I’ve been sitting here, going nuts since about 5 am when I got up to realize my desktop (my main one) will not start up. Doesn’t even attempt to turn on. Its getting power to it and I have hopes its only a power supply box issue but I won’t know for sure until after 10 am EDT since Best Buy doesn’t open until then. I have 1200 gigs worth of stuff on this computer. I have vital info backed up but the backups are from almost 4 weeks ago (I do this massive ones monthly on the 5th– I shit you not). Its better than nothing I guess. The multiple hard drives on the desktop are holding covers, email and all my friggin programs hostage. Read more…
This is super fast, super easy one. Once I learn this new capture program more I’ll show you how to make some more advanced static banner ads. This should get you going.
I’m back again to share with you some concept to final peeks at a few of the covers I’ve worked on. Today, we’ll start with Twice the Night by Dawn Halliday. This was the first cover I’d been handed that specifically requested a dark fantasy/urban fantasy feel. I have to admit, that made me giddy right there.
Title – Twice the Night
Author- Dawn Halliday
Paranormal Red Hot
Dawn did a great sum up of her story. She provided details on all her characters and embedded pics of covers she really likes to help set the tone of what it was she was hoping for. (She offered examples from NY and Samhain)
"Maybe Tamara and Cole embracing with Duncan in the background reaching for her? Something like that might be cool."
1. I received the cover art form and got to work right away on what I envision. (First person who laughs at my concept sketch has to listen to me sing Poison songs for two days straight).
(Like the head with no face in the background *snicker*? Hey, I was in a hurry and really excited.)
2. The hunt for just the right stock photos was on.
The window was the first pic I found that I fell in love with. It had the grunge element already there and from the second I read Dawn’s form, I wanted the other man looking in–that out in the cold feel. The man was the next pic I found. (He did not win man of the year award from author or editor… snicker… but he was one of the easy fixes artists love). The couple was the third pic I found and I fell in love with the pose. It was opposite what I’d first envisioned and offered a lot more of their bodies, which I hadn’t planned to show, but the overall feel of it was too "right" for the cover to pass up on it.
3. I don’t have all my comps for this one, mainly because I did a cleaning of my files before the idea of sharing all the steps came to me. This comp is VERY close to the first comp. What was the sticking point was the man in the background and finding just the right look for him. Dawn and her editor, the lovely Sasha, had (I think) one other change request which was for me to increase the size of the word "the"– (done by this comp already).
The next comp was the third man’s a charm winner. He fit the feel of the character more and also gave the expression needed to pull off the overall look.
4. After a few minor adjustments…. The FINAL high res
(side note– I think the web guy might have boo booed on the cover artist name. It was only me, I swear. LOL)
~***~
Since I’m running out of days for the workshop and talk too much, I’m including another start to finish in today’s session.
Bound by Steel by Kirsten Saell. This was tricky because its the third book in the series and the first two were done by the same artist so they would have an overall different feel in the end than my style. I opened my email from Scott (Art Director at Samhain) and dug into the art form.
Title of Book- Bound by Steel
Author- Kirsten Saell
fantasy romance
Kristen summed up her story nicely. She gave great details about each of the main characters.
She offered this as possibility of what she might be looking for…
"I was thinking a view from above– a bed with rumpled sheets, the hero’s and the second heroine, Kaela’s naked legs tangled together, shown from mid-thigh down. And the heroine Lianon, lying on her back partly covered by the sheet with her head at the foot of the bed alongside their legs, eyes closed, head turned toward them so her nose is almost pressed against their calves, with a secretive little smile on her face."
1. I instantly dug into making this cover without a sketch on hand. The first version I did never saw the light of day let alone went to the author (hey, that happens too… you think you have it, get the comp all done and BAM you have a case of WTF was I thinking so you do it over again without embarrassing yourself by sharing with the author/editor or the world. This should also prove I work much better when I take that 2 mins to sketch something out.)
Here is the first comp the editor/author was given.
3. Feedback comes. Oops… wrong kind of sword. Kristen really fell in love with the font used on her first two books in the series and wondered if I could use the same one. I put a call out on the Samhain artist loop and Christine (who did books 1 and 2) answered instantly, telling me which she’d used. She also asked if it would be possible for me to put the goatee thingie (like my tech terms here) on the hero.
4. Approval from editor/author arrives with a tiny request that they actually feel bad asking me (I always think that’s cute). The author has a sword in the book that’s a blend between two types of swords and wondered if I could adjust the handle to reflect that.
*PRIZES-If you win a prize in a contest or theme day (etc) from Mandy's blog or from any of its affiliates and do not claim it within 30 days, its void.
0
