At the Coco School Illustration course one of the subjects was Editorial Illustration, where I got the chance to shape and give colours to some ideas I had for one of the stories in my mind. Rooted Wingmaker narrates the meeting and adventures of two different, small and conflicted beings of the forest: Aetherion, from the Winged, and Jurg, from the Diggers.
This project starts with a full cover illustration and an inside one-page art piece, and is currently on hold for me, until I get the chance to go back to the story. A chance I am really looking forwards to.
I've always loved book covers that envelope the full book so from the start I had the idea to make a continuous and wide drawing that could be used for the front and back cover, as well as the spine. For the second sketch I enlarged the canvas a bit more to include also the book pockets. The cover represents the space where one of the main characters works on his designs, and has also small touches of the other protagonist around. I like it when objects tell stories about their owners and that was the case for this illustration: a messy workshop, study sketches, a wing prototype and, overall, an obsession.
Study sketches
Progress
Final art
Rooted Wingmaker starts with a prologue where young Jurg tries his latest invention, trying to rise above the clouds. He is a bit off with the calculations and may even forget the small details like how to land later... but fate drives -or smashes- him in the middle of the winged territory, on a branch. There he discovers the complex shapes of the wings of that belligerant kind and decides on a new objective for his future. The following art illustrates that overwhelming moment of fascination.
First sketches and concept
Process
Final art
