Maps are where it's at!

Sorry for that lil pun, I grew up in the 80's surrounded by school posters with phrases like that on them.  Couldn't resist!

So anyway, I do lots of stuff professionally, shirt illustrations, posters, logo designs and the like.  Love 'em all, I've been really lucky with the variety of things I've been able to get involved with but where I first fell in love with Illustration, all Art for that matter, was between the covers of my favorite children's books.  Sendak, Seuss, Milne introduced me to worlds and characters that have stuck with me. I believed in them because they did and when I was afforded the opportunity to work with an Author who made me believe in their work the same way Milne made me familiar with every tree in the Hundred Acre Wood I jumped at the chance.

Wynnewood is the creation of Chautona Havig, fictional village in medieval England and home of Dove, the misunderstood monster of Wynnewood. There's a lot of cool things I'd like to tell you about her BUT I don't want to spoil the story.  Suffice it to say, Dove, whatever she is, is a smart little girl who finds friends and adventure amongst political intrigue and mythological critters. 

Book 1: Shadows and Secrets

Welcome to Wynnewood.  The village and castle.  All ink on vellum (the parchment image was a late addition for this post).  Learned a lot about crowquill and old school ink tools on this one.  Totally hand lettered cause sometimes I get crazy spells. 

Book 2: Cloaked in Secrets 

The adventure continues this time underground and with dwarves! Same ink, same vellum.  Actually finished the bottle of ink I started the first map with on this one. 

Book 3:  Beneth the Cloak

Last of the Wynnewood series (or is it!?!?!?!) Ink on paper this time with some vector embellishments cause I'm not crazy enough to do all those little dashed swirls by hand.  Speaking of those swirls, little carry over from the last map, had to figure out a way to show above ground and below ground. 

Lots of Easter Eggs in the work I've been doing with Chautona, more so in this map than the previous and more in the next book that isn't in the Wynnewood series.  Here's a couple:  Yes that is Starro, Robin Hood is hiding right around where Sherwood Forrest is, The Battle of Hastings is represented and I did research to find out what would have been the major landmarks for each city on the map during the time period of the story.  Each city has some representation of something that is still there or may have once been there. See what else you can find!

Thanks for checking it out!