Retro Children's Book Cover Character Illustration

character_a character_b character_c, retro children's literature cover × naïve hand-drawn character illustration × mid-century book cover design. Preserve the hairstyles, hair colors, eyes, iconic accessories, clothing collars, and identity features of the three characters, adopting mature character settings. The three characters are arranged vertically in three layers along the center of the image, peeking out from behind invisible horizontal edges that match the background color: the top layer shows the head and hands, the middle layer shows only the head, and the bottom layer shows the head and hands resting on the edge. The lower body edges form clear horizontal occlusion, with sufficient whitespace between layers and on the sides. The three characters display sleepy, surprised, cold, curious, or lazy expressions respectively. Proportions are slightly cartoonish, eyes are slightly enlarged, contours are clear. Use gouache color blocks, colored pencil lines, and dry brushes to render hair, fur, clothing, and skin, retaining rough hand-drawn strokes, paper grain, and retro printing feel. Choose a single dark background based on the character color scheme, contrasting warm skin tones with character color blocks. Simple composition, centered, vertical stacking, possessing the vibe of old children's books and mid-20th century book covers. 3:4 portrait aspect ratio, small voxcat signature at bottom right.