books and art

Into the Dark Forest: chapter #2

SATURDAY / JANUARY 30

Happy New Year!! Finally, 2026 is here and I hope you had the best start of the year. I got a lot busier with work and a lot of deadlines to hit for February! For this week. I wanted to start the new year off with a short reflection on the use of different types of internal art and their role in books.

✶ Weekly Reflection

— The role of book internal art

Today I want to discuss the different types of artwork I do for book internal art! There are six main elements, each of which has its own role and importance. All of them can coexist but some are definitely not mandatory!

1. Chapter Headers: It is the artwork that initiates the chapter and can have a very suggestive role; it can represent an important element of the chapter or even of the whole story. It can be a symbol belonging to one of the characters, and be used to anticipate what the chapter will be about, or indicate the point of view through which the chapter will be told.

You could use one main Chapter Header across the whole book, for every chapter in it. Or several of them, not only to embellish the beginning of each chapter but also to anticipate its intent. It can keep the reader on its toes while giving subtle hints to the direction of the story.

A Chapter Header can be whatever you deem important: a symbol of power, a character’s trait, an important relic, or just beautiful adornments.

2. Page Title: The curtain that unveils the book, highly evocative and impactful. It is the antechamber of the Prologue, carefully and meticulously embellished to evoke the true soul of the story and what is about to happen. It can comprise typography features, as well as art resembling chapter headers and illustrations, depending on the size.

3. Dinkus: Smaller artwork used to simply embellish and sometimes to precede an action or a thought of a specific character. Used differently from a Scene Break, but it is not uncommon to include both in a chapter. They are the smallest of illustrations and can come across as ‘less significant’ but I really do think that Dinkus add a lot of nuance to a scene and can guide the reader through the rest of the story. I see them as small checkpoints that not only reward the reader but also guide the way.

4. Scene Break: They’re quite important. A strategically placed Scene Break can add a lot to the course of the chapter. I find them very useful in long chapters, and a well-suited scene break can really add a lot of emphasis to what is going to happen. Or I could abruptly end an important scene to increase its dramatic, impactful effect.

5. Prologue and Epilogue: These are best represented through full or half-page illustrations. The beginning and the end of the artwork. I love it when both are illustrated to show the progression and the arc of a character or of the story. The temptation to peek at that last illustration will last all the way until we get there!

Page title design // The Cycle Of Deities by Kelsey Wolfe

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✶ Art of the Week

— Stranger Things fanart

For the “art of the week” series, I wanted to share with you my Stranger Things fanart! This was just a personal project that I was waiting to share for the last season of Stranger Things, which I’m a big fan of!

✶ Commissions Updates

— 2026 bookings and premades

I’m currently scheduling commissions for April & May 2026; I uploaded a new premade that I designed for Christmas. You can check out the current, still available premades on my website or you can send me an email if you have any questions! :)

✶⋆.˚intotheforest.illustrations@gmail.com ✶⋆.˚

New Premade // Winter Solstice

wishing you a lovely start of the year,