Are you a portrait or landscape person?

I am a landscape person. I have discovered this during the work on my new book covers. The original drawings were all in landscape format so when I came to incorporate them into my cover designs there was a lot of white space above and below.

I started off liking the crisp white space but have realised that the original drawings limited the cover design and didn't make the best use of space. I am now trying to become a portrait person.

After years of drawing cars and motorbikes that are longer than they are tall, it's difficult to adapt. I'm also having to get used to the idea that there should be plenty of blank illustration where the text can go. But the text should flow naturally around the illustrated action. Because I don't know where the text is going to go, I don't know where action needs to be and where to put the vacant spaces. It's not a question of the chicken and the egg - it's a re-iterative process until you have the chicken and the egg beside each other. And the text snugly nested with my drorin.

Ah yes, colour. I am a monochrome landscape sort of chap. I haven't time for this colouring in lark. At least I didn't until now. Now I want my book covers to be vibrant and lively, rather than a neat pen drawing or a scratchy pencil sketch. Consequently I'm dabbling with oil paints. Even if the dawbs of colour don't work out straight away, I can paint over them when they're dry (difficult with water colours and ink). And the texture and smell is great.