Well, John isn't only a forgiving guy, he's a giving guy, and he was kind enough to offer me the position of Art Director for his company Broken 1 Publishing. But let me back up, and let you know a little about what is this Crown thing.
A Crown of Horns is a fantasy novel set in a mythical world of wizards, evil priests, demons, sword-fights and nightmarish creatures. We follow the main protagonist Draylen(also known as The Damned to his enemies..and he has plenty), as he seeks to avenge all the pain that was thrust upon him as a child, only to be caught up in an ancient prophecy. Along the way, as with any good fantasy story, Draylen meets an assortment of colorful individuals who will play pivotal roles in his journey and personal growth. There's the wise wizard who's guarding a personal tragedy and dark secret. The thief who may be more than he seems. And the warrior princess who's not Xena.
Now here's where I come in. Crown is an illustrated novel featuring 15 pieces of chapter art (one for every chapter..convenient, right) as well as some spot illustrations. But before I could sit down and draw these chapters there was a ton of design work that went into capturing the characters of this world. Adding to the pressure was the fact that I'm not the most comfortable in a fantasy setting, so it was definitely a challenge.
Once everything was approved I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Then came the really hard part, just finishing the damn thing. The whole purpose of the chapter art was to give the reader a more immersed experience as well as bridge the gap between the literal medium and the visual medium. The art for all the chapters was penciled by me and inked(all but chapter 8) by artist extraordinaire Will Jamison.
(Check out Will's work here: http://afromation9.blogspot.com/ ; http://afromation.deviantart.com/ )
But finally the work is over and the book is off to the printers. All in all, it's been a rewarding experience so far and I learned alot on this project. I'm happy to say there will be many more exciting things to come from me and Broken 1 in the future, so make sure you follow the in-and-outs on the Broken 1 facebook site and like us. http://www.facebook.com/Broken1Publishing
That's it for now but tune in next time when we let you know about the next convention we'll be at, reveal the kick-ass cover to the book, as well as info on how you can reserve your copy.
Boo-ya-kah.
the first image... damn that's good.
ReplyDeleteThanks Omar...yeah, I wanted to push myself a bit and while I usually hate 95% of stuff I draw I really like that one too.
ReplyDeleteStill amazed every time I see your work!
ReplyDeleteYou're too kind Sol.
ReplyDeleteI had a dream last night that I will have to somehow get you to work into the Tattoo I want! hmmm hmm hmm, did you check out the other poem?
ReplyDeleteHmmm, what kinda dream? Details. lol
ReplyDeleteI don't recall all of the details but the most prominent thing that stood out was a pink glowing orb that had a blue light flashing in it and there was a cop that said it was lighting within this orb and could not be captured physically or in a photo and I was able to take a picture with my camera and the orb seperated into multiples in the picture. But the significance for me is that soon and hopefully before the New Year I will have my Reiki Master Certification and where I go for my reiki sessions the master there always calls the violet flame and for some reason I connected it with my dream .... and I know one of your photos has a man that seems to be spinning energy within his palms, well that's what I saw anyway and that's why I mentioned the dream to you!
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