Charis Loke 💜🤍🖤

🗺️ Maps, book covers, and interiors that weave worlds. Clients include Orbit, Macmillan, Netflix, TBB, Knights Of. Repped by @LitAgentClare. 🌈 ace

[Charis Loke 💜🤍🖤 @charisloke]

Hi #PortfolioDay! I make intricate maps and book covers inspired by the visual cultures of their story worlds. I mostly work in adult and YA fantasy but recently illustrated THE LAST DRAGON, a fiery MG novel by Polly Ho-Yen.

🎨 https://t.co/r6TaWkkdD3
🖼️ https://t.co/XymxKY6vmM

[Charis Loke 💜🤍🖤 @charisloke]

In contrast, my rendition of Shae on the edges places the turbulent halo around her heart (iykyk). The halo is a motif that recurs across all three Peranakan glass edges, following the sequence hands-heart-head, linking the Kaul siblings.

[book photos by TBB rep Melissa Rose!]

[Charis Loke 💜🤍🖤 @charisloke]

Front endpaper art + notes, @binding_broken's edition of Jade War by @FondaJLee.

AD @PetrikReads asked for the airport fight in Tialuhiya where we see (from left) Vinn, Lott, Juen, Hilo, Doun, and Tar, each employing one or more of the jade disciplines.

Sketch, close-ups below:

[Charis Loke 💜🤍🖤 @charisloke]

The superhuman speed at which trained Green Bones fight gives them a huge advantage over jadeless combatants, so much so that the fight and violence feel almost farcical and senseless. It's certainly a sentiment that gets evoked more and more as we progress through book 2 and 3.

[Charis Loke 💜🤍🖤 @charisloke]

Endpaper art + notes for @binding_broken's edition of Jade City. Spoilers in the 2nd slide!

@PetrikReads suggested depicting an imagined scene that would make for a good intro to the setting and characters: the No Peak clan having a meal at the Twice Lucky.

Close-ups below:

[Charis Loke 💜🤍🖤 @charisloke]

Thanks to TBB rep Melissa Rose for the shots of the hardback and endpapers as they appear in the physical book! I'm still waiting eagerly on this side of the world for my copies to arrive.

[Charis Loke 💜🤍🖤 @charisloke]

Endpaper art + notes for @binding_broken's edition of Jade City. Spoilers in the 2nd slide!

@PetrikReads suggested depicting an imagined scene that would make for a good intro to the setting and characters: the No Peak clan having a meal at the Twice Lucky.

Close-ups below:

[Charis Loke 💜🤍🖤 @charisloke]

And that ornately framed, large painting will be a familiar sight to anyone walking into a Chinese diaspora family restaurant (although you might have carp or horses or a SEAsian village instead of mountains).

[Charis Loke 💜🤍🖤 @charisloke]

@FondaJLee @JonathanStrahan @tordotcom Congrats Fonda!!

[Charis Loke 💜🤍🖤 @charisloke]

@jo_poteet @binding_broken No, this will be on the Jade War back endpapers for the TBB edition. There's a different city map of Janloon that appears in Jade City.

[Charis Loke 💜🤍🖤 @charisloke]

And here's the map of Kekon for JADE WAR, since @binding_broken shared pics yesterday. I wanted to reference events in the book and flesh out the world a bit more through the items: the monument pamphlet, car keys, stone scrap...I'm glad the Hilo sketch made it to final art ;)

[Charis Loke 💜🤍🖤 @charisloke]

And here's the map of Kekon for JADE WAR, since @binding_broken shared pics yesterday. I wanted to reference events in the book and flesh out the world a bit more through the items: the monument pamphlet, car keys, stone scrap...I'm glad the Hilo sketch made it to final art ;)

[Charis Loke 💜🤍🖤 @charisloke]

Thanks as always to Fonda and Matt and Petrik from TBB for the creative freedom and trust!

[Charis Loke 💜🤍🖤 @charisloke]

Looked at a lot of mid-to-late 19th and 20th century maps for inspiration, decided to go with a blend of Chinese and Japanese brush map styles. The compass rose features the same flower seen in the edge design, which is taken from Peranakan-style windows and furniture.

[The Broken Binding | Bookstore @binding_broken]

A huge shout out to @charisloke for the incredible map produced for our special edition copies of Jade War by @FondaJLee 💚

Absolutely stunning 😍🥹

[Charis Loke 💜🤍🖤 @charisloke]

@FondaJLee Always an honour!

[Charis Loke 💜🤍🖤 @charisloke]

A map of Janloon for @FondaJLee's JADE CITY, in the upcoming edition by The Broken Binding. Loved getting to do worldbuilding through the paraphernalia for all three maps, though I can't show the rest just yet.

Lots of refs to the story included, some more subtle than others.

[Charis Loke 💜🤍🖤 @charisloke]

@PERSADPHONES Yes! I'm so glad those details are noticeable to Green Bone fans!

[Charis Loke 💜🤍🖤 @charisloke]

Since folks have asked, yes, I'll have prints of the maps for sale, but they'll only be made available after the TBB books reach subscribers at least. I do think all three maps will look great as posters or prints side-by-side on a wall.

[Charis Loke 💜🤍🖤 @charisloke]

A map of Janloon for @FondaJLee's JADE CITY, in the upcoming edition by The Broken Binding. Loved getting to do worldbuilding through the paraphernalia for all three maps, though I can't show the rest just yet.

Lots of refs to the story included, some more subtle than others.

[Charis Loke 💜🤍🖤 @charisloke]

@TallShepherd @FondaJLee Thanks Jack!

[Charis Loke 💜🤍🖤 @charisloke]

@manuvadakkan555 Thank you!