Here are some examples of the Guinea Sam comp sketches. Researching materials for the illustration of this book has lead me down some fascinating rabbit holes. (fascinating rabbit holes?) I've really enjoyed making these and I look forward to the final art.
(These sketches are for the Notable Missourian book series to be published by Truman State University Press)
Guinea Sam as a young boy captured and sold to slave traders in his native Guinea
Guinea Sam as a slave on a rice plantation in South Carolina
After working on a sugar cane plantation in Louisiana, Guinea Sam was sold to a man from Boonville Missouri. There he tended an apple orchard.
This is an alternate approach for Guinea Sam in Boonville. I like the scene better but the figure is not great. Guineas Sam was freed at the end of the civil war. He stayed in Boonville for the rest of his life as a gardner, storyteller, and conjure man.
Guinea Sam using his conjuring to lift a curse
A family refused to put Guineas Sam up for the night, so he hexed them by telling them that before the end of the night they would be driven from their home. That night there was a big storm and what sounds like a ball lightening incident. The timing is awesomely spooky.
Guinea Sam as an older man mixing herbs and traditional folk remedies.