Drawing On Glass

Normally I hit the drawing board when doing an illustration, using paper, whatever weight or type that suits what I’m using to make a mark on it. 

Drawing on a window is a little bit more tricky and to get it right I plan out first what I’m going to draw on it.  Starting like I would in any commission I sketch my ideas down and create a layout on paper so I’ve got a good guide before I illustrate on the window.

Getting started on Café Calluna’s windows for The Enchanted Forest.

Normally when you stare down a page to begin an artwork all you get is that big white surface filling your view and challenging you to make your first mark.  With a window you struggle with the view ahead, people passing, reluctantly featuring in someone’s selfie with you drawing in it, incidents of road rage and an endless procession of delivery vans. Life passes by and occasionally interacts if you stir a person’s curiosity.  My work for me is normally in a comfort zone and a place where you don’t get that kind of distraction but its so much fun to get out there.  That’s why opportunities to draw in public with window illustrations or chalk art and even live drawing are so great to do.  A chance for real time feedback, sharing my skills and observations. 

Give me some chalk pens and a window to draw on.

Any live drawing event whether it’s in a meeting room fleshing out an idea on paper with a client or in a conference hall recording an event with illustration is a great opportunity for an artist to stimulate and push their skills and share with others.  Making creativity a shared and more interactive experience is a wonderful thing to be part of.  

WIndow at night.

Illustrating a Book pt1 Character Design.

I doodle when I’m talking to an editor or author about their thoughts for the book I’m about to work on.  Don’t worry I multi task, doodling is my form of note taking and I’ll sketch down ideas whilst I chat to get a feel for the world that’s about to be created.

When I get down to starting the project, reading and understanding what the story is about is key to doing the illustrations.   Taking note of the important details is the first step in creating the illustrations.  Understanding the inferences made allows me to expand on the precise words laid down in the story and gives me a range of other things I can illustrate into the scenes and characters to create a place.  Going through this detailed first read helps me create narrative illustrations that will draw the reader’s focus.

I’ll come up with the character design illustrations first, either little pencil sketches that I develop sometimes over several drafts, or quick designs I can capture straight away. At this stage the visual tone of the book is being developed via the character illustrations.  My conceptual artworks are emailed to the editor/author for feedback and comments.

Pen and ink illustrations for Lawrence Pinkley character development.

The main protagonist is usually the entry point for the reader, a character the audience can immediately identify with and start to get to know.  While you want the audience to identify strongly with this character the illustration doesn’t have to be of a ‘conventional hero’  even if the book is about a multi legged monster there has to be something that humanizes the design in some way that lets you feel for them.

In The White Arrow Assassin by Tim Flanagan, Lawrence Pinkley a detective is the main guy in the story, he’s a lanky, slightly awkward looking teenage, who has not fully grown into his skin yet.  He often jumps to the wrong conclusions but is noble and wants to follow on from his father’s footsteps.  He’s the straight man unaware of the silly goings on around him. 

Creating the other characters such as Reverend Tansey, The White Arrow Assassins and others that inhabit Pinkley’s world.  More flamboyant and quirkier looking character types capturing the tone and highlighting the humor in the story.  

A finished version of Lawrence Pinkley from the book The White Arrow Assassin by Tim Flanagan.  Pen and ink illustration using dip pens and felts, painted on Photoshop.