Illusionology
Last winter, along with Art Director Nghiem Ta, I designed the cover of Templar's new 'Ology' book, Illusionology. Photographs don't do it justice - the central image is a freaky thing called a...
View ArticleSelling Stuff
I have launched an Etsy site. http://www.etsy.com/shop/davidwyatt Here I will be selling prints and cards of my Local Characters series, as well as the occasional original piece of art. To start...
View ArticleIn The Word Wood
I needed to take a break from illustrating Joseph Delaney's next book (Spook's Blood), so I took the opportunity to make another 'Local Characters' portrait. Like Comfort in Quilting, the subject is a...
View ArticleOriginals For Sale
I've put a couple more originals from the archives up for sale on Etsy. http://www.etsy.com/shop/davidwyatt Archives sounds rather grand - they're actually from random piles of stuff distributed...
View ArticleBoggarts and Beasties
Here is a small selection of chapter heading illustrations from Spook's Blood, the ninth (I think) in the Wardstone Chronicles. There's also a small 'behind the scenes' piece which shows how the...
View ArticleWitchery
I'm guest blogging on the David Fickling Books site this week. http://www.davidficklingbooks.com/blog/ As my contribution concerns the Pendle witches, I have an excuse to reveal this very early rough...
View ArticleRook Music
There's an excellent tree nearby that I've been meaning to incorporate into a picture for a while. I finally had an idea and popped down to get a better look and take some photographs; unfortunately...
View ArticleThe Science of Magic
This week I received copies of the finished Illusionology book, soon to be published by Templar in the Spring. It has one of the most lavish covers I've ever been involved in, with 3D animation,...
View ArticleRecycling
After the refreshingly gloomy darkness of Rook Music, it was time to go the other way and do something exuberant. Hence the Toy Maker's Workshop. The little clockwork flappy-thing is from an unused...
View ArticleDrawing Writing...
...Or, more scientifically: Typography. So far this year I've done quite a bit. It can be quite a juggling act, balancing legibility with what you wish to communicate. The Diana Wynne Jones lettering...
View ArticleReturn of the Frog
The sequel to Frogspell is out this month - here is the cover and a couple of the interior pictures. The dragon drawing posted a few weeks back is also from this book. I've just finished Icespell,...
View ArticleCurse of the Magpie
http://www.davidficklingbooks.co.uk/blog/?p=3433 I'm guest blogging over at David Fickling today, concerning my obsession with magpies. Apparently I'm in this month's issue of Imagine FX; you can get...
View ArticleA Musical Interlude
Rex and Howard have begun blogging again, and to mark their return you can hear the version of John Barleycorn I recorded for them for them a while back. Tune in next week as they have an interesting...
View ArticleAngels (over London) and Demons (with rollerskates)
A couple of recent book covers - the first one is called Ben Kingdom and is a rip-roaring tale of skulduggery in Victorian London. The angel went through a few manifestations before the final version,...
View ArticleRecording Birdsong in the Wild
I managed to squeeze these Local Characters out in between 'normal' work. These owls have been in my mind, making a racket, since a spring walk in nearby Whiddon Deer Park. The magical entrance is...
View ArticleWhat Happens When You're Not Looking
Once more to my favourite subject (no, not me, although this is a sort of self portrait). I had quite a lot of trouble with this one, mainly due to the dappled light. It took a lot of repeated layers...
View ArticleFirsts and Seconds
I'm guest blogging over at David Fickling Books this week. The topic is 'creating your second book', which is not particularly relevant to my career, so instead I wrote a little about my second-ever...
View ArticleSequels
Conrad Mason is busy finishing up the final draft of his follow up to the excellent Demon's Watch, entitled Goblin's Gift. Meanwhile I have been working on the cover. Last week I also finished the...
View ArticleDuck
I have been working on CJ Busby's Sword Spell recently, and completely forgot to mention the previous book, Icespell. I can safely say I've never drawn a Mallard on a book cover before. Here are some...
View ArticleDead Wood
The Gidleigh Goat's favourite tree has been savagely dismembered; quite a shock for both of us. Only one sculptural trunk remains, greatly reducing its presence among the quiet conifers. But it's not...
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