Show Off Day: Joshua Middleton and Raymond Swanland

This week's email has been good to me. First, this great image from Joushua Middleton for an upcoming Tor YA book, City of Fire, by Laurence Yep. And then this awesome Raymond Swanland painting for Tor's next Glen Cook Black Company omnibus. Both out in Fall 09.

TorDot Wallpapers

This week, Dan Dos Santos and Raymond Swanland.

TorDotCom.

Since I have a school lecture fresh in my head, and since all up and coming illustrators want to know how to get their work noticed, I thought I relate how these two guys came into my radar.

I met Dan Dos Santos at the Society of Illustrators. He is friends with artist Steve Stroud, who is friends with rep Richard Solomon, who is friends with rep Gail Thurm, who I know through Shannon Associates. One night, at the Society, Gail invited me to dinner with the lot of them. Dan was keen on sf/f illustration, asked great questions, and later sent me a kick-as portfolio. I've been working with him ever since. (And I've been friends with Steve an Richard ever since.)

Raymond Swanland -- I saw his work in Spectrum for two or three years running and always liked it, I kept sorta looking out for a cover to work on. One day I was in the offices of National Geographic and the art director pulled out a new poster that Raymond had done for them -- a depiction of the layers of Rome. I was suddenly good-naturedly jealous. I wanted to work with Raymond. I found a cover for him fairly quickly after that.

Raymond Swanland and the Black Company

I always look forward to sketch day when working with Raymond Swanland. For one thing, it usually comes on time, for another, his work always has so much energy it’s impossible not to get jazzed about the project.

Here are a few sketches, plus the final cover, of a Glen Cook “Black Company” omnibus coming up next summer. Howling wolves, battle armored horse -- it was a tough call.

UPDATE: I should have mentioned that Chronicles of the Black Company, the first of our Black Company omibuses? omnbi?, will be out next month -- also with a nifty cover by Raymond.