Here she is: Piper the elf from jacket art for Escape from Netherworld—about a group of role-playing gamers who are somehow transformed into their characters and transported into an alternate realm: Netherworld.
My pal, the extraordinarily talented Gina Datres, is the book’s designer and she called me in to illustrate the jacket. After some discussion and rough sketches back & forth we hit on the idea of 3 individual images of the gamers going through their transformation. For the 2 guys, Twiggy and Borhai, I drew the gamers in pencil but fully rendered their characters in paint. I work with watercolor (gouache), so I traced some of the drawing with a wax candle. Since watercolor won’t stick to wax, you can see the drawing of the gamer ‘through’ the painting of the character. Piper, the elf-girl, doesn’t change in size enough to make that idea work so I made her hair a magical element that swirls around her as it grows.
If you’d like to buy a copy of Escape from Netherworld just click here.
Author: David Kuklis
Designer: Gina Datres
Illustrator: John Manders
Editor: Nan Newell
Published and Printed by:
Word Association Publishers
Tarentum, PA 15084
ISBN: 978 1 59571 994 2
Available for purchase:
wordassociation.com — 1 800 827 7903
barnesandnoble.com
amazon.com
As usual, here are the rough sketches, tight sketches, color study and final painting.
More jacket art for Escape from Netherworld—it’s about a group of role-playing gamers who are somehow transformed into their characters and transported into an alternate realm: Netherworld. Yesterday I showed you Twiggy the dwarf. Here’s Borhai the warrior who starts out as a regular gaming guy named Dave.
My pal, the extraordinarily talented Gina Datres, is the book’s designer and she called me in to illustrate the jacket. After some discussion and rough sketches back & forth we hit on the idea of 3 individual images of the gamers going through their transformation. For the 2 guys, I drew the gamers in pencil but fully rendered their characters in paint. I work with watercolor (gouache), so I traced some of the drawing with a wax candle. Since watercolor won’t stick to wax, you can see the drawing of the gamer ‘through’ the painting of the character. Piper, the elf-girl, doesn’t change in size enough to make that idea work so I made her hair a magical element that swirls around her as it grows.
If you’d like to buy a copy of Escape from Netherworld just click here.
Author: David Kuklis
Designer: Gina Datres
Illustrator: John Manders
Editor: Nan Newell
Published and Printed by:
Word Association Publishers
Tarentum, PA 15084
ISBN: 978 1 59571 994 2
Available for purchase:
wordassociation.com — 1 800 827 7903
barnesandnoble.com
amazon.com
As usual, here are the rough sketch, tight sketch, color study and final painting.
"Bedtime Story", © Paula Pertile
Its finished! Yay. Now I can get on with my life.
I think I've actually found a way to work SLOWER than before. I didn't think that was possible, but I managed it. I did colored pencils and mineral oil on this, and the oil took an extra umpteen hours. But I love what it does. I did pencil, then a layer of oil, then came back in with more pencil over the whole entire thing ~ and I mean a pencil sharpened on a sandpaper block so its like a needle almost. Really. I could have done even more, but had to get it out the door.
I'm hoping that working slow and doing tight detailed work will come back into fashion in a big way one of these days. Soon. I like to think I'm way ahead of the curve. Like, so far ahead I've swung back around and am actually in the past, like around 1800 or so. Do you know what I mean? All of us "slow" artists are bucking the trend to go faster, and are in some time travel-ly weird quantum physics kind of parallel universe where working this way is actually fashionable and we're all in demand and commanding large sums for our work.
I make myself laugh like this all the time. Its a gift.
Anyways, I will be blogging this around and updating portfolios with it and think I will do some prints as well. And now its onto some Fall knitting! The weather has actually turned coolish today, which is more proof that I'm in some alternate universe because August here is usually sweltering.
My turkey, Hedda Gobbler, is out there pecking around in the yard, which is yet again
more evidence that the world is inside out. Or something.
And with that I will leave you to go do errands and "think yarn" for a while. Wheeee!
Gorgeous work! Love it.
This is charming! I like working 'slow' and I appreciate the results of other artists' slow works too. It is part of a trend if you think about things like the slow food movement, mindfulness, and all that.
Paula!I love this...but, but...you JUST posted the sketch and you are done already!!!! Gad Zooks!!!! You say you are S L O W? How many days did this take you to go from sketch to finish?
Compared to me you are FAST girl, mineral oil notwithstanding.
My watercolor/acrylic glazes make a piece take about a week to go from transferred sketch to finish.....
actually I love slow but it does result in one making about 53 cents an hour. Sigh
I too dream of highly detailed, slow work making a comeback....that pendulum MUST swing back, it MUST!
It's beautiful! Love the softness of the colors.
Cool weather? Oh, how I envy you. It's HOT and HUMID around here (NC).
What's on your knitting agenda? I'm getting ready to try to knit my first pair of socks. Yikes!
I LOVE this. And I too hope that the curve will bend a bit in the direction of beautiful art that is dedicated to children who love color, design, imagination, design and the joy that pictures like this one can bring.
I also love that you have a turkey named Hedda Gobbler. I remember getting lost on the subway to Greenwich Village in NYC when I was going to get discount tickets for Hedda Gabbler. By the time I made my way back to my little rooming house my landlady was in hysterics and gave me a lecture on never going to the "bowery" again.
love that you names the turkey :D lol
very nice piece :D lots of great colours and patterns to it
Love the detail on this, Paula, there is so much to look at and it is so heartwarming! 'Slow' is obviously a relative concept since you seemed to have completed this really quickly to me! I agree, though, 'slow and detailed' must return to favour. That turkey is now a member of the family, huh? Hedda Gobbler, hehehe!
It turned out great Paula!
My Mom said fall is early. It is truly weird, because this is our coolest summer month and it's suppose to be hot here too. . .odd.
As a member of the "slow and detailed" your thoughts are my thoughts! But, I'd rather be part of this group than any other.
I love the finished drawing. So very much detail--love the mom's curlers and that could be my grandson lying there listening and eating gold fish. I think that that is what makes all art wonderful--that whatever we are looking at, we connect with it because it translates into something we know.
Thanks!!!
Thanks everyone!
Its heating up again today if that makes you all feel better. :~)
But no turkey. :~(
Lovely Paula,
Its just beautifully done :)
What Wendy said--unless you had the finish half done when you posted the sketch and/or worked around the clock, you seem pretty dang fast to me. I like a lot of your earlier detailed works, so I enjoy the re-visitation this style. You're great with names, as Dickens will attest.