The core of The Purple Woods universe took several years to develop. Kellen, Adam and Shannon spent countless evenings expanding the lore. Every creature and location in The Purple Woods has a rich backstory rooted in a love for old fantasy books and 80’s science fiction movies. Once a solid framework had been established, Adam began to organize and streamline the stories into smaller chunks.
Each step of the way has led to more refinement culminating in the first two books in The Purple Woods series, Kellen and the Sock Thief and Haunted Rescue at Mulberry Manor.
Adam has always had an interest in the arts, especially in sculpture and painting. When the Purple Woods was starting to take shape, he began to utilize 3D modeling software to literally sculpt the creatures and environment found in the books. He wanted to have a level of realism that was hard to achieve with traditional illustration. After some experimentation, the illustrations became a strange mix of manipulated photographs, drawings, and 3D rendered models. This combination is what gives the books a distinctive look and style.
Aided with technology, Adam’s workflow is non-linear, meaning he can change the story and illustrations on the fly when a new idea is introduced. Consequently, the stories go through an incredible amount of changes as they grow into the final product.
Much of the background illustration in The Purple Woods is manipulated photographs from Ontario campsites. Several family vacations over the years have doubled as location shoots for The Purple Woods.
When not working on The Purple Woods, Adam is seeing patients as a Chiropractor in Courtice Ontario, Canada.
