WIP of New Illustration for 2nd Edition of The Snickitysnatcher

Unfortunately I'm not allowed to post a final copy of this illustration just yet. It's going to be in the revised edition, out at the end of April in digital and print versions. Here's a work in progress shot showing the illustration's progress from sketch to about 70% completion. I've been told the final looks stunning. Hope you enjoy the teaser, and keep checking for release dates on this absolutely 'must have copy' of 'The Snickitysnatcher'. I'm thinking of giving away a signed poster print of the final, closer to release date. Would anyone be keen on trying to win a copy in a lottery style give away?

About the Illustration: The Illustration is of Dione, the leader of the fairies from the forest around Fangtop. She plays a pivotal role in Indigo's rescue and in getting her to understand the danger she is in. I based the character loosely on Minerva, my favorite Higher Power. She is the goddess of art, magic, wisdom and learning.

ciro correia

Older Illustrations - The Juniper Tree

These are from 'The Juniper Tree' by Brothers Grimm (My illustrated version). It is one of my absolute favorite Grimm fairy tales, I remember finding an old dusty copy of Grimms at my local library when I was about eleven. Reading it late into the night. Probably post more of these sometime. My personal favorite out of these three is blood in the snow.

Faerie - sketch more, paint more, do more!

The more we do, the more we fail, the faster we grow.... I'm trying to up my productivity and to let go of pieces instead of trying to polish them up. I think that you get to a point when work on an image will not add anything to the viewers experience of the image. That is probably when you should stop - that is probably 'the finish line'. Here is something I'm letting go, though I'm not promising I won't come back to it ;)

I wanted to create a fairy of a different kind, something mystical and away from what one would normally expect a fairy to look like.

updated 25th July,'12 - Just in case anyone thinks I'm advocating not finishing work here is a post that I agree with completely about starting and finishing (Thanks to Scott Johnson who reposted it on google+). What I am talking about is when to declare a picture finished, I've previously leaned towards polishing every inch of the canvas but that is not finishing. Finishing is a difficult line to draw especially if you obsess and desire perfection (I'm a perfectionist and constantly deal with my ideal versus my 'at that moment skill level' issues). PLEASE FINISH your work but finishing something is a personal line you have to draw and sometimes you have to cut the lines and send your boat out to sea... even if you end up drawing it back to the shore later.  THE FINISH LINE

Night Interrupted

Illustration:
Fairies, brownies, pixies, elves or just plain fairy tale folk. The backstory behind this illustration is that of a woodland night interrupted by a hungry creature. The creature might be looking for bugs only. It might want to eat the little folk as a night time snack. So either they're in mortal danger or they're really upset about their family home being trashed. If you opt for the ‘on the menu’ interpretation then the picture is supposed to show tension between the tight group as they try to remain hidden (they’re very obviously not doing very well at that) and the creature as it turns its head towards them.  Don't worry kids they'll probably get away ;) .