GREAT A’TUIN II • GRAPHITE AND DIGITAL • 51cm × 74cm • 2016
TERRY PRATCHETT’S
DISCWORLD
IMAGINARIUM
PAUL KIDBY
GOLLANCZ
LONDON
For my parents
CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE
DEDICATION
INTRODUCTION
THE CHALK
LANCRE
ANKH-MORPORK
PSEUDOPOLIS YARD
UNSEEN UNIVERSITY
ÜBERWALD
DEATH’S DOMAIN
TERRA INCOGNITA
EX ATELIERIS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
COPYRIGHT
THE IMAGINARIUM OF PROFESSOR PRATCHETT • ACRYLIC ON
CANVAS • 77cm × 56cm • 2017
INTRODUCTION
“Fantasy is an exercise bicycle for the mind. It might not take
you anywhere, but it tones up the muscles that can.”
Terry Pratchett
It was almost twenty-five years ago when I was first drawn to the
literary cornucopia that is Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. His richlypacked stories burst at the seams with a combination of wit,
wisdom and unbound imagination which I found then, and now,
an irresistible challenge to illustrate.
I always had a vivid mind’s eye, which was troublesome for the
four-year-old me lying in bed at night convinced there were
dinosaurs in the hallway. As an adult, I have been able to harness
those imaginings and give them shape with my pencil and brush.
Discovering the Discworld novels was exciting; I had found
somebody to whose writing I instantly connected, who had also
learnt to marshal his imagination and, although my medium was
drawing, I felt our two disciplines stylistically complemented
each other. Terry’s novels are a gift to illustrators because his
characters are descriptive without being prescriptive, leaving
plenty of room for creative interpretation.
I find designing characters and creatures the hardest part of the
artistic process but also the most fun. It’s when ideas come
together and I try to assemble them into order with my pencil. I
don’t produce countless rough sketches, I am more inclined to
keep working on one drawing, putting in lines and taking them
back out with my eraser until I am satisfied; I tell art students that
getting it wrong is an important part of the process of getting it
right.
My career path has not been an orthodox journey and I have no
formal art training. On leaving school at seventeen I worked in a
dental laboratory sculpting false teeth on a Youth Opportunity
Program, which was the most creative job I could find. I then
airbrushed and hand-painted roller blinds in a factory-studio
before becoming a freelance commercial artist in 1986 creating
greetings cards, graphics for videos and computer game
packaging. During the early nineties I produced over 200
magazine covers and artwork for the likes of Games Master and
SFX. Each step in my professional journey taught me new skills
and I kept pushing myself to develop my craft (as I still do).
My drawings are created with simple tools: I use a wellsharpened pencil and a smooth white sheet of Bristol Board.
When painting, I adopt a classical technique by working over my
drawing to build up a tonal sepia under-painting; I then add
colour in thin washes. I mostly paint in acrylics simply because
they dry faster than oils, which is important in a profession ruled
by deadlines. In the high-tech publishing industry my traditional
methods might seem behind the times but I enjoy the process of
drawing and painting, finding my chosen tools and materials are
the best way to create my art. The benefit of this approach is that
my originals can be exhibited, which gives museum and gallery
visitors the opportunity to see the work in its own right, without
book jacket text or any digital changes that might have been made
in the publisher’s art department.
The two years since Terry’s sad passing have been a time to
reflect on all that he achieved. I have re-read many of his stories
and looked back on our past collaborations with great fondness
and huge gratitude for the opportunity he gave an unknown artist
who handed an envelope of unsolicited drawings to him during a
book signing in Bath all those years ago.
The Discworld Imaginarium is my tribute to Terry and a
reflective celebration of his creative genius. I have selected some
of my favourite artworks produced during our long association,
from an early drawing of Rincewind to large set pieces such as
Discworld Massif, which features a group of over seventy
characters.
It also gives me great pleasure to include some newer works,
celebrating Terry’s ongoing legacy, that have been created since
he passed away. Discworld will continue to inspire and delight
readers old and new around the globe and while it does, the great
man remains with us all through his writing.
“No one is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the
world die away . . . ”
Paul Kidby
May 2017
GREAT A’TUIN II • ACRYLIC ON CANVAS • 91.4cm × 121.9cm • 2013
DISCWORLD MASSIF SKETCH • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 37cm × 70cm
• 2014
DISCWORLD MASSIF (underpainting detail) • ACRYLIC ON CANVAS •
101.6cm × 152.4cm • 2014
DISCWORLD MASSIF • ACRYLIC ON CANVAS • 101.6cm × 152.4cm •
2014
TIFFANY ON THE CHALK • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm •
2015
CHALKHILL BLUE BUTTERFLY • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 20cm ×
20cm • 2015
THE CHALK
“They call it the Chalk. Green downlands roll under the hot
midsummer sun. From up here, the flocks of sheep, moving
slowly, dri˛ over the short turf like clouds on a green sky. Here
and there sheepdogs speed over the turf like comets.”
The Wee Free Men
When I read the first Tiffany Aching novel I felt an immediate
affinity for the Chalk as described by Terry. Having lived on the
Wiltshire downlands myself and walked many drove roads, I am
familiar with all that he describes: leaping hare, buzzards riding
the thermals and ancient burial mounds. We shared a love of the
area of outstanding natural beauty that we lived in and it seemed
to exert a creative energy for us both. Capturing aspects of this
special landscape with pencil and paint was therefore a richly
personal experience. Now, as I draw, I remember the
conversations I had with Terry about gardening, folklore and
recipes for nettle soup.
VIEW OF THE CHALK • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 51cm × 74cm • 2017
FEEGLE HORDE • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 1998
FEEGLE HORDE • OIL ON PAPER • 43cm × 29.7cm • 1998
THE WEE FREE MEN • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 55cm × 51cm • 2002
THE WEE FREE MEN • OIL ON PAPER • 60cm × 51cm • 2002
TIFFANY ACHING • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2002
TIFFANY ACHING • OIL ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2003
SHEPHERD’S CROWN • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 20cm × 20cm • 2015
ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 20cm × 20cm • 2015
SHAMBLE • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2003
A HAT FULL OF SKY • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 60cm × 52cm • 2004
ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 71cm × 54cm • 2004
DREE YOUR WEIRD • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 29.7cm × 42cm • 2008
DREE YOUR WEIRD • OIL ON PAPER • 29.7cm × 42cm • 2008
TIFFANY SNOWFLAKE • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 30cm × 30cm • 2008
WINTERSMITH • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2008
THE REAL SHILLING • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 20cm × 20cm • 2010
I SHALL WEAR MIDNIGHT • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 71cm × 54cm •
2010
CELESTE • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2010
CELESTE • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2011
THE SHEPHERD’S CROWN (first rough) • GRAPHITE ON BOARD •
74cm × 51cm • 2015
THE SHEPHERD’S CROWN • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm •
2015
ROB ANYBODY • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 29.7cm × 21cm • 2017
LAND UNDER WAVE • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 51cm × 36.5cm • 2017
QUEEN OF THE BEES • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 51cm × 35cm • 2017
FROST TO FIRE • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 51cm × 35cm • 2017
THROUGH THE FLAMES • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 51cm × 35cm •
2017
A FAREWELL - AND A WELCOME • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 51cm ×
35cm • 2017
BIG YAN
HAMISH
AWF’LY WEE BILLY BIGCHIN
Maggie
GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 29.7cm × 20cm each • 2017
ROB ANYBODY
MEDIUM SIZED JOCK
NOT TOTALLY WEE GEORGIE
WEE DANGEROUS SPIKE
ACRYLIC ON PAPER • 25cm × 15cm each • 2010
DRAWINGS FROM THE SHEPHERD’S CROWN • GRAPHITE AND
DIGITAL • 74cm × 51cm • 2015
MEPHISTOPHELES • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2015
Arrrrrrrrrgggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh . . . • ACRYLIC ON PAPER •
29.7cm × 42cm • 2009
THE CHALK • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 45cm × 58cm • 2015
VIEW OF LANCRE • OIL ON BOARD • 75.5cm × 73cm • 1998
GREEBO • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 20cm × 20cm • 2017
LANCRE
“Magic glues the Discworld together – a lot of it ends up in the
Ramtop Mountains. Raw magic crackles invisibly from peak to
peak and earths itself in the mountains. It is the Ramtops which
supply the world with most of its witches and wizards. In the
Ramtops the leaves on the trees move when there is no breeze.
Rocks go for a stroll of an evening.”
Wyrd Sisters
The Kingdom of Lancre hangs precipitously from the side of the
Ramtop Mountains and is a place of towering peaks, steep
ravines and dark forests. It is known as a land of “far too much
geography”.
I have always enjoyed painting and drawing mountains – or
“brides of the sky” as Terry describes them – so capturing the
dramatic landscapes of Lancre with my sketchbook is always a
pleasure. It is also the home of Granny Weatherwax, one of my
favourite characters, who reminds me more than a little of my
own stern Welsh mum.
VIEW OF LANCRE CASTLE • OIL ON BOARD • 29.7cm × 42cm • 1998
WYRD SISTERS • OIL ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2013
GRANNY WEATHERWAX • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm •
1998
WITCHES ABROAD • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 1996
GRANNY WEATHERWAX’S COTTAGE • GRAPHITE ON BOARD •
45cm × 58cm • 2015
GRANNY WEATHERWAX’S COTTAGE • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 45cm
× 58cm • 2015
MONA OGG • GRAPHITE AND DIGITAL • 42cm × 29.7cm • 1998
MONA OGG • OIL ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2002
NANNY OGG’S COOKBOOK • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm
• 1999
NANNY OGG’S COOKBOOK • OIL ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 1999
GREEBO • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 34cm × 75cm • 1994
VERENCE THE FOOL • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2009
MAGRAT GARLICK • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 26cm × 26cm • 2005
MAIDS OF HONOUR • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 29.7cm × 32.5cm • 1999
COUNT GIAMO CASSANUNDA • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm ×
29.7cm • 1999
EUMENIDES TREASON • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 29.7cm × 42cm •
2008
EUMENIDES TREASON • OIL ON PAPER • 29.7cm × 42cm • 2008
DUKE LEONAL FELMET AND LADY FELMET • GRAPHITE ON PAPER
• 42cm × 29.7cm • 2009
SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES • ACRYLIC ON BOARD •
51cm × 37cm • 2003
GREEBO TRANSFORMED • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 42cm × 42cm •
2010
GREEBO TRANSFORMED • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm •
2010
NANNY OGG & GREEBO • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm •
1999
LANCRE CASTLE • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2009
VIEW OF ANKH-MORPORK • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 61cm × 120cm •
1999
LORD HAVELOCK VETINARI • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 29.7cm × 21cm
• 1999
ANKH-MORPORK
“Ankh-Morpork is as full of life as an old cheese on a hot day,
as loud as a curse in a cathedral, as bright as an oil slick, as
colourful as a bruise and as full of activity, industry, bustle and
sheer exuberant busyness as a dead dog on a termite mound.”
Mort
For a while I lived in the lively Somerset town of Frome that has
a medieval centre of steep, cobbled streets, narrow alleyways and
a fantastic number of pubs. The characters at the weekly market
and the Saturday night “goings-on” provided me with much
artistic inspiration for depicting Ankh-Morpork.
THE MOB • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 35cm × 51cm • 2004
LORD DOWNEY • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 1999
LORD DOWNEY • OIL ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 1999
DOCTOR WHITEFACE • MIXED MEDIA ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm •
2003
DICO, DICO, DICO • OIL ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2000
OFFICERS OF THE FOOLS’ GUILD • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm ×
29.7cm • 2000
THE HOUSE OF MIRTH • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 29.7cm × 42cm • 2000
WAGGY RACES • OIL ON BOARD • 35cm × 51cm • 2000
DWARF BREAD • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 1999
MOTHERS MEETING • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 1999
THE BAND WITH ROCKS IN • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 50.5cm × 51cm
• 2010
THE BAND WITH ROCKS IN • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 55cm × 51cm •
2010
ICONOGRAPH IMP • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 51cm × 74cm • 2007
THE TOURIST • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 50cm × 44cm • 2007
COUNT & COUNTESS NOTFAROUTOE (Arthur & Doreen Winkings) •
GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 42cm × 42cm • 2002
THE FRESH START CLUB • OIL ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 1996
JOHN NOT-A-VAMPIRE-AT-ALL SMITH • GRAPHITE ON PAPER •
42cm × 29.7cm • 2002
OTTO CHRIEK • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2003
BOB • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 25.5cm • 2002
REFORMED VAMPYRES • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 29.7cm × 42cm •
2002
HOGFATHER • ACRYLIC AND DIGITAL • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2009
JACK FROST & THE VERRUCA GNOME • OIL ON BOARD • 42cm ×
29.7cm • 1998
FOUL OLE RON • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 1999
GASPODE • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2010
MOIST VON LIPWIG & CO • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm •
2006
GOING POSTAL • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2004
MAKING MONEY - GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2007
MAKING MONEY - ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2007
MAKING MONEY • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2007
MR FUSSPOT • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 29.7cm × 42cm • 2007
MR FUSSPOT • MIXED MEDIA • 40cm × 51cm • 2007
THE HIRELING GENIUS • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 35cm × 51cm • 2003
LEONARD OF QUIRM • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 38cm × 29.7cm • 1999
LEONARD’S SKYBOAT • GRAPHITE AND COLOUR PENCIL ON
BOARD • 61cm × 91.4cm • 2000
LEONARD’S SKYBOAT • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 61cm × 91.4cm • 2000
VARIETIES OF SWAMP DRAGON • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 61cm ×
91.4cm • 2000
THE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm •
1998
PSEUDOPOLIS YARD • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 24.5cm × 42cm • 1998
PSEUDOPOLIS YARD
“Pseudopolis Yard was on the Ankh side of the river, in quite a
high rent district. The sight of Nobby or Sergeant Colon walking
down the street in daylight would probably have the same effect
on the area as opening a plague hospital.”
Guards! Guards!
This is the headquarters of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. The
resident force is made up of Trolls, Dwarves, Igors and not
forgetting the pustulous Nobby Nobbs. Overseeing this dubious
rabble of law-enforcers is another of my favourite characters, the
conflicted Vimes, whose journey we follow through the novels as
he battles his inner demons and rises up through the ranks both
professionally and in society. I originally portrayed him akin to
Clint Eastwood but Terry imagined him more like Pete
Postlethwaite, so I now draw him as a combination of the two.
VIMES & DEWDROP • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 51cm × 74cm • 2007
CAPTAIN SAM VIMES • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 29.7cm × 21cm • 2003
ERROL • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 55cm × 40cm • 1999
GUARDS! GUARDS! • OIL ON BOARD • 40cm × 30cm • 1995
GOODBOY BINDLE FEATHERSTONE OF QUIRM • GRAPHITE ON
PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2010
GOODBOY BINDLE FEATHERSTONE OF QUIRM • ACRYLIC ON
PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2010
BUGGY SWIRES • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 29.7cm × 21cm • 1998
FABRICATE DIEM PUNC • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2012
SERGEANT FRED COLON • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 29.7cm × 21cm •
1999
CORPORAL NOBBY NOBBS • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 29.7cm × 21cm •
1999
GULLI, GULLI & BETI • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 1998
NIGHT WATCH
OIL ON BOARD • 51cm × 49cm • 2002
CAPTAIN CARROT IRONFOUNDERSSON • GRAPHITE ON PAPER •
42cm × 29.7cm • 2017
CORPORAL ANGUA von ÜBERWALD • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm ×
29.7cm • 2007
SERGEANT DETRITUS • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 1998
THUD! • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 74cm × 61cm • 2005
THUD! • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 61cm • 2005
SNUFF • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2011
SNUFF • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2011
STINKY • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2011
STINKY • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2011
THE FACULTY • OIL ON BOARD • 53cm × 35cm • 1996
RIDCULLY’S EXPLETIVES • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 29.7cm × 21cm •
1996
UNSEEN UNIVERSITY
“Unseen University was much bigger on the inside. Thousands
of years as the leading establishment of practical magic in a
world where dimensions were largely a matter of chance in any
case, had left it bulging in places where it shouldn’t have places.
There were rooms containing rooms which, if you entered them,
turned out to contain the room you’d started with, which can be
a problem if you are in a conga line.”
The Last Continent
The Discworldian Oxbridge is architecturally based on the
dreaming spires of our great university cities, with the exception
of the Tower of Art which is described by Terry as having a
“gnarled appearance, like a tree that has seen too many
thunderstorms.” When designing this building, I looked at the
painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder of The Tower of Babel, 1563,
and gave my illustration a similar architectural structure with
numerous arches reminiscent of the Roman Coliseum.
The wizards of the university are a collection of aged didacts
sporting a variety of impressive beards and robes—apart, of
course, from The Librarian, who I always enjoy drawing. I
wasn’t planning on including the image of him playing the organ,
but was persuaded by the argument that lovers of Monty Python
might appreciate it.
THE SCIENCE OF DISCWORLD • OIL ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 1998
DR. HORACE WORBLEHAT (The Librarian) • GRAPHITE ON PAPER •
42cm × 29.7cm • 2004
THE LIBRARIAN TRANSFORMED • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 42cm ×
29.7cm • 2004
QUIET PLEASE • OIL ON PAPER • 50cm × 60cm • 2002
THE LIBRARIAN • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 34cm × 75cm • 1994
WOW WOW SAUCE • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 29.7cm × 21cm • 1999
DARWIN’S WATCH • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2004
HEX • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 40.5cm × 52cm • 2003
THE EATER OF SOCKS • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2017
KEEPER • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 29.7cm × 21cm • 2009
UNSEEN ACADEMICALS • MIXED MEDIA • 74cm × 51cm • 2009
WINDLE POONS • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 1995
DRIED FROG PILLS • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 1999
MOVING PICTURES • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 50cm × 43cm • 2003
OOK! • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 1998
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT • OIL ON
PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2003
ARCHCHANCELLOR CUTANGLE • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm ×
29.7cm • 2009
ESKARINA SMITH • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2009
THE GLOBE • OIL ON BOARD • 50cm × 43cm • 2001
MODO • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2012
TOWER OF ART • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2004
IT IS NOW! • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 54cm × 51cm • 2010
IT IS NOW! • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 54cm × 51cm • 2010
THE ROAD TO BAD BLINTZ • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm •
2010
SARDINES • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2010
ÜBERWALD
“Dark. Mysterious. Ancient . . . there are large areas controlled
by feudal vampire or werewolf clans, and there are also tracts
with much higher than normal background magic.”
The Fifth Elephant
This wintery, mountainous region is akin to Transylvania and is
populated largely by werewolf and vampire families, warring
trolls and dwarves—not forgetting the Amazing Maurice and His
Educated Rodents.
As a child who grew up watching reruns of old Hammer Horror
films, I developed a fascination with the stranger, more grotesque
aspect of fantasy. Illustrating the population of Überwald
therefore fills me with glee and designing the characters allows
me to tap back into my childhood imaginings. I don’t base my
designs on actual people but sometimes, when I have finished, I
realise that my subconscious might have had other ideas about
that.
ÜBERWALD • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 27cm × 55cm • 2004
THE AMAZING MAURICE AND HIS EDUCATED RODENTS • OIL ON
BOARD • 30cm × 90cm • 2002
THE CLAN • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 35cm × 51cm • 2007
THE CLAN • OIL ON PAPER • 29.7cm × 42cm • 2007
OTHER SIGNIFICANT RACES • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 15cm × 18cm
• 2007
WE-R-IGORS • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2002
IGOR & SCRAPS • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 29.7cm × 42cm • 1998
IGOR & SCRAPS • OIL ON PAPER • 29.7cm × 42cm • 1998
THE ROYAL PREROGATIVE • PEN AND INK ON BOARD • 29.7cm ×
21cm • 2002
MONSTROUS REGIMENT • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm •
2002
GOBLIN MECHANICS • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2014
RAISING STEAM (hardback edition) • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm ×
51cm • 2013
RAISING STEAM (paperback edition) - GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm ×
29.7cm • 2014
RAISING STEAM (underpainting): ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm
• 2014
ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2014
DEATH • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2004
DEATH OF RATS • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 29.7cm × 21cm • 2003
DEATH’S DOMAIN
THAT’S MORTALS FOR YOU, Death continued, THEY’VE
ONLY GOT A FEW YEARS IN THIS WORLD AND THEY
SPEND THEM ALL IN MAKING THINGS COMPLICATED
FOR THEMSELVES. FASCINATING.
Mort
Creating illustrations of Terry’s Death is always a challenge
because I am working against centuries of pre-conceived
iconography where he is depicted as the “Grim Reaper”. In the
Discworld novels Death is a sympathetic character with a
fondness for kittens and a liking for a curry. My challenge
therefore was to imbue an inanimate skull with an air of
benevolence.
“I have always been pleased with the way Paul draws him—
clearly as a skull, and certainly grinning, but nevertheless
kindly disposed to the viewer.”
Terry Pratchett
SKELETAL STEED • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 51cm × 36.5cm • 2017
PALE RIDER • OIL ON BOARD • 120cm × 91cm • 2000
MORT • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 1998
MORT • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 51cm × 28cm • 2004
DISCWORLD FAMILY VALUES • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm ×
29.7cm • 1997
DISCWORLD FAMILY VALUES • OIL ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 1997
FOUR HORSEMEN • OIL ON BOARD • 91cm × 122cm • 1999
DEATH OF RATS WITH EYEBALLS • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 29.7cm
× 21cm • 2010
DEATH WITH KITTEN • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2011
THE STRAYS OF ANKH-MORPORK • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 74cm ×
51cm • 2010
THE STRAYS OF ANKH-MORPORK • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm ×
51cm • 2010
DISCWORLD GOTHIC - GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 55cm × 51cm • 2004
DISCWORLD GOTHIC - (underpainting): ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm
× 51cm • 2014
ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2016
ALBERT (Alberto) MALICH • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm •
1999
MASKERADE • MIXED MEDIA • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2012
EASY RIDER • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 29.7cm × 42cm • 2004
BORN TO RUNE • OIL ON BOARD • 42cm × 29.7cm • 1995
SOUL MUSIC • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 51cm × 51cm • 2010
SOUL MUSIC • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2010
REAPER MAN • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 75cm × 40cm • 1994
UNDER AN ELDRITCH SKY • OIL ON BOARD • 91cm × 61cm • 1997
THE GRIM APIARIST • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2010
DEATH’S GLORY • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2014
HOGSWATCH BAUBLE • OIL ON BOARD • 25cm × 17cm • 1998
HE’S CHECKING HIS LIST • OIL ON BOARD • 42cm × 35cm • 1998
MON REPOS • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 1998
MON REPOS • OIL ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 1998
THE GRIM SQUEAKER • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 1999
NON TIMETIS MESSOR • OIL ON BOARD • 51cm × 35cm • 1997
THE RINCEWIND SCREAM • OIL ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2002
THE LUGGAGE • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 29.7cm × 42cm • 1996
TERRA INCOGNITA
“Luck is my middle name,” said Rincewind indistinctly. “Mind
you, my first name is Bad.”
Interesting Times
Rincewind was one of the first Discworld characters that I drew
and showed to Terry way back in 1994. This reluctant tourist
takes the reader with him on many dangerous adventures to
outposts around the Disc whilst trying to avoid Death. I enjoy
depicting the terror in his expression, which is at its most obvious
in the parody of The Scream by Edvard Munch. My version
shows our reluctant hero on the moon with the Disc rising
behind him.
Other far-flung locations illustrated in this section include The
Dungeon Dimensions, Dunmanifestin (the home of the gods),
The Wyrmberg and Four Ecks—a distinctly antipodean territory.
THE COLOUR OF MAGIC • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 50cm × 51cm •
2010
THE COLOUR OF MAGIC • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2010
RINCEWIND AND THE LUGGAGE • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm ×
29.7cm • 1997
STERCUS, STERCUS, STERCUS, MORITURUS SUM! • ACRYLIC ON
BOARD • 40cm × 30cm • 1996
NIJEL THE DESTROYER • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm •
2009
SOURCERY • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2010
RINCEWIND • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 75cm × 40cm • 1994
THE LAST CONTINENT • OIL ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 1998
THE JOY OF SPUDS • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 1999
TESTING THE HANDIWORK OF THE GODS • OIL ON BOARD • 51cm
× 35cm • 2000
LORD ASTFGL • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2010
ERIC THURSLEY • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 24cm × 21cm • 2003
TEPPIC • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 1999
PYRAMIDS • COLOUR PENCIL AND DIGITAL • 59cm × 51cm • 1996
YOU BASTARD • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2010
TEPPICYMON XXVIII • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 29.5cm × 26cm • 2003
BALANCING MONK • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2007
LU-TZE WITH BONSAI MOUNTAINS • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 29.7cm
× 21cm • 2007
THE GODS • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 63cm × 122cm • 2001
TROLL ETIQUETTE • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 20cm × 20cm • 1999
DAT’S ME! • OIL ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2000
THE LAST HERO • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2000
THE LAST HERO • OIL ON BOARD • 122cm × 91cm • 2000
COHEN THE CONQUEROR • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm •
1999
COHEN THE CONQUEROR • OIL ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 1999
THE SILVER HORDE • OIL ON BOARD • 91cm × 124cm • 2000
THE SILVER HORDE • OIL ON BOARD • 91cm × 124cm • 2000
MAD HAMISH • OIL ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2000
SILVER HORDE UNLEASHED • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 72cm × 122cm •
2001
THE LAST HER0 TAPESTRY • OIL AND DIGITAL • 15cm × 29.7cm •
2000
THE MINSTREL’S LAMENT • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 91cm × 61cm •
2000
THE RIMFALL • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 50cm × 120cm • 2000
GREAT T’PHON • OIL ON BOARD • 30cm × 91cm • 2000
GREAT A’TUIN RISING • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 1999
GREAT A’TUIN RISING • OIL ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 1999
ON THE DISCWORLD BOOK BENCH • JUNE 2014
ROB ANYBODY • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 29.7cm × 21cm • 2010
EX ATELIERIS
“Paul sees things my way about seventy-five percent of the time,
which suggests either mind-reading is happening or that my
vision of my characters is really rather vague until I see his
drawings. And he remembers the history of the characters in a
way that’s almost frightening, so that a simple illustration will
contain little details mentioned in half a dozen books.”
Terry Pratchett
Over the years there has been one subject to come out of my
studio which is not a character or scenic view from Discworld,
but the writer Sir Terry Pratchett himself. I first painted him for
an article in Waterstone’s magazine and then had a commission
for a French publication that seemed the perfect opportunity to
create the painting Check Mort, which I had been developing in
my mind for a long while. Knowing that one of Terry’s favourite
films was The Seventh Seal it seemed only fitting to parody the
scene where the knight, Antonius Block, plays chess with Death.
Terry was battling Alzheimer’s by the time I created this piece,
giving the painting an emotive dimension which was not part of
my original concept. I worked out the chess moves so that
Terry’s pieces are positioned on the board to win.
In this section I have also included the bronze bust of Terry,
which is a preliminary sculpt for the large-scale memorial statue
we are planning to create for Salisbury city centre.
The image of Terry in a top hat, which is also the cover art for
this book, is inspired by a work by English cartoonist and
illustrator William Heath Robinson, who was best known for his
drawings of bonkers contraptions complete with knotted string.
Terry also liked to invent complex machines such as the Clacks
Towers and Hex (and then ask me to draw them). I have depicted
him dressed in the outfit he wore to the book launch for Dodger
in 2012. I think the garb of a Victorian gentleman suits him and
reflects his love of that era of great scientists, inventors, explorers
and engineers. His top hat is tall enough, with a bit of magical
wossname, to contain all the ideas and characters that his
endlessly resourceful mind created.
The photograph of myself (on page 262), which I have been
persuaded to include, shows me seated on the Discworld
Bookbench created for the Books About Town Trail in London,
Summer 2014.
One final word is that I don’t actually have a dedicated studio to
work in, or much fancy art equipment. I mix my paint on an old
piece of Formica from my Dad’s shed and have done so for over
thirty years. The main thing required to make art is time and
dedication – and keeping an open mind for inspiration – you
never know when it might strike.
SIR TERRY PRATCHETT • GRAPHITE ON PAPER • 20cm × 20cm • 2015
TERRY PRATCHETT WITH ERROL, ROB ANYBODY AND SARDINES
• OIL ON PAPER • 42cm × 29.7cm • 2008
CHECK MORT • GRAPHITE ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2011
CHECK MORT • ACRYLIC ON BOARD • 74cm × 51cm • 2011
SIR TERRY PRATCHETT BUST • SCULPTED IN CHAVANT • Height
42cm • 2016
SIR TERRY PRATCHETT BUST • BRONZE • Height 42cm • 2016
THE IMAGINARIUM OF PROFESSOR PRATCHETT • GRAPHITE ON
BOARD • 51cm × 37cm • 2017
THE IMAGINARIUM OF PROFESSOR PRATCHETT (underpainting) •
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS • 77cm × 56cm • 2017
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
No man is an island and I am fortunate to have people around me to whom I
owe many thanks: especially my wife Vanessa who works with me as an
assistant and collaborator, also to our family which expanded, alongside my
portfolio, to encompass six children now all grown up.
Thank you also to Harry Hall at Kismet Photography and Print who produced
layouts, typesetting, image capture and editing, Ray & Stella Newton
(framers extraordinaire), Simon Allen and his team at Sculpture Castings
Foundry, Malcolm Edwards and Darren Nash at Gollancz, my fellow
members of the Order of the Honey Bee who were selected by Terry to
collectively oversee the future safe-keeping of his creation and Rob Wilkins
for his enthusiastic encouragement for my work and all that he does to keep a
steady hand on the tiller of the Discworld legacy.
. . . and of course my enduring thanks to Terry whose writing continues to
inspire me so much.
COPYRIGHT
An Orion Ebook
First published in Great Britain in 2017 by Gollancz
This ebook first published in 2017 by Gollancz
Copyright © Paul Kidby 2017
Discworld is a trademark registered by Dunmanifestin Ltd.
The right of Paul Kidby to be identified as the illustrator and author of this
work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor to be otherwise circulated in
any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a
similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent
purchaser.
All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual
persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978 1 4732 2338 7
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