Rohilla Illiustrators
It seems so long since I first started writing
the manuscript for my book and as well as writing the text I was very
actively seeking illustrations, from the the beginning my aim was to
source enough good quality illustrations so that I had numerous options
open to me. Whenever I was fortunate enough to have been loaned photographs
the first thing I did was to have a print for print made. The primary
reason for this was that a computer printed photograph can never hope
to match the quality of a true print. A true print can be scanned to
a users preference for example making a copy suitable for the internet
or for publications like my book. With a print I was comfortable that
I would have something that would ultimately stand the test of time,
I do of course have digital copies, but my concern is that with an electronic
print that there would always be the risk of loosing it should a disc
or hard be unreadable in the future. I took every step possible to care
for the photographs as I would do were it my own, they were without
doubt very special to their respective owners. This aspect of writing
the book was to become my biggest expense, although at the time I'm
sure our local photographic shop welcomed my frequent trade.
Once I had the original copied I would scan
them into my computer as some required proprietary cleaning, some though
needed a little more care and attention using photo software. I had
a 'cleaned' copy commercially printed before returning the original
to its owner along with one of the 'cleaned' versions as my way of giving
something back to those who were kind enough to help me.
The Illustrators
Sarah Turner was the illustrator of my first
book "Scuba Diving" and the first choice when it came to my
second book "Lets Dive". I was grateful for her help and many
of her illustrations feature in Rohilla book. I knew the range of illustrations
for this book were going to be quite broad and I consulted a local artist,
John Littleford. He was well known around town for being able to create
sketches in fine detail and he didn't disappoint me at all. I was really
pleased with how fine his work was and he produced some exquisite illustrations
. I had acquired a photocopy of the certificate presented to Coxswain
Thomas Langlands along with his Gold medal. The museum photocopier was
only an A4 one at the time and the copy was done in two halves and then
taped together. The photocopy was a fairly decent copy of the certificate
although a little dark, but I felt it would make a nice addition to
the book illustrations. The original certificate was created using a
fine Old English type font, and I took it to John for his thoughts.
I left it with him and went back later in the week. John had sketched
selected parts of the photocopy to give me some idea of what he could
do and I knew straight away that he was more than capable of recreating
the certificate.
The finished reproduction was simply magnificent,
in essence John had created own masterpiece and one that is one of my
most treasured pieces. The fine detail was hardly any different to the
original certificate I had only ever seen in the museum. The way it
is reproduced in the book on page 117, doesn't really do it justice
although it does give some idea of the complex design John was faced
with. The sketch John completed for me of the remaining bridge section
is one that I use it extensively throughout much of my paperwork.
I naturally gave both Sarah and John
a signed copy of the book when it was released, they both welcomed seeing
their work in print so to speak. Next to the photographs the illustrations
were my biggest expense, but like the photographs I saw this as an investment
and an extra element to my enthusiasm for the tragic story.
John was especially touched by how well his
drawings had been reproduced, he was separated from his family and often
had his boys to stay with him here in Whitby, I can recall him telling
me how proud his son's were seeing his illustrations in the book. John
passed away around a year after the book was released but at least the
book will be a lasting tribute to their father.
I still work away at gathering illustrations
be they photographic or sketches and have recently acquired some new
material which I aim to showcase on the website as soon as I can.
Copyright © Colin Brittain 1999 - 2014
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