How to Illustrate Books for Children: Expert Tips from a Professional, Part Three: Creating Characters

Excerpt from “The Conjurers Book 3: Fight for the Fallen”

Today’s excerpt from book three features everyone’s favorite character, Pimawa! He is certainly my favorite, but how did I come up with him? Thought I’d share his origin’s and also a few tips on how you can create your own characters for your story.

The idea behind the Conjurian was that it was a land of magicians, where they could be free of persecution. That meant, when they crossed over into our world, “The Flat World” as magicians like to call it, they had to disguise the secrets they brought over. Now, from day one, I did not want to inclcude the cliched rabbit out of a hat. However, during one brainstorming doodling session, I sketched these rabbit like creatures called Jimjarians. They are sort of like butlers for magicians. They were too interesting (and cute) to discard. I had to work them into the story.

Thank goodness I did. As the Jimjarian history revealed itself to me, I discovered they were much more than cute, fun companions. Their past is intricately intwined in “The Conjurers” story, as you saw in book two. Even more so in book three. No spoilers here. This happened because I put in the time exploring Pimawa’s personality and his family’s past. The point is, great characters take time.

I’ll share a few simple tips you can use to make your own unforgettable characters.

Tips for Writing Character Biographies

A character biography should provide readers with a sense of the character's background, personality, and quirks.

A great way to start writing a character bio is to answer these questions:

- What are some of their hobbies?

- What are their favorite foods?

- What do they like in bed?

- Where would they go on a dream vacation?

- What's their favorite TV show or movie?

These questions might seem very personal, but remember that making your characters as real as possible will make your story more compelling.

How to Come up with Great Ideas for Storylines

To come up with great ideas, one should be creative in their thought process. One can also look at the different aspects of a character or setting that can help them develop something interesting.

There are various methods to come up with ideas for storylines. One of the most popular ways is taking inspiration from real life events and developing it into a fictionalized version. Creative thinking can also lead to interesting storylines, by asking questions about the world and trying to find answers for them.

It is important to note that one does not need to have all the answers for an idea before they start working on it as they will come up with new ideas while they work on their project.

What's the Difference Between Protagonist and Antagonist?

In a nutshell, the protagonist is the good guy, and the antagonist is the bad guy. But not all heroes are good and not all villains are bad.

A hero can be a protagonist in some stories and an antagonist in another story. It's all about perspective. The same goes for a villain- they can be an antagonist in one story and a protagonist in another.

Conclusion: Writing Characters is a Tough Task but not Impossible!

You can do a great job of creating believable and compelling characters. The key is to understand the audience, genre, and story you are telling.

The most important thing when writing a character is to make sure that they are interesting. Create a character that has strong desires or motivations in order to give them something to act on. They should also have flaws or weaknesses that they struggle with and have an arc throughout the book - going from weak to powerful by the end of the story.

As always, send any questions my way or suggestions for what you’d like me to post about next. Cheers!

How to Illustrate Books for Children: Expert Tips from a Professional, Part Two

Opening to “The Conjurers” book three done in graphic novel style.

Usually book covers are my favorite thing to create. However, The Conjurers series has given me the chance to mix in my other favorite medium, sequential art, into writing children’s books. Obviously I’m biased, but I believe all books should be illustrated, not just middle grade series. While drawings are used to engage and enthrall young readers, It would be super cool to see Brad Thor’s next thriller brimming with Frank Miller style art. Just saying.

Now back to how to illustrate books for kids. Books can be illustrated in a variety of ways, from hand-drawn pictures to digital drawings. They should always be relevant to children's interests and needs.

Illustration is an important part of the book publishing process. When publishers are considering new books, they look at whether the illustrator has a style that is appropriate for the book's goals. If they like the artist's style, they may ask them to read the manuscript to get a sense of whether their art will work with it.

The illustrations in children’s books should be designed for young readers and give them a sense of what the story will be about or what some of its key events might be. The animals, people and environments in children’s books should have features that are immediately recognizable to their intended audience.

The illustrations in children’s books have a lasting impact on the imagination of young readers. They can recognize features of people and objects that they see frequently in their day-to-day lives. 

The Basic Steps of Book Illustration

The process of book illustration is a highly creative process. It involves a variety of steps. The artist has to think of the story and then illustrate the text on paper. Depending on the complexity of the text, it might take from one to three months for an illustrator to complete a single picture book.

Book illustrations are usually created with pencil, ink, acrylic paints or sometimes just with crayons and watercolors. The illustrator needs to be very creative in their work and come up with countless ideas that will encourage children to read books and learn unfamiliar words while they enjoy themselves at the same time.

There are many methods that illustrators can use in order to create their artwork for books. One such method is direct drawing, which is where an illustrator draws directly on paper and then inks over the drawing to create a clean line.

Direct drawing is a graphic process in which an illustrator draws directly on paper and then inks over the drawing to create a clean line. The artist can produce work of any size, from small sketches to large murals.

Over the years, I’ve transitioned from direct drawing to digital. While my preference will always remain pen and ink, digital art has a ton of advantages. The biggest advantage is time. A double page spread for “The Conjurers” would take me a day or two drawing with pencils and pens. Working in Clip Studio Paint, I can create the same illustration in a few hours.

Let me make one point clear, digital drawing software does not do the work for you. It is not “easier” from a skills perspective. The same drawing fundamentals still apply and you must continue to work at mastering those skills. Digital software only saves you time and ink stains on your hands. 

Book Illustration Tips for Authors

Successful authors understand the importance of illustrations. Authors can use images to introduce a character, describe an emotion, or to emphasize a point. Authors should have their illustrators create sketches before they write the story in order to make sure that there is no confusion or miscommunication.

The illustrator's job is not simply creating a cover for an author's book. They are just as much of an author as the person who writes the words on paper. The way they did a lot of books in the past was to select a moment in the text and illustrate it. It’s called “spot illustrations”. 

I like to use the illustrations as an extension of the storytelling. This means things I show in the drawings are the story, not a repeat of what’s in the text. The hard part is making this seamless in the reader's mind. 

Let’s finish up with a couple quick tips on getting started illustrating kid’s books. These apply to picture books to young adult novels.

1. Create a Storyboard

A storyboard is a blueprint for what you are going to create. There are a lot of ways to go about creating one - but there are some fundamentals that should be at the forefront of your mind when you're creating one. The purpose of a storyboard is to illustrate what is going on in the story.

Picture books rely heavily on storyboarding, as that’s what picture books are. Every word and drawing counts. Now for middle grade books like “The Conjurers”, the storyboarding process is a bit more involved. As I wrote the books I was deciding what would be text and what I would illustrate. 

As you can see in the image above, I opened book three with sequential art and no words. I love taking a cinematic approach to storytelling. And considering the book opens with a lot of action, why not pull the reader in using art? 

2. Make sure you know your audience

It’s essential to know who you’re targeting with any piece of content. Targeting the wrong audience will not only result in low engagement, but it will also be a waste of time for both the content creator and their target audience.

There are tons of books and articles on how to find your target audience. And you certainly should do the research. Let’s keep it simple today. If you’re starting out as an illustrator or author, do this: write and draw your story for one person. That could be a brother or sister, niece or nephew. Or you could invent the person. 

My son was in middle school when I started writing “The Conjurers”. So I kept him in mind when creating the characters and mapping out the plot. I would consider his concerns and worries. What was he into? What things upset him? What made him happy or sad?

Hope these short tips are helpful. Let me know what you think and send along questions or topics you’d like me to cover in the next post. Till then, cheers!

How to Illustrate Books for Children: Expert Tips from a Professional, Part One

Illustration from book three of “The Conjurers” Middle Grade Fantasy Series

Illustrations for book three have set sail! Currently, I’m working on chapter six. The manuscript is complete and the cover (oh wait until you see it!) is almost ready to reveal. To be honest, after I finished book two, I did not know where book three was going. I lost sleep thinking the third installment couldn’t possibly live up to the previous books and would leave readers unsatisfied with the ending.

And just when things couldn’t get worse, my editor suggested we needed to pull the villain from book three. Her backstory was a lot. Like several large suitcases of backstory that stretched back decades. To pull it off, the book would expand to over four hundred pages (probably). Doom, doom, doom with a side of doom. 

Every story has that “dark night of the soul” moment. This was mine, except it wasn’t fiction. But just like fiction, I had that wonderful revelation. You know the bit that was there all along, but you didn’t notice it? A character from “The Conjurers” webcomic got the call to the big league. Yep, I recast Latiff from a side story to the top of the call sheet for book three. And she didn’t disappoint. You’ll see. 

Back to the illustrations, as that is what my next several posts will focus on. I’ll try not to expose any spoilers from the art. As you can tell from the drawing above, book three picks up shortly after book two. Our heroic team setting sail on the sea of Dedi! Where are they going? Just you wait. You’ll get some hints from the next few drawings. All I will say for now is that they will encounter one of my favorite creatures I’ve ever conjured. The magician in me made sure that, like any excellent trick, this creature has some serious surprises. More on that next time.

I’ve stepped up the art game in book three. I wanted more intensity in the drawings to match the break neck action in this installment. I’ve added more intense shading and made the watercolor washes heavier. I think it adds more visceral reality and maturity just like the characters have matured through the story. Alex and Emma will face their greatest challenge yet and the art will match that intensity. Book three opens in a storm and that will be the calmest it gets. 

The Lighter Side of Book Promotion

Book Promo Art for The Conjurers Book One

I love making promotional images. However, I noticed I had fallen into a rut. Or, more accurately, doing what everyone else does. Not a terrible thing, because it works.  Mostly you slap a picture of your book on top of the cover art. It looks nice. The colors work well and it creates a harmonious drama to the image. 

One thing I try to force myself to do is to deconstruct something and try building it completely differently. This is super hard when re-writing stories. You’ve put a ton of work into an outline or a first draft. it’s difficult to scrap all that work. I know, I’m attempting to do it right now with a picture book that’s been sitting around for a couple years. Thankfully, it’s much easier to do with art.

Scratch up a doodle in a couple minutes. Don’t like it? Scratch up another one. Each time I do, I attempt to redraw it in a unique style or angle. It’s the same with book promos. I’m fortunate that I’m also the artist. I don’t have to charge myself for a few extra drawings. That’s why I should push myself more outside of the creative comfort zones.

With this image, I thought it would be cool to have a few of the characters loitering around the book. And I wanted them on a white background instead of a heavy, moody background. Voila! A few doodles later and I have some of the cast just chilling. Looked good on a white background but I tested out throwing in a subtle background. It works...kind of. I need to test it out and see if people respond to it. 

The lesson learned is that even when you’re doing something you enjoy, you need to prevent it from becoming a grind and step outside, walk around it and see it from fresh vantage points. Creativity doesn’t just happen. It takes thought and discipline. 

How to Write a Book - Research and Inspiration

Thought I’d share a bit about how and where I got ideas for the Conjurers books. First, I’ll be talking about my experience and methods and also potential pitfalls. Early on, when writing books and coming up with ideas, I would get swept away in the currents of research. Why? Because it’s fun and interesting and you can quickly forget that you’re supposed to be writing a book.

Now i have a rule for myself that I try my best to stick to. Although one tumbles down a rabbit hole here and there. The rule is “write first, research later”. I want to stay in that passion zone for writing the story. In a first draft nothing will or should be perfect. My prime focus is making sure that I like my characters, and the story is exciting and fulfilling.

The Conjurers is based on magic, actual real life magicians and my history of studying and performing. I had a lot to pull from in regards to characters and tricks I could use in the books. However, when it came to how magic works and why it was dying, I had a lot to work out. Even after finishing the first draft of book one, it wasn’t clear how real magic worked. What was the difference between a magician and a normal human (they’re called “Flatworlders” in the books). More importantly, why was magic fading out of existence?

When I would come upon those blurry logic spots in my story, I would write a note to myself to hash it out. Then, after the first draft, I could brainstorm the hows and whys of magic in the world of the Conjurers. The above painting is one of the “hows”.

Hieronymous Bosch has always been one of my favorite artists. Mostly because he was weird. However, this piece was my favorite and became a central inspiration for the Conjurers.

The painting depicts St. James converting a magician from his demonic ways. For me, in my world of the Conjurers, this became the basis for how magic had faded over the centuries. I found many other examples to pull from and used in the story. But I straightened all that out after writing the first draft. As I’ll show in my next post, I could easily spent months just studying the history of magic.

Writing and Illustrating Middle Grade Fantasy Books

Another peak at “The Conjurers” book two. Another double page spread. The text will be overlayed in white on the dark, crosshatched top half of the illustration. It’s technique I love and try not to overuse. Too much can be annoying to the reader methinks. But it is a fun way to blend the prose with live action shots.

I think this is from chapter nine. Can’t tell any details, although it is a big moment in Emma’s character art. After all her struggles, it was cool to come upon a scene in which, while everyone else was running from danger, she was running straight at it.

Aesthetically, I once again employ using deep perspective to make the drawings lift off the page and add drama. Perspective is an amazing tool and one I encourage young artists to work with. It can be terribly frustrating and I rarely get it close to correct, but the effects are worth it. I think I’ll include a simple perspective lesson in one of my live-streams.

Illustrations from "The Conjurers" Book Two

Here’s a two page spread from the end of chapter eight. I love ending chapters with a cliffhanger illustration. It’s fun to switch from text into a cinematic envisioning of the story. Plus, it keeps pulling readers along into the next chapter.

This drawing features the main setting in book two, Plomboria, the Jimjarian city. You meet several Jimjarians in book one, but it’s not until the second installment when you get to see more of their culture and a hint of their history. A history that plays a major part in book three. Can’t say too much. What I can say is that when you start writing a tale, you rarely see all the interwoven histories and characters. Things seem almost too simple, but you trust your gut and plug along. Then like magic, this entire world unravels before you. It’s like an archaeologist finding a pottery fragment in the dirt, then digging carefully away, almost on blind faith, in hopes of finding a lost civilization.

The Ups and Downs of writing Middle Grade Books and Webcomics

Read “The Conjurers” webcomic from the beginning here. Or click here for the latest episode.

The Conjurers Webcomic is back! Yep, I’m posting about it again. And I’ll be posting a lot more often. From the beginning, the webcomic was a simple, quick exercise while I was writing the books. It was a small break from plotting, writing and rewriting (and rewriting and rewriting…), and illustrating the novels. Over the years I’ve learned you need creative outlets on the side to keep your main work fresh. At the same time, that outlet can't eat up all your time.

So I compromised. I would do another comics project so long as I could do it quickly and it was related to “The Conjurers”. A webcomic was the perfect medium. I could take secondary characters from the book and send them on their own adventures. It was more beneficial than I could have ever imagined. It helped make two dimensional characters more 3D. I got to see how they behaved when they were the focus of the story. So while the comic was done in a rushed (and admittedly sloppy fashion), the characters became more real and those little details made their way into the books.

In this latest story arc, one such character became even more important. If you’re all caught up on the comics, you know a bit about Latif. She was created strictly for the comic. Cut to writing book three. My main antagonist (one of my favorite characters to date) had a complex backstory that was interwoven with other characters in the book. In order to pull it off, that meant there was a lot more story which meant a much bigger book. Too big. My editor suggested we had to cut her out of the story. That’s the kind of story note you want to ignore or fight or stomp your feet until you get your away. Except that she was right (as usual). 

What does one do with a first draft of a book which has suddenly had the main bad guy ripped out? You could toss it. That of course is a bit drastic considering there are two books that come before it. Or you freak out for a few days until suddenly, yo remember that little side experiment you’ve been scratching away at once a week. And you realize your have the perfect antagonist ready to go: Latif. 

Yep, the cold, mechanical Dr./Pharmaceutical billionaire that came out of nowhere in a webcomic story that was not related to the books was suddenly the star of book three. Her backstory was not as complex or intertwined with the previous plots of books one and two. Which meant she could fit perfectly into book three. On top of that, she’s my kind of villain, in that she does not see herself as a villain. Latif believes she is the hero. 

Now I can’t go on too much more without giving away spoilers. I can say that my former antagonist, Mekinda, will have her story told one way or another. Maybe in the webcomic, or maybe, hopefully, in future books. In the end it’s another valuable lesson that telling stories is not always a clean, straightforward process. Sometimes the biggest hurdles become the sweetest moments of inspiration. 

The City of Magicians

Conjurian city concept art

A quick doodle of Conjurian city that I punched up a bit in Photoshop. There's going to be a lot more city concept art in the future. First though, I'm working on the maps. Might give a sneak peek of the lay of the land in the first book.

Character Design - The Cast of the Conjurers

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Working on the final designs for "The Conjurers" cast. A few more tweaks and they should be ready. Book one is layed out. Now just have to do the final art. #booksforkids #bookaholic #writersofinstagram #characterdesign

A post shared by Brian Anderson (@dogeatdoug) on Nov 27, 2018 at 6:41am PST

Unfinished Art from The Conjurers Book 1

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Unfinished art from the Conjurers, book 1. #conceptart #bookstagram #illustration #bookillustration #yalit #kidsbooks

A post shared by Brian Anderson (@dogeatdoug) on Jan 25, 2019 at 10:23am PST

Speed Doodle from Book Three

I'll be handing over the manuscript for book three at the end of May. I won't start on the illustrations for some time. First have to get books one and two all illustrated up. However, as I work through the prose, I take a little time here and there to whip out a speed sketch from one of the scenes. It gives me a chance to at least have drafts of the final drawings lying around. It also allows me to work out the style for the final images. Trying to keep them light and sketchy and moving.I won't be posting a lot of illustrations from book three as they will contain a lot of spoilers for the first two books. Never the less, there will be plenty more to post when the actual drawing begins.

Sketch Warm Up - Meet the Cast

Warming up to illustrate book one. Like I mentioned yesterday, I'll be editing book three and cranking out the drawings for book one over the next few months. Yesterday I drew my favorite supporting cast members, the Grubians. Those of you who have read the webcomic will be familiar with these rapscallions. And if you liked them there, wait till you get a load of them in the novels.Fair to say, these guys are my Shakespearean clowns, although they play a pivotal role in the first three books. My inspiration for them goes well past Shakespeare. My magician friends will notice a similarity to another tall and short magic duo. Except my big guy is the non-talker. Yep, Penn & Teller. Two of my biggest influences in magic since the third grade. They were the starting point for these two.Halfway through writing book one, I realized another influence for this pair were Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar. If those names aren't familiar, google them and then get the book that pops up in the results. I also recommend getting the comic adaptation and the BBC tele-play and of course the BBC radio drama version. Trust me on this.Lastly, the names. Was it too obvious? My devious Grubians are named after Clive Barker and Neil Gaiman, the two writers I can't live without. Well, also Susan Hill, but I have another character based on her we'll get to later.That's it for today. Back to editing book three and sketching up the art for book one. I'll be sure to post my progress on both.

A brief update on the book series.

Time usually flies, however in the case of "The Conjurers", the series seemed to have fallen into a temporal loop. Much of that was because, from the beginning, I was trying to do something different. Found a few potholes but also found a few things that worked. So where does it stand now?My editor and I came up with a timeline with definitive dates and goals to get this done. A lot of what slowed us down was having portions of the stories told through sequential art. Prose blended into comics and vice versa. That's great if you have the text finalized. We didn't. So, change some prose and you had to change the drawings. Change a drawing and you had to add some prose. Round and round it went.  We made a few compromises on the scope of the illustrations and also put all our focus on getting the prose done.This weekend I sent out book two. Now I'm onto the final pass on book three and simultaneously illustrating book one. That means book one is actually, really, truly in production. Which also means I should have a publication date soon. The next few months will be more insane than the last few (in which I was only re-writing one book).  along the fall through this rabbit hole I'll post updates on the illustrations for book one and the manuscript for book three. Confused yet? Me too. That's why I have it written down. Either way, I think the trip will end up in wonderland, which is not a bad place at all.

The "Vanishing Fantasy Series" or, "Where the Novels at?"

The trials and tribulations of writing a fantasy novel series.

So, ya, about that fantasy novel series. Where are they at and what's happening? Are they ever going to come out? It's been a while since I've posted anything about the novels, mainly because there wasn't a terrible lot to post about. Thought I'd give a quick run down on their status. Good news and bad news. Bad news first? Good idea. Get it out of the way. Here we go.

The Bad News

I have no idea when "The Conjurers" book one will launch. From the get go, I had an ambitious idea of creating a hybrid fantasy novel that weaved prose in and out of the illustrations. Cool! Exciting! Never been done before! Yes, all very well and nifty, however, as is to be expected when doing things four miles away from the nearest box, you bumble your way along a foggy road that has never been mapped. The first tree in the road was attempting to write the prose and work out the illustrations at the same time. But when the prose changes, so do the illustrations and when the illustrations change the prose needs adjusting. Round and round it went for a bit. Finally a couple faint, swinging lights appeared in the fog.The first was coming to terms with the fact that, on my inaugural outing writing a fantasy series, I wasn't going to be able to pull off some the word C.G.I. where text blended into a sequential series of drawings and then seamlessly merged back into traditional prose. It was clunky and at times, too comic book-ish. Once I accepted that, there was another looming issue.The original draft of book one was just over ninety-thousand words, and that was before adding in the pages and pages of illustrations. The book would've been more a piece of furniture than a fun read kids could tote around in their backpacks. Thankfully, a new creative director had just flown over on white, feathery wings to my publisher and she had the light bulb moment that pulled the whole project out of the muck. "Why not split book one into two books?"And boom! Just like that, books one and two were written. Sort of. Now I could focus on polishing the text for book one and finalize the what and where of the illustrations. Right now, as I wait for notes on the final edits for book one, I am sharpening and molding book two (formerly the second half of book one) into it's own complete story arc. The neat bit is that where book one was torn in half makes the series more of a cliff--hangar serial.  That is to say, at the end of the new book one everyone dies. Just kidding.

The Good News

Onto the good news! Mainly, that book one is nearing completion and should have an official release date soon. The second breath of fresh air is that, because books two and three are more or less written, there won't be any delays between releases. By the time book one thumps onto shelves, I should have book two wrapped and will be putting the finishing bits of spackle on book three.In the meantime, I'll be posting more often, given that I have a slightly sturdier grip on this eel like process. And that also means, as I promised myself, I'll post a lot more sketches. 

Dog eat Doug Volume 9: The Ninth Comic Strip Collection @ Amazon.com.

Get your copy today! Click here.Officially out today! Notice anything different? I've gone back to what I call the "Garfield" sized books. Remember those collections? Apart from nostalgia, I went back to this format to help bring the costs a bit, which is a tall order when dealing with Amazon and Createspace.On the plus side, the book already has fifteen reviews in the first day! A humongous thank you to my newsletter subscribers. I'm working on putting together another free book as a thank you. It may or may not be Dog eat Doug related.I get a lot of questions about DeD volume 1 and when it might be re-released. Well, I can answer that now: soon. The lovely people at Andrews McMeel made it super easy for me to get the rights and the full color files so that I could publish it under my own banner.  I'll have more on that once I get the files and stitch together the ebook version. Might add in some extras. Who knows?And lastly, a quick word on the Conjurers books. I have sent the final edits off to my publisher. Now we can start locking down the layout and the illustrations. That's something I can grind through much faster.  So expect to start seeing lots of bits and pieces as the book comes together.It was a long, tough learning experience. Just to give you a rough idea, the first draft of book one was 90,000 words. Add to that the fact that I was doing something completely different with the illustrations, blending and weaving them in and out of the text. Well, myself and the genius team at Crown Books found a way through it.  I think you're going to enjoy the ride.Source: Dog eat Doug Volume 9: The Ninth Comic Strip Collection - Kindle edition by Brian Anderson. Humor & Entertainment Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

A Brief Update from the Conjurian.

Indeed, this project has taken a lot more work than anticipated and I anticipated a lot. However, my editor and publisher want to get it right. Doing things outside the box means a lot of growing pains and learning as you go. Been a ton of that.So, as it goes right now, I'm streaming words for book two, as you can see in the photo. Yes, that's a tiger with a rabbit in its mouth and it's not what you think. Unless you think it's something more than a tiger with a rabbit in its mouth. Then you're on the right track. I have a solid, working outline of book two. Nine chapters in, I'm discovering lots of cool bits that don't show up when you outline stories. The focus on book two is getting the words down, fast and furious. Type it into the box with all the circuits and such, cut of the jagged edges and send it off to my ridiculously patient editor. By that time she should be sending me the manuscript for book one. That needs final line edits, final art direction and final, final art.While things have been delayed quite a bit, the good news is we're figuring out this odd way of slipping from prose to art and art to prose and a few variations in between. The other good news is that there won't be a delay between books. That, right now, is key. And the first webcomic companion will finish its run soon. There'll be another companion right after that one, which should be much less experimentally. More on that later after I finish torturing my Lamy on this draft.

Setting the Scene

Another drawing to set the scene. No sequentials or dialog on this one. A bit more traditional in the sense that it's just a visual for the scene. It's more to set the tone of Emma's darkening journey. On the left side I used a cutaway technique to make the page appear torn in the shape of the entrance into the theater.

Movie sets on paper.

Here's a two page spread from chapter seven. Might have to makes some changes if some of the prose ends up on the left side. Again, spoiler filter on, so I won't divulge exactly what this scene is. This two page spread accomplishes several things. First off I can visually set the mood that flows from the text. Second, I can show all the important bits instead of spending several paragraphs describing what you see here. And my favorite bit, I can drop in Easter eggs that relate to book two.