“Looking toward it they saw emerging from the water the most curious creature either of them had ever beheld. It wasn’t a fish, Trot decided, nor was it a beast. It had wings, though, and queer wings they were: shaped like an inverted chopping-bowl and covered with tough skin instead of feathers. It had four legs—much like the legs of a stork, only double the number—and its head was shaped a good deal like that of a poll parrot, with a beak that curved downward in front and upward at the edges, and was half bill and half mouth. But to call it a bird was out of the question, because it had no feathers whatever except a crest of wavy plumes of a scarlet color on the very top of its head. ” – The Scarecrow of Oz
Designer Tim Wood has submitted a drawing of Tinman for Oztober, and he asked me to colour it.
Tim is an amazing designer who works at Melbourne design firm Truly Deeply. Check out his work here.
I love that Oztober is giving creatives a chance to share their own version of the land of Oz. Today’s Oztober Guest Star is S. P. Maldonado. He has been illustrating Oz books since 2008, and can be found here. I love this drawing of the Tinman, it really captures the essence of the character. I also love this drawing of the Cowardly Lion. He can also be found in the 2009/2010 creative Oz magazine, Oziana.
‘Princess Ozma and the Glass Cat’- by Leah Hartley
Leah’s illustration work is always so graphic and striking, so I am always excited to see what she is going to create next. Leah is internationally recognized as partner of leading design studio, Studio Ink. Their work is great, so please check it out over here.
‘Nomes’ – by Charles Santoso
Charles’ work is unbelievably good.
I recently went to his WONDERLAND exhibition in Sydney and was just in awe of his tiny line work renderings. They are so beautiful and delicate! Here is Charles’ Oztober picture of those pesky ‘Nomes’.










Ben Wood has been illustrating for design studios and publishers for over 8 years, and specializes in character design and book illustration.