Arcane Vault provide the goods ^_^

I've been really slow to post this, but a little while ago I was lucky enough to get a box of goodies from Arcane Vault, the merchandisers for Vampire Academy. I was absolutely thrilled! So, as I type, I'm wearing a VA T-shirt and a St Vladimir's hoodie (it has fleece lined pockets), and I'm drinking from my St Vladimir's water flask and of course the coffee mug. My bag is jingling with a few awesome keyrings...I'm basically living it up as a student of St Vladimir's Academy right now. The merchandise is really lovely quality and makes me smile a lot! Thank you, Arcane Vault!
The reason I'm in touch with the guys may just be connected to some shiny, art-related products that we'll let you know about when we can...stay tuned! ^__^

Updating on stuffage ^_^

Soooooo....what's been going on in Emma-land? LOTS! I swear I'm getting worse at updating, sorry! '^_^I'm going to break this down into sections I think, far easier:

1. Vampire Academy: As you all know, book one is in the bag from my end. And I've now seen the colours too  - so amazing!! I cannot wait for you to see it. The colourists have done a lovely job :) I now excitedly await the script for Frostbite! Release for book 1 is still looking to be August this year.

2. Avalon Chronicles: Book 1 is going to be done in the next week from my end, and the script for book 2 is imminent. I can't tell you how awesome Nunzio and Christina are, so I can't wait to read what they've done with our crazy brainstorming sessions! Release of the first book is looking to be a little later than planned due to marketing; we want to make sure the readers don't have to wait too long for the next book after #1 is out...so we're looking at March 2012. ^_^

3. Thrill Electric: I've been seeing some of windflower studio's work and, boy, this project is going to look beautiful, you guys!

4. The PHOENIX!!! Some of you will recall the amazing DFC weekly comic that was sadly cut short when the recession hit the UK. Well, a couple of days ago I went along to a DFC alumni party where it was announced to much celebration that next year will see the launch of the Phoenix comic. It's got a plan, it's got funding, and it's going to be amazing. Run by the DFC's Ben Sharpe and Will Fickling; this is going to be very exciting. No creators are contracted yet as it's still very early days, but you can bet you'll see some DFC favourites in there. I hope I get a chance to do something ^_^

5. Dragon Heir: Reborn in review: I've been overjoyed at the responses to Dragon Heir so far. And, since the first Diamond shipment hit shops, I'm getting reports of sightings all over the place, not to mention a couple of wonderful reviews from the lovely Forbidden Planet International and Nottingham's fantastic Page45 shop! Thanks, you guys! *hugs* If you've read the book, do let me know your thoughts!! x

6. Events: Upcoming events I'll be attending include - Bristol Comic Expo, London MCM Expo and the all-new and exciting Comic Launchpad event (a great looking new event with a really creative focus)

Vampire Academy inks have been submitted!

It is with a happy, happy heart that I can inform you: Today I submitted the last of the 144 pages of lineart that make up the first graphic novel! It's always a super exciting feeling to reach the end of a project, especially one as exciting as Vampire Academy. Now my lineart will be sent to our wonderful colourists so that they can work their magic and transform the pages from plain lines to full colour! After that, the editing team will add the text and bubbles, as adapted by Leigh Dragoon from Richelle Mead's original book, and then - finally - the book will be ready for print. It's lovely to feel part of such a great team.

I can also confirm that I won't have too much time off from Rose, Lissa, Dimitri and the rest...as we will indeed be moving onto Frostbite very soon! I'll be using the time I have before the new script arrives from Leigh to finish up book one of the Avalon Chronicles for Oni Press....so I won't be slacking off, haha.

Join me in a celebratory cry 'HERE'S TO ST VLADIMIR'S!' ^__^

Stuffage

So...work goes on. It's getting tricky to say anything more than that these days, haha. But I can show you a wind down image I did last night around midnight. One of a series of them I've been trying to do recently before bed. They all end up being Vampire Academy related, so that proves how much I'm enjoying working on the book, hehe. The idea is to create something fun and simple just to wind down after working on spreads. I rather liked this one ;)
In other news, FPI gave Telling Tales - the latest Sweatdrop anthology - a lovely review. Telling Tales is just one of the Sweatdrop titles now available to order through Diamond; including my Dragon Heir: Reborn and Sonia Leong's Once Upon a Time amongst others.

Vampire Academy and Avalon in the galleries

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Despite plans falling through, we had a great time with friends. A few days of bliss. But now, it's back to work! I'm back on ink duty for Vampire Academy, having finished up the pencils. I'm nearly half way through on inks and have even seen some of  the colours back from our colourist now. This book's a real team effort! I'm so unused to seeing my work coloured by someone else still, haha, so it's an exciting experience all round. I can't wait for you guys to see it ^_^

I've added the cover design that Penguin put together to the character gallery, so you can at least see that, woot!

I've also put in the promo artwork I created for Avalon Chronicles: Once in a Blue Moon. I don't have much at all to do now on book one of my Oni series, written by Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir, but we're still planning relelase schedules, so it's on a slight backburner until Vampire Academy is wound up. I can't wait to see Avalon out there though; it'll be worth the wait!

A very happy festive season to you all

As the working year draws to an end (for some lucky people, haha) I wanted to pop in and wish you all a wonderful festive season. Eat lots of wonderful food and enjoy the company of those closest to you.

Meanwhile, I'll be working to get shiny things ready for you next year! As I write this entry I am just four pages away from finishing the pencils for Vampire Academy book 1, which is jolly exciting. What a nice Christmas present to myself finishing those will be!

Much love to you and yours,

Emma ^_^

Apologies for the silence...

Boo! Bet you forgot I was here, right? Sorry about that, guys. I'm so busy at the moment, it's just crayzeee. London MCM Expo came and went, and man - it was a great one! It was also my last time organising the ComicVillage. I'm so proud of what that area has grown into and what we've achieved...so much so that it's about time I got to come along as a creator ^_^ So I'm passing the reins over to Matt Sheret and Anna Petterson - who are made of much win.

So, work-wise, things are going okay. Vampire Academy is over half way on pencils, and almost up to page 40 on inks, and Avalon Chronicles book 1 is 2/3 complete! I also have a third project starting soon that I can't wait to say more about. that one's not such a big job for me, as I need to focus on my book work, but it'll be lots of fun.

I can't wait to be able to share some art with you from the current projects...between the pair of them, this is a lot of characters just waiting to come and say hi, haha. It's late and I need to stop work for the night. Looks like some of the Avalon cast are off to bed too...night!

Keep sending me good work vibes, guys - it's a busy, busy time!

San Diego Comic Con - news from me! ^_^

Okay, so – though I wasn’t at San Diego Comic Con in person, I was there in spirit in the form of some very exciting announcements that I’ve been wanting to share for a long time. 

Firstly, I will be working with writers Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir, and the lovely folks at Oni Press, on the series - Avalon Chronicles. Hugely exciting! Nunzio and Christina are just wonderful, and I’m so honoured to not only be drawing their epic, but also to be allowed to join in on some of the story creation! I can’t wait to share some of the cast and progress work with you. For now, you can check N & C’s blog for more details, and I can offer up the sample preview I put together for San Diego’s announcement at the Oni panel.
Aaand - Richelle Mead is the fabulous writer responsible for the rather schmexy Vampire Academy series of novels, and I am just utterly thrilled to be the artist responsible for bringing her story to life in graphic novel form, to be published by Penguin Books. Getting to work on such a popular (and bloody awesome) series is exciting enough, but to be working for a giant like Penguin Books makes me feel very privileged.  You can see Richelle’s own post at her blog, along with the cover mockup that Penguin have put together for the announcement, by clicking on the banner.

So – it’s an exciting time for me and I am more hyped than I can say! I’m already mid production on the first Avalon book, Once In a Blue Moon (a re-imagining of the same title released several years ago), and am eagerly awaiting Leigh Dragoon’s script for Vampire Academy – though I’ve played with test pages enough to know I’m going to very much enjoy these characters!

I look forward to sharing more news when I have it. ^_^