Tonio Toots His New Trumpet

Project Overview

Tonio Toots His New Trumpet captures the moment a child discovers a passion that changes everything. When Tonio’s teacher introduces him to the trumpet, something clicks — and what begins as curious listening quickly becomes deep devotion. Author Antonio Gambrell writes with an infectious joy that mirrors the energy of the jazz tradition Tonio falls in love with.

The illustration challenge was making sound visible. Jazz is a genre defined by rhythm, improvisation, and feel — none of which can be heard on a printed page. Every spread needed to communicate the energy and movement of music through color, composition, and the expressiveness of Tonio’s face and body, giving readers the sensation of hearing something even in silence.

Role

Antonio came with a specific creative challenge: the main character is based on a real person, and the illustrations needed to reflect that authentically. Working from photo references provided by the author, I developed Tonio’s likeness into a fully illustrated character — keeping him recognizable and expressive across all 40 pages while giving him the range of emotion the story demands.

Beyond the character work, the bigger illustration challenge was making sound visible. Jazz is a genre of rhythm and feel — none of which a reader can hear. Every spread needed to carry the energy of music through composition, color, and the expressiveness of Tonio’s body and face, so readers feel something even in silence.

Selected Double-Page Spreads (Final Book Layout)

Character Design

Before a single page is illustrated, I develop the main characters in full — defining their proportions, expressions, and personality. This is the foundation that keeps your characters recognizable and consistent across every scene, every lighting condition, and every emotional moment in the project.

Process

Every project follows this same structured path, so you always know where we are and what comes next. You review and approve at the sketch stage and the line art stage — nothing moves to color until you’re happy. By the time the final spread is rendered, there are no surprises.