I was invited to collaborate with Floris Books to create rich, sumptuous illustrations for a collection of 10 traditional dragon tales from around the world; a lavish gift book of 168 pages aimed at 7-12 year olds.

The book showcases dragon diversity from around the world. Whether awe-inspiring and spectacular, abominable and gruesome, or down right silly and goofy, coming from so many different ancient cultures, the creatures are wonderfully varied both in character and appearance. Some dragons come from a strong visual tradition, therefore it was important to respect these aesthetics, while others were conjured up from the imagination. The illustrations were required to be vivid enough to transport young readers, offer a glimpse of the story’s landscape yet still leave plenty of room for their imaginations to be enchanted, enthralled and to run wild through the fantastical tales.

All the artwork is hand done in traditional techniques, without the use of a computer. A detailed preparatory line drawing is transferred onto good quality paper. The paper may be treated with a watercolour or ink wash before working up detail in chalk pastel, adding final highlights in acrylic paint and ink. The overall project included creating the cover image as well as interior double page spreads, single page spreads, vignettes and decorative page number motifs, all of which feature throughout the book so that every page has at least one illustration.