Black Star - New Galaxy edition

Like Da Vinci said, "Art is never finished, only abandoned." Well, 5 years on I'm picking my baby up from the orphanage!

I've decided, before I start the working draft of Book 3, Breaking Point, I want to go back to the beginning.

First illustration for Book 1

Black Star was my first ever novel. I know it's not perfect but I needed to get it out there for the experience. It's a story that's lived in my head for 20 years! But now, with three other novels under my belt, I want to update it and give it the benefit of that  experience.

Worth a thousand words
First and foremost are the illustrations. The Black Star illustrations were a hodge podge of different styles. By the time I got to Spirit Shear, I'd settled on a style for the series that really works for me as an illustrator and, most importantly, adds to the story. So, Book 1 is getting all new illustrations! Here's the first of them!

Kill your kittens
When I studied I was taught that when you write there is story architecture and story scaffolding. Scaffolding are the bits of information you need to construct the story. But, once it's done you should take them away. Often times in the scaffolding are little darlings or 'kittens' - bits of information or passages of prose that you just love!

Get rid of them.

There are definitely a few kittens in Black Star (possibly a whole litter). Also, admittedly, the tone and pace are a bit uneven. I hadn't quite found my voice as a story teller and wasn't sure what would work for my target audience. I now know who I am as a writer and who I'm writing for!

Glossy
The Emersus Project series has become so much more than just Gemmy's story. It's a story of his friends and family and an entire world. There are so many extras about the world and small details that could enrich the original story, but they don't belong in the book. But, that's what glossaries are for - a kitten corral! I mean, have you ever read the Silmarillion? Of course you haven't! It's all scaffolding. But, for the die hards it's an amazing world building encyclopedia. So, the new edition is going to have an enhanced glossary and some new short stories.

Draw draw draw
And just for fun here are (just) two pages of the character sketches I've done. I obviously already know what the characters look like, but it's helpful to remember where they were at the start of their journeys. And, as I edit, it helps get me back into their mindset back before everything blew up (literally and figuratively). I'm really enjoying getting to see Mhetli again with his long lanky hair, all sneers and grease!

It took me a while to get a proper style for Gemmy's wild and curly hair. The style I use for the illustrations is what I think of as detailed 'short hand'. Like with any caricature or cartoon, I try to find the most obvious feature and use simple, referential lines to give the impression of it. So, things like curls are simple swirls of the pen without drawing each individual curl. But, you still want to convey depth and texture. Sem's pony tail was another trial and error motif. I didn't want to make it so detailed that you see every hair and fly away. But, you needed an impression that it was a feat of mastery to get all her short hair pulled back.

Hope you enjoy!
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Buy 'Black Star' or 'Spirit Shear' on Amazon in the UK and US
Check out Themo on Twitter and Facebook

Albion tarot

Getting ready for the next #DVPit event tomorrow. And, with social media it's always a good idea to use an eye catching image. I'm still working on the images, adjusting some details and refining the layers of texture. But it's been a busy few months, so here's where I've gotten to in time for #DVPit tomorrow.

 

I wanted to do something unique and interesting for Ash and Ana. I wasn't feeling particularly inspired, though. So I pulled out one of my tried and tested methods of punching through a creative block - When in doubt, copy the art of someone who inspires you.

I went through a few genres. I redrew some of my favourite comic cover art as the characters from Emersus Project. I started doodling Ash and Ana as manga characters. But, nothing seemed to hit the spot.

Then I came across my tarot card deck. The Aquarian Tarot deck illustrated by David Palladini originally caught my eye on a trip to Salem, Massachussetts many years ago. I was drawn to it because of the strong art nouveau and art deco feel.

I started flicking through the deck and was caught by the cards Temperance, Queen of Swords, The Hierophant and Strength.

I'd found my fun fantasy them for Ana and Ash!

For Ana I wanted to do something regal and strong, taking inspiration from the tribal art of Burkina Faso (which is where she's from). It's really intricate with lots of repeated angular patters and concentric circles. The extravagant detail of Temperance really captured that wild queen vibe.

For Ash I played with Pictish tribal art and added some Celtic influences. His probably follows the garb of the tarot cards though as most pictures of tribal Picts that I could find are mostly second hand accounts and feature half naked men and women covered in body paint. And, this is a children's series after all!

However, with the other influences, I wanted to keep the drawings distinctly Acquarian - elements that make them seem more ethereal than real. Firstly the mix of heavy and thin lines firmly root the drawings in art nouveau inspiration. Also, the way Palladini zooms in on the subject of the cards unlike other tarot cards that feature more elaborate scenes. I tried to keep the flat pencil sections combined with more textured painted blocks, but I was super keen to keep Ana's dark skin and the pencil lines got lost. I did manage to keep the more fantastical elements of the costumes, fighting my natural tendency towards function over form. I love Ana's starry hair and elongated neck (which is referencing the tarot card not the African people who use neck rings). Ash's overly broad shoulders.

What do you think? Will they catch an agent's eye?

Hope you enjoy!
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Buy 'Black Star' or 'Spirit Shear' on Amazon in the UK and US
Check out Themo on Twitter and Facebook