Book Illustration Contest

This year, I decided to enter the House of Illustration's Book Illustration Contest. This year, the book was Howl's Moving Castle, so obviously I couldn't resist. And... I did not make the longlist.

Many beautiful entries did, though. Take a look: bicpeopleschoice.org/book-illustration-competition-2019/

Regardless, I am proud of my work, and I'm glad to have created these pieces.

Soon, I will share progress shots of how each piece progressed to finish. For now, here they are:

In fact, Sophie did not sell hats very much. After a day or so observing in the workshed, and another day going round the clothier and the silk merchant’s with Fanny, Fanny set her to trimming hats. Sophie sat in a small alcove at the back of the shop, sewing roses to bonnets and veiling to velours, lining all of them with silk and arranging wax fruit and ribbons stylishly on the outsides. She was good at it. She quite liked doing it. But she felt isolated and a little dull.

Then it was Michael back for some reason, Sophie thought as she opened the door. A turnip face leered at her. She smelled mildew. Against the wide blue sky, a ragged arm ending in the stump of a stick wheeled round and tried to paw at her. It was a scarecrow. It was only made of sticks and rags, but it was alive, and it was trying to come in. “Calcifer!” Sophie screamed. “Make the castle go faster!”

[Howl] set off with dignity to the bathroom, wading in blue-and-silver suit. The rest of the blue-and-silver suit followed him, dragging step by step down the stairs and rustling across the floor. By the time Howl was in the bathroom, most of the jacket was on the ground floor and the trousers were appearing on the stairs. Howl half shut the bathroom door and seemed to go on hauling the suit in hand over hand. Sophie and Michael and the dog-man stood and watched yard after yard of blue or silver fabric proceed across the floor, decorated with an occasional silver button the size of a millstone and enormous, regular, ropelike stitches. There may have been nearly a mile of it.

Of these, which is your favorite? Which is your favorite longlisted entry? I'm having a hard time choosing.