Football Freddie & Fumble the Dog: Gameday in Pittsburgh

Project Overview

Football Freddie & Fumble the Dog: Gameday in Pittsburgh by Marnie Schneider and Jonathan Witten takes the series to one of the NFL’s most storied cities, where Freddie and Fumble ride the Duquesne Incline, explore Kennywood, and take in the history and culture of Pittsburgh before cheering on the Steelers at Heinz Field.

Pittsburgh has a distinctive visual identity — its bridges, its rivers, its hillside neighbourhoods — and the illustration challenge was capturing that identity accurately and affectionately for young readers, making the city feel as compelling as the game day itself. Every landmark needed to be recognisable to Pittsburghers while remaining inviting and exciting for readers encountering the Steel City for the first time.

Role

The illustration challenge was capturing Pittsburgh’s distinctive visual identity, its bridges, rivers, and hillside neighbourhoods, accurately and affectionately for young readers, making the city feel as compelling as game day itself. Every landmark needed to be recognisable to Pittsburghers while remaining inviting and exciting for readers encountering the Steel City for the first time.

Full illustration across the book covered character design consistency for Freddie, Fumble, and the series cast, Pittsburgh landmark and incline illustration, visual storytelling and scene development, and print-ready file preparation.

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.