This week we were lucky enough to spend some time with Beverley Coraldean to catch-up with her latest projects as we update her stunning online portfolio.
Let’s start by taking a look at some of Beverley’s newest artworks.
Death in Mexicali (cover design)
“This piece is based on a real book, the title of which is Mexican Gothic, a young adult horror story set in Mexico. With that audience in mind, the brief was to combine text and images for a cover design based on a story, with a very specific Victorian, gothic feel. The book is very descriptive of the environment where the story is based, so I worked hard on creating a sense of place with both imagery and the colour palette. Showcasing the house featured in the story and the rugged landscape described on the cover was very important to me, while other reference images such as drips of blood and skull worked better for the teen audience. I really enjoyed the referencing process for this project and spent a long time looking at classic horror and traditional Mexican folk-art images”
The Song of Ash and Moonlight
“This fantasy book is aimed at a young adult audience too. Based on a protagonist from a strict family who has been at war for some time. The gate image symbolises her sturdy strong composure, the lettering echoing the ironwork of the gate. Throughout the story there is the introduction of war, her passion for music brings her back to playing the violin which I gradually managed to incorporate into my design. I really enjoyed this project, but I especially enjoyed drawing the fire elements for this cover”.
We know you are working on some wonderful cover artwork lettering now. Is this something you particularly gravitate towards?
“I really enjoy working on these projects and I’d love to do more, it’s such fun and it’s really helped with my confidence. It's great working with different lettering styles, breaking out of the norm. I’m also working on more figurative covers, I used to draw a lot of women when I was younger, I don’t know why I don’t do it more often, maybe I will!”
Can you tell us a bit about your creative process?
“I feel like I do everything by hand in a sketchbook first, using lots of layout paper, for some reason my hands find it a lot easier to start the process here, then move on to my Wacom Cintiq. After sketching I organise all the hand drawn layers in the order which they need to be and then scan them before I start working on them digitally. I think working in layers makes it easier to change colours and contrasts. I’ll make lots and lots of experimental changes to get to where I want to be.”
Aside from Illustration are there any other forms of art you’d be interested in experimenting with?
“I started off thinking I wanted to work in animation but moving image would take me too long. It’s lovely to be able to concentrate on one project for a long time, I get lost in the detail which works for my large-scale murals. It takes time to block out each part before you can go in and add details. I’d love to do more large-scale montage cities, perhaps jigsaw puzzles, I love the idea of designing patterns for packaging and products like beer cans. But I really do enjoy creating book covers, I love integrating type and image.”
With huge thanks to Beverley for spending time with us, we can’t wait to show everyone your next exciting project.
You can find Beverley on Instagram, or view her newly updated portfolio HERE, for more information regarding collaborations please email us info@arenaillustration.com
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