Coloring Book Process- Pencil Draft

I finish all my coloring pages with my digital drawing tablet, but I prefer to get a solid rough draft done with pencil on paper. I use a 9x12" (slightly larger than the published size) smooth bristol paper, which holds up to a good deal of erasing and reworking and can take ink reasonably well if I decide to draw with pen for extra clarifications.

I begin by referencing my thumbnails to lay out a basic composition of the page. Later, I reference my creature design sketches and notes to slowly refine each detail of the drawing. It's always better to work every aspect of the page bit-by-bit instead of completing the subjects one-by-one. 

Each of the frames in this little animation are scans I took every 15 or 20 minutes. I know that I'm finished with the pencil draft when each area of the page has been at least vaguely established, but by no means a polished product. In my next post I'll share my process for finishing the page on the computer, and it will be apparent then just how much even a relatively complete pencil draft can change in the final step.