Before I start drawing the books, I like to have a few outfit options for each character.  I’ll scope out the kids’ section at Target for whatever the kids are wearing these days.  I’ll see what my own kiddos gravitate towards. Then I’ll say, would a kitten wear this? Sometimes I’ll take it a step further and give a little backstory to their clothing. In Planetary-Yum Waffles wears a yellow shirt with a fish blowing bubbles on it, and Pancake has a sweater with a rainbow on it. Waffles chose his fish shirt because his favorite food is Tuna, and he is fascinated with seeing where his food came from. Pancake likes rainbows because there’s a rumor that if you find the end of the rainbow, there’s a basket full of sparkle cat toys.

Graphic novels are amazing because the reader absorbs so much information about the story visually. What the character wears actually conveys a big part of who they are.  Waffles and Pancake’s dad has a red hoodie, he’s a casual fun dad!  Their mom wears a long sweater dress and tights, she’s a hip mom! It might seem like such a small note of personalization to each character that probably gets overlooked, but it’s so important. At a glance, it gives every reader an idea of who this character is, and I love it so much.

Drew Brockington