Chris Riddell's The Sleeper and the Spindle gallery – in pictures
Chris Riddell gives us a glorious insight into the images he created for The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman, including the now infamous kiss scene between The Queen and Sleeping Beauty
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The endpapers: These are the two kingdoms, Dorimar and Kanselaire, separated by an impenetrable wall of mountains. I love creating visual worlds at the beginning of stories
Photograph: Chris Riddell
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Faithful companions to The Queen of Kanselaire, these three are brave, resourceful and intrepid. That’s a big bottomed cave troll in the background
Photograph: Chris Riddell
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The kingdom of Dorimar is falling asleep - buildings are crumbling, ivy and weeds are growing and spiders are spinning webs…
Photograph: Chris Riddell
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The Queen on horseback: I wanted to handletter some of Neil’s words because they are so evocative. Here, the Queen sets off on a quest
Photograph: Chris Riddell
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The Queen and the dwarves creep past a dozing cave troll as they journey beneath the mountains. This troll is a favourite of mine
Photograph: Chris Riddell
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Pale and ethereal, I introduced a disconcerting skull motif along with spider silk shroud-like curtains
Photograph: Chris Riddell
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Shrouded in cobwebs, sleep walkers close in on the dwarves and the princess. I wanted a zombie army feel to this scene
Photograph: Chris Riddell
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The Queen’s past: The long thin illustrations enabled me to pick a lot of visual story telling into each page. Here the Queen’s wicked stepmother holds a poisoned apple while her actual mother, long dead, is in the foreground
Photograph: Chris Riddell
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Long Dead Prince: The Queen encounters the remains of others who have failed in their quest to walk the sleeping princess. I wanted to emphasise the contrast between the deadly thorns and the beautiful roses
Photograph: Chris Riddell
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The Queen wakes Sleeping Beauty with a kiss but all is not what it seems…
Photograph: Chris Riddell
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Photograph: Chris Riddell
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Photograph: Chris Riddell
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