The two illustrations that I painted for the Harry Potter books still attract a lot of interest. Less well known are the preparation and process that went into creating the images.
Commissioned artwork for a book cover will entail a period of preparing rough sketches to decide on a final design. In the case of Harry Potter, a passage from the book was suggested and I began to draw ideas working closely with the publisher.
So as to retain as much vitality as possible in the final watercolour painting I only produce small-scale quick pencil/pen sketches as roughs. Time is spent on character and composition but not yet on execution, so my roughs are very simple. Nevertheless, following the success of the books these drawings have now become highly collectable.
Occasionally too, I am asked to produce a Harry Potter watercolour or drawing for private collectors.