Two of my favorite features in any book are maps and endpapers. This book has both. And man did they deliver! The maps are like nothing you’ve ever seen before, if I may venture a guess. If you find yourself in Gwelf may I suggest you stay away from the section titled “Here Be Ugly Nasty Things”. Survival is, of course, the critical term. Gwelf is little known in the Southlands and what is known is tainted by rumour and half-truth. Often described as haunted and perilous, we would like to assure tourist and adventurer alike that the Sparrows and other citizens of the territory have worked hard to create a haven of the riverbank and capital City of Gwelf. It is a place thrumming with activity, rich in culture, and a ready location for vacation, or launching point for voyage.

The perspective of a potential tourist is a lovely way to share these ideas and histories without being overwhelming. Finally, where can we see your art online and get in touch with you? How can we buy your creations and support your work?The Gwelf's most notable victim is a mean old farmer, known as Farmer Flubb. You see, one day, Farmer Flubb wanted to commit yet again other malefaction in the form of cutting down the treehouse of a squirrel. Unbeknownst to Flubb, the Gwelf was watching him! Flubb tried everything to get rid of the squirrel, but he could not, because his attention had been drawn to the Gwelf constantly. The Gwelf saved the squirrel by gluing Flubb's clothes to the roof of his own house. Subsequently, the Gwelf snatched his megaphone, and yelled, " YOU'VE BEEN GWELFED!". He then performed an abstruse ritual on top of Flubb's head. It is assumed by few that he might have been doing the Do the Wario dance. After that, news of the Gwelf had rised. He often became spotted regularly, though his whereabouts remained unknown. This event is known to this day as the "Farmer Flubb incident". For me, the most fun part of the process is improvising. Painting into an area I have purposefully left vague and just letting the paint do what it does and see what happens. Make some marks and see what they look like, what they suggest to you. I compare it to looking at clouds and spotting fish or bird shapes in them. Some artists call it having a dialogue with your painting. You put something down, see what it looks like and the painting will tell you what to do next. What I love about this process is the potential for being surprised. If I can surprise myself then I know I’ve done something right. So conversely my least favourite part of the process is having to follow some kind of predetermined path to a predictable result. This will usually end badly for me. That is why I take very few commissions now.

Delightful read. If you love world-building and fantasy, it’s a must-read. Gwelf is a full, thought out world. Larry MacDougall has done that thing—created a fantasy world that is completely believable, super charming, and more than a little bit dangerous. I love it so much. I want to wander around in it but wouldn'want to get caught alone in it after dark." Artworks Artist of the Week Art of Animation Winners of the Challenge Challengers Spotlight Best of the Month The artwork is fantastic throughout, has big Wind in the Willows vibes. Written as a travel/destination guide including many of the shops and locations throughout Gwelf. My biggest issue was with the text being quite repetitive in the first half of the book, constantly reminding the reader of magical candles, sigils, talismans, amulets, restaurants and inns; it felt a little much considering it was mentioned in just about every section multiple times. The interesting parts came in the latter half of the book where some of the old historical battles were discussed, some more of the haunted places, and enemies in the far reaches of the Scrublands. In your own experience, what would you suggest to someone who is inspired by your work and wants to follows your footsteps:should they work in one consistent style, or work on many different ones?

I loved the fact that the entire book is "in character". It really feels like this book really was published by the Gwelf Council for Tourism. From the initial client idea to the final work: What goes through your mind and what is the method you use when starting a project? Could you describe it? Beautiful. Now I want to visit Gwelf, or play in a rpg set there. The illustrations are fantastic, and the guidebook is charming, with plenty of warnings about the dangers in the surrounding areas. At the moment I’m working on the second Gwelf book. We’re just getting started so there is a long way to go and I’m looking forward to every minute of it. We are going to be in a different part of the Gwelf world so all the environments and many of the characters will be new. There is a lot of designing and drawing to do to prepare the new world. Then it all has to be painted, not to mention the writing and editing. I found a brilliant quote within: “There is wisdom in all knowledge”. I love this! I mean I don’t think knowledge is found in most television today but otherwise I agree with it!