You’re the Actual Best
Written by M.H.Clark, Illustrated by Chloe Welch
Illustrating You’re the Actual Best was an incredibly rewarding experience—it marked my debut as a children’s book illustrator. Throughout the process, I gained a new-found appreciation for the immense effort involved in bringing a book to life. The early stages were particularly exciting as I brainstormed a range of animal character ideas. After thoughtful collaboration with my client, we settled on two charming mouse friends as the stars of the story, and I couldn’t have been more excited to bring them to life.
One of the challenges I faced was illustrating conceptual scenes, like, “Just when I think you’ve reached the limit… you surpass it.” To bring this idea to life, I drew one mouse in line for ice cream, followed by their friend stacking scoops so high they go off the page—a playful solution that perfectly captured the sentiment!
Once each spread was refined, colored, and approved, I added the final touch by handwriting all the text. It brought an extra sprinkle of charm to an already adorable story.
This project was such a joy to work on, allowing me to bring heartfelt storytelling to life through whimsical imagery. It was exciting to channel my creativity into design visuals that could bring this sweet book to life. I hope you pick up a copy for a good friend in your life!
Initial character options- I absolutely loved designing their little outfits
More from the sketching phase
Sketch to final spread
“With you, all the great days are always more great. But the bad days are better too. It’s your words and your kindness… but while that’s all true, it’s mostly your presence. The fact is: it’s you.”
There are some friends who are just so amazing, so generous, so bighearted, it feels like it might be scientifically possible to prove they are the actual best! The pages of this adorable book are here to help you express your immeasurable gratitude for a friend whose goodness is simply off the charts. The two adorably illustrated mouse companions within this friendship book are here to help you shower a buddy or a bestie with bighearted compliments. A perfect blend of silly and sweet, this gift book is filled with playful rhymes to highlight how special it is to have a faithful friend by your side.
- Text by Compendium