Book of Eucalypt

As the book’s release gets closer (and yes, I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned that in nearly every recent post), I wanted to share some of the drawings that will be featured in it.

My original plan was to create a sketch for each of the archetypes I wrote about — the Hunter, the Wild Huntsman, the Forest Lord, and so on. But… I didn’t. Instead, I ended up with five drawings of Herne and one of Sovereignty, and decided that was enough.

There were specific versions of Herne I really wanted to capture, and I also wanted to stick to pen drawings so they’d reproduce cleanly in print. I’ve been so tempted to color the originals with my watercolors (they’re all on 300gsm watercolor paper for this purpose), but I’m absolutely terrified of ruining them. I might print copies and add color with pencils if I can’t resist the urge.

(Note the First: These drawings are available as a Digital Download from my Etsy if you would like to colour them in yourself)

(Note the Second: These photos are the initial versions I had on my phone. I later went over them to add more tone and depth.)

Herne as the Hunter (archetype) was my first drawing of him specifically for this book. It allowed me to reconnect with just using one medium (ie. Sakura Pigma Micron pens) and build up tone through linework and pointillism so I could have a better sense of control. I chose a round shield over a heater shield because I felt the latter felt too knightly, which Herne wasn’t and isn’t. I wanted it to feel more humble and hand-me-down which suited his rugged and solitary nature of this archetype. This is the Herne that dwelt alone in the Forest, who preferred his own company. (I’ve since added much more tone and depth since this photo was taken.)

Herne as described by Shakespeare in The Merry Wives of Windsor was tricky as Mistree Page’s description leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Do I include the whole head of the deer on his crown (similarly to his appearance within ‘Robin Hood’ of the 1980s television fame), or do I tone it back so it’s slightly less macabre? And what about the chain? I debated over whether the chain should be smaller than it is, but I also wanted it to be focal.

The Holly King and the Oak King were such a joy to draw. I wanted them depicted in their human forms as opposed to their Green Man variants to accompany the story of the brothers who quite literaly fight for control of the year. I drew them as if they were sitting for a portrait painting that was destined to be hung on a castle wall somewhere.

I went through a few different versions of Herne as the Leader of the Wild Hunt before I was happy. Even then I made the mistake of trying to add in his “posse” before deciding against it. And then I became quite happy with how this came out – especially his horse – so I didn’t want to re-draw it…

I am currently working on a sketch of Herne to sit at my altar. I did have a print of The Oak King, but Herne asked for that to be swapped out with the image by Marc Potts that I have had since the beginning of our relationship. That was a large part as to why I wanted to include my drawings in the book – because so many of the images available are either a blend of Herne and Cernunnos, are “interchangable” between the two, or aren’t specifically what I had in mind while writing.

I love to draw, I’m reconnecting with it, and utilising the Micron pens allowed me to go back to that love of single-colour. The linework and pointillism with the pen (forgoing a Derwent pencil underneath) helped me gain confidence in my art and helped me find my own style. I have been experimenting over the last few years and I’ve discovered that I need my linework! I can’t go straight in with colour, I need to be able to properly tune in with the piece, and I need a few various reference photos to help me with proportions.

It’s moments like this that make me happy I dropped out of Graphic Design in my early 20s (I loved my class at The Gordon, but moving to Sydney and transferring education providers was a mistake). Drawing for fun versus the stress of a deadline make for vastly different energy in the pieces!