Aurelie's Town

This painting serves as one of the locations that inspired Aurelie's town for the storybook. Watercolor on Bockingford paper. 9" x 12"

random sketches

Aurelie's Garden

A quick watercolor study. 142 x 185 mm on Hokusai watercolor paper
Please excuse the poor picture quality. I'll rescan as soon as my scanner is back on track! :)

Study for Elfindor

Here lies memories and tales of those who came and went in pursuit of legends and abounding treasures.

Drakkun

Drakkun
6" x 8" Watercolor on Bockingford paper.

Fall

Farewell, bright sun!
Farewell!
The gloom now swallows the summer
and as darkness looms,
the last leaf falls
to awaken the winter.

Aurelie

Young Aurelie is often visited by a strange magical dream. Little does she know this dream holds the key to the wondrous and enchanting world of Faerywinkle! Follow Aurelie's journey as she embarks on the most enchanting adventure a young girl could ever wish for!

Work in progress

Miyazaki inspired piece. 12" x 16" Watercolor on Cotman board.

Moleskine Sketches

A few sketches from Orlando. Some of this locations serve as inspirations for the environments in Faerywinkle.

Illustration Friday: Cracked

Somewhere inside these "cracked" walls lies a treasury of tales that fell through the cracks of time.
Inspired by Ray Harryhausen's Golden Voyage of Sinbad and Petra's City of stone.

Dracling sketches

I find these creatures very challenging and fun at the same time. Since I am a big fan of Weta's King Kong and Lord of the Rings figurines, I bought and studied some of the dragons and dinosaur's skeletal maquettes for inspiration. It has always been a part of my creative process to surround myself with as much books and reference materials before I even begin sketching. Most of the time, I already have it in my brain. But there are times when there's really nothing going on in my mind! Although these characters may or may not be part of the final book, they have contributed a lot to the final Dracling character designs.
©Roland Mechael 2009

Illustration Friday: Contagious

©Roland Mechael 2009
Illustration Friday: Contagious
Smiling is contagious! :)

For those who were following and are about to, the Journey has just begun! I am currently working on fleshing out the main characters and solidifying Faerywinkle's story structure. Coming from an animation and storyboard background, I can't help but adapt these aspects into the story. It helped me to structure it in a way where it feels like solving an interactive story puzzle. Creating an appealing character is tough, but it is one of my goal to create someone who's charismatic and lovable. After all, it is these character's adventures we are going to follow that would bring life and heart to the story. I wish I can talk more about them without giving away too much, but it has been a lot of fun bringing the story and characters to life! Below is a study for another enchanting piece. More Art to come!

IF: Parade

Illustration Friday: Parade
In this enchanted woods, you may hear some Faeries singing and see flower sprites fleeting in a beautiful aerial parade of lights and splendor.

IF: Hierarchy

Illustration Friday: Hierarchy
As defined in Wikipedia, A hierarchy is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.), in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" one another. The word derives from the Greek
ἱεραρχία (hierarchia), from ἱεράρχης (hierarches), "president of sacred rites, high-priest" and that from ἱερός (hieros), "sacred" + ἄρχω (arkho), "to lead, to rule".

In the world of Faeries, there are order and "hierarchy." Once you choose to enter it, be careful not to disturb the order of the enchanted realm or you may never find your way back.
©Roland Mechael 2007

First of May

Inspired by Hayao Miyazaki's beautiful films. Extract from a bigger piece, 16" x 20" Watercolor on Cotman Colour block, another work in progress.

Elfindor Gates

Illustration Friday: "Theater"
One of my approaches in telling a story is simple. If you can tell a story by pictures without words, the better! This is one of the things I learned from doing storyboards and illustrations. A picture paints a thousand words! But those pictures should be clear, or you might end up sending the wrong message. Anyway, the picture above is how I've imagined one of the setting from the book if it is to be seen in movie "theaters". :) Of course, I'm just dreaming! and definitely kidding! However, I'd like to see Faerywinkle in book form first before anything else! I always look and try to maintain a childlike approach in illustration to achieve that delightful surprise a child would experience upon seeing my work. If they can feel that moment, I'm sure they'll remember it! It’s one of the reasons why I'm still excited seeing the books I read and viewed when I was a little kid. It's pure wonder and an absolute delight!