Illustrating “The Tinkers of Ravenbury”
One of the biggest challenges in my first major illustration project was keeping things simple enough to stay on-schedule while also staying true to my vision and playing to my strengths in detail and texture, making the world feel tangible and historic.
Inside Greenwich and Sons
This is the family and home Simon finds when he goes to join his apprenticeship.
I created six full-page, black-and-white illustrations as well as a map spread this Fall for Daniel Locke, an author, also local to Waco, Texas, who wrote The Tinkers of Ravenbury, a Young Adult novel.
See the full pages in my Portfolio.
According to Locke’s website, his novel is about “Simon… a young orphan boy in the bustling metropolis of Ravenbury whose life is turned upside down when he becomes an apprentice Tinker. Simon must learn the ins and outs of being a Tinker, while also thwarting a scheme to kill the queen of the Westland Empire. With his band of friends and his trusty slingshot, he'll prove to be the bravest boy Ravenbury has ever seen.”
The jagged, exaggerated, organic line in my stag drawing appealed to Locke, because it reminded him of the Dickensian engraving illustrations he had as inspiration. Here are some of the images Locke used to communicate his vision.
Tailoring my style to his vision, I used cross-hatching, exaggerated proportions, and intricate architecture. We collaborated along the way, first with thumbnail sketches, then editing and adding to full-size pencil drawings, then getting approval along the way while I completed the ink drawings.
One of the Thumbnail Drawings
I gave several options for each scene I chose after reading the novel - different perspectives, scales and creative choices. This one is for the house that Simon comes to live and work in, in Dunberg. I’m realizing while writing this that the sketch Locke chose was inspired by A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which I saw again on a shelf recently.
It was very important to me for the world to feel built-up enough, like the city had been built on top of itself — repaired or not — over centuries. Like the houses had been built to last, but were leaning and had been added onto. That and a desire for the mechanics and robotics not to feel sleek, but crafted, led to a huge emphasis on detail. Actually, I learned from my sister Ailsa who loves Sci-Fi that the made-up dials, knobs, gears, etc. are called “greebles”. You’ll see plenty of greebles on the giant robot and in the window overlooking Wilster’s factory.
Locke included a Traveler’s Guide to Ravenbury at the beginning to orient the reader, which was incredibly helpful in creating the map. It was honestly so satisfying to see it develop as I gained a vision for the different places and pieced them together. What really made it feel finished was adding some shading where it was needed to make it feel like one whole landmass, rather than simply an outline of landmarks.
Thank you so much to Daniel Locke for including me on this project and for trusting me to make this vision come to life! Also, thanks to Abigail, his wife, for being such an encourager. You guys are the absolute best.
We hope to see you at book fairs and events to come! Sign up to my VIP newsletter to stay in-the-know about upcoming events!
