The Ocean's Heart

The Ocean’s Heart, written by Jilianne Hoffmann, published by Lerner Publishing Group, is an oceanic poetic picture book that explores the world of zooplankton, their overlooked existence and the daily journey for survival faced by these tiny, often unnoticed creatures.

Encountering this work marked a significant shift in my understanding of the sea, something that opened not only my heart but also my mind, the way I perceive ocean and its underwater world.

By then, I had already been diving for many years. I had taken countless freediving excursions across different places and logged hundreds of scuba dives. Yet my understanding of the ocean seemed to extend only to what could be seen with the naked eyes. I had encountered big fishes, large marine mammals, shimmering school of fishes, vibrants reefs… But after reading and learning about the world of zooplankton, I began to notice an entirely new dimension of the ocean, one I had probably encountered before, but had, until then, overlooked.

A photo of me freediving and taking photos, I love using my own references, and underwater photography has grown into a serious hobby of mine.

West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, a photo I took of my dive buddy as she observed a whale shark, while an eel larvae observed her, talk about lucky timing! 

On one of my diving trips to the Flores Sea (Indonesia), I stumbled into an unforgettable scene: during a night dive, millions of copepods swirling through the water in total joyful chaos. I had spent weeks searching online for reference images to help me paint them for the script, but nothing compared to meeting them in person. Watching them dance in the beams of my torch, and managing to capture them with my own camera, sparked a confidence I hadn’t felt before. For the first time, I felt as though I truly knew them - not just as creatures I’d read about, but as living beings I had finally witnessed up close myself (though nowhere near the way a marine biologist knows them, of course)

A night-dive scene, the divers’s touch illuminate the sky.

One magical glimpse of the ocean in the darkness.

Copepods darting wildly through the water at night.

This photo of my buddies on a night dive, illuminated by their torch lights, became the inspiration for the light and color choices of the zooplankton in below art piece.

It’s not only night dives that hold a magical atmosphere. During a sunrise dive, I managed to capture a few photos that inspired me to create the artwork below.

Little did I know then, that the ocean had even more surprises in store for me. You know that feeling when you spend so much time thinking about something, that the universe seems to reach out and offer a hand? While I was working on The Ocean’s Heart, I kept diving into references videos of divers recording all kinds of zooplankton like comb jellies and salps… The footage was fascinating: the shapes, the flashes of movement, the way they drifted through the light. But it always felt incomplete. A screen could only show so much. I wanted to see them with my own eyes, to witness their moments from every angles, to meet them in a true three-dimensional world. In the past, I had only glimpsed the occasional broken fragment of a salp drifting by, lifeless, washed in by the waves, already half-eaten by fish. I couldn’t have imagined what was coming next.

One hot afternoon, during the surface interval of a dive in Kalimatan (Indonesia), something shimmered beneath the boat. I leaned over the edge and focus into the blue. Thousand of salps, different species, shapes, and forms, were floating together as if on a mysterious pilgrimage to some secret gathering. It felt like stumbling into a hidden world, one I had longed to witness without ever expecting to.

A video I took capturing a full salps bloom in the ocean, plus an unexpected charming visitor crashing the scene.

Additionally, s small personal joy of mine was creating this artwork featuring the whales.

Humpback whales have always been my favorite marine mammals, and having the chance to feature my spirit animal in a work project feels like an incredible blessing, a dream come true. It also gave me the perfect excuse to revisit my personal collection of whale footage and photographs. As I sifted through those images, memories from my time in the Indian Ocean a few years ago resurfaced vividly: the quiet sunrise over the vast ocean, the soothing and magical sound the whale mom sang to its calf, the way my heart skipped a beat each time their massive silhouettes emerged from the blue. It became more than just a reference-gathering session; it was a heartfelt journey back to one of the moments that shaped my love for the ocean.

A deeply special moment when I found myself sharing a quiet, space-hug with a mother and her calf.

The baby whale looked at me with a gaze so curious and expressive it felt almost human.

But setting aside my ocean stories and the real-life inspirations behind this book, the truth is that the most essential source of material for this project came from the scientific, matter-of-fact research and observations provided by Monterey Bay Aquarium team. With the guidance and detailed notes from Jilianne, I combed through every corner of Monterey Bay Aquarium’s website, gathering any references, photos, videos, information I could find. Their collection is extraordinary, exploring it felt like stepping into a scientific wonderland, uncovering the mysteries of the deep sea and the curious lives of zooplankton. You can discover this remarkable world yourself here.

I would also wish to extend my deepest gratitude to Dr. Steven Haddock and his team for their dedication in bringing this knowledge to the public, and for generously reviewing my illustrations, ensuring they were not only aesthetically pleasing but also scientifically accurate. 

And of course, this book could not have been completed without the invaluable input from the author, Jilianne Hoffmann, as well as the unwavering support of my wonderful editors Kim Morales, Carol Hinz and art director Danielle Carnito. I am truly grateful for this opportunity and for everyone who supported me throughout the creation of The Ocean’s Heart.

You can discover other books by Jilianne’s here.