If you’ve wondered how I do my chapter illustrations, you can find out at Hampshire Open Studios, August 22-24 at Chandlers Ford.
The Chandlers Ford Art Group is cleverly using the Methodist Church Hall as a members’ studio space. As I’m a member, I’m there!
My pop-up studio
I have a table to work on, or at, a display space behind me, and I’ll be showing illustrations from the Princelings series. I’ll also have some of the illustrations printed at A5 (roughly half letter-size), which will fit in an envelope if anybody wants to buy them. I’ll take a box of Princelings paperback books, which do after all, contain around 25 illustrations in each, plus a great story!
In the spirit of the ‘studio’ I’ll be working on an illustration in front of your very eyes! I have no idea what, at present, but as I draw them on my iPad now, I can always rework something I think needs improvement.
I’d quite like to do some illustrations for other books, though. I just don’t know what, yet!
The Methodist Church Hall is to the right of the church as you enter from the road (car park behind).
Nearest main road is the M3 (London-Southampton). Exit at junction 12, follow the signs to Chandler’s Ford, and pass the Nuffield Health Centre on your left. About a mile further is a mini-roundabout among a small shopping area, and straight on after about 200 yards is the Church on the left.
The Number 1 bus between Southampton and Winchester passes the door. Nearest train station is Eastleigh (or Southampton Parkway/Airport), but it might be easier to get the bus from Winchester or Southampton rail stations.
It’s funny how things go. I was thinking how little I was doing relating to the Princelings world these days. Then I realised that I’m featuring my work on the books as the chapter illustrator during the Hampshire Open Studios event in August.
The Open Studios events
I don’t know if these happen where you are. I don’t even know how they got started.
The first year in Norfolk I met them for the first time. A number of signposts at road junctions, indicating ‘Norfolk Open Studios’ or just ‘Open Studios’, and if it was the way I was going, later I’d pass a sign into someone’s house or barn or garage, or somewhere like that. I got online and discovered a map and guide to all the local artists who were opening their studios, or their homes, to show you what they got up to. Not just painting, but jewellery, ceramics, glasswork (I got a lovely lamp with a Tiffany-inspired design on it)… and all the usual range of painting styles and materials.
And despite Covid, I discovered it existed in Hampshire too. So as I joined an art group when I moved here, I discover that I can participate in the Open Studio event with them. We’re setting up our own mini-studios inside the hall we usually use for events, between 20th and 28th August. I’ll only be doing the Monday and Tuesday in that time (unless I do Wednesday as well), because I’m committed to book events either weekend.
My mini-studio
I’ll have a table, and a display board, and I’ll be trying to make it as much like an illustrator’s studio as possible. I’ll be preparing some prints of my best illustrations for the Princelings books (including the Messenger Misadventures), in the hope people might like to buy them.
The originals will be with me so people can see how I work, and as I now do them on my iPad, I’ll take that – possibly doing an illustration or four over the two days.
I think I’ll select a couple of pictures to hang on the display board, to show people how my painting looks – and probably pick out some that relate to the illustrations – Dylan’s adventures at Haunn in particular. And my Princelings banner has a load of my illustrations as the background. So I’ll probably take a box of books, in case people find it worthwhile buying a set of 25 prints plus story for less than the cost of three single prints!
I’m still in the planning stage, but hopefully that will work. Thank you Chandlers Ford Art Group for the chance to meet the public and talk about illustrations!
Questions
Do you have a favourite illustration?
Which one(s) should I feature most prominently?
You can check them all, book by book at my new portfolio site (which should be there until WordPress stops doing free blogs).
Princelings Revolution, book 10 in the Princelings of the East series, is now complete. The cover is finalised, the illustrations are finished, and the editing done (although there is always some more fiddling one could do with it).
The Cover
The one I’ve been using as the draft cover is roughly the same colour, but the final version is so much better! There will be a cover reveal some time in September. I’m hoping a few more people might want to join in with the reveal, so you aren’t getting a sneak preview now!
The cover is dramatic and mysterious, I hope! Just like the book. So you can judge a book by its cover!
The illustrations
I always start the chapter illustrations thinking ‘why did I give myself all this extra work to do?’
Several times during the process I think that again, and think I’ll never be able to produce a half-=decent drawing to illustrate X happening.
The process, roughly, is that I list the chapter headings, and their subheadings (which are a real help in this process). Then I go through jotting down ideas for what might be suitable subjects. Some are self-evident – locations, castles. Others are difficult, especially where nothing much happens visually but a lot happens in terms of plot! I usually have to find some sort of motif for those.
This year I asked my beta readers what they thought about my recycling images that have appeared in previous books. I’ve reused several pictures, some maybe too many times without an update. Some of my early drawings really show their age–and I’ve redone most of those I’ve reused. It’s good to know that ten years experience has improved my skill level!
There are 22 chapter illustrations this time. 18 have been newly drawn, or severely updated, on my iPad. Four are being reused as they are: two from Willoughby’s book (7), one from Princelings of the North ( 8), and one from the very first book! And I have at last done a completely new version of the Inn of the Seventh Happiness. It was a hard, intricate drawing before, and that hasn’t changed. It’s very difficult not to let it look messy. But I’m pleased with the results.
Here are a few teasers for you. There are three more in Jemima’s project update (click here). I’ve used the bridge there too, because I like it!
So, now to put everything together and upload it to the various ebook publishers.
Help needed!
If you’d like to help with the launch by posting a cover reveal, or a launch post on your own blog, please let me know in the comments below. All helpers will get a space in the Rafflecopter Cover Reveal will be mid-September, and launch date is 1st October. I’m doing a guest post on 7th October as part of the launch. I can do interviews, too. Whatever you’d like, in fact!
Pre-Order the book
Book 10 of the Princelings of the East series – Princelings Revolution – the final book in the series, is on schedule for publication 1st October 2020.
The planes are crashing, the people are angry at the changes and shortages. King Fred puts democracy to the test and finds it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. There’s an organised anti-monarchy group called the Causists, and they are spreading false information which the people seem to believe. Things are bad—but they are going to get worse…
Will he even keep his head, let alone the promise made to Lord Mariusz at the start of the whole shebang?
The ebook is now available for pre-order a very special price at iTunes, B&N, and Kobo. This special launch price is only for a few weeks. It’s also on pre-order at Amazon! (who might price-match, but I have no control of that).
The countdown is now on to the launch of Chronicles of Marsh.
We’re back on schedule for release on November 14th. Pre-order at iTunes, Kobo, B&N, and Amazon. That’s now a universal link for the Amazon book.
The chapter illustrations are the only thing holding back the manuscript now. When those are finished, I’ll set up the ebook files on Kindle and Smashwords and let the distributors do their thing.
I’m quite pleased with some of the illustrations, although I’ve reverted to doing them on paper. Apart from anything else, it’s easier to rub out pencil underdrawings than erase lines on the iPad without erasing other lines I want. I could probably do with a ‘drawing on iPad’ workshop – I think the Apple store does one.
I’m still thinking about doing the drawings in colour. The ones I’ve tested look good, but bump up the file size considerably. Maybe I shall do the Amazon kindle file in black and white, and the Smashwords one in colour. Just a thought.
I also have another exciting project to do with the Princelings books on the go. But you’ll have to wait a little longer to discover what!