Football Freddie and Fumble the Dog: Gameday in San Francisco

Project Overview

Football Freddie and Fumble the Dog: Gameday in San Francisco follows Freddie and her loyal companion Fumble as they explore one of America’s most iconic cities alongside friends Tommi, Kitty, and Blitz. The group packs in a full day of adventure — sailing beneath the Golden Gate Bridge, riding cable cars up Lombard Street, visiting Alcatraz, hopping on BART, and stopping for treats at Ghirardelli Square — before the day ends with music, dancing, and cheering on the San Francisco 49ers. Like every book in the series, the story earns its keep not just as a football tale but as a genuine love letter to a real American city.

The illustration challenge was capturing San Francisco’s visual distinctiveness — its hills, its bay, its iconic architecture — in a way that felt accurate enough for locals but warm and approachable enough for young readers encountering the city for the first time.

Role

Marnie brought an established series with a clear visual identity — Freddie, Fumble, and their friends already existed across multiple books, and my job was to step into that world and extend it faithfully. The central challenge was research: San Francisco’s hills, its bay, Alcatraz, the cable cars, Ghirardelli Square — every landmark had to be recognizable enough for locals but warm and approachable for young readers discovering the city for the first time.

From character consistency across five named characters through to print-ready files, I worked across all pages making sure the San Francisco edition felt like a true part of the series.

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.