Mirrorscape
Page 29
Perspective – Artistic technique for depicting depth
Picture Plane – The surface of a picture
Pigment – Natural or synthetic colouring matter
Portfolio – Folder for transporting drawings
Portrait – Picture of an individual
Portrait Format – Taller than it is wide
Primary Colours – Red, yellow and blue
Profile – Something rendered from a side view
Quill – A sharpened feather used as a pen
Realgar – An orange mineral pigment
Scumble – Pale, broken colour over a darker one
Secondary Colours – Green, orange and purple, made by mixing two primary colours
Sepia – Brown colour derived from cuttlefish ink
Sfumato – Technique of softly blending tones or colours
Sgraffito – Scratching through a layer to reveal another beneath
Size – Liquid glue used to prime a surface
Sketch – A rapid drawing
Spectrum – Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Also, a range of colours
Stretcher – Wooden frame on which canvas is stretched for painting
Studio – Workplace of an artist
Swatch – A small sample of colour
Tertiary Colours – Colours other than primary and secondary colours
Tone – The lightness or darkness of a colour
Translucent – Allowing light through
Turpentine – Common solvent for oil paint
Ultramarine – Deep blue colour made from lapis lazuli pigment
Vanishing Point – Imaginary point in a drawing where parallel lines converge
Varnish – Transparent protective layer on top of a painting
Wash – Diluted paint or ink
Watercolour – Water soluble paint
Preview
Read on for more adventures in the Mirrorscape in the exciting sneak preview of MirrorStorm
Prologue
A fierce, scalping wind blew across a featureless wasteland devoid of any tree or blade of grass. Funnelled through hollow, wind-blasted rocks, it howled an eerie drone. The sky, the same leaden colour as the stone-strewn ground, seemed low enough to touch.
Across this desolation moved a line of three, squat figures with the unmistakable, wide-legged gait of gnomes. They were swathed in heavy cloaks against the chill blast and had cowls pulled low over their deep crimson faces. Large, open-topped baskets were strapped to their hunched backs. Each carried a glowing crystal rod in one hand, a beam of light shining from the end and crisscrossing the way before them. Their glittering black eyes moved as regularly as pendulums, following the beams as they searched back and forth over the barren ground. From time to time one of the group would stoop, pick up a rock and split it with his small hammer. Most of the shattered rocks were thrown aside with a curse but, occasionally, one revealed a shining crystal within and was tossed over the finder’s shoulder into his basket with an ugly cackle of delight. Onward the trio moved, stopping neither to eat nor drink, although they were aware that night would never fall in that weird, twilit land.
The ground began to rise and, against every rule of nature, a thick clinging mist started to seep from the rocks beneath their feet, rendering everything indistinct. The gnomes moved closer together but their search for the stone-gripped treasure did not slacken. Then their leader halted and called to his companions. They picked their way up the slope and peered down at his find. It was a tall skeleton, white against the grey rocks. Then, on the headwind, came the sound of voices and the smell of cooking. The gnomes knew this smell. It was the odour of roasting human flesh.
Cautiously now, crystal rods dimmed, they continued up the slope, their mineralogy for the moment forgotten. Ahead of them glowed a fire haloed by the mist into a red-orange blur. Three indistinct figures were silhouetted against the dancing flames: two adults and, possibly, a child who blew intermittently on a musical instrument. To one side stood a makeshift tent made from mismatched articles of clothing stretched between upright stones and the bloody remains of another butchered carcass. The strange Mirrorscape wind that was powerful enough to sculpt rocks but permitted mist to form blew the group’s words apart so that their sound reached the gnomes’ ears in brittle, fractured shards.
‘… return to the Seven Kingdoms and take back ….’
‘… he may be Blenk’s youngest apprentice but ….’
‘… just to see him die slowly ….’
‘… and his meddling friends ….’
‘… if only we had an ally ….’
‘… someone who’s hungry for power and untold riches ….’
‘… to help us lure them into a trap ….’
‘… plant a traitor in their midst ….’
‘… lead them to us once we have ….’
‘… but what hope is there of ever finding ….’
‘… not while we’re marooned here ….’
The head gnome had heard little but he had heard the words dearest to a gnome’s black heart. He exchanged a meaningful look with his companions, who nodded back. He climbed through the mist towards the fire.
‘If there’s riches involved, I have the answer to your dilemma.’
Acknowledgements
This picture bears my signature but others have made huge and indispensable contributions in getting it from a blank canvas to the finished work you see here. My literary agent, Ivan Mulcahy, saw some of the original rough sketches and gave me valuable early criticism and advice. Later, my publisher Cally Poplak and editor Rachel Rimmer of Egmont Press made priceless comments concerning composition and technique. Wendy Birch brought her design skills to frame the picture. I would also like to thank my friend Carol Smith for her unflagging support.
About the Author
Londoner Mike Wilks is an award-winning artist and bestselling author of The Ultimate Alphabet and The Ultimate Noah’s Ark. His paintings, which have been described as ‘meticulous and eye-bending’, can be found in public and private collections in Europe and the USA. The Mirrorscape books transport the reader into Mike’s compelling inner world.
www.mike-wilks.com
www.mirrorscape.co.uk
Visit www.egmont.co.uk/mike-wilks for further information on your favourite Egmont author.
Other books by Mike Wilks
Pile – Petals from St. Klaed’s Computer
(With Brian Aldiss)
In Granny’s Garden
(With Sarah Harrison)
The Weather Works
The Ultimate Alphabet
The Annotated Ultimate Alphabet
The BBC Drawing Course
The Ultimate Noah’s Ark
The Ultimate Spot-The-Difference Book
(Metamorphosis)
Mirrorstorm
Mirrorshade