After choosing a book to work on i read My Family and other Animals by Gerald Durrell.
I thoroughly loved this book and the humor of the family life abroad for the Durrells in the 1930's. After receiving the formal brief i started working on my research and sketches. I looked at various personal photos i have from my trips to Corfu, and other Greek Islands. This gave me a good source of information to draw upon.
Using soft gel crayons i tried to recreate some scenes of Corfu. I used these because they are vibrant and feel sunny giving the feel of a Mediterranean Island.
I love these textures they would make great shorts and trousers for the menfolk of the story!
Various line and pencils drawings with notes added.
I looked at different printing styles for the era the book was written for. Using limited colours i tried to recreate some images using these styles. Above i used two contrasting colors to illustrate olives and it's leaves. Below i looked at a horse and cart in bold contrasting colors using back to give definition. I had seen a similar style image in a book from the 40's.
Some line and marker work of Gerry's animals including his Scops Owl .
I also looked at extras and materials that would create the feel i wanted for clothes and backgrounds etc.
I looked at equipment.
I added more and more to my book using the book as reference to research the type of animals that Gerry loved and looked after. I also looked at the things that were influential in his studies such as the microscope and nature. I started to draw these and add them in various compositions. Below i tried out some thumbnail sketches on what i could include on the cover.
Here are some experiments i did with texture and hand drawn and digital drawings.
I tried out some of the textures i found and drew a rough Gerry with Wellies on. Despite the textures being in blocks i am happy with the result of how he looks.
I have used a combination of animal sketches to produce this and am really pleased with its effect, although i know it still needs some work.
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