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