Dear furry fans,
I’m pleased to let you know that the At Home With The Furries book is in the final stages of production now, this week the pages are being folded and the cover is being foil blocked for binding.
Two weeks ago I travelled to Istanbul, to the printers MAS to put the finishing touches to the book. I was there on press to review the wet proofs ( the last step before I write my signature on the pages ) and they start printing it.
I had a wonderful time in Istanbul and especially with the printers, a special thanks to Ufuk Sahin and his team (Murat, Zeynep and Ziya) who took an extraordinary amount of care with the project, to make sure that every element was reproduced to the quality that it should be. I could not be happier with it.
Here’s a clip of me reaching that momentous point where I do indeed sign off the pages. In truth this was repeated over the course of two days as every page section was brought up to me for sign-off.
I just signed off the #furry book pages with invisible ink..:-) pic.twitter.com/TDLL1Qh8yF
— Tom Broadbent (@Broadbentius) July 10, 2018
The word on the furry grapevine is that there were no furries in Istanbul, I beg to differ my friends. There were hundreds of them, thousands even. On every street, every pavement, in cafes and restaurants all the city.
The first order of business is choosing the finish for the plates ( that is where the actual photographs will be reproduced ) Varnish or non-varnish, glossy, matt, semi-matt, paper weight all come into it. Did I also mention that the sketchbook where you’ll be introduced to all the wonderful characters is on a different type of paper?
Decisions made, in truth I had made most of them prior to this trip, the point is being on press is making the final decisions before the book is printed. When you think about it, that’s actually quite a big thing to get your head around.
Next is looking at the final proof, checking that everything is looking good and is in the right place. Once that’s signed off by me, then the printers use a signature print out. This is a rough copy of the entire book so they can see how the book will fit together.
Last step is to say hello to my little friend, the printer of course.
They set the plates up, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black and start printing.
After a section is printed, the used plates ( actual metal plates are put to one side) the printers lined them up for me.
And finally the pages are left to dry in the warehouse, once they’ve dried they can start to cut the pages and glue them ready for binding to the cover.
As I mentioned, I’m very (furry) happy with the book. It’s magnificent, I can’t wait to get my hands on it. I’m due to receive it on the back of a lorry in a few weeks time.
The official publishing date is 30th September, if you’ve pledged through the Kickstarter or pre-ordered it through Stay Free Publishing, you’ll receive it nearly a month ahead of schedule. The book is available here.
Royal Academy News
In other furry news, if you’re planning a trip to London before August 19th or if you live here..:-) It’s worth a visit to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, not just because the furries are on show..:-) I’ve been receiving lots of great feedback from people on Syrrus and Lupestripe being selected, it’s a great honour and I’m so happy for the work to be seen in this space.
Here’s a shot of me on Varnishing Day, it had to be didn’t it?
There are a lot of animal themed works on show, check out Debbie Lawson’s Red Bear for example.
The furries even made the highlights Illustrated book as well, next to the work of a photographer you may have heard of…Martin Parr.
Finally Hole & Corner did a little interview with me and four other artists who’ve had work accepted into the exhibition this year, it means a lot to me that the furry project is in there, it’s not for lack of trying as you’ll read.
Thanks furry much Grayson Perry
To read more on crowdfunding and self-publishing photobooks why not become a valued supporter of mine over on Patreon! There are interviews with some truly great photographers on the site and you’ll also be helping me develop The Mermaid Project, my latest work!
https://www.patreon.com/broadbentius
To get hold of a copy of my book, At Home With The Furries and purchase limited edition prints from the series, visit my shop here
https://www.tombroadbent.com/booksandprints
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