Finished!

Done at last! I'm finally finished the entire book, done, sewed and everything. It looks fantastic, so happy with it. It was a little nerve-wracking the past couple of days with the gluing and then the hole-poking, and now the sewing, but I think it turned out really well. I like that it has the balance of a children's picture book in feel but is definitely creepy enough to be for adults. the mood of the book comes across nicely in the paper stock and especially in the end papers (love them) and the leather is perfect for the covers. I was really pleased that the hand-lettering worked out for the cover as well (also nerve-wracking) and it completes the look and feel of the book. So, without further ado here are the photos of the finished product.

So there it is. Really happy with how it turned out. Now I just have to be super careful with it and find something to put it in for hand-in. Hope you enjoyed the journey, I know I did and I learned a lot while doing this book and it was probably the most fun I've had doing a project. Cheers!

So....

Okay, here's the deal. I was all ready to finish my book today and I got it printed out and everything and then....one page ended up being flipped around. Not a huge problem except that by the time I noticed it I couldn't go back to get it reprinted. Funny thing is, I checked all the pages to make sure they were right and I thought that one page was fine, too, but when I actually started assembling the signatures I realized there was a blank page next to the text instead of the proper illustration.

The culprit. The queen should be on the right and the blank page should be on the left. Sigh.

 Ironically, the illustration mirrored my reaction to the situation (at least I could find some humour in it). Anyway, I suppose it turned out for the best since I would have been rushing to finish the book anyway as I still had to do the covers (and hand paint the title text). This way I won't have to rush it. Seriously, though, check pages Very Carefully in the future.

In other news, I thought I'd take the opportunity to upload some of my process work up until this point so here are some images of my mock-up book binding and the little mock-ups I did for the signatures.

And here are the signatures I printed that were correct. I'm really happy with how they turned out.

And here are some of the materials including the leather and the end paper.

Here's how the end paper would look beside the title page.

I decided on having the end paper just glued to the back of the cover board since trying to do a spread of end paper (by gluing it to the first signature to anchor it) would be a logistical nightmare (trust me, I tried to figure out how to sew through it - didn't work). Maybe there's a way to do it but I actually kind of prefer the dynamic created by the side-by-side look (not to mention the back of this Japanese paper has some shadowing happening that wouldn't look good with the title page beside it).

 So, anyway, that's my blog for today. Will try to finish this book up in the next couple of days (after I reprint the offending page). I'll post again at that time.

Update Again

Okay, so I'm finally nearing the end of this project and, man, has it been a lot of work (but it's been fun). So all the illustrations are done now (including the spots) which I am really happy with. I've laid everything out and made a dummy mock-up of the sections so I won't drive myself insane worrying about whether the pages are in order. Made another mock-up book for stitching, too, and it turned out a lot better than the first one I did. Hoping to get this this printed tomorrow and see how it goes from there. I still need to do the cover but I figure I'll see how the printing goes first (mainly because I'm terrified of messing with the leather before then).

I just wanted to post this one image spread since it was the last one I did (and it took me about three hours to do it...) and I'm really happy with how it turned out. So here's Snow White with all seven Redcaps (and if any of you want a piece of advice from me, don't ever do an illustration with eight figures if you can help it - it's hell, especially on marker paper).

I'll try to get some of the spot illustrations up too but that'll have to wait for now.

Success!

I've got black leather! I'm actually really relieved I was able to find any (and it's pretty thin, too, which is excellent) so I wouldn't have to start looking for a paper substitute for the covers. Now it's just a matter of cutting them to the right sizes and then painting in the title (definitely need to leave a few hours for that, I think). The leather is really nice and I think it will look great on the covers and give the book a nice tactile quality. I also found some nice end paper which I'm hoping will work for the book.

In other news, still working on finishing up the illustrations (man, they take forever). I've got two more left and the spot illustrations, so definitely getting there. I'll try to put up a few new spreads once I finish off the illustrations (especially once I get the spot illustrations in there).

Next on the list after finishing the illustrations will be another practice book so I can figure out the kinks in my stitching (need to make it as perfect as possible since the binding will be exposed).

I'll keep you informed and try to add some new visuals soon!

Getting There

Okay, so progress is going pretty good so far on the book (almost done!). There's about five more illustrations to finish up and then a few spot illustrations (which are relatively small and don't need marker so it should go faster) and then the visuals are done. Besides that there's really just finishing touches on the layouts. I've added in an author's note page at the beginning because I feel that it might help give the book some context as to how and why it's different. I'm thinking this author's note will be brief (maybe even just one or two lines) because I really don't want to give away too much I just want to establish that this isn't your childhood fairytale (hey, maybe I'll just use that). Anyway, I've practiced some of the bindings as well and pretty much I'm happy with the look of it I just need to practice a bit more so that the stitches are bit more even etc.

As for the leather dilemma, I've managed to find a place that sells leather scraps and skins for pretty cheap so now it's just a matter of going downtown to have a look and see if I can find anything that works for my book. Will keep you posted on the results of that excursion. I was also looking into the vinyl cutting for the lettering on the cover but the only problem is that the detail on the capital letters is so tiny it'll most likely get lost at the size I need to print it which means....I'm thinking I may have to try doing it by hand. This might not be my favorite option but it might actually end up working with the whole rustic look I'm going for with the leather etc. and the imperfections of painting it on the leather by hand may give it more character. I don't know, we'll see.

All in all, though good progress and I'm happy with how it's turning out so far. I'll keep working on it!

Progress to the Final

Okay, so it's been a little while since I made a progress report but I've been super busy doing the illustrations (which take forever, by the way). I'm doing pretty well so far and have about six fully completed (just need to add appropriate backgrounds) at this point and four more pending completion. I think they're turning out well so far. Here are some of the completed spreads.

Just as a side note the little spot illustration guy is a rough not a final so he's lighter.

This is the same spread as the one above but I added a border around the image in this one. I actually think the border might help soften the contrast between the two pages and also gives it less of a modern look which I think the top one is giving off a bit with the full bleed.

Okay, so those are the ones that are mostly finished spreads (still have to adjust the backgrounds on a couple of them).

Alright, so that's the main progress on the illustrations and spread. As far as the binding of the book goes, I've experimented a bit with the sewing and have decided a few things. I will most likely go with the simpler binding (to spare myself many hours of agony) and also that I will most likely not have the red thread for the binding. This last thing is mainly because I realized that while I love the idea of red thread binding showing it's actually so thin it won't have much, if any, impact. I may still use an exposed spine but it will depend on how my stitching looks and whether it still feels appropriate without the red thread. More on this later (once I've reached a definitive decision). I still have to look into whether I can get plates made for debossing/embossing. If not I will have to think of an alternative for the cover (most likely print-based on nice paper - maybe textured to feel a bit like leather).Will keep you posted when decisions are made and when I've got further progress!

Three Questions

Okay, I've been thinking about what questions I still need answered and here's what I've come up with;

1. I am considering using leather for the cover of the book and possibly seeing if I can deboss the title into that. But I'm not sure whether the cover of the book should be hardcover or softcover considering I'm going for an old, worn look. What does everyone else think?

2. On certain pages the text runs shorter and I've decided to put spot illustrations in to fill the space. I'm wondering whether the spot illustrations should have any colour in them (same restricted pallet as the full page illustrations which use only black, white, grey, and red or blue) or if they should remain strictly as inked illustrations?

3. Also, with the spot illustrations, I am wondering whether they need to strictly depict something related to the text on that page or whether they can illustrate something from the broader story. Specifically I'm thinking of having each of the seven Redcaps (dwarves) appear in a spot illustration throughout the book but this will mean that some of them will appear on pages which don't necessarily have anything to do with the Redcaps specifically. I'm not sure whether this will matter or if it's better to just stick with spot illustrations that depict what the accompanying  text is about. What do people think about this?

Thanks!

Latest Progress - Layouts and Spot Illustrations

Okay, so I've finally finished doing the text layouts. Now it's just a matter of figuring out where I need spot illustrations as certain pages don't fill the entire page and I don't want big white spaces beneath the text. So right now I've got somewhere around 47 pages of both text and illustrations (full page ones) not including the long title and credits etc. I'm happy with the progress and just thought I'd post some of the spot illustrations before I get back to working on layouts and finalizing illustrations. So here they are;

This would be a spot illustration near the end after the queen goes crazy and decides to nail a magpie to the wall in place of her magic mirror. (creepy)

This spot illustration would be one of three to depict the items used by the queen to try and kill Snow White.

These are two options for the first of the items the queen uses to kill Snow White (the lacing cord). I will probably use the top image.

These are two separate spot illustrations. The top one would be for Snow White in the woods and the bottom one is the box into which the huntsman was to put Snow White's heart (notice the demonic shadow behind it?).

This is likely one of seven spot illustrations that will depict bust shots of the seven Redcaps. These won't necessarily have anything to do with the text where they appear but I still like the idea of the Redcaps popping up on other pages.

These two are also separate spot illustrations. The top image is the second of the three items used to kill Snow White (the comb) very creepy and sinister-looking (this comb makes a lovely second appearance lodged in Snow White's neck on the following page in the book). The bottom image may depict Snow White exploring the ruins of the castle where she lives with the seven Redcaps.

This is not a spot illustration but a fill illustration and is the queen's death, screaming as she burns (a nod to the original story, though slightly different in context).

Also not a spot illustration. This one shows the queen talking to the mirror (love the peacock headdress).

This may be a full illustration or a spot illustration depending on space. This is when the queen is disturbed by nightmares of Snow White near the beginning.

This is another full illustration showing Snow White's first "death" when the queen hangs her with the lacing cord. I love the way she stares out of the page, it's really creepy.

This is yet another option for Snow White's sleeping death. I know I've probably got about three already but it's difficult to decide on an appropriate angle to show it from. Actually, so far I think I might like this one best just because it's a little different. She will most likely be surrounded by a red-blooming flowers here.

So that's it for now. I'll get back to work and update again hopefully when I've got some of the illustrations finalized and inked.

Revised Blueprint

Size and Style of the Book

So after a lot of thought and further work on the book, I've come up with this revised blueprint.
I've decided that the book will be a little smaller than a typical children's illustration book at 8"x10" and will most likely have a quality that gives a nod to an older style of storybook. Ideally this would mean using some kind of leather for the cover and possibly debossing the title out of it but I realize that this will be a difficult process and may not work out quite as I imagine it.

In the event that the leather cover falls through I would most likely use some kind of paper that has an old-fashioned look to it and has a bit of texture and can still achieve that worn-out look I want. I would like to do a raw (exposed) binding with red thread or ribbon to carry through the theme of the book and add to the creepiness of it. As for paper, I think it will be necessary to use a fairly white stock in order to play up the contrast in the illustrations but I would definitely like to avoid anything too heavy or glossy to stay away from anything too modern. 

Layouts of Spreads

I've also been working on possible layout options for the spreads. Here are a few of them;

Here is the first spread of the book. I'm undecided as to whether I should have a drop cap (as seen here) or go with the option below where the first few words are done in a creepy typeface. I like the nod the drop cap gives to storybooks but I also like the creepy feeling of the option below.

Having the first few words in the creepy typeface definitely helps evoke the feeling I want but I'm unsure as to whether it's the better option of the two. Also, most likely there will be a small spot illustration on pages like this where the text doesn't fill the entire space.

Here are the two typeface options. On the left is the Zombie Holocaust which would be used for the first few words of a new page spread. On the right is the drop cap option using A Lolita Scorned (which I like because it has old-fashioned qualities in the decorative traits but is still creepy with the drips and the off-kilter set of the letter). The body text for the book will likely be in something like Old Claude (not pictured) because it has a nice letterpress quality to the letters that makes them less smooth and perfect around the edges which I like as I find that other digitized fonts are too smooth-looking and modern in texture.

Cover

Lastly, the cover is another thing I'm still undecided about as far as typeface goes. I definitely want to leave the cover fairly plain (either solid black or solid white - but most likely black) especially if I go with a leather option. The two typefaces are the same as the ones I'm debating with for the layouts (and most likely whichever one I choose for the layouts will be the one I use for the cover). Again, the Zombie Holocaust has a gittery pointy creepy edge to it that I like but A Lolita Scorned has a nod to decorative Renaissence caps from manuscripts and still has that creepy quality I want.

On the left is Lolita Scorned (with added blood drips) and on the right is Zombie Holocaust. Both have nice qualities that I like so I'm undecided.

Illustrations

As of now I have most of the rough sketches for key points in the book done and have experimented with how I will ink them. Through the process of doing rough layouts of the text I've found that there will need to be spot illustrations on pages where the text runs shorter to avoid having a blank space below it. I think I will need to do rough layouts of the text for the entire book first and then figure out if more illustrations are needed or if what I've got is sufficient.
Here are some of the new roughs;

This is a frontal pose of the queen, possibly during one of her consultations with the magic mirror.

This is the queen in her madness. I felt that it might be more dramatic to show her this way than in the original sketch I had posted earlier.

This is also a sketch for the queen. She is more regal here so I might use this illustration at the beginning somewhere.

This is one of the Redcaps. I like that they're all different but equally creepy in their own ways.

Another Redcap.

Redcap.

I really like this guy for some reason (maybe it's the horned cap?). He looks the most demonic of all the Redcaps.

This is Snow White (likely to be used for when she wakes up and meets the Redcaps).

Snow White when the huntsman sees her in the woods.

Snow White's death-sleep at the very end. She might look too peaceful here, though.

Another option for Snow White's death-sleep. I like the profile shot and the flowing hair with the blood-red flowers around her but not sure about whether her expression may not be conveyed as clearly at this angle.

Revised Timeline

Nov. 12 
- text layouts finished, decide whether more illustrations are needed

Nov. 13-17
- working on final illustrations 

Nov. 18-24
- illustrations completed

Nov. 25-30
- finalizing layouts, acquiring binding/printing materials and paper

Dec. 1
- finalize book

Dec. 2-6
- bind and complete book