Can you believe that the first ever depictions of Aziraphale and Crowley and the rest of the Good Omens ensamble were not for the TV series nor even for the cover in the U.K. or USA, but the first ever depictions were done by David Frampton inside the US edition published by Workman in 1990?
Yes, these guys right here were the original Aziraphale and Crowley.
David Frampton has been an illustrator for nearly 30 years and has been especially attracted to doing illustrations for children's books. He has also been the author and illustrator of a collection of children's stories and author/illustrator of a book based on a poem by Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
His method of illustration is always color woodcut - simple, in his self imposed limit of four colors, but complex in the planning and execution of the narrative images. Even so, his work often demonstrates the beautiful drama of light and shadow without the need of colors.
In an interview he said:
Often when I describe the process to someone and they come to realize just how involved and time consuming the process is, they inevitably ask,"Couldn't you get the job done faster and easier with paint or crayons?" The answer is "yes," but it's not as much fun. I just like doing woodcuts. When you look at the finished print it has a certain look, a look that says, "This picture was done by hand.'" You can see the process in the picture itself. You can see that someone took a flat piece of wood and carved a picture on it. You can see that paint was applied to that surface and then that surface was pressed against a piece of paper.
Frampton has illustrated a number of various books on folk tales, mythology, legends, and such. He illustrated an album cover for the British rock group Jethro Tull ("Stand Up").
Frampton studied art at the Rhode Island School of Design.
So whenever you see those little illustrations, think about the work that went into each of them because they’re more than that, they’re woodcuts specially designed for Good Omens.
