Immersed Svalbard – Part 1: Into the dark season

Nybyen

Hey friends, it has been a while... Just to update, the drawing part of Immersed Svalbard [part 1, into the dark season] is happening.

But like many artists (or is it just me...?), I am never quite sure of something until I have moved well past the part I am working on – and before I hit the 'this isn't working at all... whose stupid idea was this...' point at about 2/3s of the way to the finish.
[Please tell me this isn't just me...]

So, now I am beyond the early sketch stage, I feel like I can share these very early preliminary underdrawings of the backgrounds for the final drawings and scenes for the graphic novel.

These are just the working drawings for backgrounds, so no character reveals yet.

You can tell I was still working my way through these drawings – what should stay, what should go, notes to self – by the scribbled notes to the side of the drawings.

The biggest challenge, so far, has been the scale of these drawings. Usually I work quite small – 19cm x 19cm is my go-to. I figured that size doesn't do Longyearbyen, Svalbard or the arctic justice, so these are going to be about 1.5 metres wide. [well, not the graphic novel of course... although, well, maybe...]

But what will the drawings look like...?

Good question [even if I do say so myself…]

To give a rough idea, here are a few from previous projects. The first are from a story about the Faroe Islands.

And a couple from Paris.

Beekeeper at Opera Garnier. Bees have made their home in the rooftop hives of Opéra Garnier for over 30 years. These hives are among more than 700 housed atop Parisian landmarks, including Musée d’Orsay, Le Bon Marché and Notre Dame Cathedral – the bees even survived the Notre Dame fire in 2019.

Rungis market in Paris is the world’s largest wholesale fresh produce market. It comes to life in the early hours of the morning as retailers and restaurateurs search for choice produce. There are many protocols and traditions to follow - deals are often made with a handshake.