Because of Winn-Dixie follows the story of a girl in a new town whose adopted dog helps her build friendships and mend family bonds.

DISCIPLINES

Illustration
Storytelling
Print Design

TEAM

Solo Project

TIMELINE

Fall 2025
4 weeks

ROLE

Graphic Designer
Illustrator

REIMAGINING A TREASURED FAVORITE

I redesigned the front and back covers of Because of Winn-Dixie, creating custom illustrations and typography to visually capture the story’s themes of friendship, belonging, and finding connection in unexpected places.

STORY OVERVIEW

Opal moves to a small town in Florida with her father and adopts a stray dog. With the help of her new companion, Opal forms friendship with people throughout the town, helping her find a sense of belonging while coming to terms with her mother’s absence.

A girl lying next to a dog, both with their eyes closed. The girl is holding a red flashlight and a pen, lying on her stomach, writing or drawing on paper, with a pillow and bed in the background.

Process

CONCEPT SKETCHES

I did quick sketches, practicing staging various scenes that were important to the story. It was difficult to choose exactly which scenes were the most crucial to include.

A sketch of a person sitting at a table, holding a cup, with a video game controller and a shiba inu dog nearby, in a room with a window on the wall.
Line art drawing of a girl hugging a large dog.
A sketch of a pet store interior with a girl sitting on the floor with a dog, a person sitting on a crate playing guitar with a cat, and animals gathered with a dog, a rabbit, and a hamster or guinea pig.
A sketch of two people facing a wall with hanging bottles labeled as "hanging bottles" and "mistake tree." Behind them, there is a dog named Gloria and a collection of opal stones. The sketch is labeled with handwritten notes.

I narrowed it down to these two compositions. The front cover on left shows Opal confiding in and leaning on Winn-Dixie as a companion. The back cover shows the mistake tree, where Opal learns that she shouldn't judge the people she meets right off the bat and that one mistake doesn't define someone.

REFINED LINEWORK
A line drawing of a girl reading a book with a cat lying next to her, holding a phone to her ear, with a bed and a window in the background.
A line drawing of a girl reading a book with a cat lying next to her, holding a phone to her ear, with a bed and a window in the background.
Line drawing of a girl sitting next to a dog with hanging bottles and a table in the background, with scattered bottles on the ground.
Line drawing of a girl sitting next to a dog with hanging bottles and a table in the background, with scattered bottles on the ground.

Final Illustration

A girl with brown hair reading a book on her bed with a lamp, a dog lying nearby, and her legs crossed and propped up on the headboard.
Girl with blonde hair standing next to a large brown and white dog in a backyard with a wooden fence and a tree. The tree has hanging string lights shaped like bottles, and there are scattered bottles on the ground.
Book cover titled 'Because of Winn-Dixie' by Kate DiCamillo. Illustration of a girl with a flashlight and a dog lying on a bed.

With title, author’s name, blurb, stickers

Illustration of a tree with hanging bottles and lights, a girl with blonde hair and a dog standing on green grass, a wooden fence in the background, and a cloudy sky.
Two books with illustrated covers held against a beige background. The left book shows a girl writing with a flashlight, a dog, and a sunset, titled "Because of Winn-Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo. The right book has a colorful illustration of a tree with hanging lights, a girl, and a dog, and includes a quote from the Miami Herald, with the title "A Heartwarming Family Tale from America’s Beloved Storyteller."
Close-up of a book titled "Because of Win-Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo with an illustration of a girl and a dog on the cover, lying on a light-colored surface.

For next time…

With this project, I had the opportunity to illustrate using Adobe Fresco and experiment with lighting, contrast, and utilizing different brushes to create an inviting, immersive, and updated cover for one of my favorite childhood books.

If I were to do this project again, I'd push the contrast even further, continuing to layer and add texture, but I quite enjoyed exploring Adobe Fresco and taking key components from the book and turning them into engaging compositions.

TAKEAWAYS
MAMA MONKEY'S
DĀT
BACK TO TOP 
THE CHALLENGE

Because of Winn-Dixie is a story about loneliness, friendship, and unexpected connections. How do you capture that warmth and sense of companionship while creating a book cover that feels both nostalgic and contemporary?

Still from the movie Because of Winn-Dixie, 2005. Directed by Wayne Wang.