If you got this far into the site, I’d like to share some insights with you. This book was not written in the traditional way as most books are. I used a similar approach to producing this book as I did when producing some of my award-winning shows for TV and live entertainment.

Here is the process I used to create this one-of-a-kind illustrated history of New York City:

• I created a detailed master layout of each spread of the book.
• I hired a skilled artist trained in computer-generated art (CGA.)
• He started by building a 3D model of the environment for each illustration in this book.
• I set up a photo shoot for the characters that will populate that view (I hired the photographer and actors, rented a studio and had the makeup done.)
• My wife and her friend made a number of the period costumes for the actors, but the rest had to be rented.
• The photographs were sent to me and to another photorealistic computer artist to add the expensive period costume details and accessories found only in museums (feathered hats, weapons, etc.)
• The background illustration for each book-spread moves on to the next stage that makes everything look so real — Photoshop rendering that I did along with the artist. We often worked with 1-pixel brushes over the canvas size- 15000 pixels x 7,500 pixels to achieve the desired realistic effect and allow for that impressive zoom effect.
• Then we inserted the characters into each photo spread.
• I consulted leading historical experts on the time period to make sure that the work is historically correct.
• While I worked on finishing all the fine artistic details, I hired a sound designer to produce the soundtrack to accompany the visuals for each spread to give an even richer cultural experience to the viewer.
• I hired editors to edit the text and a book designer to create a professionally designed book.
• I purchased the commercial rights to the wide range of the original visual elements used in the work.
• These are the costs before publishing and marketing kicks in.

The whole process for EACH SPREAD takes no less than 6 months of work and costs between $5,500 to $6,500. There are 14 spreads in Book 1.

No wonder traditional publishers wouldn’t come near this ambitious project.

But this project had to be completed and published. I was not going to give up on my commitment to bring this work to life.

Fortunately, I had the full support of my wonderful wife, Lena. She and I structured our family life in many ways to accommodate the book’s production over the last 4 years.

But we couldn’t cover the entire expense of creating this book. That’s when our first ANGEL SUPPORTERS, our close family members, came in with a combined gift of $30,000.

Obviously, we’ll need more Angels to make this book available to students and Social Studies teachers throughout the state of New York who are very much in need of such a history visualization tool. There are more than 6 million school students and approximately 40,000 Social Studies teachers statewide.

With your help, we can also enrich tourists’ experience here by providing them with vivid glimpses into the city’s past, and give visitors a rare gift. On average 60 million tourists visit New York annually.

As an Angel-Supporter:

* At the level of $50 and up, you will receive your copy of Book 1: New York as New Amsterdam -1600s as a multimedia eBook, and an “ANGEL SUPPORTER of 400 Years of NY History” certificate signed by me.

* At the level of $150 and up, in addition to the items above, your name and picture will appear in the special supporter appreciation section of this site.

* At the level of $300 and up, in addition to the other thank you gifts, I will place a short introductory video of you or your business. And, your name will be entered into a lottery. The winners will pose for the book’s historical characters to appear in the following volumes 2 and 3.

If you’d like to learn more about this project or have questions for me, please email me at: Author@VoskTimeTravelGuide.com