Lockwood and Co.

Written By Bailey Vidler

If spooky ghosts and spunky characters are your thing, then I highly recommend the Lockwood and Co series by Jonathan Stroud. I cannot emphasize how much I LOVE this series. I’ve read the five books of the series dozens of times each. The dialogue is witty, the characters are vibrant, and the mysteries are intriguing.

Thus, a few months ago, when Jonathan Stroud and artist Rachele (@doodlingraka on Instagram) partnered to host a charity raffle to raise funds to support Ukraine, I was happy to donate. And I was most definitely thrilled when I won a piece of original artwork by Rachele!

Rachele does some really amazing Lockwood and Co. fan art, so please check out her Instagram to see her work. She is able to so accurately capture each of the character’s individual quirks and colorful personalities in her designs.

Here’s the piece I won in the raffle. The image doesn’t fully capture it, but the deep blue in the background has a really pretty metallic sheen to it.

Lucy Carlyle and Anthony Lockwood, drawn by Rachele (@doodlingraka)

I wish I were able to fit more fanart into my schedule, but alas, it doesn’t always take priority. That said, I knew I had to do some Lockwood and Co. fanart at some point, because I love this series so impossibly much. However, receiving the piece from Rachele was the exact motivator I need to get my own piece done.

Carlyle & Skull - The Greatest Psychic Detection Agency ever! **

** please disregard those other guys

For context, the series follows Lucy Carlyle, a junior psychic investigative agent, who works to neutralize the dangerous ghosts roaming freely around London. At her side, she’s got a ghost in jar who is more inclined to offer snarky advice and a rude facial expression, than he is to help. (Thus making him my favorite character.)

Here’s a quick view of the early planning of this image:

I’m very pleased with how this image turned out. I did something quite experimental with this piece in that I painted on much fewer layers than usual. I was a little nervous to try - it feels like you’re committing to so much, so early. But after watching on of Zoe Persico’s twitch streams where she recommended trying it out, I did. And not only did the world not explode, but it actually worked out really well! The process felt smoother and I think the final piece looks a little more natural than some of my previous pieces.

I’m very excited to share this piece with you and thank you for taking the time to read about it!

Bailey Vidler

Edit: Jonathan Stroud responded to my artwork!

Bailey Vidler
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