I’ve finally settled on a story for the Introduction to Children’s Illustration course that I’m doing on Domestika, and have been attempting for over two years.

The story is the tale of Fergus Mac Léti, who slept on the beach and was nearly carried off by little water spirits called Luchopan (the original Leprechauns), but he woke in time and captured them. In return for their freedom they give him three magic gifts, including shoes (or just a magical power) that will allow him to breathe underwater. There’s a catch, though – he must never swim in Lake Rudraige. So obviously he goes straight to Lake Rudraige for a swim, where he encounters the monstrous lake monster Muirdris.

So horrifying is this encounter that Fergus’s face is contorted into a visage of absolute horror. In ancient Ireland such a disfigurement was not befitting for a king, but his subjects seemed to rather like him, so they hid all the mirrors and never told him that his face had become monstrously twisted. Unfortunately he was very unpleasant to a servant who then decided to hand him a mirror. Horrified at his reflection he returned to the lake and did terrible combat with Muirdris, until both were slain.

Perfect material for a children’s book! In the course, the tutor focusses very much on playing with inks, so I thought that I would do the same. And here are the various results of my explorations. Turns out it was quite fun. No finished illustrations just yet, but plenty of ideas.