MAKING "LILY'S DREAM"
I made a little booklet called “Lily’s Dream” in May! It’s 12 pages long, and is about letting your dreams carry you to far off places and eventually back home💫
THE ORIGINAL IDEA
For a long time, “Lily’s Dream” was called “Blue’s Dream.” It started off as a wordless picture book about a blue cat who transforms into different animals (also blue) in her dream.
Over several years, I brainstormed ideas, made story boards, and sketched different characters and scenes, but never made it past the drafting stage. I would get stuck trying to think of the perfect composition or figure out what exactly Blue should look like, then get frustrated and set the project aside. I knew there was a story I wanted to tell about following your curiosities, seeing things from different perspectives, and piecing your identity together along the way… but I couldn’t quite articulate it, or express it visually, in a way that truly clicked.
getting close
Last year I attempted to make a condensed version of “Blue’s Dream” with the help of my friend Kaori, a graphic designer. We designed a few pages together, and I loved how they turned out, except... I was dying to use more colors! The concept had seemed really cool in my head, but in practice, limiting every animal to shades of blue felt too restrictive.
Still, the book was called “Blue’s Dream,” and I was so attached to the little blue cat I had been sketching for so long. Wouldn’t this whole project fall apart if I can’t figure out how to work with the color blue? I felt a bit lost at this point and, surprise, ended up taking another break from the project.
A spread for “Blue’s Dream,” designed by Kaori Azami
WHEN THE DOTS CONNECTED
Several more months passed with no progress on the book. Then, a few things happened:
I went to an event at my local library where author Erika Lewis spoke about not being too precious about your early books. They’re not going to be that great, and that’s okay. Just write them and move on, because that’s how you grow as a writer
My friend Kristina gifted me a beautiful little zine by Sophie Diao. It follows the adventures of two friends through a series of vignettes, telling their story in small pieces
Bel Canto Books invited me to participate in the upcoming Fourth Fridays event.
Somehow, these three moments snapped together like little puzzle pieces. I love that feeling of dots connecting! Here’s what I took away:
Just make the damn book and keep making more. Don’t be silly and expect things to be perfect on your first try.
You don’t have to finish a full book. Just start small. Draw the scenes you’re most excited about and build the story piece by piece, over time.
Oh, and now you have a deadline. Get to work!
MAKING THE BOOKLET
And so, I counted the days and realized I had just one weekend to make the booklet if I wanted it printed in time for the event. I spent a day brainstorming, and that’s when, almost unexpectedly, Blue became Lily. I figured that if I wanted a colorful book, making the cat white would help her stand out against any background. Plus, my friend has an adorable and very spirited white cat named Lily, and my Japanese grandma’s name is Yuri, which also means lily. It felt like a perfect fit.
At the same time, I decided Lily wouldn’t transform into different animals anymore. Instead, she would journey alongside them. It was just too tricky for me to figure out how to visually depict a cat transforming into other animals, and honestly, I liked the idea of Lily having her own identity.
I let go of the expectations I’d built around the book and surrendered to the process. Whatever came through in the next two days was what was meant to be. Don’t judge it, just make it!
And guess what? After so many years of feeling like this story would never take shape, I had the best time making this booklet over one short weekend. It was a blissful pocket of time when all (well, most of) my doubts and anxieties faded into the background, and I was fully immersed in bringing Lily’s world to life. It feels so nice to finally let this story go out into the wild.
It’s a small book, and only the beginning of Lily’s adventures, but I’m super proud of it. I can’t wait to see where Lily goes next!
“Lily’s Dream” vol. 1 is currently available for purchase through Cool Cat Collective.