The author was satisfied with my drawing, so I highlighted it with the computer, and submitted the final version. I enjoyed illustrating The Traveler’s Advance immensely, and am looking forward to a few more deals in the works. I hope that these posts have been interesting. I have been visiting the Outer Banks of North Carolina this week and have some cool new drawings in my moleskine that I can’t wait to show to you all. So keep on checking your dashboards for some nice new sketches.
The author requested, after seeing the former image, that I move the face down onto the trunk. I really liked the face as it was. Here is a page from my moleskine. I used this real-estate to do a bit of brainstorming. (not much was required)
In the words of the author: “This one I need to be an ancient old scary tree. There are two large limbs that stick out from the sides that sort of have branches on the ends that look like hands raised to the sky. The branches and leaves are hanging down with moss that looks like hair, and on the limbs so it looks like an old cloak. There is a hollow in the middle with bark that has formed to look like teeth, and the tree has two knots that look like misshapen eyes above the mouth.” This was a fun illustration to conceptualize. I started out with this computer-rendered proposal.
After I sent the computerized image, the author kind of took another direction with what he wanted the image to be, which was a little irritating, but was good in the long run, because the change gave the image more meaning. He wanted the character to be offering a symbol to the reader. The symbol had to incorporate the concept of three, or a trinity, and look cool. Here is the symbol I game him. What easier way is there to incorporate the concept of three than a triangle?
The author seemed to like the direction that I was going in with my first concept, so I made some changes that I felt needed to be made and rendered again, this time with a computer.
The second Illustration proved considerably more interesting to draw. in the words of the author: “This is a man wearing a white mask. He has bright yellow robes, and on his back are two wings that hang off his shoulders that are red. The color doesnt matter seeing as how the book will only be black and white. I want him to be creepy and nasty” This request left a lot more to my imagination, and the drawing was a lot more fun to make. Here is the first concept for the masked man that I sent to the author.
