blood over bright haven

book illustration

the project


Wraithmarked Creative trusted me with interior art for their deluxe edition of Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang. Creative direction by M.L. Wang and Tom Jilesen.

The book featured high-end offset printing, a smyth-sewn binding, an attached ribbon bookmark, as well as metallic gilding of the page edges. Additionally, it included a double-sided dust jacket and a full-art cloth-bound case, featuring custom art by Syd Mills.

My role in the project included illustrating 12 scenes in traditional ink, to compliment the narrative. Once all of my illustrations have been finished, approved and prepared for printing - Shawn T. King designed the book into a consistent volume. 

the brief


The brief revolved around Sciona, the book's main character, standing at a raised desk, typing on a spellograph during an exam. As a leading reference for the machine, M.L. showed me an illustration of Harlan 11 by Elwira Pawlikowska - as well as a couple antique typewriters.

The image in the spellograph's coil was supposed to include formless and fuzzy spots of energy. Sciona's look has already been established in previous publications - M.L. also wanted a specific set of clothes included in the artwork.

The main challenge behind this illustration was keeping the intricate build of the machine in focus, without sacrificing the character's portrayal - nor the projection in the coil.

the thumbnail


After exploring a couple options, an en-face portrait seemed to offer the strongest visual impact - allowing me to focus on both: the character, and the spellograph - it also meant an opportunity to show a slightly distorted view through its copper coil.

Having that in mind, I prepared a 3x4 inch thumbnail sketch - to make further communication easier.

Relying on the writing in this scene, I chose a rather symmetrical frame, showing the back of the machine and Sciona's face behind it - with a simple background to balance detail density in the foreground. After consulting the direction and confirming details with M.L. - like the spellograph's make and model I suggested marking under the coil - the composition has been approved for a full scale rendering:

1/3 work in progress image of a black and white traditional ink illustration of Sciona, from M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven book by vvilczy, 2024.
✖ 1/3 work in progress image of a hand-drawn book interior illustration in ink, depicting a scene from M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven book - Sciona in front of a spellograph, by vvilczy, 2024. The woman is standing at a raised desk, in front of a machine resembling an antique typewriter. There's a circular coil attached to the top of the machine - with bright spots of energy visible in it.

Interior artwork for the Wraithmarked edition of M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven. Illustrated with archival ink on A4 acid-free paper.
Commercial project.

© 2025 vvilczy. All Rights Reserved.

2/3 work in progress image of a black and white traditional ink illustration of Sciona, from M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven book by vvilczy, 2024.
✖ 2/3 work in progress image of a hand-drawn book interior illustration in ink, depicting a scene from M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven book - Sciona in front of a spellograph, by vvilczy, 2024. The woman is standing at a raised desk, in front of a machine resembling an antique typewriter. There's a circular coil attached to the top of the machine - with bright spots of energy visible in it.

Interior artwork for the Wraithmarked edition of M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven. Illustrated with archival ink on A4 acid-free paper.
Commercial project.

© 2025 vvilczy. All Rights Reserved.

3/3 work in progress image of a black and white traditional ink illustration of Sciona, from M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven book by vvilczy, 2024.
✖ 3/3 work in progress image of a hand-drawn book interior illustration in ink, depicting a scene from M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven book - Sciona in front of a spellograph, by vvilczy, 2024. The woman is standing at a raised desk, in front of a machine resembling an antique typewriter. There's a circular coil attached to the top of the machine - with bright spots of energy visible in it.

Interior artwork for the Wraithmarked edition of M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven. Illustrated with archival ink on A4 acid-free paper.
Commercial project.

© 2025 vvilczy. All Rights Reserved.

Black and white traditional ink illustration of Sciona, from M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven book by vvilczy, 2024.
✖ Hand-drawn book cover illustration in ink, depicting a scene from M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven book - Sciona in front of a spellograph, by vvilczy, 2024. The woman is standing at a raised desk, in front of a machine resembling an antique typewriter. There's a circular coil attached to the top of the machine - with bright spots of energy visible in it.

Interior artwork for the Wraithmarked edition of M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven. Illustrated with archival ink on A4 acid-free paper.
Commercial project.

© 2025 vvilczy. All Rights Reserved.

selected interior illustrations

Black and white traditional ink illustration of Thomil and Sciona from M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven book by vvilczy, 2024.
✖ Hand-drawn book illustration in ink, depicting M. L. Wang's characters from Blood Over Bright Haven - Thomil and Sciona, by vvilczy, 2024. The man and the woman stand close to each other, leaning in for a kiss.

Interior artwork for the Wraithmarked edition of M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven. Illustrated with archival ink on A4 acid-free paper.
Commercial project.

© 2024 vvilczy. All Rights Reserved.

Black and white traditional ink illustration of Thomil from M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven book by vvilczy, 2024.
✖ Hand-drawn book illustration in ink, depicting M. L. Wang's character from Blood Over Bright Haven - Thomil, by vvilczy, 2024. The man wearing janitor's outfit is getting up, swinging a rag over a metal bucket. There are a crescent desk and a hall's ceiling visible in the background.

Interior artwork for the Wraithmarked edition of M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven. Illustrated with archival ink on A4 acid-free paper.
Commercial project.

© 2025 vvilczy. All Rights Reserved.

Black and white traditional ink illustration of Sciona from M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven book by vvilczy, 2024.
✖ Hand-drawn book illustration in ink, depicting M. L. Wang's character from Blood Over Bright Haven - Sciona, by vvilczy, 2024. The woman's eyes are closed, she's resting her head against a man's shoulder.

Interior artwork for the Wraithmarked edition of M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven. Illustrated with archival ink on A4 acid-free paper.
Commercial project.

© 2025 vvilczy. All Rights Reserved.

Black and white traditional ink illustration of a scene from M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven book by vvilczy, 2024.
✖ Hand-drawn book illustration in ink, depicting a scene M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven, by vvilczy, 2024. Remains of a boy are being unraveled by blight, exposing his skeleton in the process. There's a hood with a fur fringe visible under his cheek.

Interior artwork for the Wraithmarked edition of M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven. Illustrated with archival ink on A4 acid-free paper.
Commercial project.

© 2024 vvilczy. All Rights Reserved.

Black and white traditional ink illustration of a book with a witch drawing, from M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven book by vvilczy, 2024.
✖ Hand-drawn book illustration in ink, depicting a scene from M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven - a book with a witch artwork, by vvilczy, 2024. The book is open, resting on a wooden table. The left page is covered in writing. The right page includes an illustration of an old woman, sitting on a crude wooden bench covered with a piece of cloth. She's holding a stone in her hand. There are dried herbs hanging on the hut's walls. The scene is lit by candles.

Interior artwork for the Wraithmarked edition of M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven. Illustrated with archival ink on A4 acid-free paper.
Commercial project.

© 2025 vvilczy. All Rights Reserved.

Black and white traditional ink illustration of a woman collecting mussels, from M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven book by vvilczy, 2024.
✖ Hand-drawn book illustration in ink, depicting a scene from M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven - a woman collecting mussels on a beach, by vvilczy, 2024. The woman is seen from a bird's-eye view, looking up towards a seagull soaring above her. She's holding a round wicker basket, filled with shells

Interior artwork for the Wraithmarked edition of M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven. Illustrated with archival ink on A4 acid-free paper.
Commercial project.

© 2025 vvilczy. All Rights Reserved.

Black and white traditional ink illustration of a woman's rotting hand and a book, from M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven book by vvilczy, 2024.
✖ Hand-drawn book illustration in ink, depicting a scene from M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven - a woman's hand and a book, by vvilczy, 2024. The hand is covered with maggots and sinew, rotting around the wrist. The book is hovering above it, with a dark substance seeping from between its pages on the woman's wrist.

Interior artwork for the Wraithmarked edition of M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven. Illustrated with archival ink on A4 acid-free paper.
Commercial project.

© 2025 vvilczy. All Rights Reserved.

Black and white traditional ink illustration of a man holding a staff, from M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven book by vvilczy, 2024.
✖ Hand-drawn book illustration in ink, depicting a scene from M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven - a man holding a staff, by vvilczy, 2024. He's pulling the staff away from the person in front of him, blurred by quick motion. There's an ornate doorway behind him.

Interior artwork for the Wraithmarked edition of M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven. Illustrated with archival ink on A4 acid-free paper.
Commercial project.

© 2025 vvilczy. All Rights Reserved.