Angela Carter- Illustrations based on her short stories

There was recently an illustration competition with The Folio Society to illustrate 3 of the tales from Angela Carter’s book ‘The Bloody Chamber and Other Short Stories’. Although I didn’t leave myself much time and as such did not end up entering, I did have a great time illustrating. I had already read(and loved) some of Carter’s work before so this was a particularly interesting project for me.

The competition asked for 3 illustrations(one from each of the specified stories) and a binding design. I’m posting the cover design and two of the illustrations but the illustration for the story ‘Company of Wolves’ needs another hour(or two) I think:)

The first illustration is based on the story ‘The Bloody Chamber’- Carter’s adaptation of ‘Bluebeard’.

“His wedding present clasped around my throat. A choker of rubies, two inches wide, like an extraordinarily precious slit throat.”

Then this was to be the front cover although I would like to work into this image a little more- add more keys to the cluster in order to make more of a thing out of the void space surrounding the main(bloody) key. Whilst I was drawing this one, it reminded me that I really do love drawing multiples- I’m a bit of a treasure hunter/attic searcher/casual hoarder/obsessive sketcher so its like visually collecting items on a page whilst satisfying that urge to mindlessly draw.

And finally, the illustration for ‘Puss in Boots’ (And now I quite like drawing hairy legs):

“…the beautiful beginnings of morning in whose lively yet fragrant air his sensitive nostrils catch the first and vernal hint of spring.”