Dino Doesn’t Want to Eat

Authors: Elisa de Espíndola, Jéssica Batista and Bernardo Amin

Graphic Design: Diego Aguiar Teixeira

Publisher: Tudo! Editora

Dino Doesn’t Want to Eat is a children’s book about Dino, a little dinosaur who represents children facing eating difficulties. The project aims to bring children, families and educators together in addressing selective eating in a playful way.

This project was especially meaningful to me because, in addition to illustrating the book, I also wrote the story in collaboration with nutritionist Elisa de Espíndola and speech therapist Jéssica Batista.

The book was a success and was later translated into English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian and German.

Moodboard & Visual Concept

The visual development of the project was based on the idea of creating a prehistoric world that would feel welcoming and accessible to young readers. One of the main references was Disney’s The Good Dinosaur, which inspired the visual atmosphere of the project.

Character Design

The character design process explored different possibilities for Dino’s personality and proportions. Early sketches focused on a softer and cuter version, followed by variations where he appears slightly older, leading to the final design.

Illustration Process

Once the character designs were defined, the storyboard for the story was created. From there, each scene was sketched, refined and then colored according to the chosen palette.

Final Illustrations