Map Illustration For The Foxglove King By Hannah Whitten, OrbitDigital, Two-page Spread12 X 9.25" (2022)Described

Map illustration for ‘The Foxglove King’ by Hannah Whitten, Orbit Digital, two-page spread 12 x 9.25" (2022) Described as a lush gothic fantasy, this series called for a map that would reflect the opulence of the world that the protagonist, Lore, finds herself in. I knew right away that I wanted to explore stained glass as a style here—more specifically, taking inspiration from the work that illustrator and stained glass master Harry Clarke was doing in Ireland in the early 1900s. I’ve been obsessed with his work ever since I got to see some pieces in person!

The map is framed by the Bleeding God and the Buried Goddess, the two deities whose story sets up the current stakes in the novel. Imagining that this is an actual stained glass window somewhere in the citadel, I also incorporated various symbols mentioned in the book: the candle, roses, sun and crescent moon, golden and silver threads for spiritum and mortem respectively.

Here’s the sketch I sent in for approval, with annotations explaining the visual choices:

Thanks to AD Lauren Panepinto for the creative freedom and also the help with the typefaces!

The book comes out March 7 in the USA. You'll enjoy it if you're a fan of palace intrigue mixed with dark magic and religious institutions. The regular Orbit hardback has the map in black and white while the special Barnes & Noble edition has it in colour on the endpapers. Prints available in my INPRNT store with white and dark backgrounds!

Back to Tumblr after years away (hi folks!), so I guess I’ll share the cover art I painted for THE JADE SETTER OF JANLOON by Fonda Lee!

This is a wraparound cover for Subterranean Press’ limited edition of the novella; I got to do the title lettering too:

When coming up with ideas, I wrote a mini brief for myself: balance, power, mystery, family ties. The jade setters' neutrality is central to the story and a counterpoint to the clans’ power. (Alternative brief: make it jade as fuck.)

Figuring out the composition was tricky—the piece's rhythm has to work not just when viewed as a whole, but also in smaller sections like the back and front flaps. And while the novella introduces new characters, the Pillars and Horns still loom large as symbols over Janloon...a nod to both their power in the city as well as how readers would be coming off JADE CITY or JADE WAR  familiar with the Kaul family or Mada and Gont Asch.

While reading the manuscript I jot down ideas as they flash by. The seed for this cover can be seen in the top left of this sketchbook page:

I then develop each thumbnail into a very rough colour sketch and put them together with reference images to send to Fonda and Bill Schafer at Sub Press. Sort of a combination of moodboard and thumbnails:

Got the go-ahead to develop thumbnail D, so I make a more detailed sketch of the full composition, with two options for characters’ gestures on the front cover:

And then it’s off to paint! I sneak in little references to the story where I can. The mansion is based on the Straits Eclectic architectural style of shophouses in Penang, where I live, while some of the buildings in the city are based on Hong Kong. Many hours of painting and finagling later, it’s finished, gets sent to the publisher, then the printers, then to Green Bone fans everywhere.

I recently turned in the cover for JADE SHARDS, a short story anthology that’s my favourite Green Bone Saga title so far, and I can’t wait for everyone to see it when pre-orders open next year! Don’t take my word for it: https://twitter.com/FondaJLee/status/1574248123463266304

Fonda’s also posted a peek at the signature page over on her Instagram, showing a crop of Shae and cormorants from the cover art. It’s been a real honour and pleasure getting to draw for a world I’m a fan of :)

Map endpapers for the Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee The Broken Binding special edition 306mm x 234mm, LB Royal format, 2024

The Green Bone Saga is one of my favourite series of all time, so getting to make the maps, endpaper illustrations, and edges for TBB's edition of the trilogy was a dream come true.

For the maps, I wanted to use paraphernalia as storytelling: conveying a sense of the plot and cultures through items that are significant to characters, such as Anden's training band and the Duchesse car keys, or media that might exist in the world, such as pamphlets, ferry tickets, and news broadcasts.

Art director Petrik Leo and I spent lots of time discussing the little details for each map—what to include, how much to reveal without spoiling the story for new readers—and we'd go to Fonda for feedback on any new inclusions (some of the locations are shifted, compared to the original maps by Tim Paul, and the world map has new places labeled).

Close-ups of some of the paraphernalia details:

The city map of Janloon is printed as a foldout, while the other two are endpaper spreads at the back of the books. You can find plenty of beautiful photos of the books on Instagram; I'm still waiting for my set to arrive, or I'd post pics too! If you aren't a TBB subscriber, the extras will go on general sale some months from now, so keep an eye out for that.

Prints available.

‘Truth and Tears’ by Charis Loke

For all the grand gestures and daring deeds of men, the truth has always been quite simple, the woman thinks. 

Behind her, the warrior declares: “You asked and we built. Bridges of gold and silver, rising above the jungles from the mountain to the sea. Up these slopes we carried seven jars of virgin tears; seven barrels of betel nut juice; seven trays of mosquito hearts–”

Long they laboured, all those suffering souls, for a man too blind to see: not all are bound to love him. 

“Come with me, o princess, and we may have a life together! Let us leave–”

Two men, she corrects herself. The truth has always been clear and bright as the tip of a keris above cold waters. I want for no one, and that is the truth none can perceive. 

5.5 x 9″, Chinese calligraphy ink on printmaking paper.

Done for the 2019 Month of Love challenges, “Tears” and “Truth”. Part of Kejora, sketches and stories inspired by Southeast Asian cultures and realities.

In the legend of Puteri Gunung Ledang (the Fairy Princess of Mount Ophir), she presents seven impossible demands to the Sultan of Melaka, who has asked for her hand in marriage despite already being married to more than one wife.

In some versions of the story, he is about to fulfill the final condition - a bowl of blood from his only son - when the princess appears to chastise him for his greed and entitlement. In other versions, his own warrior falls in love with the princess and is never seen again in the kingdom.

The truth has always been quite simple.

See sketches and process on Patreon; follow for more art on Instagram and Twitter. Portfolio at http://charisloke.com.

‘Beauty’ by Charis Loke

Not a monster.

Not a monster not a monster not a monster, he breathed to himself, swaying past the garland makers where the scent of jasmine filled the air. Lost my home, lost my friends, but not a monster. Lost my job, lost my name, but not a monster. All I am is beauty. Beaten bloody, I am nothing but beauty.

The chrysanthemums blazed in the evening sun.

5.5 x 9″, Chinese calligraphy ink on printmaking paper.

Done for the 2019 Month of Love challenge, “Beauty”. Part of Kejora, sketches and stories inspired by Southeast Asian cultures and realities.

This particular piece is based on an incident where a local teen was bullied and killed for being too feminine. What is considered ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ beauty by different parts of society? Who gets to determine what beauty is acceptable?

More of my art:

Patreon

Instagram

Twitter

Portfolio

Map endpapers for the Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee The Broken Binding special edition 306mm x 234mm, LB Royal format, 2024

The Green Bone Saga is one of my favourite series of all time, so getting to make the maps, endpaper illustrations, and edges for TBB's edition of the trilogy was a dream come true.

For the maps, I wanted to use paraphernalia as storytelling: conveying a sense of the plot and cultures through items that are significant to characters, such as Anden's training band and the Duchesse car keys, or media that might exist in the world, such as pamphlets, ferry tickets, and news broadcasts.

Art director Petrik Leo and I spent lots of time discussing the little details for each map—what to include, how much to reveal without spoiling the story for new readers—and we'd go to Fonda for feedback on any new inclusions (some of the locations are shifted, compared to the original maps by Tim Paul, and the world map has new places labeled).

Close-ups of some of the paraphernalia details:

The city map of Janloon is printed as a foldout, while the other two are endpaper spreads at the back of the books. You can find plenty of beautiful photos of the books on Instagram; I'm still waiting for my set to arrive, or I'd post pics too! If you aren't a TBB subscriber, the extras will go on general sale some months from now, so keep an eye out for that.

Prints available.