Charis Loke | Map & Book Illustrator 🗺️🇲🇾

🔥For @litjoycrate 's (now sold out) box set of The Poppy War trilogy by @kuangrf , I got to design a map that spans the top, side, and bottom edges. The locations Rin travels to in each book are featured along that book's edge, while the Viper and Phoenix gods watch in the void. I had fun coming up with designs for each city based on the text. Speer is in the margins, located on the bottom edge of the final book. If you know how it ends, well. You know. Sketches + additional notes are in the post before this. This is a gorgeous set with lots of art including tip-in illustrations by fellow Malaysian and kawan @volapardus . I can't wait to hold the physical copies. Thanks to Amanda and Courtney at LitJoy for coordinating! #mapmonday #spredges #sprayededgesbooks #fantasymaps #thepoppywar #LitJoyCrate

How I make a map, shown here with the stained glass map for @hwhittenwrites ' The Nightshade Crown series, from @orbitbooks_us . I love working in a visual direction that's directly informed by the book's world. The process: 1. Read the manuscript. 2. Research visual cultures and possible influences; assemble a moodboard. 3. Sketch ideas, gestures, icons, thumbnails on paper. 4. Do a layout sketch and notes to send to the art director. In this case I was proposing a specific style to AD @planetpinto that I hadn't previously worked in, so I wanted to do a tighter sketch and solve most of the compositional issues upfront. 5. Work in order of lines, flats, textures and shading. 6. Adjust text labels and values as I go along, taking care to maintain legibility and a visual hierarchy. 7. Draw. Paint. Draw some more. 8. Final checks and it's done! I'm trying out portrait carousels as a way to show more details—intricate, landscape format pieces like maps are tough to display on IG. Let me know what you think! #mapmonday #bookmap #fantasymap #thefoxgloveking #thehemlockqueen #thenightshadegod #hannahwhitten #cartographyart #thenightshadecrown

A deerly-needed post to introduce myself and my work! Maps, book covers, murals, games, comics...a common thread in what I do is a love of reading and research, motifs and metaphors, and always asking: how do we tell this story, using the mediums we have, to help people see the world differently? How can we have fun going beyond genre stereotypes? Besides Shaun Tan, authors and artists whose work inspire me include Ursula K. Le Guin, J. R. R. Tolkien, Leo and Diane Dillon, Terry Pratchett, Fahmi Reza, the core writing/art team behind Disco Elysium, and my illustration + comics peers. Also, it's as good a time as any to share that I'm now represented by @litagentclare at the Darley Anderson Illustration Agency for publishing and book-related work. Clare is a wonderful advocate for her clients, and I'm glad to be working with her and the DA team! ------------ Photo of The Ghost Bride mural installation by The Unusual Network. All other photos and artwork by me. #meettheartist #mapmonday #mapmaking #portfolio #bookillustrator

Once in a blue moon you get an illustration project that makes you wonder, "What are the odds?", and this was one of them. Here's to more map-bearing fantasies set in Penang (I hear @samjamtimtam 's next book involves paper effigies and more ghosts) and beyond. Thanks to Samantha, AD @kaitlin.k.draws , and @agent_becca for a very fun gig! The details in the map can be seen in previous posts. A lot of them are little things, like the specifically-shaped George Town road signs and butterfly windows, that I wanted to include just because. And I'll post the winners of the map print giveaway this weekend—stay tuned!

One thing I knew going into PRODIGAL TIGER was that I was going to try my darndest to include as many Malaysians in the publishing creative process as possible. So I am delighted to spotlight the all-star Avengers team of Malaysian creatives who brought you the cover, the map, and the audiobook, and I am so, so, so, so, delighted that the universe allowed for this to happen. Please join me in celebrating @afterblossom_art , @charisloke , and @samtanofficial — because all three are powerhouses in their fields, and I am so humbled to get even a slice of their time. Malaysia boleh forever!!!! 🇲🇾 I am in love with everything they have created, and am thrilled to get to bring Caroline's world to life alongside them. Thank you for everything, my friends. -- PRODIGAL TIGER is out now in hardcover, e-book, and audiobook formats — so why not treat yourself to this work of art? 😘 If you're new here, hi! I'm Samantha Chong, a Malaysian fiction writer. My Malaysian YA fantasy debut PRODIGAL TIGER follows Caroline Chua, a young witch who returns home to Penang, Malaysia, to find her missing brother, only to realise there are supernatural forces at play... and if she wants to find her brother, she's going to have to fight more than a few ghosts to get him back. OUT NOW.

🎉🐅 GIVEAWAY! 🐅🎉 To celebrate the release of PRODIGAL TIGER today, I'm sending out ten colour prints of the book map to folks in Malaysia*. Written by @samjamtimtam , PRODIGAL TIGER is a Southeast Asian YA fantasy set in no other than Penang. Beyond all the ghosts and magic battles and mundane politicking, it's a story with home and friendship at its heart. To enter the giveaway: 1. Follow @samjamtimtam and @charisloke 2. Repost or share in Stories 3. Comment with a place in Penang you'd love to visit. And tag a friend or two! *Shipping covered; this giveaway is only for Malaysian addresses. Ends Sunday 22nd March, 11.59pm. 10 recipients will be selected randomly across IG and Threads combined, and DM'ed for details; one print per person only.

Sneak peek #3 for PRODIGAL TIGER: a mysterious house with its own share of secrets lurking in the walls. Its doors open tomorrow, so @samjamtimtam and I advise you to be ready for anything: ghosts, monsters, and definitely danger. PRODIGAL TIGER drops tomorrow, March 17! @penguinteen

Sneak peek #2 for PRODIGAL TIGER by @samjamtimtam (dropping March 17th): Kek Lok Si, home to the world's tallest standing Guan Yin statue. With such an iconic location in both the map AND the cover, it's safe to say that Kek Lok Si plays a pivotal role in the book, though in what sense remains to be determined... Channeled my memories of Penang Hill turning golden in the morning and evening sun into this.

Teaming up with @samjamtimtam to show you a sneak peek of the map I designed for PRODIGAL TIGER before it drops next Tuesday, March 17 from @penguinteen ! A key location in the book: the Peranakan Mansion, home to all sorts of ghostly figures. Though whether they're here to help or haunt remains to be seen... 👀 (and yes those are the iron grilles from the real Peranakan Mansion).

Found the paperback editions with the map I drew for @judyilinauthor 's Book of Tea duology at @kinokuniyamalaysia the other day. 🍵 I didn't realise this edition was available here—it's very rare that maps end up being printed in colour! Swipe to see close-ups and sketches. This is still one of my favourite maps to have done. #fantasymaps #bookoftea #bookillustrations #mapartist

New map for the upcoming Scarlett Press versions of the Shattered Crown trilogy by @gretchenwritesbooks ! Swipe to see sketches and close-ups. The map was revealed a while back, but this is my version in colour—the print map will be in black and white. I also got to do spot illustrations for the chapter headers and part openers, which I'll share after the books come out. Lots of fun leaning into the visuals for the shadow and light powers. Thanks to Gretchen, Michael at Simon & Schuster, and @agent_becca for a wonderfully smooth mapmaking process! #smokeandscar #splinteredkingdom #romantasybooks

Happy book birthday to SALTSWEPT by @katalinawatt , now sailing forth into the world! It is such a treat to make maps for Southeast Asian-inspired fantasy novels, and a particular pleasure to draw archipelagoes with maelstroms harbouring mythical secrets. You can see more of the process in previous posts. Thanks to Katalina for the extensive notes and worldbuilding info, as well as Delayna Spencer at Hodderscape and @litagentclare . #bookmaps #bookart #fantasymaps #cartography #southeastasianfantasy