Tale of Two Princesses

Project Overview

Tale of Two Princesses by Rianna Matter uses the warmth and magic of fairy tale to tell a story about families built through different journeys. Princess Jade and Princess Jane arrive at their kingdom in very different ways — their stories are not the same, but both are filled with meaning, joy, and the unshakeable bond of a family that chose them. Rianna Matter writes with a lyrical gentleness that honours the real-life experiences of adoptive families while keeping the story firmly in the realm of enchantment.

The illustration challenge was creating a fairy tale visual world that felt genuinely royal and magical while remaining emotionally grounded — the enchanting settings and costumes needed to serve the story’s warmth rather than overshadow it, keeping both princesses’ journeys visible and equally celebrated across every spread.

Role

The illustration challenge was building a fairy tale world magical enough to feel genuinely royal while staying emotionally grounded in a very real story about family. Jade and Jane arrive at their kingdom by different paths, and neither journey could be allowed to outshine or diminish the other. Every costume, setting, and spread had to carry the weight of the fantasy while keeping both girls’ experiences visible and equally celebrated.

Full illustration across all 38 pages covered character design for Princess Jade, Princess Jane, the Queen and King, fairy tale environment and costume design, dual-journey visual storytelling with emotional balance, 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.