Project LBB: What is it?

I’ve long coveted a field guide to Eastern North American lady beetles – something akin to John Acorn’s “Ladybugs of Alberta,” the only lady beetle field guide I know of. His book is fantastic, one of my favorites, but it primarily covers western species (along with some that have a continent-wide range).

I plan to illustrate it myself – I am not half-bad at drawing, and I can’t think of a better way to do it. Photos of every species would be difficult to obtain and I have no idea what the royalties would be like. Anyway, I like drawing, I have a fresh set of 72 Prismacolor pencils, and I desperately want to try my hand at it!

Here’s an example of my lady beetle drawing skills, a Seven-spotted Lady Beetle in Prismacolor pencil: