Disney films were a fixture of my childhood (and still a regular occurrence in my adult life), so these Disney portraits by Heather Theurer are a sublime meeting of childhood favourites and a sophisticated art style that ticks all the right boxes. I’m particularly smitten by Lilo and Stitch, and Theurer’s lovely ability to catch the soft light of an early morning.
“Heather’s paintings are the product of decades of observation of people, of environments, of animals and of textiles, as well as the convergence of every scrap of knowledge that came attached to them,” reads Theurer’s official biography on Disney Fine Art. “The wonder and magic of Disney movies, both the imagery and the music, also helped cultivate the ideas that began to take form in painting, and now, boldly recreating Disney characters in a way that brings them into the realism of our world has become an exciting new passion.”
You can find more of Theurer’s art, including some astounding fantasy art, on her official website. Prints of these portraits are available through Disney Fine Art
Last year was ink drawings of samurais, and this year it’s knights.
From the moment Seattle-based artist Kekai Kotaki posted the first of his thousand and one knights, I knew it’d become a weekly delight to see his new creations. Last Year, Kotaki did a small set of sketches featuring samurai designs, which featured stylish heavy inks, accented by bold colours, and showcased his ability to apply creative license to an iconic warrior. I loved the project so much, that I reached out to Kotaki to have a chat about his knights.
“I tend to try pick a theme each year and try to run with it as long as possible,” Kotaki explained when I asked him about the project’s origins. “Last year was ink drawings of samurais, and this year it’s knights.”
I even joke about making a book called The One Thousand and One Knights, but I had to hold off on it, because 1,001 is quite a lot of knights.
Most readers of A Dribble of Ink will know Kotaki for his work as a cover artist (notably, Peter Orullian’s The Unremembered, and The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson). In addition to his work as a cover artist, Kotaki is also known for his work on Guild Wars 2, ArenaNet’s popular MMORPG with some of the most iconic world and character design in the genre. Kotaki’s fans will recognize the abstract, ethereal concept art and landscapes from his time with Guild Wars 2. He does tone and epic encounters better than anyone else in biz, so these character studies — simple armoured knights, direct and full of personality despite their facelessness — are a pleasing diversion for the artist. Read More »
So, the first shot at a cover for Steven Erikson’s upcoming science fiction novel, Willfull Child, was a bit of a whiff. This new one is… better, at least?
Surf’s up, boys and girls! Here’s the US cover art for Half the World by Joe Abercrombie, sequel to his soon-to-be-released YA(ish?) novel, Half a King. Just remember to apply a healthy layer of sunscreen chain mail before hitting the waves.
What a weird cover.
After I finished writing Cold Steel, the third and final book in the Spiritwalker Trilogy, I knew I wanted to add a coda. The trilogy is narrated in first person by Cat Barahal, but her close friendship with her cousin Beatrice is the central relationship in the series.
Bee happens to be an artist who carries a sketchbook with her everywhere, and I conceived of the idea of writing a journal as from Bee’s point of view, in which she relates the adventures she had as she sees them, since in the trilogy everything is seen through Cat’s eyes. Such a journal would necessarily need illustrations “as drawn by” Bee.
Because the story is set in an alternate history 19th century, the illustrations would need to have a realistic style (rather than a comics or manga style) of art. To that end, I commissioned Julie Dillon to create a set of 29 illustrations to accompany the story I wrote. Read More »
