Since the First Day

Project Overview

Since the First Day by Ashley Sindico is structured as a heartfelt letter from one twin to their other half, tracing their shared journey from their first moments together in their mother’s womb through the milestones, adventures, and ordinary days of growing up side by side. Sindico captures the particular texture of twin siblinghood — the comfort of always having someone who truly understands you, and the joy of never facing anything completely alone.

The illustration challenge was finding visual language for a bond that is deeply felt but rarely visible — closeness, understanding, and unconditional love don’t always announce themselves in dramatic moments. Every spread needed to find those feelings in small, authentic details: a shared glance, a mirrored gesture, the particular way two people occupy the same space when they have always done so.

Role

Ashley’s book has a structural challenge that’s easy to underestimate: the twins had to be recognizable as the same two people across an entire lifetime of shared moments, from infancy through adulthood. That’s not just continuity — it’s the emotional core of the book. Every spread had to carry the weight of a bond that readers feel before they’re old enough to name it.

From developing the twin characters through to print-ready files, I worked across the full 29-page illustration, making sure every spread found that closeness in the small, specific details: the way they share space, the expressions they exchange, the gestures that only make sense between two people who have always known each other.

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.