The Woodcutter and The Most Beautiful Tree

These pictures highlight the detail of the illustrations I've been working on and (hopefully) give a general impression of the style I'm trying to achieve for the book.



All 39 of the pages for the story were painted on 11" x 15" Bienfang 140lb. cold press watercolor paper (none of my materials were what would be considered "professional-grade"...but I think the results were about as good as I could have hoped for).


I used a warm, yellow wash on all the pages (the "recipe" for the wash varied somewhat...some washes have a cream-color to them while others seem yellow-er). I did this to soften the negative space and to try adding a richness to the colors.


After outlining, washing, and painting I went back and did the ink work. In truth, this whole story (and everything that has followed) was inspired by these ultra-fine pens I was introduced to in Japan. The finest details required 0.20mm pens and the bolder areas up to 0.45mm. Painting in general, and watercolor specifically, can be a bit intimidating for me...but going through page after page with pens placed me squarely in my comfort zone.


So! I guess that's about it for now. I hope you have a basic idea of what my little illustration project is all about.

[Must apologize for the quality of the pics...the colors are pretty far off in the photos. But the patterns, details, and forms come through OK, I think. I hope to get some high-quality scans in the future.]