Trace & Learn: Counting Board Book (Post 3) — Letting Characters Emerge Naturally

 

From Shapes to Personalities

This part felt very organic.

I wasn’t forcing characters at the beginning—I was just observing shapes and sketching. But gradually, certain expressions and attitudes started showing up.

Once I found a few that felt right, I began:

• Refining them
• Repeating those features
• Making sure they worked across different fruits and vegetables

Then I moved into sketching the actions mentioned in the text, trying to see how these characters would move and behave.

This stage felt like a conversation between me and the drawings—figuring things out as I went.

And then there were the French beans.

They were surprisingly difficult for me. The shape is so thin that it felt challenging to give them enough personality without losing what makes them… them.

I remember getting a bit stuck at that point.

But then, almost out of nowhere, I remembered how much I didn’t like eating French beans as a child. And how my older sisters would still make sure I ate them anyway—in that very big sister way where you don’t really have much of a choice.

That memory stayed with me for a while as I worked.

And then another one surfaced—something from my childhood during the Doordarshan days. I remembered seeing a small animated clip where vegetables were sitting in a basket, talking and interacting in a really fun, lively way.

I hadn’t thought about that in years.

When I came back to the text—“4 French beans rocking”—something suddenly clicked.

I thought… why not make them a rock band?

That idea changed everything.

Instead of fighting their thin shape, I started using it:

• It worked with movement
• It added rhythm
• It gave them energy

They stopped feeling like a problem and started feeling like some of the most fun characters in the set.

This is the part of the process I enjoy the most—when something isn’t working, and then a small memory or idea quietly shifts everything.

It’s never a straight path. It’s a lot of pausing, remembering, trying again… and slowly finding something that feels right.