By Ruth Rowland
Illustration: Zélie’s Power . Tomi Adeyemi
Illustrations for Tomi Adeyemi’s wonderful West African-inspired novel, Children of Blood and Bone.
One of the main characters, Zélie, struggles to embrace her power, which she finally invokes by chanting an incantation.
Represented by a twisting vine of hand drawn lettering, the words combine with a flowing pattern of dots and swirls, influenced by beautiful West African printed textiles.
![Lettering Artist Ruth Rowland - Zélie Illustration: Silhouette with power pattern and decorative title](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/e311483b11de0a33c7710fd0bc9dbfa1/0608b03d-2235-478d-87b0-3d5182551911_rw_600.jpg?h=9971dd928bbacbce927d1af6ddc55275)
Zélie Illustration: Silhouette with power pattern and decorative title
![Lettering Artist Ruth Rowland - Zélie Illustration: Silhouette with hand lettered incantation calligram](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/e311483b11de0a33c7710fd0bc9dbfa1/d90f7bd4-841a-4901-ba14-b11d284cc163_rw_600.jpg?h=7acaa5d3c5537716628ca77228fffd0d)
Zélie Illustration: Silhouette with hand lettered incantation calligram
![Zélie: Hand lettered calligram (detail)](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/e311483b11de0a33c7710fd0bc9dbfa1/a12ac1b1-fca9-4f9e-871a-fbb2ca7afe36_rw_1200.jpg?h=124d7b5ac9f70637cb7b123782e9bd7e)
Zélie: Hand lettered calligram (detail)
![Zélie: Hand lettered title (detail)](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/e311483b11de0a33c7710fd0bc9dbfa1/d89d8f2c-0e26-42dd-ad18-248f367889d1_rw_1200.jpg?h=c4c4650b431922af47f20023bad458a6)
Zélie: Hand lettered title (detail)
If you enjoyed seeing this personal project inspired by Tomi Adeyemi's wonderful young adult novel, take a look at more of my cover art in the illustration and publishing folders ...