D is for Doorways #atoz2025 #booksky

Doorways…The A to Z Challenge started on Monday, but you can still join if you wish! Today I’m continuing the illustration theme with a discussion of doorways, in my Princelings books and in response to an art group challenge.

I’m Jemima Pett, author, blogger, illustrator and guinea pig wrangler. My interests are in fantasy, environment, science (inc. fiction) and thrillers, to name a few things. This is my nth AtoZ Challenge. Mostly I talk about books. This time I’m talking about something I do without much thinking about… my illustrations.

The Princelings books and the two for younger readers, Messenger Misadventures and Cavies of Flexford Common all have illustrations. Most are chapter headings. Cavies is designed for younger readers (c 7 yrs old, Key Stage 1 in UK educational parlance). That has illustrations throughout.

This month I’m picking out one or more illustrations each day to talk about. Except Sundays — we skip Sundays in the A to Z Challenge. Some will be from the books, some from other sketching projects.

Feel free to comment below!

And … the A to Z is a blog hop, so do go to other people who are doing it. You can find the links (and join in until 5 April) here

Doorways – what do they show you?

My art group challenge in February included the prompt ‘Through the doorway’. Many people drew what they could see from wherever they were sitting. Others included gateways, grand entrances, and some exits. I skipped this one at the time and did it later on my iPad, using the Sketches app, copying a very special view through my back doorway. I also have a sketch of Roscoe looking through the same door, wishing it was not raining, which I used in Cavies of Flexford Common.

Doorways have been one of my favourite ways of showing places inside castles, when doing the chapter illustrations. This was particularly prevalent in the Talent Seekers Book 5, in which Humphrey is lost, lonely and looking for a purpose, a home, and friends.

The Illustrations

Here are some of the doorways, showing not only what is inside, but different styles within castles.

I start by using pencil (Derwent Cassell HB or 2B) on paper. Then I use an inkpen over to create the line drawing (I have a set of three Pilot Drawing pens, nos 01, 03, and 05). After that, I usually erase the pencil. By book 9 I was doing all my illustrations on the iPad, and I could take a JPEG copy of a hand-drawn castle, and amend it, or change it about a bit, rather than start from scratch.

All were done in the same way, except the Dungeon and Castle Haunn, which were shaded on iPad after they were scanned in. These come from books 5. The Talent Seekers, 7. Willoughby the Narrator, 9. The Chronicles of Marsh, 10 Princelings Revolution, and from Messenger Misadventures.