly is a quirky inventor with a bit of a mad scientist streak.
His look was inspired by Albert Einstein, Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein, and Colin Chapman.
Final designs for Dilly, Kirby (Dilly’s lab assistant), and Grandpa Grimm.
Goblinshire
Goblinshire is a picturesque, village-like city characterized by squat buildings, narrow cobblestone streets, and cozy thatched-roof homes. Its architecture reflects a strong sense of community, practicality and warmth, creating a setting that feels both nostalgic and alive.
Each neighborhood has its own identity. Clever Claw hosts bustling inventors’ workshops, Squiggly Streets preserves the town’s older architectural style, and East Village features more modern buildings and wealthier residents. At the heart of Goblinshire lies the Village Square, a lively hub where goblins gather for markets, festivals, and community celebrations.
For the books, we created a detailed map that highlights the key locations mentioned in each story, helping readers explore the world alongside the characters.
Visit FabioCorazza.com to see more of his amazing work.
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