FRANÇOIS VAILLANCOURT

The Jacket and Interior Illustrator

About the jacket illustration:
- This is the time when the reader and Marv come face to face. From a dimly lit library, he comes at the reader, holding a tablet.

The idea for the jacket illustration:
- I was given carte blanche, as long as we could have the website, Marv and a library setting. This had been done brilliantly before by Vincent Chong, so I had to reappropriate that universe. I decided rapidly on two things: replace the computer with a tablet and have Marv coming at us, in a more active role. From there, everything went smoothly. We had some minor adjustments, but Lilja, Paul Fry from SST Publications and myself stayed true to the original idea.

About the interior illustrations:
- The stories vary greatly. They are from different era, with different styles and ambiances. By deliberately using a consistent, textured approach, I was able to create a uniform style from the first story to the last.

The ideas for the interior illustration:s
- When you are lucky enough to be given such an inspiring project, you let the stories talk to you. They each have their own personality and the illustration will take form in your head as you are reading. I sketched quickly and started thinking of the general flow of the book.

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