John Walker has given us a preview of a book-plus-product project he has been working on, due out this fall, for FamilyLife Publishing.  Geared for young children, the package titled, “What God Wants for Christmas,” contains a storybook, a pop up stable scene/backdrop and six figurines along with package art.

The product’s pieces are designed to interact together, so that as the reader progresses through the book, they are introduced to various characters and are prompted to open a numerically corresponding gift box containing that characters figurine.

For example, when the child reads the spread about Mary, they open the proper gift box and find a figure of Mary. She can then be placed on the dimensional manger background in the stable.

“Final artwork was created almost exclusively in Painter with the exception of some early setup work and final adjustments in Photoshop,” John explains. “In all cases I used the technique of painting over a sepia toned line drawing.”