Welcome back to the #FourPathsFriends Blog Tour and AAW! We’re going to step back in time and pretend that I posted this yesterday (instead of backdating it and actually posting today). So, originally when we were organizing everything, for today we’d planned to curate playlists for The Devouring Gray duology and/or the characters from the series.
Then time got away from me *gestures at everything* and I realized I’m…really bad at playlists because my music tastes are, in a nutshell: One Direction, Halsey, and film scores/soundtracks. Which does not a varied playlist make. So while debating whether to skip a post or not, the “Books as Netflix Series” trend exploded on Twitter…
Immediately, I knew I needed to hop on the bandwagon and make an edit for The Devouring Gray for the tour! Again, I was planning to have it posted yesterday, though I should never underestimate how slow I can be. But better late than never! I already posted this up on Twitter (at literally 1:42AM, because I’m impatient about things when I love how they turn out), but I wanted to have it on my blog as well.
And oh my goodness, now I just want to make like a million of these things…
The Devouring Gray — a Netflix Original Series
(click on the images to view them in full size!)
The email promotion was done completely on my own (on a whim when I happened to receive one for another, actual show while working on this). For the other two I used pre-existing templates, which can be found here (series summary) and here (episode list). Ultimately, the size/quality on the episode list file wasn’t quite what I wanted it to be, so I used it to create the episode list, got rid of all the other layers in the file, saved what I wanted as a PNG, and then moved it over to the series summary one and edited everything together until I was happy.
All of the images were found on Pixabay, Unsplash, or Pexels. These websites offer free stock photography, unlike other favourite websites such as Pinterest, We Heart It, or Instagram (or searching via Google Images) where photographs and pictures have often been stolen/reposted, or aren’t actually free—even if what you’re making is for personal, non-commercial use.
Seriously, though, these were so much fun to put together! I tried to squeeze in as many easter eggs as I possibly could. These include:
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All of the other shows relate back to The Devouring Gray in one way or another (okay, less so for The Witcher). The Raven Boys and Stranger Things were the two main comp titles leading up to it’s release, and are also featured in the blurb on the front cover of the book. Speaking of that blurb, it’s from Claire Legrand, who wrote Sawkill Girls, another title with vibes similar to The Devouring Gray. I chose Winterwood as another book with an atmospheric forest setting. Lastly there’s Wicked Saints, because author friendships—and characters who are disasters (but we love them for it).
The Series Logo
My font choice was directly impacted by the UK cover and edition of the book, which features the most beautiful sprayed edges in bright pink (fun fact: the UK edition of The Deck of Omens has sprayed edges in blue!), and pink lettering inspired by neon signs—which remind me of the diner where Isaac works.
I found the font used in my edit, which is called Neon Absolute Sans, on Dafont. This is one of my favourite sites that I’ve used for years to find fonts for tons of personal projects.
However, when using this site it’s important to be aware of how the creators choose to offer their font designs. This one, for example, is a free for personal use demo font; there is a different version of the font available to purchase for commercial use. Other fonts have different licenses, so it’s good to be aware of them prior to download and use.
The Episodes
Okay, this was easily the most fun part of the entire project! I knew going into this that I wanted to feature an episode list, and I’m so glad I stuck with that. The hardest part was trying to figure out how to fit the book into five episodes, but I made it easier (?) by using math. Which is hilarious, because I hate math. But lo, an equation!
Total Number of Pages ÷ Number of Episodes = Total Pages Covered Per Episode
In other words: 355 ÷ 5 = 71. Then all I had to do was flip through my copy of the book in 71 page segments (give or take a few to round to the closest chapter ending), and decide which parts within those 71 pages sounded like the most enticing things to mention in an Episode Summary!
Side Note: This took longer that expected because for some reason I thought the file had six episode slots, and I didn’t realize my mistake until I’d originally written summaries for three of the episodes. That made for an 11 page difference, which is a lot even if doesn’t seem like a lot. Remember when I said I’m bad at math?
I also tried to include as many easter eggs within these descriptions as possible, without being too spoilery for anyone who hasn’t yet read the book. My personal favourites:
- “Harper reaps her reward” (a line taken almost word-for-word from the book)
- “Swords are drawn” (scene where character A holds a sword to character B’s throat)
- “Augusta Hawthorne takes matters into her own hands” (a reference to her powers)
I was slightly less creative with the titles for each episode, but I still think they fit well. Here are the transcripts for each episode in case you have trouble reading them in the images, or are unable to.
1. Welcome to Four Paths
Another body shows up in the woods. A grieving Violet Saunders arrives in town, garnering the attention of the other Founding Families.
2. Branches and Stones
Harper’s loyalties are tested when given a chance to prove herself. Violet makes a discovery. She and Isaac go looking for answers. The Gray beckons.
3. Church of the Four Deities
Justin tries to make amends. Violet suffers a loss. Tensions run high, and Isaac finally loses control. Harper reaps her reward.
4. Daggers and Bones
The Founders’ Pageant arrives, and more than one person gets lost in the woods. Swords are drawn, and Augusta Hawthorne takes matters into her own hands.
5. The Devouring Gray
Harper is betrayed. The Founding Families must work together to stop a ritual and defeat the Beast. Someone makes an unexpected return to Four Paths.
Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed my take on The Devouring Gray as a Netflix Original Series! I also hope you enjoyed getting to hear more about the decisions that went into this behind the scenes. I guess you can take the girl out of the Art & Design program (via graduation), but you can’t take the Art & Design program (aka needing to explain your choices in critiques) out of the girl.
doodles and books 
I love the thought that you put into this! Thanks for sharing the behind the scenes. I would totally watch this show, of course, lol.
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Thank you! I would absolutely watch it, too!! (One of my friends on Twitter who isn’t as much a reader as I am saw my tweet with these edits and thought they were real and even went so far as to go looking for it on Netflix hahaha)
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