Ulysses
The real Ulysses and his alter ego the Ulysses character
The character of Ulysses was born from a personal tragedy. In 2010, my wife and I had a little boy named Ulysses, who suffered from a congenital anomaly, specifically a hernia of the right diaphragm. He lived twenty-one hours and a half before passing away. Following his disappearance, the hard ordeal of perinatal bereavement began.
In the same period, I went to my high school reunion. One of my old friends asked me if I still drew like I did in high school. The answer was negative. Still, I drew a lot before, and I loved it. Following the reunion, I thought back regularly to my friend’s question.
After experiencing the loss of my child, the project has matured in my mind. I decided to have my little boy live through children’s stories. I turned my pain into positive and creative energy so Ulysses can continue to exist in every child who reads his adventures. Thus the collection Ulysses and Penelope was born.
Penelope
Fifille (Little Girl), and her alter ego the Penelope character
I decided to give Ulysses a pet that would follow him in all these adventures. The most obvious was my wife’s cat Fifille that died of old age at 22 years. It’s her, Penelope.
Creating characters
I did not know where to start my book. Using my wife’s new iPad, I discovered a tool that could help me give life to my book. I had found my creative tool. But which application to use? After an online search on several blogs, my choice fell on ProCreate app. I tested it and it was fun. I use my “magic pen” (the FiftyThree) to illustrate my sketches in color. Thus I created the adventures of Ulysses and Penelope entirely on my iPad.
Me drawing Ulysses, Penelope, and the poor crying Clodio on my iPad
I let you discover this little boy, who lived only a few hours, and his cat Penelope. Ulysses continues to live and leaves his mark in the lives of all the children who read these great adventures.
Good reading!
