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Did you actually draw all this!?
Yes, I did! Every panel in FLANN! is drawn, inked, and painted by hand. The only digital additions reside within the speech bubbles (my hand was too tired to do nice lettering by the end of the project). Holy *%$! Hand drawn? How long did that take you? I've had FLANN! kicking around in the back of my mind for a while. The story itself has been cooking since I was but a wee child. When I finally sat down to make it an actual book, the initial character designs and storyboard took about six months. The final draft took another nine months of hard work. Then I had to wait for the proof copy, make any final edits (another couple of months!), and finally got to order the finished book. It was a long process, but I'm very pleased with the results! |
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How ... Just HOW?
Patience and hard work! If you're curious about my process, stop by my Behind the Scenes look at FLANN! Where's Volume 2? It's coming! The artwork is all penciled, inked, and painted by hand. That takes time, but rest assured -- I'm working hard to continue the adventure! While you're waiting, why not check out Flynn's Journal? I hear he has some spoilers posted! |
What inspired you to write FLANN!?
That's a big question! Inspiration tends to come from a lot of places. The short answer is: my parents told mini-me stories about gold-seeking adventurers, then let me play in the woods. Those long afternoons of exploring, coupled with the local legend about Josiah Flintabbatey Flonatin and his mechanical fish, gave me the perfect foundation for a story about penniless prospectors, quirky cartographers, and the occasional mysterious cryptid.
That's the short answer -- keep scrolling to find out the whole story!
That's a big question! Inspiration tends to come from a lot of places. The short answer is: my parents told mini-me stories about gold-seeking adventurers, then let me play in the woods. Those long afternoons of exploring, coupled with the local legend about Josiah Flintabbatey Flonatin and his mechanical fish, gave me the perfect foundation for a story about penniless prospectors, quirky cartographers, and the occasional mysterious cryptid.
That's the short answer -- keep scrolling to find out the whole story!
The Inspiration Behind FLANN!
A Quirky Local Legend
The story of Flintabatty Flonatin was originally told by JE Preston Muddock in the 1905 novel, “A Sunless City.” The first half of the book is an enjoyable addition to early science fiction, with a broad stroke of steampunk aesthetic that I found immediately appealing. The rest of the book is ... well, we'll call it a product of its time (some of the concepts did not age well), but the spirit of adventure is very much present in this tale of a man who sets out to delve beneath a bottomless lake and discover what lays at the centre of the world. My mom’s version of ol' Flinty's story was a little different from the original (I don’t remember her ever telling me about the people who spoke backwards, or Flonatin’s particular fondness for snuff), but the whole concept had me hooked. Looking out at the dense tangle of trees and rugged rock that make up the landscape, it was easy to imagine a lone explorer bravely piloting his metal fish through dangerous waters, making deals with mermaids, and ultimately, of course, finding an underwater city paved in gold. I made my mother tell me that story over, and over, and over … and over. Sorry, Mom. FLANN! might have started out as some unconnected doodles of steampunky characters tromping around in search of cryptids, but I quickly realized any search for the Sasquatch would land an intrepid explorer in my neck of the woods. It was the perfect excuse to explore my spin on a local legend that captivated a younger me, and continues to hold a special place in my heart. Quotes from "The Sunless City"
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"Flin laboured hard for the advancement of science, and when but a young man he became a Fellow of the "Society for the Exploration of Unknown Regions ..."
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"Trees, branches, creepers, undergrowth; all were stone. Petrified into hard, white rock."
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"His gun was a heavy double-barrelled one [...]
He had been a keen sportsman in his day, and accounted a good shot." |
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"[...] the poor fellow was bewildered and giddy, and sank down on a seat perfectly exhausted, while the lively girl fanned him with her amber handkerchief and laughed."
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About the AuthorAuthor and illustrator Danita Stallard has long been enthralled by the fantastical adventures of a certain gentleman who built a mechanical fish. She currently resides upon the Canadian Shield, where she spends too much time wandering the forest with her dog and acquiring interesting rocks (most of which are quartz).
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