I recently discovered the wonderful writing of Diana Wynne Jones and absolutely fell in love. So far I’ve read 2 of her novels, Howl’s Moving Castle and House of Many Ways. Two more are sitting on my shelf waiting to be read. I can’t wait.

So using her writing as a catalyst, I’ve decided to start doing quick black and white drawings inspired by some of the books I have read. In a way, it’s just me doing fan art for the stuff I really like but it’s also a chance to experiment with different black and white techniques. Hopefully this endeavor will last longer than this initial post!

I don’t think this first one is entirely successful but there are a few little bright spots in it. Without further ado, here is Charmain Meets the Lubbock, inspired by House of Many Ways.

To add some ambiance to our apartment over the Halloween season, my wife and I made some spooky bottles. Spooooooooooky… She filled the bottles with various things (including 2 adorable bottled ghosts) and I made labels for them all. I wanted to age the labels with tea and paint spatter but just ran out of time.

Here are some photos of the two collections along with images of the digital files.

I tried to make the Goblin Drool label as cheesy as possible because I figured goblin’s probably aren’t that great at graphic design. Hence the gimmicky font and random starbursts. The basic shape is dripping lips.