Valdelluna is a misty moisty place where the morning fog is spun into silver thread by the Mist Spinner, where Earbrella lives with her Fluffernutterkins, and the high peaks of the surrounding mountains are home to dragons and griffins. Doombirbs live here, as does the Teagrum, Boulda, and the Curious Babe. It is a gently spooky place, filled wonder and enchantment, where even the most terrifying monsters can sit back, relax, and show their softer side.
I have been exploring Valdelluna since 2009 through sketches, illustration, and simple comics. You can read the full origin story here, and its continuation here.
I am currently developing it into a series of children’s books, which you can read about here. CSA members get weekly updates and access to full pages when complete.
If you’d like to visit Valdelluna, you can support the project by becoming a CSA member. You’ll get weekly updates and access to full pages when complete.
You can also support by purchasing Valdelluna-themed merch from my shop.
The Origin Story
I “discovered” Valdelluna in someone else’s valley. A notebook, bearing decorations from the Finnish author Tove Jansson’s Moomin Valley characters, was given to me out of context along with a box of other notebooks and art supplies donated by my mom’s co-worker. I didn’t know what MoominvalleY was, or who Tove Jansson was, but I was intrigued by the books aesthetic. What today we might call it’s vibe. I was especially amused by what I found on the back cover, which I can only surmise got to English from Finnish by way of Japanese.
If you sow the small glossy white seeds on Midsummer Eve, the Hattifatteners will have its eyes over the earth. All the growing Hattifatteners will make a faint rustling sound. And be careful, because they’re specially electric when new-grown.
I had no idea what this meant, but it launched me onto a voyage of discovering the world it came from—in my own imagination. Without looking up Tove Jansson or Moomin Valley I set off. On the very first page I found my directive for the whole world: “Just Beings.” The rest was just a matter of time.
Read more in Discovering Valdelluna
The Books
My dream is to one day publish Valdelluna as color comic children’s books, and this is where the project currently stands. Every week I post progress pictures of the pages as I develop them from tiny little pencil scribbles into full blown watercolor paintings.
Read more in Making Valdelluna
Whatever route you take, we hope to see you there!
