Illustrations in Epic Fantasy Novels

Photo by:

Janet Beasley

There's always a bright side to everything, 
Sometimes you just have to look a little harder to see it.

Hello everyone! So great to see you here.

Regular blog posts are still appearing on Mondays - but with a little bit of a twist. 

If you haven't gotten your copy yet, 

the paperback and ebooks are available on

Amazon, and are also featured in the Kindle Lending Library! 

Due to the enormous success we have had with Maycly - I need to get busy on the next 5 novels...you read right...5 more novels! For this reason, every Monday we're going to head to the archives and the postings will be some of the coolest and most helpful blog posts I made throughout 2011 and early 2012. This will allow me the much time needed to let my creativity run wild and write, and write, and write. ;-)

Not to worry, I'm not abandoning my fans - I'll still be at your fingertips through comments here on the blog, email, Facebook, Twitter, Pintrest, and other social media. 

So, without any further ado - welcome to the past!

Original Post Date
03/21/2011

Welcome back all you trusty followers, and a very special "Welcome" to those of you who have just discovered JLB Creatives blog.

New weekly posts from me happen early on Mondays - or if you prefer to look at it this way...very late on Sunday nights at 12:01 midnight.

This week we're going to discuss illustrations in epic fantasy novels.

WEEK 4 VIDEO

WEEK 4 TOPIC POST:

When it comes to fantasy stories, illustrations are a huge part. Being that many of the characters, creatures, and places have never been seen before, illustrations help bring the story to life for the reader. 

Color illustrations are my favorite...for the most part. But when I look at black and white pictures they sometimes give me a sense of slipping back in time, and I kind of like that.

Being that my novel, "Maycly," will be published as an ebook first - there are probably going to be some E-readers that don't produce color pictures as of yet. I will be submitting the illustrations in color - but be aware, you may see them in black and white. The illustrations will be smaller for the ebook.

But good news! We have plans for publishing a hard copy book of the illustrations in a much larger size - complete with names, titles, and descriptions. It will also include musical scores and original family trees. 

~   ~   ~

     My sister, Dar Bagby, is my illustrator. We have a ton of fun working together on my novel "Maycly."

     It's amazing how much depth good illustrations can add to a story, and help me - the author - write a much better fantasy novel. 

     I'm certain you'll enjoy meeting Dar and discovering her exceptional talent as an artist.

     BONUS! 

     By viewing this week's bonus video - "Meet The Illustrator" - you'll be among the first to see the debut of some of the characters, dwellings, animals, and plant life on "Maycly" even before we publish the novel. 

  
     PLEASE feel free to share the link with your friends and family. (I just wanted my dedicated fans to have the honor of getting the first glimpse of some of Maycly's coolest characters, creatures, and more - all drawn by Dar - before the video is made available to the general public!) 

     

Meet Dar Bagby - Illustrator for MAYCLY

WEEK 4 

Pic n' Thought

by Janet

~Be patient and wait. For there is always a ray of hope 

that will eventually pierce the darkness.~

LINK OF THE WEEK:

     There are times when we wish we would have snapped a shot or a quick video of an event that we some how missed. Then there are times we snap the shot or quick video and wish we would have taken the time to get it right. Both are frustrating...believe me, as a scenic nature photographer, I feel your pain!

     One of things I do is carry my camera with me at all times - with a spare battery! I can't tell you the countless times we've been driving down the road and I blurt out, "STOP THE CAR!" or "PULL OVER - NOW! - please?" because there's a perfect photo op right then - and most likely it will be gone when we drive back past the area.

     With digital photography, depending on the size of your media card, you can take tons of the same photo, increasing your chances of getting that one really great shot out of hundreds. 

     Sunsets change quickly - so don't waste time trying to decide if it's worth the shot or not. If you've got a digital camera, you're out nothing but a few moments time. If the sunset photos end up being "yucky" in your opinion, there's always the delete feature. :) 

     Photographing wildlife is a different...animal (see what I did there?)...all together. To capture that "great" wildlife shot it takes patience, patience, and more patience. The truly awesome photos of wildlife are usually results of hours, days, weeks, or even months of waiting for the "critter" to appear. If you're lucky enough to see a "critter" while hiking, or on your drive, treat it like a sunset. Stop whatever you're doing and immediately begin to shoot because the photo is going to change quickly! Remember to keep quiet when photographing wildlife. It's really easy to shout out, "LOOK AT THAT!" or "NO WAY! IT'S A BEAR!" from being so excited. (I'm only speaking from personal experience.)

     Regardless, we all have photos we like to share. So, this week's link will take you to a site where you can easily store, share, and create fun things with your photos. The basic membership to use the site is FREE. I by no means endorse the site, and I don't get commissions for clicks, registrations, etc. I simply use the site for my photos and have become fond of its easy-to-use uploading feature, simple categorizing in folders, sharing with friends and family, and more.

PHOTO STORING AND SHARING

And since we're discussing photos, I would like to personally invite you to take a look at my Photo Gallery. You may do so by simply following the link below.

JLB CREATIVES PHOTO GALLERY

      

WEEK 4 SUMMARY:

     This week's Comment Game has to do with illustrations in fantasy novels. So here we go...if you like illustrations within your fantasy novel I need you to type the word "SHOUT," or "WOOHOO" if you'd rather, in the comment box at the bottom of this post. Then tell me why you like them there - where you like them to appear (top, bottom, middle of the page, etc.). By doing this, you'll be helping me when it comes publishing time as to where the majority of you prefer to see the illustrations. 

     To post a comment, look at the bottom of this post and you'll see a number with the word comments beside it. Click on the word comments - and type away! If you need more info on leaving comments, go back to WEEK 2's post and you'll find some there.

~     ~     ~


New Places to Find JLB Creatives Blog's Past Week Videos:
YouTube 


JLB Creatives FB Page
(Stay up with JLB Creatives on FB - if you visit this link,
be sure and click the "Like" button to stay informed)

I invite you to become a "Follower" of the blog so that you'll receive notice when the weekly posts appear. Remember to invite your friends and family.

Thanks again for being a part!

See you next week!

You're writin', picture takin' fool...

~Janet~