"A Story about the Beloved King"
"A Story about the Beloved King" is a children's book written by Romanian historian and author, Vasile Lupasc. It tells the true story of the infamous Vlad the Impaler, aka Vlad Dracula, while being beautifully adapted in language and presentation for young readers. The narrative follows Vlad from when he was teenage boy returning to his homeland from Turkish captivity, his friendship and alliance with his cousin Stephan the Great, up until his victorious rulership and famous battles from many years later. The main character is depicted as a model of courage, determination and love for his people.
Technique and Process
"A Story about the Beloved King" is mainly illustrated with images that I created for the short animation of the same theme ("A True Story about Vlad Dracula"), plus a few additional images done specifically for the book. What is special about these illustrations is that they combine digital colouring with real-life textures sampled from original medieval Romanian art. The style is also different than what I usually create and it was inspired by the Byzantine aesthetic of medieval Orthodox Christian iconography. I wanted to give the world of those ages an authentic feeling while still making it beautiful to look at.
Where to buy
Only available in Romanian.
Currently out of stock on the publisher's website www.ed-reea.ro
Still in stock at www.librariilealexandria.ro