When I started designing characters for The Sheep Magnet (TSM), I knew right away how I wanted the sheep to look. I pictured them with fluffy cloud bodies and a dark curly outline, with “stick-like” arms and legs. I’d been saving security envelopes because I liked the patterns, and I thought they’d be great for collage illustrations.

So I sketched a page of possible sheep bodies, then drew some shapes on different papers—a few security envelopes and a cool mulberry paper. I liked how they turned out, so that’s how I ended up drawing the sheep. If you look at the different sheep throughout the book, you’ll notice that I used a lot of different papers for the sheep in addition to the security envelopes and the mulberry paper.

At the end of the book, there’s a tutorial on how to draw a sheep. I’ve included a printable version of the page below. (It is also part of The Sheep Magnet Activity Packet). I’d love to see examples of the sheep YOU design.

Happy creating, Bernice