Stephen Embleton

  As always, I got an excellent brief from both the publisher, Mirari Press , and author, Lebogang Matseke. Lebo's notes on characters and clothing were essential – even down to Kgosi's sneakers! Love those sneakers. What set the tone for me was the description of the "storm goddess" Oya's dress – "ox-blood red blouse and a skirt composed of nine distinct coloured cloths, each panel carrying the memory of her lost children." This gave me the inspiration to use fabric textures throughout (including the frayed fabric for the "ground"), as well as challenging me to use SO MANY colours. This also meant the dress was going to add a visually dynamic, flowing aspect to the illustration – and using a right to left flow for Kgosi stepping from the real world into the Afterlife. Get your copy (not yet!) and find out more at Mirari Press. Death Rattle – 2026 Stephen Embleton As always, it begins with the roughest of rough design and layout sketch. You can...