Kevin is so good at looking at a character sketch and deciding what their personality will be like. Savanna: I have to say Kevin and I work really well together on this front. How do you make sure that each character has their own touch of personality, even if they’re just a supporting character? HTLC: Bloom has a diverse cast of characters, from a variety of backgrounds. Savanna: For sure! Ari and Hector both have things they’re thinking about, and things they aren’t saying in the dialogue so I think that is always important to keep in mind when you’re illustrating two characters who eventually fall in love. Was this something you were conscious about when illustrating moments between Ari and Hector? HTLC: From a storytelling perspective, romance is something that’s often best expressed nonverbally for readers to believe the connection. I wanted them to feel like real spaces the reader could imagine stepping foot in. I actually made a map of the town for myself, and did preliminary location designs for most of the rooms and outdoor locations, and made sure to thoroughly set-dress them. Savanna: Giving East Beach a strong sense of place was actually one of my main goals when it came to the art of Bloom, so I’m happy it came across. What was your approach when it came to designing these locales, whether it be Ari’s backyard or the wider surroundings of the town? HTLC: One of the first things that I noticed in Bloom was how lived-in and warm the environments feel. Luckily it wasn’t too formal and I was able to run through the thumbs in my pyjamas, haha. Although, when I was getting thumbs approved I had to wake up at 4 am to have a meeting with Kevin and our editor Calista Brill. Savanna: The time difference actually worked out, I wake up pretty early and Kevin is up late so it ended up fine for the most part. With your collaborator Kevin living in Washington DC, what was it like collaborating with someone on the other side of the world? HTLC: You illustrated Bloom when you were living in Melbourne, Australia. I had a chat with Savanna Ganucheau about baking, her creative process, what it was like illustrating the book when she was on the other side of the world from her collaborator, and much more. Over time, Ari and Hector become close over batches of bread and soon a romance blooms (pardon the pun) between them. To make his dreams come true he finds his replacement in Hector, who’s passionate about baking. The only problem is that he’s obligated to work in the family bakery, even though his spark for baking was lost long ago. The book stars Ari, who’s desperate to move to the big city to play in a band with his friends.
In Bloom, writer Kevin Panetta and artist Savanna Ganucheau, young romance and baking collide to form a very strong graphic novel debut through First Second Books.
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