Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Daily Report



"Pen Knight", copyright 2013, Sara Light-Waller

The manuscript revisions for Book I are going very well. I think I’m getting pretty close to a final version of the manuscript and this is a wonderful place to be after so much hard work.

The illustrations are also proceeding well although I ran into a snag with the latest one. The scene I’d originally planned to show ended needed to be scrapped for several reasons. First, it was horizontally-oriented and that isn’t the best thing for a book illustration. To be properly enjoyed book illustrations should really be vertically-oriented, especially if they’re to be viewed on a small Kindle screen.

The content of the illustration was another problem. Originally, I’d wanted to show the heroine in an action scene, highlighting her ability to do heroic things herself. Although I love this scene in the text, it wasn’t carrying the right resonance for me as a visual drawing.

As I started to make some new sketches for it, I hit upon another aspect of the same scene I thought might work better. This new illustration happens just before the high action starts. It’s a moment of thoughtful contemplation by the heroine. This new idea came together quickly and easily and the sketches and value studies for it look are looking great. 

So, I guess I’ll take the hint. This is how the heroine really wants to be seen. So be it.

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