How We’re Designing a Unique Yabbit the Rabbit: Behind the Scenes of Our Creative Collaboration

The Rabbit in the MoonCharacter DesignIllustration ProcessWriting a Children's Picture Book
Written By KD Schnee

Rod and I are learning the most efficient ways to communicate and work together as we continue bringing Yabbit the Rabbit to life for our children’s picture book, The Rabbit in the Moon. In a recent blog post, I talked about how important it is not to stifle Rod’s creativity when reviewing page illustrations and early character concepts.
👉 You can read that post here.

I tend to get scatterbrained when I’m in the creative zone, ideas flow quickly, and I jot down short notes, scribbles, and fragments that eventually connect into something meaningful. I want Rod to have that same freedom. I don’t want him to feel constrained by linear order or forced to illustrate page by page if inspiration strikes elsewhere.

If his imagination pulls him toward a character detail, I want him focusing on that. If he’s inspired by a specific scene, then that’s the page he should be illustrating. Creativity isn’t structured, and we don’t want to force it to be.

Reviewing the Second Round of Page Illustrations

Rod recently shared the second set of page illustrations, and I couldn’t be happier with the progress. Seeing the scenes illustrated from my text, the expressions, the emotion, the storytelling through light and movement, it’s surreal.

Children’s picture books rely heavily on the balance of text and illustration. When Rod visualizes an action or feeling in the art, it often allows me to tighten my text, remove redundancies, and let the illustrations take the lead. This is exactly how high-quality picture books are created.

How Do We Make Yabbit the Rabbit Unforgettable?

One of the most important questions we’re tackling is:
How do we make Yabbit the Rabbit stand out among the countless famous rabbits in picture books, movies, and pop culture?

That’s the challenge, and the opportunity.

Watch as we discuss on Youtube

We want Yabbit to have a unique, recognizable trait that young readers and parents will instantly associate with him, something visually iconic, emotionally compelling, and deeply connected to his personality and theme.

Because The Rabbit in the Moon is a story about courage, hesitation, emotional growth, and nighttime creatures rooted in Aztec and Greek mythology, Yabbit’s design needs to embody:

  • warmth

  • vulnerability

  • gentle bravery

  • curiosity

  • and a sense of wonder

His look must support the emotional lessons of the story, the very reasons parents search for children’s books about courage, resilience, and bedtime storytelling.

As we continue refining his shape, posture, color palette, expressions, and signature features, we’re getting closer to discovering that perfect balance.

Related Posts

• Redesigning Yabbit the Rabbit
• Second Round of Page Illustrations
• How I Review Page Illustrations
• Planning the Illustration Layout
• Creating the New Story for The Rabbit in the Moon

KD Schnee

KD Schnee is a children’s author from Pittsburgh, PA. He was raised in Bull Valley, IL on a former Christmas-tree farm. He spent his childhood roaming the woods and listening to nightly read-alouds from his dad, and early favorites like A Cricket in Times Square helped plant the seeds for storytelling.

His debut picture book, The Rabbit in the Moon, introduces Yabbit the Rabbit, a character first imagined by KD’s mother and inspired by his own childhood tendencies to hesitate or avoid. Today, KD writes hopeful stories that help kids (and the child in all of us) face fear, feel brave, and grow.

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Creating Yabbit the Rabbit: Merging Fan-Favorite Character Designs
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Second Round of Page Illustrations for The Rabbit in the Moon