"How I Make Space" — A guest blog post from Sarah Jacoby, illustrator of THE COZIEST PLACE ON THE MOON
In this guest post from Sarah Jacoby, the illustrator of the forthcoming picture book The Coziest Place on the Moon, she takes us into her art-making process of bringing light, color, and texture into the story’s outer space setting.
This post originally appeared on Sarah Jacoby’s Substack. To read more about the happenings inside and outside of her studio and to subscribe to her newsletter, please click the button below.
Hello,
Fall is tumbling towards us! I’m here to share some process work behind The Coziest Place on the Moon by Maria Popova. This book arrives in deep fall, November 4th, via Enchanted Lion. It’s a beautiful project about solitude and companionship and I’m looking forward to sharing it with you.
First things first: the manuscript for this book offered the images of outer space and then, deeper still, a cave-like space on the moon. I normally start an illustration project by considering the visual world via color and light, but this seems like a pretty dark situation.
I encountered Instagram story a while back. I think it was from Cindy Derby? Maybe? She’s very good at experimenting, so I’d bet on it. The gist: she was working with watercolor on black paper.
Oh my. I had forgotten about black paper.
I had been trying out paint washes and charcoal, building up pastels-all on white paper and other types of stock. I noticed Cindy’s inversion, this naturally black canvas, and that seemed like a promising thing. Thanks, Cindy!
I bought a block of very rich feeling black Stonehenge paper and some granulating Kuretake Tambi watercolors because I thought it might look cool.
Then I asked: how might light work on the moon? Is it everywhere? Bouncing around? I’m pretty sure a scientific person would say there is an absence of light. Or color at least? I believe Maria even mentioned this to me as we were reviewing sketches for the book. To some that may translate to: a grayscale palette. To me that translated to: no rules. What can I say, my art brain is constantly seeking quiet rebellion.
I love surprise behavior or interaction when it comes to material. I like the idea of surprise/delight imbuing itself in work, granting it a spiritual curiosity or something. Even if I’m the only one to know it’s there. Here is metallic watercolor against the black, resulting in some neat dusty looking beams:
The final piece looks like this, for what it’s worth:
Here are some more textures I made as I tried to illustrate space (I also use Pan Pastel for ultimate dustiness):
Okay. Here is the last thing: a cover that didn’t end up being by the cover. I love seeing this kind of thing hope you do too.
The Coziest Place on the Moon arrives in stores on November 4th. You can preorder it via BuyOly or Enchanted Lion. BuyOly will send you a small, cute, 4x4 print.
Thanks for reading, friends! <3
—Sarah Jacoby
THE COZIEST PLACE ON THE MOON
Written by Maria Popova
Illustrated by Sarah Jacoby
A Publishers Weekly Big Indie Children’s Book of Fall 2025! ★ From The Marginalian creator Maria Popova and acclaimed illustrator Sarah Jacoby comes this gorgeous picture book about the dark side of the moon, and creative solitude as an antidote to loneliness.
Feeling like the loneliest creature on Earth, Re decides to go live in the coziest place on the moon. Re packs a suitcase and takes off on a beam of light, shooting out into the cosmic aloneness of space. Re's aim is to go into the cozy nook that the moon is said to possess. But shortly after arriving, Re makes a surprising discovery: Re is not alone. Indeed, another lonely soul has beaten Re there! And so, Re meets Mi, and while each lives in their own chamber of the nook, these two single souls still become, at times, a kind of togetherness. Each remains alone but less lonely, and now each can watch over the solitude of the other. Moreover, on certain nights, the solitary songs of them both might be heard cadencing the night together, in harmony, across the vast and starry sky.
Click HERE to learn more & order the book!
✨ PREORDER EXCLUSIVE: the first FIFTEEN preorders over our website will also include a free collectible print, signed by Sarah Jacoby. ✨