I love working with Jeff because of the creative freedom that he gives me. "Tales of Terror" was the first illustration I got to do for Millhaven Press, I remember showing him a rough sketch and after having the go, I followed the instructions - "...make it shocking and horrifying..." well... I hope I succeeded.
"Fierce Tales: Shadow Realms" Was a different approach. I got to choose the story I wanted to illustrate myself, so I picked "Hex Hollow" which got my attention right away.
My first thought after reading K.P. Kulski's tale was to do a portrait of Nellie, the witch protagonist. But I changed my mind about it because I was afraid it would take away from the reader's imagination, so I went with a river spirit instead.
I always start with a rough sketch, mainly for visualizing concept and composition and after looking at it for a couple of days I might decide to change it completely, or start coloring. Or both!
The title design for this one was a big deal to me, I wanted to feel regal. Like it was the cover of a medieval fantasy book, which is why it took me longer to do that than the rest of the illustration, both designing and finishing.
This title design was a big deal to me, I wanted to feel regal. Like it was the cover of a medieval fantasy book. This probably took me longer to do than the rest of the illustration, both designing and finishing.This title design was a big deal to me, I wanted to feel regal. Like it was the cover of a medieval fantasy book. This probably took me longer to do than the rest of the illustration, both designing and finishing.dgdgd
I do hope I get to do a lot more of Millhaven's covers. I enjoy diving into the stories and coming up with ideas of how to represent them as illustrations.