Link to the Arts #2 - D. M. Cornish

Yes, it is time again to delve into that strange and wondrous realm of the arts. This time I have chosen an illustrator of varied talents, for you see, D. M. Cornish illustrates his own books. You have heard of the Monster Blood Tattoo books, haven't you? (note: if you have not, I implore you to plunder the first, Foundling, from ye olde library).

D. M. Cornish is the father of a fantastic world called the Half-Continent, which is where the various adventurings in Foundling and Lamplighter take place. It is a world filled with monstrous beasts and the monstrous individuals who hunt them. They are frequently portrayed throughout the books in a splendid style which suggests that the images have been taken from the sketchbook of an observer. The illustrations are vital to the novels because they contain so many unique creatures. Though the descriptions of said creatures are excellent and would suffice alone, the opportunity to peek at what the author imagines exactly is a rare treat which I find quite enjoyable.

An online portfolio of D.M. Cornish's can be found here: http://www.daviddraws.com/
It contains a few of the Half-Continent beings that we have read about so far in the book, as well as many whose future roles I can only guess at (the green-skinned archer intrigues me greatly).

Also, this author/illustrator is a fellow blogger *cheers and applause*. His blog can be found here : http://monsterbloodtattoo.blogspot.com/



From the Shadows,

Link to the Arts #1- Mark Tucker

As a book reviewing site, we often (sometimes fangirlishly) applaud the various fantastic authors whose books we have the privilege of reading and reviewing. However, there are others that we never really acknowledge. We only mention their work in passing, though it is often their work that distinguishes one book from another on the long shelf of teen literature at the local bookstore. I am speaking of course, of the wonderful artists that create excellent and gorgeous covers for the books we all adore. As of late, I have been pondering this and come to a decision. When I see a particularly jump-out-and-grab-your-eyes-and-don't-let-go-until-the-work-has-been-shown-proper-respect kind of cover of a book that Aella or I review, I shall quest across the vast expanse that is the Internet and hopefully bring back some background and pictures of other works that that artist has brought into existence.

So for the first artist I have chosen Mark Tucker, the photographer for the US covers of Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr.

Unfortunately, I could not get hold of Mr. Tucker to answer my questions (he's probably shooting another fawesome cover or something), but here's a little background info for you (note: The Wikipedia gods have granted me this knowledge)

"Mark Tucker is a commercial photographer based in Nashville, Tennesseewhose work has been featured in Communication Arts, Print, Photo Design, Photo Insider, and PhotoMarket magazines."

*sigh* Apparently he's one of those elusive types. Oh well, I suppose to make up for the lack of information I shall have to supply you with a link to all sorts of wonderful pictures. Mr. Tucker is really very talented and his work merits a look, I assure you.

Well, this was quite enjoyable. I shall to bring you another (hopefully more extensive) post like this as soon as my captors release me *glances shiftily at unfinished art project and half-written English paper*

From the Shadows,