Article 18: Illustrating ‘A Bright Ass Idea!’ — Progress on Pages 5, 6, and 7

We’re making progress! Last week, I illustrated Pages 2–4 after realizing just how time-consuming it is to find and edit royalty-free artwork for each page. The most challenging part has been sourcing the right images and making necessary historical adjustments to keep the story accurate to the 19th century.

This week, I continued working on the illustrations using the same step-by-step approach as before. I started by reading each page’s text, then compared my original vision with AI’s suggested concepts to determine the best artistic direction. My goal was to illustrate up to Page 8, but as you’ll see below, Page 7 required more time than expected.

Each week, I set aside dedicated time for this newsletter. If I don’t complete everything within that timeframe, I simply carry over unfinished tasks to the following week. As Les Brown says, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” I’ve had the pleasure of hearing him speak live, and while he may not have originated that quote, it has always resonated with me when setting goals.

Now, let’s take a look at Pages 5, 6, and 7 and see how they turned out!

Page 5: Searching, Editing, and Assembling the Final Artwork

Text from Page 5:

"He was a cunning bastard, always trying to screw over his competitors. But, gotta give him credit, he was also a damn good inventor. Edison and his team of misfits, known as the "muckers", spent years experimenting with different materials for the filament."

My Vision for the Illustration: I imagined a lab scene with everyone working, surrounded by scattered tools, failed bulbs, and messy notes.

The Images I Needed:

1. A background of a laboratory.
2. An image of some beakers.
3. A chalkboard.

The Search:

• Finding the background was easy, but I had to make some tweaks to the image to make everything fit inside the square 8.75” x 8.75” of the workspace.
• Images of beakers were easy to find, but it took a little time to find some that matched the style of artwork.
• I wanted to add some things to the chalkboard, so I needed to find a light bulb outline and some arrows to show like the Muckers were working on something.

Edits Made:

1. Move some of the items in the background to make everything fit inside the workspace.
2. Moved the scientists around to make them closer together.
3. Added the items I grabbed to the chalkboard after making them all white to mimic the color of chalk.

Time Needed: 1 hour to find and edit everything.

Final Illustration for Page 5:

Page 6: Searching, Editing, and Assembling the Final Artwork

Text from Page 6:

“They tried everything from wood shavings to coconut hair before finally settling on bamboo, which turned out to be the shit. To get the best bamboo, Edison sent his guys all over the damn world, from Brazil to China. One poor son of a bitch even died of yellow fever in Cuba while searching for the perfect bamboo.”

My Vision for the Illustration: I wanted to show a map with a dotted line showing routes from the United States to Brazil, China, and Cuba.

The Images I Needed:

1. A background of a map—the older looking the better.
2. Some bamboo shoots.
3. A coffin.
4. Some water illustrations for aesthetics.
5. Dotted lines (I’ll more than likely create these in Illustrator myself).

The Search:

• Finding the map background wasn’t too difficult.
• I found some good bamboo shoots with leaves that would work.
• Creating the dotted line was simple in Illustrator

Edits Made:

1. The royalty-free image of the map showed the Asian continent on the right and considered how odd would look with a dotted line going across Europe—so I needed to move the map around to show America (including the Gulf of America) on the right-side of the map and China on the left side.
2. I added a coffin in Cuba to show there was a death searching for bamboo.
3. I added some other small items to spruce up the map too.

Time Needed:? 1 hour 30 minutes to find and edit everything.

Final Illustration for Page 6:

Page 7: Searching, Editing, and Assembling the Final Artwork

Text from Page 7:

“Edison eventually got his goddamn light bulb to work, but it wasn't just because he was a genius. He had a kick-ass team of scientists and engineers who helped him figure out the details. He also knew how to play the media like a damn fiddle.”

My Vision for the Illustration: I initially pictured a group of scientists celebrating around a glowing light bulb, but finding this in the royalty-free database was become too time consuming.? After 30 minutes of searching for the right image (maybe I was too picky?), I gave up and decided to go for AI’s suggestion of a side-by-side comparison of a failed light bulb vs. the final working one.

The Images I Needed:

1. A background of some sort—decided to look for another laboratory background.
2. A working light bulb and a broken light bulb.
3. A way to distinguish the two separate images of the light bulbs.

The Search:

• I found a good laboratory
• I got lucky again and found a royalty-free image of Thomas Edison holding a light bulb.
• Finding people with “surprised expressions” took a bit of effort.

Edits Made:

1. Removed the hanging light bulbs to replace with candles.
2. Added the two comparison images on top of the background.
3. Added the broken light bulb to the left image and the working light bulb to the right image.
4. Added candles to place inside the lights in the background to show that it was indeed before the invention of the light bulb.

Time Needed: 2 hours and 45 minutes to find and edit everything.

Final Illustration for Page 7:

Moving Forward: Continuing with the Illustrations

This week’s progress on A Bright Ass Idea! reinforced a key takeaway—illustrating a book with royalty-free images takes time, patience, and flexibility. While some pages came together quickly, others required significant adjustments or a change in creative direction.

For Page 7, I originally envisioned a celebratory scene of scientists, but after struggling to find the right images, I had to pivot to AI’s suggestion of a side-by-side light bulb comparison. That’s the reality of using royalty-free artwork—you don’t always find exactly what you imagined, so adapting and adjusting is part of the process.

Despite these challenges, three more pages are now complete, and the book is really starting to take shape. Next week, I’ll continue illustrating the final pages and work toward getting A Bright Ass Idea! fully assembled.

What’s Next? I’ll break down Pages 8, 9, and 10, sharing more insights into the challenges and creative decisions along the way. The finish line is getting closer!

Have you ever had to shift creative direction on a project? How did you handle it?

Levi Leyba is an award-winning author and illustrator known for his engaging storytelling and innovative approach to connecting with readers. Based in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area of Arizona, Levi has written eight (8) children’s books, two (2) how-to guides, and a satirical adult-themed children’s book—which he successfully wrote, illustrated, and published in just one month!

His work bridges cultural divides, inspires creativity, and brings laughter to readers of all ages. As a passionate advocate for childhood literacy, Levi has earned recognition for his community leadership and contributions to non-profit organizations.

Follow along as he continues to explore the possibilities of AI to illustrate and publish books across different genres. Visit his personal website by clicking here.