Artistic Process

Although it is not out until early next year, DiTerlizziland has been in a twitter for The Search for WondLa as a paperback edition.

We decided to redesign the jacket for the paperback, a process similar to one that I’ve gone through before with Spiderwick. For WondLa, it was a chance to capture the mood of the story more concisely in an image that could reach a broad audience of readers.

“But wait,” you say. “Didn’t you sort all of this out when you did the first jacket?”

Yes and no.

Yes, I tried to introduce these new characters in an inviting way, but no, I did not have a full understanding of them or the material when I created the artwork for the jacket. It was rendered prior to the completion of the writing so that the publisher had something to use to sell the book.

You see, the jacket image for a novel (whether it be for an adult or middle-grade title) is usually the only visual attached to the story. Therefore it is a great selling tool for the booksellers and an invitation to be picked up by book buyers. I would even argue that an iconic jacket can help pave the way for a title’s success. Don’t believe me? Check out the original cover to Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief as it was released in 2005.

I am not adverse to the direction of the first cover. In fact, the 10-year old in me rather likes the comic-book renditions of Medusa, Cerberus and the minotaur. What (or rather who) is noticeably absent, however; is the hero, Percy…and this may have led to the thinking on redesigning the jacket. The monsters are cool, but as reader who do I connect with?

The second cover, designed for the paperback, is a different approach altogether. In fact, there are now no monsters present at all, or the slightest shadow of Mt. Olympus – facets that make this title unique. And yet, this cover (wonderfully rendered by John Rocco) is more successful. Why?

My feeling is that this works better as an invite to the reader because of what is is showing: A lone teen in a sea of change. Certainly this could symbolize what one feels as they go through adolescence, especially with a Great Big World off in the distance. The centralized single figure with weapon in hand is also immediate – we now know who our hero is and are intrigued by his dramatic situation of seemingly epic proportions. This sort of composition was used often in the ubiquitous Harry Potter books illustrated by Mary GranPré.

Quite simply: The second Lightning Thief cover works more successfully because there is an understanding of what is intrinsic to the story and that was conveyed in a manner approachable to many.

I used this sort of thinking when I returned to WondLa, now armed with a deeper understanding of the characters and the world that I had created for them. This image hopefully gives a better sense of who the central characters are, especially the heroine, and the danger-filled mysterious world that they are exploring. Themes, I feel, we all can relate to.

What do you think?

PS – For your viewing pleasure, I’ve included a gallery of cover ideas and explorations that didn’t make the cut. I thought you may enjoy the glimpse into my process.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a couple of wonderful watercolor renditions of a Spiderwick nixie and mermaid from Mason. Shortly thereafter, we received a follow up piece from him that, I think, is much stronger. The difference: he created this on his iPad.

Wow.

Normally I would move onto another submission of fan art for FFA, and fortunately, there is much here for me to choose from. And, though I’ve had computer-generated fan artwork here before, based on the simple fact that this was created on an iPad, I felt it needed to be shared. Its a nice segue to post my thoughts about digital artwork, something that can be quite a heated topic among illustrators.

I have a love-and-hate relationship with artwork created on a computer despite the fact that I use it regularly for many aspects of bookmaking. In fact, the majority of the Meno books were created entirely in Photoshop. Though, in truth, they started out like all of my illustrations – as pencil drawings, just like this sketch for the cover of The Wyrm King.

I love the freedom to explore a variety of compositions and palettes with the swipe of a mouse or click of a button. However, I am oft-times left with a longing for the original artwork that was touched, smudged, smeared and crafted by my hand. You know, something to cherish and share after a project is completed. (Or, if I am lucky enough, to exist in a gallery long after I perish).

The presence one feels when viewing an original piece of artwork does not exist in the virtual world of a computer. One needs only to visit a local art museum and stand before a painting done by Vincent Van Gogh, John Waterhouse or Norman Rockwell to know this to be true. But, as seen by Mason’s iPad artwork, it is becoming increasingly more enticing (and dare I say convenient?) to create art digitally.

I suppose at the end of the day, creativity is creativity no matter what medium an artist chooses. Like music and film, books have reflected our love and curiosity for the digital world. There are trends to be sure, but if the artist’s imprint is successfully relayed to the viewer, I suppose it doesn’t matter if it was done in hand-ground pigments or in pixels.

For me, the computer is no different than a pencil or a brush. Its what you create with it that speaks your truth. As to whether it will hold its allure, like an original watercolor wash by Arthur Rackham or a graphic gouache painting by Mary Blair, I suppose only time will tell.

About a month ago I posted a bunch of old Dungeons & Dragons art from the early part of my career on my facebook page, (which were well received to my utter delight). As I scanned the dingy drawings, I realized that some were pushing 20 years old already…yikes!

This was on the heels of my reminisce of breaking into the RPG industry for Wizards of the Coast’s creative director, Jon Schindehette. On top of that was a revisit to Planescape (sort of) for Black Gate magazine’s series on the history of gaming illustration.

The editor for Black Gate had asked me to create a new piece using the same mediums and tools I had used in my 90′s heyday. However, I was down in Florida at the time working away on the final art for WondLa and had very limited time and art supplies. Instead, I opted to create a piece that was a more modern approach. The result was a hybrid of both art styles found in WondLa and Planescape.

Despite the fact that the drawing style for WondLa was cleaner and tighter than Spiderwick, the inking process for the illustrations involved the usual warm-up exercises. Leading up to the Black Gate piece were a handful of old D&D and Planescape warm-up drawings (something I’ve done before).

Most of the warm-ups I do are a hodgepodge of doodles, usually focused on an aspect of the piece I am preparing to ink (like hair, buildings or plants). Sometimes, I will stick with the warm-up and complete an entire image. However, the drawing is then discarded as I slide right into inking the final art. Its sort of like stretching and jogging in place before beginning a morning run.

Many times these doodles are inconsequential to what I am working on. They can be favorite scenes from books, explorations for possible new characters for a story, life drawing and studies. So here’s an ink warm-up done last summer during the WondLa art session of a D&D goblin.

Recognize the pose? You old timers will, it’s after David Trampier’s goblin done for the AD&D Monster Manual back when boomboxes and Rubik’s cubes ruled. And as many remember, the enigmatic Trampier simply signed his work DAT.

As you can see, I’ve been a fan of this piece for many years.

…and wanted to do a new version 29 years later(!) I hope you like’em. (Click for a larger image)

As I came off of the Black Gate piece and returned to my work on WondLa I thought of the journey I had taken thusfar. Its a journey that I am happy to say I am still traveling on and sharing with my longtime fans.

I took a coffee break this afternoon and walked back into my Florida office to see this perfect still life. It reminded me that I should announce that the second installment of the WondLa trilogy is well on its way.

When I started outlining The Search for WondLa, I planned what I hoped to be an epic tale. I broke the story up in three places based on the growing stages of the heroine, Eva Nine. Since so many fairy tales begin with the hero being an orphan, or a parentless “child of the world”, I decided to rewind Eva’s tale a bit. I felt the lead up to the events that would make her an orphan were integral to her emotional growth as her adventure unfolded.

Now I must push her forward into the complicated real world that she will ultimately have an effect on. Much of the emotional plot in book 2 deals with Eva coming to terms with the fact that she is more than just different, she is a truly empowered hero.

For Eva, learning always comes at a cost. In book 1 it was physical and emotional costs, but in 2 I feel the cost may be a loss of innocence and a shard of childhood. After all, that is part of growing up. (Frankly, I won’t really know until the writing is completed. Sometimes these themes evolve along the way.)

Of interest in the above photo are the detailed drawings of Hailey’s ship where many scenes take place. Though the airship is obviously a product of my imagination, I used a combination of traditional boat and airplane terms to describe it. Also, you’ll see an open Moleskine notebook which I’ve carried with me for the better part of a year. It is full of notes, notions and drawings on what I hope to incorporate in books 2 & 3. (There’s even a cover sketch in it!)

Lastly, you may see a copy of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. For homework, I reread this and George Orwell’s Nineteen-Eighty-Four all in preparation for the creation of my human city…

I’ll be working on the story and art for the entire year with a release date of early 2012. I know its a bit of a wait, but I want to take the time to make this an exciting solid sequel.

(This was one I totally spaced out and forgot to post from awhile ago. I was reminded of it when I came across the files on my computer). Design Popular Imagination magazine (or DPI, for short) based in Taiwan, China, did a nice interview on yours truly last year. For those interested, the jpegs here should be large enough for reading (They are in English and Mandarin, just click’em). Otherwise, you can enjoy the lovely page design.

For my friends abroad, here is a direct link to the issue. Perhaps back issues can still be purchased…

Jon Schindehette, the Creative Art Director for Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast, invited me to participate in his “How I Made it” series over at his blog in hopes that my story may offer up some seeds of inspiration for up-and-coming fantasy artists. In fact, I found his blog to be INCREDIBLY informative for any who are interested in breaking into the field – where was your blog when I was getting started, Jon!?

Of course, there were no blogs in 1992 when I submit my artwork to TSR (the fine publishers of D&D back then). But you can read all about what I did do on Jon’s blog here.

As a bonus, I found a pile of my original submissions that were sent to TSR. Jon posted them on his site, but here they are bigger and with some additional comments:

Preparatory sketches of orcs drawn in the spring of 1992. These orcs were certainly inspired by Brian Froud and Alan Lee’s work as well as the goblins in Rankin & Bass’ animated movie of The Hobbit.

Finished ink drawing of an elven player-character done for my initial submission to TSR in September, 1992. I remember I was looking at a lot of Jean-Giraud Moebius’ work back then and you can see it the overabundance of tic marks done in this one.

Finished ink drawing of a trio of were-rats done for my initial submission to TSR in September, 1992. There was no color work in my submission samples because all of their gaming books were only printed in black & white throughout. It was a well-known fact that the color cover work was done by TSR’s staff artists, a highly coveted position I figured I was not worthy of.

A year later (just prior to Planescape starting) I was offered a staff position but turned it down because I was dating this really cool girl back in Florida…who I eventually married and adore more than ever. Fortunately, there were no hard feelings with the team at TSR and I continued an amazing and prosperous working relationship with them throughout most of the 1990’s.

AD&D Monster Compendium sample mock up with my artwork, done for my initial submission to TSR in September, 1992. (click image for detail)

Sample page layout of a gaming module mocked up with my artwork. This was done for my initial submission to TSR in September, 1992. This harem-inspired medusa drawing actually was colored and used in 1993’s AD&D Monstrous Manual. Of course, the ethics of TSR’s publishing had changed since the 1980’s and a top was added prior to completing. (click image for detail)

Pencil sketch of a dwarven player character done in preparation for my third submission to TSR in 1992. This dwarf was based on one of the player characters in the D&D game that I was participating in at that time.

Ink drawing of a cleric preparing to animate a clay golem done in preparation for my third submission to TSR in November, 1992. The idea here was to illustrate an otherwise unseen action and make it interesting.

Sample page layout of a gaming module mocked up with my artwork. Done for my third (and final) submission to TSR in November, 1992. These illustrations of player characters battling and finding treasure were the images that finally got TSR to take a chance and use me. Looking back on them today I wince at how overdone the ink work is, but at that time no other artists were really working in this style for TSR’s gaming products. (click image for detail)

Snapshot of my workspace in Florida, 1994. I couldn’t find any shots of me working on the initial submission pieces for TSR, but I did find this gem from my Planescape years. The desk was one my parents had bought for me for art school which I held onto for years (my brother owns it now) and you’ll note a few favorite illustrations of mine tacked to the wall including my 1982 Displacer Beast next to my 1993 rendition.

Fellow illustrator Aaron Zenz and his hilarious kids ask all the right questions at his Bookie-Woogie blog. Enjoy!

One of my favorite morning activities with my daughter, Sophia, is drawing and coloring. We’ve drawn and colored all sorts of subjects. We’ve illustrated favorite nursery rhymes:

…getting dinner at a well-known restaurant…

…and even rendered other fun 2 1/2 year-old activities. You know, like bubble-popping.

In fact, I now let her tell me what to draw and we then color the pictures. What I love is that Sophia will pick day-to-day moments which I then conjure from memory, as many are actions I have seen repeatedly. Like, washing your hands with green monster foamy soap:

…catching dragonflies…

…and watching dad work (I really do have the computer on a stack of books in my makeshift Florida studio. It seems to lessen neck and shoulder tightness from a long day’s work).

There is something sort of delightful to me in these. I think its the spontaneity of the sketch along with the simple tools (crayon, markers, and stickers). Anyways, I thought they were fun enough to post, now I am back to work drawing aliens and robots…maybe one day I’ll have a helper.