FREE DOWNLOAD: Graphic Short Story by Chris Smith and Jess Watson
Tuesday, 15th September 2009
Click here to download your FREE graphic short story!
To coincide with launch of Tindal Street Press’s 10th anniversary anthology, Roads Ahead, we invited up-and-coming, prizewinning illustrator Jess Watson to select one of the stories to illustrate in her stunning graphic novel style. She chose Chris Smith’s wonderful ‘Since Charlie Hadn’t Come’.
Jess says: “After reading through Roads Ahead I found myself drawn to the visual writing style of Chris Smith and the moving tale Since Charlie Hadn’t Come. The story was powerful, a tale of a man reduced to the level of an animal by the removal of his sole carer, full of imagery and dankness that genuinely leaves the reader haunted. I began by systematically segmenting the story and plotting the panels before I begun on the originals which are entirely done in pen and ink. I primarily work in black and white so it was a good match, since the bleakness of the story seemed to fit monotone. I wanted to create the chaos and confusion that steadily increases within the central character Albert and focus on the deterioration of environment and mental health.”
Jess Watson is an illustrator residing in the North East of England. She recently graduated from Birmingham City University with a First Class Honours degree in Visual Communication. Winner of the Trevor award for Narrative and Sequence Illustration, she has a passion for graphic novels, storytelling, monsters and black and white illustration.
Check out more of Jess’s portfolio over at Jess the Mess.
