La Viejita Ramonita
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La Viejita Ramonita
In 2020, I illustrated Lisette Diaz's book, La Viejita Ramonita. It is a children's book about an elderly woman named Ramonita who lives in Puerto Rico and suffers from Alzheimer's. However, whenever she hears the rooster crow, it reminds her of her heritage and she regains her memory. I drew inspiration from conversations with Lisette about her home country of Puerto Rico, her memories of her grandmother and images that she sent me that embody the culture that Lisette wanted the illustrations to reflect. It is written bilingually, in both English and Spanish.
Inspiration
Concept Art & Character Design
Once I drew a color palette from the images above, I began sketching what I imagined Ramonita and her home would look like. I based Ramonita on Lisette's own grandmother, because I was so moved by the way she spoke so lovingly about her. I felt an emotional connection to this project as well as a Hispanic artist.
Final Product
After receiving approval on the concept art, I began sketching all 10 spreads (21 pages of illustration total) on Procreate. Lisette and I exchanged a lot of creative conversation and had a lot of fun in the making of this project. Once the illustrations were finalized, Lisette went ahead and published the book. Together we hosted a virtual book launching event close to Christmastime, and made additional merchandise using the illustrations for the book.
