Doug Bell talks illustrating Limited Edition Perdido Street Station

China Miéville’s weird fiction classic Perdido Street Station is getting a grand anniversary present on the occasion of its 25^th anniversary this year.

The Folio Society, independent publisher of beautifully illustrated hardback books, has partnered with Miéville for the ultimate edition of his iconic steampunk novel with 12 full-color illustrations and 12 black and white chapter-opening illustrations from Doug Bell. He’s also crafted a binding and map now revealing the layout of the novel’s setting, the city of New Crobuzo

This is Bell’s debut with the Folio Society. He joins a previous array of artists who have illustrated books for the Folio Society, including Yuko Shimizu, Chris Samnee, Dave McKean, Charles Vess, and the Balbusso twins.

Crafted with Miéville’s close involvement, the 707-page Perdido Street Station Limited Edition from the Folio Society will feature a limitation page signed by the author and artist, printed map endpapers, iridescent foiling, a presentation box in the rough shape of a moth, and a black ribbon marker.

Bell is known for what’s been described as “immersive scratchboard-effect illustrations.”

These complement the world of Perdido Street Station, described in the official synopsis in this way: “In the sprawling, chaotic city of New Crobuzon, where magic and machinery intertwine, a dangerous experiment unleashes a nightmare that threatens to consume everything. Isaac, a rogue scientist, unwittingly sets a monstrous force loose and must rally an unlikely band of outcasts to confront it. As the city teeters on the brink of destruction, the battle delves into the darkest corners of human ambition and the eerie beauty of the bizarre. China Miéville’s Perdido Street Station is a spellbinding journey into a world teeming with grotesque wonders, savage horrors, and the relentless pulse of revolution.

Recently, Bell fielded a few questions from Wicked Horror about the project.

WH: Wicked Horror was given an early look at your illustrations for the Folio Society edition of Perdido Street Station. They’re really beautiful. How did you go about planning illustrations for the project?

DOUG BELL: Thank you so much. After reading the book, the art directors gave me a document where we could pick where the illustrations would go in the desired chapters. We made sure that the artwork was evenly spaced throughout the novel.

WH: Was it hard to narrow it down to a set of 12 or so with such a rich world within the novel’s pages?

DOUG BELL: Yes, it was difficult to narrow down what parts of the book benefited best from an illustration. The characters are so fantastic. We had a few extras that never made it beyond the initial sketch stage because they were too close to previous illustrations in the book or we needed to make sure that dominant characters got proper representation.

WH: How did you select what would be black-and-white and what opportunities did working on images without color afford you?

DOUG BELL: The black-and-white images I wanted to stay with more landscape or setting designs to give the viewer an idea of where this world is, and where these characters reside within it.

WH: Do you use figure models for the characters or do you work solely from imagination?

DOUG BELL: For models, I use friends and neighbors on myself a lot, but everything starts with sketches from the imagination. Models only come into use after sketches have been approved.

WH: You’ve created some remarkable creature illustrations. What’s your process for taking what’s described on the page and turning it into a visual?

DOUG BELL:  Creature creations, I owe a world of thanks to the author China Miéville.  These were images that would not exist if not for the fantastic work he produced. I had some weird idea in my head of what these characters look like, maybe it’s the food I eat. But I’ve always had a weird fascination for that stuff.

WH: Tell us a little about the scratchboard-effect style of your work. How do you create images?

DOUG BELL: Scratchboard is a technique that relates itself back to woodcut printing from hundreds of years ago. With scratchboard, I start with a white field and paint in my large black solid areas in silhouette. Then, I can use a refined blade and knife to scratch away the black ink or use a digital brush to reveal white. I’ll then go into the white areas that are left and detail out within the black line so the whole piece unifies itself.

WH: The volume also includes a detailed map of New Crobuzon. What was the process like of developing the details and creating that piece?

DOUG BELL: The map design was a first for me. I researched a lot of early 1900s cities based around rivers. I used that reference to build New Crobuzon.

The limited edition release drops March 18 and is available here.