Costumes, architecture, racial groups, terrain, innovations for that place, technology, historical period… not just for one place but all those the main character visits. And that’s aside from considering what needs to happen in the story – the action sequences and poses, the dramatic angles and lighting, where the story needs to rest, where it needs to fly along. And how about all of the layering that may be relevant – is there a class system and how is it shown, what are the environmental issues and how are they being tackled or not, is there tension, evidence of inequality, what is the season, the weather, the pollution level, what am I saying in this book aside from depicting a series of events? What are my prejudices and assumptions as I draw all of this stuff and are they correct and helpful for the story? I am presenting images and places that are new – but are they also comprehensible and universal? Something that was great about Shaun Tan‘s book The Arrival is the way that a wholly imagined book (invented places, cuisine, animals, language…) strikes so many chords for immigrants who talk about how very accurate it is. One of the wonderful things about fantasy is the ability to access universal ideas and experiences and, by acting them out in a new space, strip away all of the distractions and baggage of familiarity. Then we can explore concepts like isolation, loneliness, fear, joy, depression, loss and hope…

It’s all pretty massive and for this book, it’s all relevant. And I’m not really intending on having many words (dialogue only) so it has to be shown pictorially. Quite a fantastic challenge!

In no particular order…

Three covers for a brilliant fantasy trilogy – Moorehawke by Celine Kiernan (A&U). I’ve read the first book and it’s an absolute winner. The chance to draw all three at once is sweet. I’m planning on making sure the design moves across all covers…

Maps for Christine Hinwood’s debut novel, Bloodflower (also A&U). It’s beautiful writing and I feel very honoured

A cover and internal illustrations for a lovely manuscript about Robert Ogilvie Crombie’s (Roc for short) experiences in the Findhorn area, Scotland. A very interesting and magical read. I’m so pleased to be drawing real fairies in a gorgeous old fashioned stye.

The drawings for an illustrated novel, Sarindi and the Lucky Buddha by Janine Fraser. An absolute gem of a book. These are in b/w pencil and it’s a HarperCollins book. I love doing these.

And of course my ongoing MAMMOTH TEXTLESS PICTURE BOOK, The Collector . Working on roughs, imagining the world… No, it’s not about mammoths. I just mean – it’s big. Huge.

And this weekend – my Sunday Arts at the Convent market! So that means a new painting Yay!

Oh, and I’m drawing pirates! Which I’m about to go to a cafe to finish off, now. It’s an illustrated chapter book for a UK publisher (Ragged Bears), called The Pirate Suit by Raewyn Caisley. I like pirates.

Generally, my reaction to this list is eek. Although, somehow, it all seems to be flowing smoothly… They’re all at different stages (design, roughs or final art) and require different head-spaces to be completed. So it’s a bit here, a bit there and then voila. At least that’s the plan.