As a reader correctly pointed out, I’ve tended to post more drawings and updates to Facebook than my own blog. The reason is that it’s often easier to update Facebook and that this website is a little unwieldy to administrate. That will remedied in the next version (the entire website will be getting an overhaul over the next few months) […]
The frontispiece (the illustration right inside the front cover) is arguably the most important drawing in the entire book. It is often the first image a reader experiences and sets the tone for the story to come. When brainstorming The Maelstrom’s frontispiece, I wanted to create something that had an epic feel and would really showcase the book’s central theme; […]
The text for The Maelstrom is finished, so these days I’m spending my time on the final artwork. I’ve completed all the sketches, so the trick now is to recreate them with pen and ink so that they’ll reproduce crisply. To do this, I’ll place the pencil sketch on a light box, lightly trace the lines, and then work with […]
As I’ve been working on character studies for various illustrations, it occurred to me that we needed one for the mysterious, mercurial David Menlo. Here is our favorite one-handed Sorcerer looking intently at something unnameable while holding an antique thurible (a device for burning incense and used in many holy — or unholy! — ceremonies…. We’ll be spending lots of […]
Still working on illustrations and recently did this character study of Max for one of the interior plates. We haven’t scene an entire drawing of Max like this in quite some time and thus it was fun to do. I’m working on one of David at the moment (as part of another, larger drawing) and will post it shortly. The […]
Working in pen and ink requires a commitment – after all, there’s no erasing a mistake on the final art and it’s always been important to me that I have a finished piece of art (as opposed to simply a computer file). It’s truly a headache to have to start all over due to a silly mistake or not having […]
I’m still working away on drawings for The Maelstrom. Here’s a fun concept sketch for a baddie we’ll be meeting in the story…. Lots of fun to experiment with something in the Steampunk realm (what else would result when Prusias controls the Workshop?!?)
Any artist (or writer) loves to create new characters and creatures. In my case, the same goes for new buildings and settings. In my humble opinion, a setting is a character and can play an instrumental role in shaping the mood and tone of a story. There are many new sights and settings in The Tapestry’s upcoming fourth book, The […]
Now that my editor has the manuscript for The Maelstrom, I’m diving into the illustrations. At this stage, I’m working on pencil sketches for the chapter opening drawings. I used to just really rough out my basic premise, but I’ve learned that the more time I spend on the sketch, the better the final product and the less likelihood of […]
Here’s another creation that you’ll be meeting in The Maelstrom. This fearsome fellow’s name is Grendel and he’s a cheshirewulf that also happens to be William Cooper’s charge. Like the Cheshire cat of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, the cheshirewulf also has a gummy grin (albeit considerably more savage) and the ability to disappear and fade in with his surroundings. […]