For Illustrator Gregory Manchess, what started as a wishlist question became an in-depth reimagining to illustrate The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
On his blog, Greg recounts his fascination with the tale started with family rewatching events where his parents would delve into the scenes just watched during commercial breaks. Those discussions became formative in his artistic storytelling. Years later, Richard Tong and Marcelo Anciano of UK’s Lyra’s Books asked Greg to give them a list of books he’d love to illustrate if he had his wish. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was on the list, but he hadn’t thought that anyone would want to actually do it. They thought it was a worthy selection of books and before long, they were visualizing what the book could look like. Thus began a study and reflection that resulted in a limited edition printing whose pre-order has already sold out.
Check out some of the final illustrations for the book below. For more of Greg’s work, visit his Workbook portfolio.
