Some time last year I was commissioned by the U.K publishing house Real Reads to illustrate one of their new books, The Awakening. They'd seen the work I did for James Caskey's Haunted History of New Orleans: Ghosts of the French Quarter which included a series of illustrations taking place in a setting similar to that of The Awakening. Suddenly I had a flashback to my time as a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design, "Draw what you'd like to get hired for" my professors said. Anyways, this intro is getting a little too long for my liking so here's my process:
Rough sketches to get the juices flowing, using basic shapes to come up with concepts and compositons.
I tend to do my reference gathering after the thumbnail process, I find that I'm influenced far too easily if I do it the other way around. This way my personality comes out in the illustrations regardless of subject matter.
The Awakening is the story of Edna Pontellier and her struggle to find herself despite the predestined role of women during the early 1900's. I focused my cover compositions on Edna, both pre and post self awakening.
Thanks for viewing. You can see the rest of my work at SDavisIllustration.com
