Marty and the Lost Boy

Project Overview

Marty and the Lost Boy by Mary Beth Rose is an adventure picture book set against the vivid backdrop of island life, where colour, wildlife, and the ocean create a world that feels genuinely exotic and alive. Marty the Macaw lives contentedly in his treehouse, watching the world — until the disappearance of a boy after a kayaking trip forces him from observer to participant. The rescue mission that follows transforms Marty from a curious bystander into a genuine hero, his quick thinking and determination proving decisive. Mary Beth Rose writes with suspense and warmth in equal measure, making the resolution feel both exciting and emotionally satisfying.

The illustration challenge was building the island environment as a full visual world — its particular light, its wildlife, its ocean — so that Marty’s world felt real enough to make his bravery feel real too.

Role

The illustration challenge was building the island environment as a full visual world, its particular light, its wildlife, its ocean, so that Marty’s world felt real enough to make his bravery feel real too. Every spread needed to carry that sense of place while the rescue mission’s tension built naturally across the pages.

Full illustration across the book covered character design for Marty the Macaw, the lost boy, and the island cast, tropical island and ocean environment illustration, bird character expressiveness and movement design, and print-ready file preparation for Mascot Books.

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.