Sorry it’s been a while. I will finish my fics. I WILL finish my fics. Eventually. But first, democracy!
I was proud to participate in Romancing the Runoff from the beginning- see Vogue article for how that went. Nobody expected it to be as big of A Thing as it ended up being. The tipping point was probably when one of the organizers got an email from Neil Gaiman, and everyone collectively freaked out. (note: I am not an organizer, I am far too antisocial and disorganized to do that kind of work.) Anyway, it was fun, at a time when a lot of people were not having a whole lot of fun, and you should consider joining us if you like fun, democracy, and/or kissing books. Ideally all of the above.
If you haven’t experienced Romancelandia’s Wakanda royal guard-style enthusiasm, now is your chance! You don’t have to write romance, btw. See: Neil Gaiman. Nor do you need to be a famous author; they accepted my donation, and I’m a nobody.
*Note that donate an item, you must be a U.S. citizen and cannot be a federal contractor.
Oh… I don’t have enough words to explain HOW i like Crowley’s story. Suddenly I have drawn this image in 2 nights. I started it as simple portrait, but there were too much mistakes, that I decided to redraw it with little plot.
Crowley’s falling is the most dramatic thing, happened to him. Misunderstanding with Great Creator, his Father, led to the horrific curse. In this artwork I tried to feel, what Crowley could feel, when he found out his terrible status.
Shock? Confusion? Incomprehension? Resentment? All of them?
His wings colored black, skin began to cover with snake scales, one eye is still angelic, but another one is already reptile-looked. Curse in action.
And only deep despair and grief in his innocent eyes.
I’ve decided to do a series of portraits of people that influenced me as an artist and human being. It’s gonna be kind of my personal expression of those people and fictional characters.
The fourth person is Neil Gaiman! My beloved author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. I am a huge fan of The Sandman series, American Gods, Neverwhere, Anansi Boys and Stardust.
He always reminds me that this world is a much more interesting place than the boring greyness of everyday life.
As a Tumblr thanksgiving present, for those of you who are curious, here is some of the script for Good Omens 2. Actual honest Crowley and Aziraphale dialogue. Not a joke, not a hoax, not an imaginary story.
It’s from one of the “Dailies”, the half-sized script that is going to be shot that day, that had languished forgotten in my back pocket, before falling apart.
Latest commission, yet another showing for the ever popular Good Omens!
Full image of this one, I really love/hate doing those old UK Discworld covers! I was very upset when they changed from Josh Kirby to Paul Kidby- both great, but they stopped having the cover wrap around the whole book!
You can get a print of your own favourite books here
I’ve been in a reading frenzy this past month, here’s what I’ve actually finished.
Piranesi is the most recent book I’ve read, and I’ve got the biggest book hangover now. Review coming soon, cannot recommended it enough. Drop you current reads and recommendations, cozy book season has officially begun.
I am so excited to reveal the cover for @neil-gaiman ’s Norse Mythology paperback, hitting the shelves on March 6th, 2018. I have always been a fan of mythologies and fantasies as well as Neil’s books and lectures, so unsurprisingly I devoured this book when it first came out in hard cover format, adorned by Sam Weber’s beautiful cover. It was a beautiful surprise when the paperback cover fell into my lap, and I was able ready to jump right in without needing to read the manuscript.
Water and stars have always feel timeless to me, I imagine Mjölnir being washed up on a shore of stars. How did the hammer end up in the sea? Maybe the not-the-brightest Thor has lost it, yet again, or maybe the gods and human have been long gone. Either way, the mythologies endure, and the cycle continues. Another reason behind the water concept is that the Norse world is flooded both when it is created and destroyed. What fascinates me the most about Norse Mythology is its cyclic perspective on time, which Neil has elegantly written in this book’s introduction: “Had Ragnarok happened yet? Was it still to happen? I did not know then. I am not certain now. It was the fact that the world and the story ends, and the way that it ends and is reborn, that made the gods and the frost giants and the rest of them tragic heroes, tragic villains. Tagnarok make the Norse world linger for me, seem strangely present and current, while others, better documented systems of belief felt as if they were part of the past, old things.” This image can be from any point of time in the world of Norse Mythologies.
Personally I think a good illustration doesn’t just create a scene, it creates a believable mythology. The richer the story-telling details, the more believable the myths are. The decorations on Mjölnir are inspired by the world which the hammer defends: we have Midgard and Asgard in the middled, connected by the World tree are and the rainbow bridge, surrounded by the Midgard serpent. The world tree extends to the handle where we can find the dragon Nidhogg. The two circular symbols on the side are the sun and moon.
Many thanks to Neil Gaiman, AD Steve Attardo and W.W.Norton.
