Book 2: The Nature of Progress

I received the first draft of the second book in the last week of December 2012 and am happy to report that work has begun. Book 2 has a lot going on and will introduce many new characters and historic time periods and places.

With the introduction of these aspects to the book brings new challenges to create more people, architecture, and beautiful trees to the ever evolving world that will be represented in Leah's new story.

This go around the illustrations will be presented in a more graphically designed style based on the places and characters involved. Tincup and the Tornado was presented in a stylized scientific "chaotic" design to represent the randomness of nature in its purest form. The end of the book is finished with a more graphical approach with the introduction of society and its evolution of architecture over time. That design will continue in the Book 2.

Stay tuned for more updates.

TinCup And The Technology

One of the first things I point out to people who are interested in TinCup and the Tornado is the fact that it was illustrated entirely on an iPad 2.  The reason for doing the illustrations in this media was its immense environment and the vast time period it covered.  Traditional illustrations are done by sketching ideas on paper or canvas and then redefining and detailing your vision until satisfied with the outcome.  Then the sketching process is over-layed with ink or paint to give your illustrations shadow, depth, and color on many different kinds of canvases.  Imagine if you could take this entire process and condense it into a small handheld device with the ability to change or erase it without using one single piece of paper or canvas.  It is possible, and it is AMAZING!

 The initial sketches were done on traditional sketch and scanned into computer using Adobe Photoshop.  After consideration I realized that detail and resolution would have to be sacrificed to complete the illustrations in this manner.  Other options were using a Wacom Tablet in conjunction with illustration programs but they are clunky and very unresponsive.  After setting down and doing some research I found that there were considerable great programs for the iPad that could mimic the sketching process and would eventually allow anyone to finish with a fully crafted painting.  Using this process would make an illustration that would normally take countless hours or days by traditional method, and allow you to produce it in a single sitting in an afternoon.

The great things about doing it in the digital format is that illustrations can be modified and duplicated with much more ease giving you more time to refine your drawing/painting techniques.  Illustrations can be shared or emailed with the press of a few buttons and can also be collaborated across platforms with the same programs.  The digital format was great for brainstorming ideas and fleshing out final drafts, but the skills needed come from traditional illustration/painting.  I recommend anyone interested in any type of illustration, sketching, or painting, to give it a try.  You'll be amazed at how much more you can accomplish.


The illustrations for TinCup and the Tornado were done using Sketchbook Pro for iPad.