I have almost three sketchbooks full of concept sketches and illustrations for Woodwalker, but I can only post a fraction of them without giving away the plot. So here are a few benign ones. First up is our protagonist, Mae. Top left is her in Woodwalker uniform giving (shouting) her opinions to the king of the Silverwood, followed by a few scenes from her subsequent exile. Bottom left is Mae as a young scout, probably just after joining the Royal Guard, listening intently to her Woodwalker. Next up are some Alastaire babies. First is Arlen stuffing his face with gingerbread ("eating his feelings" my friend Caitlin would say). Then an awkward family portrait, and a typical interaction between Mona and her mother ("keep that chin up."). And finally Mona being crowned queen of Lumen Lake at age eleven, watched by Colm and a distracted Arlen. And finally, a few scene illustrations, starting with a shot of the group on their journey through the Silverwood. To the right is one of the earliest scenes in the book, though in retrospect, it sort of looks like Mona just caught Mae sleeping with Colm (brb, going to make some manuscript edits). Bottom left is Arlen with his prized (read: only) possession, his atlatl, the Bird of Prey. Bottom right is Mae revealing (plot twist!) she's not a cat person.
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While in Yellowstone, I had the amazing opportunity to take a watercolor sketchbook class up in Lamar Valley. This was a free perk of being a park ranger, and it was one of my favorite experiences of the whole summer. In the height of August, when we were nearly seeing 12,000 people through the visitor center every day, I got to run away to the Lamar Buffalo Ranch and spend three days sketching landscapes. I’d always been a little terrified of watercolors. They just seemed really uncontrollable. But our instructor, Suzie Garner (you can find her on Twitter @suzie_garner), helped me embrace their looseness and unpredictability. Now I’m totally in love with the freshness of watercolors, and how easy it is to throw down my paints and projects mid-stroke and pick it all back up a few hours later (this is immensely helpful when there’s some crisis with the kids). I started bringing my little sketchbook with me all over Yellowstone, even backpacking in the Tetons and along Shoshone Lake. Sitting and painting the landscape is so immersive, and looking back at my sketches plants me right back in that experience. When I look at my favorite sketch below, I remember exactly how still the lake was that morning, how we heard elk bugling across the water, and how the steam curled up from the geyser basin. Gah! An all-inclusive memory. |
Emily B. MartinAuthor and Illustrator Archives
August 2020
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