Our New Book: The Creative Process of Treasure Everywhere

Our New Book

LAST UPDATED DECEMBER 11, 2025

Follow the river, step on the stones,
Look out for treasure wherever you roam.
Tucked into clouds and slivers of sky,
Whispers and clues float quietly by.

- from Treasure Everywhere by Mimochai

Now available for pre-order!

Books pre-ordered before November 1 will ship by December 16, 2025. All other pre-orders will ship by January 2026.

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Mimochai

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Ever since my first book Let's Go Explore, I've shared my book illustration process live as I go. This is very unorthodox in the book publishing world, but it itself has become part of my creative process. So I'm happy to continue my Mimochai tradition with our third book :)

With that said, I'm happy to share that our new picture book is called Treasure Everywhere! I finished the manuscript in May and worked on the illustrations from June through October. I shared my process along the way through my Studio Newsletter, and am collecting the final documentation in this blog post.

Treasure Everywhere shares a simple but important message: that treasure isn't rare or in some far away place—it's all around us and within us, waiting to be noticed wherever we are. In many ways, it's a spiritual sequel to Let's Go Explore.

A very early exploration of cover design

The elusive creative process

It has taken me a long time to get back to this place of bookmaking. It is hard to believe that it's been four years since my last picture book Alphabet Adventure! It's not that I haven't been trying. I'm pretty much always thinking about "my next picture book." My notes are filled with so many different book ideas.

But having ideas is one thing, and bringing one to life is another. There were a few years (I.e. my IVF years) where I couldn't get past the idea stage, and it seemed that maybe I would stop making picture books. The harder I pushed, the more elusive it became. When I tried to let go, it seemed to drift even further away. I turned my attention to other projects like Nature Spirit and The Solar Terms. I kept developing my skills, showing up everyday, but it was definitely a hard feeling.

Then, a few weeks ago, something shifted. Questions and answers clicked into place. I found a new sense of "why" (more on that below). I finished the manuscript. And finally, I felt it: Yes, this is the next book I want to make. I'm going to make it.

Showing up everyday in the studio
Keeping inspiration close

Setting the art direction

So where do I start on a big project like this? With the manuscript in a good place and my overall intention clear, the heart of the picture book work this month is art direction: What should this book feel like? How do I create something that serves both children discovering wonder and adults remembering it?

I have a basic storyboard in place, and before I go any further into detail, I want to set the overall tone with some key illustrations. These are important establishing visuals, so I've been drawing the same scene with slight variations. I challenge myself to grow with each book, so I have to figure out these aspects anew every time.

Some considerations I'm working out at this stage include:

the character—what age? how defined? one or two?
the rendering style—more textured? more shape-driven?
the compositions—more negative space? more detailed?
the size format—consistent square size? or new portrait size?

Each aspect must serve the story and its intention. There are so many ways it could go, and there are so many decisions to be made. For me, the process involves a mix of looking at references, trying different approaches, and following my intuition.

Thumbnails and explorations
Iterating and refining

Drawing from real life

One thing I've really loved about my creative practice this year is integrating natural exploration into my process. As I explain in my class Natural Explorer, every week I make a habit of exploring my local area, collecting inspiration, and practicing nature studies based on what I find.

This practice has helped me more than once when I feel creatively stuck, because it gets me out of my thinking mind and into an observational flow. It's also a perfect match to the themes of Treasure Everywhere, and some of my observations have translated directly into illustration compositions.

Evolving naturally

From June through September, I diligently worked on the spreads everyday (with a break to visit Iceland in August for our 40ths!). Even though I keep a regular rhythm and hours, the pace of output is not regular. Some days, I feel like I'm flowing through an illustration—it comes naturally, I like how it looks right away, and it's just a matter of putting in the time to finish it. Other days, it feels like moving through molasses, and in the wrong direction. I spend hours on a spread that I end up not liking. This used to really get me so frustrated, but I've learned to accept that as part of the process now. No matter what, I learn something new.

As I commit to moving forward, the book gradually emerges. Regularly posting the spreads onto social media provides me with a bit of self-imposed healthy pressure. It's interesting for me to see how small details in the characters evolve, and how the style finds itself and starts to fit together like a puzzle. Making a picture book is always such an fun challenge of keeping an eye on both the details of each individual page and the overall big picture of how all the pages fit together in a cohesive experience.

Once I put the finishing touches on the book print file, we sent it off to our printers to coordinate the full production of the book!

Cover options
Color keys

More to the Story

Treasure Everywhere celebrates the wonders of the world around us and within us. It's at once a love letter to nature as well as a simple guide to mindful being. I hope it encourages all readers to spend a little more time each day really looking, seeing, and noticing.

As I turn to my mindful creativity projects for next year, I feel satisfied to know that I've completed the trio set of picture books that really encapsulates all the lessons and values I've gathered since I started on this artist journey. Treasure Everywhere is in many ways the younger sibling to Treasury, and I hope its message resonates with seekers of all ages.

Thank you as always for being here 💛 -M