Nic Jones paints both poles for Quarto in "North Pole / South Pole"

Nic Jones’s first book for Quarto Publishing, North Pole/South Pole (written by Michael Bright), is available to pre-order now! A literal “flip book” the reader begins at the North Pole, learning about the climate and geography of the arctic and then flips the book over to arrive at the South Pole, where you can discover the tabular icebergs, sub-glacial lakes, and ice chimneys of the Antarctic.

Starting where most illustrators do when approached with a massive brief like this, Nic began with research;

“As I wasn’t going to manage to explore the poles in person (unfortunately), this meant watching and reading plenty of nature documentaries. “

With a schedule drawn up by her editor, Karen Hood, Nic had six months to complete the project. The advice and feedback she received from Karen and Victoria Kimonidou at Quarto were invaluable, especially when it came to creating some of the smaller images; Nic had to balance detail and clarity with her signature textures and brushstrokes, using layers in Photoshop to tweak as she went until the images were just right.

Another creative challenge for Nic was figuring out how to illustrate a location that is predominantly covered in pure white snow. Incorporating subtle blues and greens within her brushstroke textures, the snow and ice is softened and feels somehow fresher, you can perfectly imagine a seal pup rolling in the powder.

But Nic’s favourite part of the project? Besides learning more about seals and the geography of the icecaps, “what I think will always be the favourite part for me is colour, this is when time flies for me and I get lost in painting and picking colours.”

North Pole/South Pole is out 8th September, you can pre-order your copy here.