The Heiress: final dummy & artwork

As I only recently decided to make this project into a richly illustrated chapter book (or picture book hybrid), I have not yet been able to further work on the manuscript. Naturally exploring the visual language and making the artwork came first at this stage. Nevertheless, I am planning to start writing the story after hand-in as I am committed to further develop this project.

Synopsis

Olivia de Beaufort seems to have it all but is wildly unhappy, living the life her parents set out for her. Night after night Olivia’s parents drag their “heiress daughter” to balls and dinner parties in order to marry her off and secure the family fortune. The only enjoyable thing Olivia is allowed to do for herself, is visiting the zoo. Here she draws the animals and dreams of far away adventures.

One day a young polar fox comes to live at the zoo and instantly connects with Olivia. But when the polar fox escapes, Olivia will have to choose between living the life of an heiress or a life of adventure. Finally, she decides not to return the polar fox to the zoo but to its rightful home. Olivia and the fox leave for the docks and seek out a ship that will set sail to the arctic. The sea voyage is challenging but overcoming each and every obstacle gives Olivia the confidence to take control of her own destiny once and for all.

Final dummy (video)

This first chapter is the introduction of Olivia de Beaufort. We learn about her daily life, the struggle with her parents, their expectations, and Olivia’s lust for adventure which is well reflected in her mapmaking skills. Then, at the end of this chapter, a young polar fox makes its debut.

N.B. The lighting for this video is a bit darker because of the high contrast in this book. Otherwise all the white pages would be terribly overexposed.