The Black Crusade

Cover illustration. Novel by Richard Harland, published by Chimaera Publications. Hand illustrated with pen and ink, scanned and digitally coloured.

When I initially received the brief for this cover, I was ready to throw the job in... Richard was quite specific about this unappealing ‘landscape of entrails’ and it was like nothing I’d ever illustrated before! After some head scratchings and pencil scratchings, I figured this would be a piece to challenge me. In the end I am quite satisfied with it, although it has possibly ended up more ‘comic book graphic’ than I intended. The colours were specified by Richard, and I think it is the vividness that catches the eye... then the detail brings on the “Eeeuw!”

It has recently won the Best Professional Artwork Ditmar 2005.