Hey everyone! For those of you who are already following my FB Page you most likely have already seen this but for those of you who haven't I would like to take this time to show you all the cover art that I have picked to be the cover of the first Faedlands book.
Origin:
I am one of those people that if I am wandering through a bookstore and a cover catches my eye I will walk over and pick up the book to read a bit.
I wanted a cover that would catch people's eye, yes, but I also wanted one that would display certain aspects of my story. I wanted it to fit the general feel and to give people a non-verbal connection to what the book might be about. So making a cover myself became very important for me.
At first I really didn't know what I wanted. After browsing various wallpapers and stock images online I somehow decided that I wanted a Tree as the focal point of the picture. I also decided that half of the picture should be bright and colorful while half of it remained in shadows. (Referencing the state of the world in the book)
I eventually found an interesting picture that held the qualities of what I wanted.
I emailed it to Patti Roberts, Author of the PARADOX series (Check it out HERE if you get the chance)
She sent me back a samples of text that could work as titles. While I liked the image I felt that the vector styled art wasn't going to fit the tone of the book since while bright and colorful, my book would thematically have some pretty dark scenes in it and a somewhat somber tone at times.
I tried to make my own image from scratch but due to not knowing much about photoshop at the time it didn't come out too well.
I eventually asked an artist friend of mine if she would like to take on the project.
Over coffee we discussed what I wanted from the picture and different styles to go with it.
Eventually, we decided to use the concept of a world tree from norse mythology but alter it in certain aspects. The central image would consist of a large tree with it's roots entangling the world. Half of the tree would be in full bloom while the other would be dead and have snow covering it's branches. (Another reference to the story)
After a few weeks the painting was done and she had it scanned digitally at a blueprint shop since normal photo places did not have copiers capable of scanning that large of an image.
Here is how the painting came out.
Origin:
I am one of those people that if I am wandering through a bookstore and a cover catches my eye I will walk over and pick up the book to read a bit.
I wanted a cover that would catch people's eye, yes, but I also wanted one that would display certain aspects of my story. I wanted it to fit the general feel and to give people a non-verbal connection to what the book might be about. So making a cover myself became very important for me.
At first I really didn't know what I wanted. After browsing various wallpapers and stock images online I somehow decided that I wanted a Tree as the focal point of the picture. I also decided that half of the picture should be bright and colorful while half of it remained in shadows. (Referencing the state of the world in the book)
I eventually found an interesting picture that held the qualities of what I wanted.
I emailed it to Patti Roberts, Author of the PARADOX series (Check it out HERE if you get the chance)
She sent me back a samples of text that could work as titles. While I liked the image I felt that the vector styled art wasn't going to fit the tone of the book since while bright and colorful, my book would thematically have some pretty dark scenes in it and a somewhat somber tone at times.
I tried to make my own image from scratch but due to not knowing much about photoshop at the time it didn't come out too well.
I eventually asked an artist friend of mine if she would like to take on the project.
Over coffee we discussed what I wanted from the picture and different styles to go with it.
Eventually, we decided to use the concept of a world tree from norse mythology but alter it in certain aspects. The central image would consist of a large tree with it's roots entangling the world. Half of the tree would be in full bloom while the other would be dead and have snow covering it's branches. (Another reference to the story)
After a few weeks the painting was done and she had it scanned digitally at a blueprint shop since normal photo places did not have copiers capable of scanning that large of an image.
Here is how the painting came out.
At first I didn't honestly know what to do with it.
But I ended up putting it into photoshop and messed with it a bit. The fact that it was such a large file made it very easy for me to make adjustments to it and I found myself learning how to do alot that I wasn't able to figure out before.
And after making 7 different versions of the picture, I finally found the one that I liked the most. I added text to it and messed around a bit and here is what I came up with.
WARNING:
I didn't have the resized version of the file on this computer I'm posting from so the image may be obstructed or pixelated due to the size of the image.
But I ended up putting it into photoshop and messed with it a bit. The fact that it was such a large file made it very easy for me to make adjustments to it and I found myself learning how to do alot that I wasn't able to figure out before.
And after making 7 different versions of the picture, I finally found the one that I liked the most. I added text to it and messed around a bit and here is what I came up with.
WARNING:
I didn't have the resized version of the file on this computer I'm posting from so the image may be obstructed or pixelated due to the size of the image.
So?
What does everyone think of this as the cover?
I'd love to hear what you think of it so please let me know in the comments section below :)
Til Next Time! :)
-Ryan
What does everyone think of this as the cover?
I'd love to hear what you think of it so please let me know in the comments section below :)
Til Next Time! :)
-Ryan
