Visual Artist Michala Seilman really re-incarnated the whole project for me. I had just finished writing the first draft of Howard Glitch, and whilst it felt great, what followed was a creative blockage regarding the direction to take the project in... A few weeks went by, and dust compounded upon dust, but still the natural inspiration to move forward with just The Book wasnt happening
I firmly believe that the will of the project was wanting more from me. I was limiting my vision of what Howard Glitch could become, based on the generic template that my expansive ideas would not fit in sync with the publishing industry, or the minimum requirements to obtain an agent..
What literally split my mind open and created absolute certainty with the project direction, was watching Michala in person, create a painting from start to finish. It was the most natural and effortless motion, and what she created with colour and form was just unbelievably inspiring.
There and then, I forged an incredible collaboration with her, and within hours, we were bringing ideas into sketch and ink form. I think it was literally out of excitement, that initially influenced the decision to stick to ink sketches, because not only were they fabulous drawings, but also, we could create 5 times the amount of material in the time available
Very early on, we both established that the visual artwork was not going to just assist telling the story. It was going to have its own voice, and we found an enormous freedom to just create from that space. Both of us knew the story inside out, and the mythology of the project had opened the window to try and personify more abstract elements such as quantum mechanics, fragmented consciousness, and the ideologies of ancient cultures, in a very visceral form..
The influence of cryptography and ASCII artwork would bring to life the robotic side of the story. Given that nearly the entire plot is based within the small constraints of a passenger space shuttle, these digital drawings connect more to sterility of outer space , and the language of code & pre-determination, that in turn would help unravel the deeper philosophy of what we call: The Decider VS The Decided
Inspirational artists have mainly been those that also dabble in symbolism and consciousness, such as Alex Grey, Francoise Nielly, Brandon Boyd, Leyla Akdogan and Dave McKean..
My perception of Howard Glitch has always been a universal one. It never makes me think of outer space, or future technologies, but instead about the diversity of human consciousness and how each individual is able to react. It was really important to me that emotion and symbolism would have free reign in the artwork, to sit alongside the more defined, rational element of The Book.
The making of the final artwork for the project, begins with a successful funding campaign on Kickstarter. Then our lead artist will compile a collection of the best digital & hand-drawn artwork, that will be placed inside the finished novel. This whole process has become an alchemical one, of slowly refining and deepening the message of the project. By the time of its release, all 3 pieces of the jigsaw will fit together, and create an unforgettable experience
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