This book is written like an old Arab tale. The demon lives up on the mountain and rules over the frightened villagers. Only one brave child comes forward to challenge the demon…

I really liked the text in this book. I related to the eastern motives in it, and located it in an imaginary place with a Balkans flavor. Unfortunately the author disagreed with my choice of location and ambiance, and the project was given to another illustrator.

This book presented a unique challenge. It is based on ancient Jewish philosophy. The author asked me not to use the obvious iconography related to Kabbalah, Sorcery, Alchemy or any known religion. I had to create my own iconography, that is to describe visually the ancient history of eagles.

Since I was not allowed to use the visual ideas I originally wanted to use, I went elsewhere for inspiration. I dove into the world of body art. I learnt a little bit about the criminal symbolism of Russian tattoos, the ancient wisdom of Chinese tattoos. I was struck by the vividness and complexity of Japanese body art. I really liked the way the black and white blend softly into the skin, and the way colored parts accentuate the black and white parts.

I used Archetypes like "Mother Earth" – and created the big mother eagle holding her nest, with a halo designed like the medieval clock in Prague. I didn't care if most of it doesn't mean anything really. I know that the vast use of symbols in our culture will make people think that there is a meaning to it all, especiallyimaginative children.

Some of these images were too criptic for both the editor and author of the book, and I was asked to replace them with more friendly images. I, however, prefer my mysteries.

Creating a fantasy land for a picture book is always tricky. It seems as if everything had been done. I had to find a new source of inspiration. During that period in time I was working with a well known Israeli chef on an illustrated cook book – I made a world made of, well, food.

These 2 drawings are still beautiful to me. The tones are creamier and thicker than the ones used in the final drawings. The posture of the characters is more elegant, and I really love the original characters (although I understand the reasoning for all the changes I was asked to do).

These concept drawings were much similar to the end result, except for a few differences: The mother did not appear to be rich enough. My editor wanted her to look like a real rich bitch. The father in this drawing was perceived as a "Big Klutz" by both the editor and author of the book. They both wanted him to look like a billionaire who had time on his hands. They both admired the crocodile – but I decided I needed to change it a bit, in terms of technique, so that it's transparent when it is still a concept . After Amalia actually gets her crocodile – it is drawn in the same technique as everything else (Panton markers and colored pencils), and becomes "real".

The story of Shiraz is based on an old Persian tale. I actually did a lot of research for this book. I looked at pictures of antique Persian miniature art, looked at traditional cloths, patterns, tiles, etc. I even found old pictures of Persian cities in the early 20th century. I tried an older version of the girl, and a younger version of her, and designed everything myself, including the handmade typography. Eventually the author decided she didn't want the book to be so specific in terms of origin and culture, and the project was given to another illustrator. I am still quite proud of my version, regardless of the end result.

In these drawings I tried 2 different ways of addressing the text. The color version derives from vintage Israeli illustrations – as the book is based on a story printed in Israel in the forties. The author didn't like the colors and didn't want the book to look "old". The other one is inspired by the art of the American illustrator James Jean, and is in black and white, with the addition of red every now and then. The editor said: "It looks like a scene from Schindler's list" and that was the end of that. The third illustration was made out of sheer despair. I had no idea where to go next and tried a more surreal approach. Most of my friends thought it the best. Eventually I figured out the color scheme for this book – and used bright, sunny, yellow tones.