skin & bones - the art of Dana Terrace (2024)
Publication Design
Art Direction
Product Design
Marketing
Client & Artist : Dana Terrace
Editor: Nicole Collins
Designers: Dana Capistrano, Oriana Zhao
Art Direction
Product Design
Marketing
Client & Artist : Dana Terrace
Editor: Nicole Collins
Designers: Dana Capistrano, Oriana Zhao
This is Dana Terrace’s first comprehensive, sketchbook-inspired publication—an artful collection drawn from dozens of personal sketchbooks dating back to 2015. Each page has been meticulously scanned at high resolution, thoughtfully curated, and beautifully composed to showcase the evolution of her creative process.
Dana Terrace is an animator, illustrator and writer based in Los Angeles. Her work is influenced by everything from Hieronymus Bosch to The Powerpuff Girls to Satoshi Kon's Paprika. After graduating from SVA in 2013, Terrace worked on projects like Gravity Falls and DuckTales 2017, though she is best known as the creator and show runner of the Peabody Award-winning show, The Owl House, and co-creator and show runner of the upcoming online series Knights of Guinevere.
The book was available exclusively through pre-order and launched alongside a solo exhibition featuring selected works from its pages. Pre-order perks included a limited-edition t-shirt, enamel mug, stickers, and art prints—offering fans a unique, collectible experience.
Dana Terrace is an animator, illustrator and writer based in Los Angeles. Her work is influenced by everything from Hieronymus Bosch to The Powerpuff Girls to Satoshi Kon's Paprika. After graduating from SVA in 2013, Terrace worked on projects like Gravity Falls and DuckTales 2017, though she is best known as the creator and show runner of the Peabody Award-winning show, The Owl House, and co-creator and show runner of the upcoming online series Knights of Guinevere.
The book was available exclusively through pre-order and launched alongside a solo exhibition featuring selected works from its pages. Pre-order perks included a limited-edition t-shirt, enamel mug, stickers, and art prints—offering fans a unique, collectible experience.
Book Interiors – Layout & Typography
Moodboard + Art Direction
Dana’s inspirations span a wide spectrum—from Hieronymus Bosch and The Powerpuff Girls to Satoshi Kon’s Paprika. A major influence on the art direction was Koji Morimoto’s Orange, which informed our approach to layout and pacing. The design embraces a balance of chaos and control: asymmetrical, sketch-like elements are carefully composed alongside fully rendered illustrations. We played with the book’s gutters and the interplay of light and dark to create rhythm, contrast, and visual intrigue throughout the interior.
Cover Explorations
For the cover, we wanted to keep things spooky and creepy — but still cute —which honestly sums up the vibe of the book pretty well. We explored a few different images, using mockups and digital compositing in Photoshop to test how each one felt in context. The final choice, with the lace detailing and the rotting monster front and center, hit that balance nicely. Since the front is pretty intense—with one of the characters staring directly at the viewer—we designed the back to tone it down and highlight Dana’s playful side, including her little cartoon self doodled in the corner. One of our favorite parts was working on the spine. We experimented with layout variations and came up with a way to make the spine visually connect with both the front and back covers, creating a wraparound effect that ties everything together.
Additional Products
Skin & Bones: Dana Terrace Solo Exhibition, Book Release & Signing
