Archive for Shelf Candy
Shelf Candy is a meme hosted by Maria @anightsdreamofbooks. Click the button above to see what other covers are being featured this week.
Today’s featured cover is THE DEVIL’S METAL by Karina Halle. This is one of those books where the cover art completely won me over. I stumbled across it while clicking through Goodreads and, after reading the synopsis, I knew at once I had to read the book. After getting in contact with Halle to find out who did the art, I was surprised to learn she did it herself.
Please welcome author and artist Karina Halle as she discusses her inspiration and process for the cover of THE DEVIL’S METAL!
SWR: Can you tell us a little bit about The Devil’s Metal and its heroine?
The Devil’s Metal is pretty much Almost Famous meets The Devil’s Advocate. It’s about a college student, Dawn Emerson, who is trying to gain respect as a writer and ends up going on tour with her favorite band. It’s very loosely based on my experience as a working music journalist…just set in 1974. Oh, and throw in some HOT rock stars and some psycho demons. It’s honestly like nothing out there, but if you like strong female protagonists, sexy times, music and suspense, it’s a good book to try.
SWR: Why did you decide to do the cover art yourself as opposed to working with a cover artist?
I always have ideas so I usually just need someone to make those ideas happen. I am definitely not opposed to working side by side with someone, especially someone who gets the gist of the books, the industry, and my vision.
SWR: What was the inspiration for the cover art?
I love Deviant Art for stock photography, so I was looking for a gorgeous redhead to put on the cover as Dawn. But I wanted a sense of horror too, something to juxtapose the beauty, hence the devilish flames.
SWR: What was your inspiration and process for creating the cover?
I wanted something very metal and with a 70’s dusky vibe, think Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I think I achieved it.
The Devil’s Metal original mock-up
SWR: You worked with artist Bret Taylor to refine the artwork. How did you two collaborate to finalize the art?
Well I do the mockup on my own first (see photo above) then I get him to refine it in InDesign or Photoshop. It’s a lot of back and forth.
SWR: What was the most important idea you needed the cover to convey?
The “bad-assness” lol.
SWR: Have you worked on other covers for your series?
I’ve worked on all of them in some way. Darkhouse features a photo I took of my friend, then I found some great stock background for it. Same goes for Red Fox – my friend and then a photo I took in Palm Springs. The cover for Dead Sky Morning was a photograph I took of my parent’s zodiac that’s tendered to their boat. Lying Season was a photo I took of my friend in my apartment – I got to pour blood down her arm (fake blood, of course). On Demon Wings features my best friend on the cover – we took the photo in her apartment and I got her to bend over her couch backward! The cover of The Dex-Files features the silhouette of my partner. I’m proud to say I did that entire cover by myself, not needing any graphic artist involved.
SWR: Who or what are some of your favorite cover artists or book covers?
Oh wow, great question! I love books, my bookshelves are filled with hardcovers and paperbacks and my Kindle is overflowing. I am a sucker for a great cover and I love treating them as artwork. Ones I could stare at all day include: Pure by Juliana Baggot, For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund, Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff and a bunch of others I can’t think of cuz I’m not near my bookshelf!
SWR: Finally, what are some of your upcoming projects that you’d like to share with us?
I’ve got the 6th book in the Experiment in Terror Series coming out on November 15th. Sins and Needles, a romantic suspense thriller involving a grafter and a tattoo artist will be out in January (it has an amazing cover, btw, courtesy of Najla Qamber). I should have an EIT novella and the next Devil’s Metal book out in the spring. Plus tons of other secret projects!
And the Pivot Quiz…
What is your favorite word?
“Scrumtrulescent.”
What is your least favorite word?
Moist.
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Music. Good music.
What turns you off?
Doubt.
What is your favorite curse word?
Fuck.
What sound or noise do you love?
Waves breaking.
What sound or noise do you hate?
Babies crying.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Photography. I am a music photojournalist, but I’d love to do more.
What profession would you not like to do?
Customer service.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
“Hey, you made it. Beer’s over there.”
Check out Karina Halle’s THE DEVIL’S METAL!
TITLE: The Devil’s Metal
SERIES: Devil’s #1
AUTHOR: Karina Halle
PUBLISHER: Diversion Books
PUBLICATION DATE: Sept 21, 2012
ISBN: 1478391626
PURCHASE BOOK:
Amazon | B & N | Book Depository
GOODREADS SUMMARY:
It’s the summer of 1974 and 21-year old Dawn Emerson has only three things she wants to do: compete one last time in the Ellensburg Rodeo, win back her ex-boyfriend Ryan, and become the best damn music journalist at Central Washington University. But all her plans are left in the dust when she’s contacted by Creem magazine to go on the road with one of her favorite groups, the up-and-coming metal band, Hybrid.
At first the assignment reads like a dream come true. Not only will Dawn land some much-needed credibility as a female music journalist, but she’ll finally get to experience life from the other side of the stage, and maybe crack the drunken, enigmatic code that is guitarist Sage Knightly. Instead, Dawn finds herself on an aging tour bus filled with ego-maniacs, band politics and a whole lot of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll. When monsters start showing up in dressing rooms and some of Sage’s groupies become increasingly strange and dangerous, Dawn discovers the band is not only going places – they’re going straight to Hell.
And Dawn has a backstage pass.
The Devil’s Metal is the first book in a two-part New Adult Horror/Paranormal Romance and very (very!) loosely based on the author’s exploits as a music journalist. Hell comes in different forms.
About the Author & Artist
The daughter of a Norwegian Viking and a Finnish Moomin, Karina Halle grew up in Vancouver, Canada with trolls and eternal darkness on the brain. This soon turned into a love of all things that go bump in the night and a rather sadistic appreciation for freaking people out. Like many of the flawed characters she writes, Karina never knew where to find herself and has dabbled in acting, make-up artistry, film production, screenwriting, photography, travel writing and music journalism. She eventually found herself in the pages of the very novels she wrote (if only she had looked there to begin with).
Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island on the coast of British Columbia where she’s preparing for the zombie apocalypse.
Please visit KARINA at her favorite spots:
WEBSITE | GOODREADS | TWITTER | FACEBOOK
SWR: You became a professional artist at a young age, 19. When did you know you wanted to be an artist? Was there a particular moment that you remember in which you had that realization?
Honestly, I don’t remember the day I decided to be a professional artist; I actually think we can’t decide things like that, it’s not a one-day decision but a lifetime wish. I’m somehow involved with art since in my childhood as a born traditional drawer (for fun), I really didn’t intend to take art that serious…It’s strange because nobody really supports a child when she says “I want to be an artist”, you know, people react like you wanted to be the president or an astronaut. However now I know, both are not impossible at all. The day people started to support my art was the day I knew I could be an artist.
SWR: Who are some of the artists who’ve influenced or inspired you?
Victoria Frances, Tom Bagshaw, Ray Caesar, Eugenio Recuenco, Tim Walker and of course, Tim Burton…
SWR: What is your creative process and are there any rituals or routines you have prior to starting a project?
The very first thing I do is to organize my ideas and to collect resources to start imagining how the final art will look like. I do few sketches with different colors ‘till find the right thing. Most of the times, before starting any work, I have the scene haunting my head for weeks, so when I start, all I need to do is to follow the hints my mind give me. And sure, music always present.
SWR: What is your favorite medium to work in?
Collage
SWR: How would you describe your style?
Macabre, sad, dramatic, cinematic.
SWR: If your art had a soundtrack, what or who would be on it?
Danny Elfman
SWR: The cover for THE GARDEN OF PERPETUAL SLUMBER was art you had already made and then adapted for the book. What was the inspiration for it?
It’s a 2009 art and I remember of listening to Rammstein songs at this time. So, that’s why the title was in German “Das Alte Leid” that means “The Old Grief”.
SWR: How did you adapt it for the book? What was the direction you got from the art director?
Actually, I was the art director, we only had to do some adptations like the statues and flowers to make it look like a cemetery. It was a big coincidence because the story was so similar with the art itself, they were made for each other.
SWR: How did you create the cover? What was your process before finally getting to the final image?
I had to totally redo my old artwork but few things were changed, like the background, and the quality as well. I also did the back cover and all the book design. The process was really simple because that was exactly the way the author wanted it.
SWR: If you were given the opportunity to create the cover for any one book, what would that book be and why?
I really don’t know, I don’t have anything special in mind. But I think I would really enjoy creating new versions of old stories like Beauty and the Beast and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or anything horror/gothic related, would be cool. I like fantasy art and books…but you know, wish the authors could explore more of the gothic/surreal side too as happened with The Garden of Perpetual Slumber. I don’t like to be labeled as “specialist in this theme” because I do any style and like to mix them all.
SWR: What side projects, passion projects, or upcoming cover art would you like to share with us?
Thanks God, cover art is always coming!
Im going to make the second book of “Splintered” by A.G.Howard together with Abrams Books Publishing for the next 2 or 3 months. On the other hand, I’m with a personal project since the beginning of this year called MORBID DREAM, hopefully so it’s going to be lauch next year. Can’t say much of both but it’s worth waiting for! (And just remembering you all I’m not only a book cover artist, as many of you think, I do cd album art as well).
And for fun, the Pivot Quiz!
What is your favorite word?
Nightmare
What is your least favorite word?
Tushie
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Music
What turns you off?
Noise, hot days, phone and obligations.
What is your favorite curse word?
Shit
What sound or noise do you love?
Clock
What sound or noise do you hate?
Saxophone
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Opera singer
What profession would you not like to do?
Anything related to Math or long hours talking.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Welcome!
All images are courtesy of Nathalia Suellen and are not to be copied without express permission from the artist.
***
What’s your favorite Nathália Suellen cover?
About the Artist
Nathália Suellen Gonçalves de Lima Fonseca (born February 20, 1989) is a dark artist from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Self-taught, Nathália’s artwork portrays a twisted and disturbing dreamlike world characterized by the use of dark/macabre elements, surreal concepts, haunting sceneries and otherworldly creatures, done through a mixture of photography, 3D, and digital painting.
Please visit NATHALIA at her favorite spots:
WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | STORE
Shelf Candy is a meme hosted by Maria @anightsdreamofbooks. Click the button above to see what other covers are being featured this week.
This week’s Shelf Candy features the damn cool cover for Chuck Wendig’s Blackbirds. I honestly can’t think of a cover this year that has been more discussed, more highlighted, more praised than this one. What I love about it is that you really can’t take the cover all in at one glance. It forces you to lean in for a closer look. The layers are almost a scavenger hunt of clues to the story. We have Cape Town based designer/illustrator/artist Joey Hi-Fi to thank for this awesomeballs cover art. Please welcome Joey to SWR as he discusses his creative process, his influences, and the significance of the name, Joey Hi Fi.
She-Wolf Interview
I started drawing when I was very young – and never stopped!
Chris Ware, Hieronymus Bosch, Jonathan Lethem, Alan Fletcher, Charles Burns, Basil Wolverton, Daniel Clowes, Chip Kidd, Katsuhiro Otomo, Edward Gorey…. to name just a few.
SWR: Who are some of your favorite cover artists?
SWR: What was your first book cover?
‘MAVERICK, Extraordinary Women From South Africa’s Past’ by Lauren Beukes (Author of Zoo City).
SWR: What is your creative process and are there any rituals or routines you have prior to starting a project?
I work in a range of styles and on diverse projects – so each project requires a slightly different approach. For book covers I start with reading the book – followed by information gathering. I try to get as much information from the author and publisher as I can. Any small detail could spark and idea. I then do some conceptualizing and rough sketches, after which I move onto my computer, where I work over them or draw using a Wacom tablet. I often work in multiple layers, so working in Illustrator or Photoshop streamlines the whole process.
SWR: How did you get involved with the cover art for Chuck Wendig’s Blackbirds and Mockingbird?
I’d worked with Angry Robot before doing an illustration for the Moxyland UK cover (Written by Lauren Beukes).
But it was my cover for Zoo City (Also by Lauren Beukes) that convinced them I was the right cover artist for Blackbirds and
SWR: Can you briefly walk us through your process for creating the covers?
I compiled a list of elements / scenes from the book I wanted to weave into the portrait of Miriam Black. I then started with rough sketches on paper of Miriam Black. Once i felt i had the pose and tone right – I worked out the interplay between the negative and positive spaces – and how the illustration would work with the title typography. I then moved onto the computer. For the cover, which has a distressed ink, brush & pen style, i drew some elements, then scanned them in and worked over them in photoshop. Other elements for the cover I illustrated completely in Illustrator & photoshop. The entire process was akin to assembling a rather complex and macabre jigsaw puzzle.
SWR: These covers caused a stir in the blogosphere – everyone loved them, they were featured everywhere for favorite new cover lists. What did you think of all the buzz they created?
The positive reaction to both covers filled me with both elation… and relief.
Often when you try something a little different for a Book Cover, as I try to do, you’re never quite sure what outcome and response will be.
I tend to isolate myself when working on a cover. Imagine a mad scientist working manically in his lab wondering whether his race of atomic robot creations will indeed conquer the world – and you have a pretty accurate image! So when your creation is at last loosed upon the world, and achieves it’s desired goal – it inspires you to further feats of creativity!
SWR: Did you read the manuscripts prior to creating the artwork, and, if
not, what direction did you get from the art director?
I make a point of reading all the books I design/illustrate covers for. Although in the case of Blackbirds and Mockingbird - Chuck Wendig was still busy writing the book.
So i was unable to read a manuscript. Thankfully though, he & Angry Robot provided a thorough brief with enough information & inspiration for me to work with. They provided me with an initial concept (A woman merging with a flock of birds), a description of Miriam Black from the book as well some jumping-off points for me to explore. Something I could really sink my fangs into.
SWR: What was the most important thing you wanted to convey in the cover?
Introducing the character of the main protagonist Miriam Black in an interesting way – while also capturing the macabre tone of book.
I wanted the covers to work on two levels – what you see initially – and then what you see on closer inspection.
I like illustrations with a fair amount of detail that warrants repeat viewings.
Almost like a macabre Where’s Wally.
SWR: If you were given the opportunity to create the cover for any one book, past or present, what would that book be and why?
Tough one. There are so many! I always wanted to do a cover for the cult classic ‘House of Leaves’ by Mark Z. Danielewski.
It’s a book I really love. Dark & somber in tone (which i like) and unlike any Mystery / horror story you will ever read.
It’s full on evocative and unsettling imagery.
In addition to that - the page layouts in the book are unusual and innovative. It makes for an immersive reading experience.
SWR: Favorite book, favorite movie, favorite band?
I’ve never been one who is able to decide on a favourite anything.
But amongst my favourite books lurks A Scanner Darkly by Philip K Dick.
John Carpenter’s The Thing holds a special place in my heart.
And I’ve spent many an hour drawing to the post-rock majesty of Explosions In The Sky.
Currently I’m wrapping up a cover design/illustration for a limited edition re-release of Simon Morden’s Thy Kingdom Come ( a prequel to his award-winning Metrozone series). I’m also working on a graphic novel – which i am writing and illustrating between paying commissions. The effort of which is killing me slowly between the hours of 10pm till midnight. This is the only time I seem to get to work on it! I usually reply with ‘Coming Winter 2040′ when asked when it will be done.
SWR: Finally, what is the significance of the name Joey Hi-Fi?
My alter-ego was born partly out of necessity and partly out of my love of comic books (and an episode of the Simpsons). I was working full-time at a design studio, but wanted to work on illustration & book cover commissions after hours. Knowing my boss would not completely approve - i decided to hide my identity and started taking on additional work under the guise of my alter-ego Joey Hi-Fi. A mild mannered designer by day – a half crazed illustrator by night! The name was born while watching an episode of the Simpsons (where homer adopts the power name of ‘Max Power’) with a friend.
Mouthwatering
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Mystery
4. What turns you off?
Design by committee
Any word followed by ….’Balls’ ie: Fuckballs
6. What sound or noise do you love?
The sound of someone playing a piano
Writer
9. What profession would you not like to do?
Politician
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
It would no doubt be a very long and awkward silence
Thanks for stopping by the blog, Joey!
***
You can find Blackbirds at the following links:
AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY
All images are courtesy of Joey Hi-Fi and are not to be copied without permission of the artist.
Shelf Candy is a meme hosted by Maria @anightsdreamofbooks. Click the button above to see what other covers are being featured this week.
This week’s Shelf Candy features the gorgeous cover for Midsummer Night by Freda Warrington. I first saw this cover while wandering the aisles at my local bookstore. I loved its ethereal quality and sense of classic romanticism. The artist responsible for this work is Chelsey Award winner Kinuko Y. Craft, a celebrated artist whose work has graced the covers of several of my favorite books. I am excited to welcome Kinuko to the blog as she discusses her creative process, Jane Austen, and the artists that influence her.
SWR: Describe the moment you knew you wanted to be an artist.
I have been obsessed with drawing and painting for as long as I can remember. They’re two things that have been my twins, my language, my best friends and my companions. But I never really thought I was an artist. Then I went to the The Kanazawa Municipal College of Fine and Industrial Art without much of thought of doing anything. Reality hit me hard when I graduated from art school and I had to leave home and become an independent person. I decided to become a commercial artist to support myself. I still don’t know if I can call myself an Artist. It’s such a pompous and empty word, rather like walking around in a suit two sizes too large.
SWR: Who are some of the artists who have influenced or inspired you?
I loved Italian Renaissance painters work throughout my childhood, perhaps due to the fact they were all so very well executed, beautifully depicted and such mysteriously narrative images. I was fortunate to have seen them and they were known to me only because of my grandfather’s collection of art books. I consider myself as a some sort of Symbolist now. But I still carry the impact that I felt when I first looked at all of those pages of the beautiful images and colors of the work of the Italian masters.
SWR: How did you get involved with creating cover art and what was your first book cover?
I had worked with artists representatives always until 2002. Because I wanted to hide myself behind them. My first cover, I think, was author Marvin Kaye’s “Incredible Umbrella” I shamelessly created a totally insignificant painting! It was 1979 or 1980….. or may be 1890.
SWR: How would you describe your style and how has it evolved over the years?
I started with a haphazard style after leaving the School of Art Institute of Chicago, then trying everything and anything for a while. My interest went from the Renaissance to Classical Romanticism to symbolism, while other people went to the Renaissance to classical to Impressionism and to modernism. When other people were in Impressionism, my attention was towards, Doré Moreau, Klimpt, and the Pre-Raphaelites, etc. Now I consider myself sort of a symbolist.
SWR: What is your creative process and are there any rituals or routines you have prior to starting a project?
I completely immerse myself in the story, searching out any possible or attractive images that are triggered by anything I see or come cross. When something finally hits, I start drawing idea sketches. It often takes many, many drawings until I finally find something that seems if it might work. When I am finally comfortable, I make final, highly detailed drawing. It is very often quite a long process, but I am the happiest person in the world when I finally find it or it finds me. The rest is osmosis.
SWR: How did you get involved with the cover art for Midsummer Night?
Midsummer Night was author Freda Warrington’s second book after her Elfland by Tor. I finished the 3rd and last of the trilogy in February, The Grail of the Summer Stars. It will be published in 2013. For the work, I owe a huge debt to Irene Gallo, Art Director at Tor Books, who sought me out for the assignment
SWR: Had you read the manuscript prior to creating the art and, if not, what direction did you get from the art director?Yes, I read the manuscript start to end as I do for every cover assignment. I have had a great working relationship with Irene. She trusts that I will do something appropriate and has always left me to do my own thing.
SWR: What was the single most important thing you wanted to convey in the cover?
An image that makes the viewers wonder and want to know about the story. And it should be enjoyable for me to create it.
SWR: What was the inspiration for this cover other than the author’s text?
The Author created the atmosphere, then with my imagination I made something visible. The author’s thought might be different from that of the painters, for no two people have an identical imagination.
SWR: You also created one of my favorite covers for a series of books I adore – The Barque of Frailty (Jane Austen Mystery#6). Are you a Jane Austen fan and what was the inspiration for this very dramatic and beautiful cover?
Yes, I am a Jane Austen fan and I love her novels. Justice is always done and good always wins. The story had many visually interesting selections. I picked the one that most attracted my interest and my imagination served the rest.
SWR: If you were given the opportunity to create the cover for any one book,past or present, what would that book be and why?
Homer’s Illiad and Odyssey. It has endlessly fascinated me ever since I first read it.
SWR: What side projects, passion projects, or upcoming cover art would you like to share with us?
I have been working on paintings for a picture book — The Beauty and The Beast — for few months, which I actually started a few years ago and had put aside till early this year. The work must be finished early next year and I am hoping it will be published fall 2013. The publisher is HarperCollins.
And for fun, the Pivot quiz…
1. What is your favorite word?
Primeval forests
2. What is your least favorite word?
Insensitive person
3. What turns you on creatively,spiritually or emotionally?
beauty (subjectively)
4. What turns you off?
ugliness (subjectively)
5. What is your favorite curse word?
Many, but all are unprintable, plus sometimes a couple of foreign words to supplement for a special occasion.
6. What sound or noise do you love?
The sound of wind passing through trees
7. What sound or noise do you hate?
Constant industrial noise.
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Maybe a musical instrument player, or perhaps a fortune teller.
9. What profession would you not like to do?
Cleaning anything, my own house especially.
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
I want to hear “All your dogs are waiting for you, and some of the people you want to see. By the way you may eat as much chocolate as you want without getting sick.”
SWR: Thanks for coming by the blog, Kinuko!
Midsummer Night by Freda Warrington, TOR Books, November 2010
You can find Midsummer Night at the following links:
AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY
All images are courtesy of Kinuko Y. Craft and are not to be copied without permission of the artist.
About the Artist
Kinuko Y. Craft is one of the most widely respected and well known fantasy artists in the United States today. She considers herself a storyteller. Her past commissions have included paintings for the book covers of many well-known fantasy authors, opera posters, fairytale books and covers for many national magazines. During her career she has become known for meticulous attention to detail, a passionate love of fine art and a deep knowledge of art history. Her fairytale books are currently distributed in the USA, other English language countries, Europe, Greece, China and Korea. Her art is also widely licensed on calendars, posters, greeting cards and other consumer goods. Her work has been widely exhibited and is now in private collections around the world.
Ms. Craft is a graduate, BFA 1962, of The Kanazawa Municipal College of Fine and Industrial Art (known in Japan as The Kanazawa Bidai). She was born in Japan and came to the United States in the early sixties where she continued studies in design and illustration at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for a year and a half. Subsequently, she worked for several years in well-known Chicago art studios. By the end of the decade her work was in wide demand and she had begun her long and successful career as a freelance illustrator. For most of this time she worked in editorial and advertising markets where her work regularly appeared in national magazines and newspapers. Since the mid 1990’s, she has concentrated on children’s picture books, fantasy book jackets and poster designs.Her original work and fine art prints are currently represented by Borsini-Burr Gallery in Montara, CA.
Please visit Kinuko at her favorite spot:
Shelf Candy is a meme hosted by Maria @anightsdreamofbooks. Click the button above to see what other covers are being featured this week.
This week’s Shelf Candy features the beautiful cover for Blood and Feathers by Lou Morgan. The artist is UK-based Simon “Pye” Parr, head designer for Solaris Books. The cover is perfect – the explosion of feathers, the blood splatters for wings, and the the shadowy figure in the center all let you know this is a dark urban fantasy with angels that aren’t necessarily playing harps. It’s a standout cover, so I was excited when Pye agreed to visit the blog and answer some questions about his work, the process for designing the Blood and Feathers cover, and what his motto is for leading a more reflective life.
SWR: When did you know you wanted to become an artist and what were some of the major influences that put you on this path?
The only thing I ever remember wanting to do really is draw things. The ‘things’ have changed over the years, in fact, for a lot of my favourite projects I haven’t done much ‘drawing’ either… still, it feels like the same process to me, which is the important thing. Major early influences were things like The Beano, 2000 AD, Games Workshop, He-Man, Starcom toys, Star Wars, Hokey B movies, that kind of thing. These days I like to think my tastes are a little more sophisticated, but I’m just lying to myself.
SWR: How did you get involved with creating cover art and how long have you been doing it?
When Rebellion founded Abaddon books, I was working as the graphic designer on 2000 AD, and the job of putting the novels together was given to me. Several years after that I took on the design work for Solaris Books too. What started out as just plonking text on other peoples art has slowly changed to helping to write briefs, choosing and giving feedback (along with the editor and publishing manager) on cover commissions, and now having a go at it myself.
I’ve been producing art for covers for about 3-4 years (the stuff that’s actually worth looking at anyway) but I’ve been working with other peoples art and photography for magazines and books for my whole time as a print designer (12ish years).
SWR: Looking at your portfolio, I love the diversity in your work – from very designed graphical treatments to classic looking sci-fi. How would you describe your style and how has it evolved over the years?
I’m not sure the diversity of the things I work on is always a strength tbh. I get very frustrated putting portfolios together because no 2 pieces of work I’ve done match anything else! I sometimes wish I got to do more work in a single vein as I could really give myself a chance to develop something that’s really recognisable as mine, rather than always jumping from one thing to another.
On the other hand, that’s a very stupid thing to moan about – I’ve been really lucky to work on such a wide range of stuff. Not many people get that chance, and I’d be a bit of a dick to whinge too much about it. ‘Oh man, my life’s so hard, I get to spend my days colouring things in, drawing monsters/space/robots and reading comics – can you imagine my constant suffering?’
Anyway – stylewise, I dunno, I suppose I used to try and draw everything, just because I had the opportunity to do so and was over-excited. These days I’ll use any technique I can to make something look half-decent, and I play to my strengths with layout rather than having the most beautiful technique.
SWR: You are a cover artist and a designer. How are these roles different and which do you prefer?
In some ways they’re very similar – you use the same bits of your brain to make things look pretty – but I think, as a designer you have to look at things in a slightly more dispassionate way than an artist does, i.e. your job is to look at something and decide how you can make it better without taking away from it. Working out how to add information into an image without either reducing its’ impact or making your message irrelevant. You can be brutal to a piece of art to make it more punchy in ways that the artist would never consider (or want you to do). This isn’t intended to be disrespectful in any way, you just start to see things as a means to an end, whereas for the artist a lot of the time, the finishing of their picture IS the end, it’s perfect as it is. Quite often they’re right too – but you wouldn’t sell many books or magazines if half the covers in the shop had no words on. I find for example, designing text to go over an image I’ve painted myself to be quite difficult. There’s always little bits in the picture you’re quite proud of that you wont want to hide, but a designer wouldn’t think that way, they’d hack off the bottom of a picture if the text looked better there, or blow up a small part of the image to make a new cover entirely if it was stronger in some way.
I can’t say I prefer doing one over the other though. They’ve become so intrinsically linked in my head I can’t separate them anymore. A picture doesn’t seem finished to me without some typography somewhere, and a bit of type can be a work of art on it’s own. My favourite way to work is a bit half and half, where both parts are done simultaneously and I think about the type when I’m laying out the artwork. That way the art is done with more of a design-perspective and I don’t get all caught up in painting small parts of the picture in beautiful, irrelevant detail that it’s then heartbreaking to cover up. Unfortunately it’s exactly those parts of a picture that make being an artist so satisfying, and you have to care that much about the little things to come up with anything worthwhile.
SWR: What makes a good book cover?
I wish someone would tell me that, I could make a fortune!
I don’t think there’s any right way to come up with a good book cover. Some of my favourites are wildly different in style. If you can get across the feeling or sentiment of a book clearly and quickly, whilst leaving enough mystery for someone to think ‘Hey, that looks cool, what’s going on there and why?’ then you’ve done a good job.
Blood and Feathers cover painting.
SWR: How did you get involved with the cover art for Blood and Feathers?
The US cover for Regicide by Nicholas Royle
I think Lou, the author, liked my cover for Regicide by Nicholas Royle, which I’d done a few months before and asked Jon at Solaris if I could do hers too – which was wonderful of her. It’s really nice to know that people you’ve never met (at the time) are aware of your work and appreciate it. Sometimes once you’ve sent a book off to the printers you feel you might as well have fired it into the sun for all the customer feedback you’re aware of.
Blood and Feather cover splats.
SWR: Had you read the manuscript prior to creating the art, and, if not, what kind of direction did you get from the publisher? What was the single most important thing you wanted to convey in the cover?
I’ve worked on hardly any books where the manuscript has been finished when I start the artwork! I generally get to chat to author about what they want though, which I think is important, and I’ll read a synopsis or chapter breakdown. This is a better way to work I think, as you can get a feel or theme for the whole book rather than concentrating on a single character or scene.
Lou (and Solaris) were very keen to avoid a ‘hunky brooding angel/vampire guy’ style cover and come up with something a bit different. I suppose that’s why they asked me to do it, as there’s loads of artists who are far better than me at that kind of photoreal stuff anyway. We really wanted to hint at an urban fantasy setting, but avoid any romance crap like the plague.
Blood and Feathers Mockups.
SWR: I love the explosion of feathers and the wings made of blood, which is unexpected. What was your approach or process to creating the cover and what were the challenges in creating it?
The first thing I did was bang out as many different roughs as I could for Lou and the Solaris guys to check out. They brief was pretty loose so I wanted to get a clearer idea of what they liked quite quickly. I thought early on that it would be cool to swap the most obvious elements around, so have wings made of blood not feathers, but then I spent a long time working out how to do the angel’s body. I was thinking it would be cool to actually make a whole figure from feathers and have it fading out to a feathery black mess in places, but then I saw Joey Hifi’s cover for Blackbirds (which is awesome) and thought it’d be far too similar. It knocked my faith in the concept for a little while, as I had a hard time thinking of how I could do something as cool as that without looking like a rip-off. I’ve got to thank Lou here really, ‘cos just as I was really getting into a state about the whole thing, thinking about starting from scratch, she convinced me to stop being an idiot and just get on with it. From the start she was very enthusiastic about the rough that turned into the final cover and I’m glad we stuck with it. In the end I think the main thing that was annoying me (apart from how to paint the angel and at what size) turned out to be the type straight across the middle of the page – as soon as I moved it the whole thing started to work a lot better.
The feathers in the image were all done digitally in illustrator and photoshop, but the angel and all the textures were done in red ink with a brush and a straw then added afterwards. I had quite a fun morning blowing blood splats all over my studio ’til i got the right shape.
SWR: If you were given the opportunity to create the cover for any one book, past or present, what would that book be and why?
Frank Herbert’s Dune. Unlike most people it was the movie that made me read the books – I watched it as a kid and have always loved it. Since then of course I love the book just as much, but the pictures in my head will always be informed by the film. I’d like to try and break that and come up with an interpretation of my own. Also (with some exceptions), a lot of the Dune covers have been utter crap. It’d be nice to see if I could come up with something to do it justice.
SWR: What side projects, passion projects, or upcoming cover art would you like to share with us?
Judge Dredd Day of Chaos T-Shirt Art
I’ve do a lot of quite big oil paintings of cars, some of which are for sale at the moment in my local pub – unfortunately because of that I don’t have any decent pictures of them, so here is an image that I did for 2000 AD as part of the ‘Judge Dredd: Day of Chaos’ teaser campaign for CBR (comic book resources) a few months back. It was meant to go on a tshirt but that got canned and nobody ever got to see it!
SWR: Finally, I am a Game of Thrones fanatic. Every family has a motto – the Starks have “Winter is Coming,” the Lannisters have “Hear me roar.” What is the Pye motto?
Ha! I’d like to say it’d be something badass, profound or interesting, but unfortunately I think “Leave it ’til tomorrow” says everything you need to know about me…
And just for fun, the Pivot quiz…
What is your favorite word?
Cretinous.
What is your least favorite word?
‘Piece’, specifically when used to describe music or art. Gah! Just typing it annoys me.
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Music, cars, countryside. Beer. All at the same time obviously.
What turns you off?
Public transport. tv adverts, tescos.
What is your favorite curse word?
Twat! it’s nicely percussive, but not so vulgar that you can’t use it inoffensively.
What sound or noise do you love?
My wife laughing at the telly or radio or something when I’m busy working upstairs. It reminds me there’s something going on in the world beside what I’m doing, and also slightly assuages the guilt I feel for ignoring her existence for days at a time.
What sound or noise do you hate?
Any random repetitive one that I can’t place. This drives me nuts and I cant think about anything else till I find out what it is and sort it out – like in the car when you get a rattle, or when you’re lying in bed and can hear a drip coming off the roof.
Also: the voice of that bloke who does the voiceovers in the breaks between shows on BBC one in the evening. He sounds like he’s constantly happy and smiling which winds me up.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Architect/Rally driver
What profession would you not like to do?
Anything involving customer service.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
‘Yes, your great grandma is here, and no she doesn’t know about all that stuff you looked at on the internet.’
SWR: Thanks for coming by the blog, Pye!
Blood and Feathers by Lou Morgan, Published by Solaris, July 31, 2012
You can find Blood and Feathers at the following links
(and it’s worth getting the paperback just to see this cover):
AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY
About the Artist
Simon “Pye” Parr is Head of Design for the British sci-fi comic series, 2000 A.D., Solaris and Abaddon Books. And he likes to draw and paint stuff.
Please visit Pye at his favorite spots:
Shelf Candy is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely Five Alarm Books. This meme gives us an opportunity to highlight a cover we love and the artist who created it. Please click the button above to find out how to participate and to see what other covers are being discussed this week.
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This week’s Shelf Candy is Royal Street by Suzanne Johnson
Cover Art by
Cliff Nielsen
WHY I LOVE THIS COVER:
The layers. I love the layers. You have to look close to really take it all in – the light, the street scene, the model, the water damage…and I love that touch. A subtle reminder of the tragedy that struck New Orleans when Katrina hit and which plays a large role in the story itself. I also appreciate the choice of model. Her look is intense and when reading the book, I easily pictured her as DJ.
Without further ado, the artist Cliff Nielsen!
About the Artist:
Cliff Nielsen is a graduate of the Art Center College of Design in California. He has created covers for such writers as Cassandra Clare, Faith Hunter, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and Isabel Allende just to name a few. Nielsen’s work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators, Computer Arts Magazine, Print, and Spectrum. He lives in Los Angeles, California.
SWR: Describe the moment you realized you wanted to make art your life and profession. And what were some of the major influences that put you on this path?
SWR: Where do you find your inspiration?
Shelf Candy is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely Five Alarm Books. This meme gives us an opportunity to highlight a cover we love and the artist who created it. Please click the button above to find out how to participate and to see what other covers are being discussed this week.
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This week’s Shelf Candy…Thieftaker by D.B. Jackson,
cover art by Chris McGrath.
WHY I LOVE THIS COVER:
What I love about this cover is what I love about all of Chris McGrath’s work: it’s dark, mysterious, dramatic, and cinematic. Because of its period setting, this one in particular looks like an old master painting with a touch of magic. And the use of light and texture is pretty phenomenal. It really is beautiful work.
Chris McGrath is a native New Yorker and a graduate of the School of Visual Arts. He has been an illustrator in the publishing world since 2001 and has done work for such authors as Jim Butcher, Kat Richardson, Rob Thurman, Seanan MacGuire, and Brandon Sanderson.
Without further ado…Chris McGrath.
SWR: Describe the moment you realized you wanted to make art your life and profession. And what were some of the major influences that put you on this path?
I would say it was when I was around 11 or 12 years old. I had been drawing my whole life and really into sci fi , but one evening I was at my uncle’s apartment and he had a Frazetta art book on the table. When I saw that book I was blown away and right then and there I decided to get into illustration.
From that point on I never looked back or changed my mind. Although I do have other interests in the arts as well.
SWR: How did you get involved with creating cover art specifically?
When I was in college I just stuck to my guns on being a sci fi fantasy illustrator. There were teachers of mine that were doing book covers at the time so I was able to get a good idea of what I had to do to get a job. Plus my good friend Dorian Vallejo was already doing covers so it gave me a certain insight as to how to approach art directors. His advice came in handy for sure.
Sci-Fi Geisha
SWR: Looking at your gallery of work, one thing that strikes me is how dramatic and cinematic the images are, almost like a frame grab from a film. Does film influence your work at all and, if so, what are some of your favorite films?
Film is definitely an influence as well as some photography but I like the pretty standard stuff such as Blade Runner, Alien, Star Wars and so on. My list is pretty similar to everyone else working in my field.
THE DARKEST EDGE OF DAWN
SWR: How would you describe your style and how do you think it has evolved over the course of your career?
I’m not sure. Pretty dark at times. Subtle in symbolism maybe. I was very into Caravaggio and Rembrandt in the way they used light to get ideas and symbolism across. I wasn’t really looking for a style. I just did the type of thing I wanted to do and it found me I guess.
SWR: How did you get involved with the cover art for Thieftaker?
The Art Director at Tor books thought I would be a good match for the look of the cover. Probably because of the work I do for the Dresden Files.
SWR: Had you read the manuscript prior to creating the art, and, if not, what kind of direction did you get from the publisher? What was the single most important thing you wanted to convey in the cover?
The Publisher gave me a scene that they really liked but were not glued to it. I read the first several chapters which were great. I’m actually looking forward to reading the book when it’s released, but the time period and setting was super intriguing to me and I had always wanted to do a colonial period piece. So getting a spooky, colonial vibe across was important. I tried out a few different ideas in the sketch stage but ended up going with the scene that the publisher had recommended. Once and a while I’m happy with a cover and this was one of them. Though it’s far from perfect and there are still some things I’d like to fix on it.
SWR: What, if any, are covers, or cover artists, you consider iconic or influential?
I would say Frank Frazetta of course, Michael Whalen, Keith Parkinson and many others had a big influence on me when I was young and looking for inspiration.
AWAKENINGS
SWR: If you were given the opportunity to create the cover for any book, past or present, what would that book be and why?
I would say Dune or Elric of Melnibone. Hard to choose which one but both had a big influence on me and both offer the opportunity to do something visually different and exotic.
THREE PARTS DEAD
SWR: What side projects, passion projects, or upcoming cover art would you like to share with us?
Well, my other big passion is music. I’ve been playing guitar for 24 years and have finally gotten around to recording some stuff I’ve built up over time. If I ever get it done it will be a guitar instrumental record. We’ll see. I’m almost done with a couple of songs. I also have a story I’ve been developing for quite some time that I would like to write and have a whole set of visuals for.
But that’s probably a few years away.
WHITE NIGHT
SWR: Finally, I am a Game of Thrones fanatic. Every family has a motto – the Starks have “Winter is Coming,” the Lannisters have “A Lannister always pays his debts.” What is the Chris McGrath motto?
Haha, that’s easy, “Don’t Panic”
Expected release date is July 17th, 2012 by Tor Books
Let’s get pretentious for a moment…the Pivot quiz. Chris was cool enough to humor me and play along. Here are his answers:
What is your favorite word?
Not sure I have one
What is your least favorite word?
Same, not sure
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
People.
What turns you off?
Doing something just for the sake of it.
What is your favorite curse word?
My mom might read this.
What sound or noise do you love?
Guitars
What sound or noise do you hate?
Construction out my window at 7am
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Guitarist
What profession would you not like to do?
Anything with math
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
You are way too early, go back.
***
Please visit Chris at his favorite spots:
&
Take a moment to learn more about D.B Jackson, author of Thieftaker:
Shelf Candy is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely Five Alarm Books. This meme gives us an opportunity to highlight a cover we love and the artist who created it. Please click the button above to find out how to participate and to see what other covers are being discussed this week.
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This week’s Shelf Candy is another collection of beautiful work – cover art from the Sirantha Jax series. These covers are just simply gorgeous.
Book 6 and the final book in the Sirantha Jax series, due for release in August 2012.
WHY I LOVE THESE COVERS:
I admit I’ve only read the first two in the series (I know, I know I have to catch up before the sixth and final book is released), but I think they capture the character of Sirantha Jax. She is vulnerable and complex and has been through a lot, but she brings herself through it and I think the cover art captures the strength of her spirit perfectly. I also appreciate that while she looks sexy, she is not hypersexualized. The emphasis is on her strength and not her ass.
Cover Artist Scott M. Fischer
The artist responsible for this work is Scott M. Fischer. A graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, Scott has created cover art for adult, middle grade, and children’s fiction. On top of that, Scott is also an author having written and illustrated his first children’s book, Twinkle, in 2007. And as a conceptual designer, Scott has worked on projects for Microsoft, Sony, and Disney.
Without further ado….Scott M. Fischer!
SWR: Can you describe the moment you realized you wanted to make art your life and profession?
From birth! Actually when I discovered Dungeons & Dragons in 4th grade. We had an assignment about what we wanted to be when we grew up, and I wrote, “I want to make the art for Dungeons and Dragons” No kidding. When, as an adult I illustrated the Beholder for the Monster Manual, my inner 4th grader was pretty stoked.
SWR: How did you get involved with creating cover art?
I was doing gaming art for card games (Magic the Gathering) and D&D. but I really wanted to break into the larger publishing world, so I started formatting all my gaming art in novel cover proportions (even though most of the art would be cropped out on a tiny card) but I used those in my portfolio and started submitting samples to art directors.
SWR: What is your process? Once you get a brief for the creation of a cover, what is the next step?
Lots of thumbnail sketches. Chicken scratch really only decipherable by me. Then I scan one of those and tighten up the sketch, which I submit to the art director. Once I get approval, there are a million ways to skin a cat, often a fusion of traditional and digital media. Photoshop being my primary workhorse.
SWR: How did you get involved with the Sirantha Jax series?
Honestly I am not sure how they picked me, but I am glad they did! My guess is they saw my work, maybe in the Spectrum Fantastic Art annual. But I got the call and was psyched to do it.
SWR: Had you read the manuscript prior to creating the art, and, if not, what kind of direction did you get from the art department on the first cover?
I read the MS for the first novel, and totally fell in love with the character. So I think I came up with that concept. For the remainder of the series, Lesley Worrell, my fantastic Art Director, had pretty specific ideas for the covers, so I would read the descriptions, and often flip through the MS as well.
SWR: How has Sirantha’s cover art changed over the series? Does it get harder or easier?
Each one has its unique challenges. On top of that I have been doing them so long that my art has evolved as well. But in the end, Sirantha is such a strong character, that they really were all a pleasure to work on. And I’ve often heard from the Author, Ann Aguirre, after I finish a cover and she has been amazingly supportive of the work. Such a pleasure for an illustrator to get that kind of positive feedback from the Author. After all we are trying to illustrate a world we can’t see inside their head! So to get even close is a nice feeling.
SWR: Where do you find your inspiration?
EVERYWHERE! That is a pretty generic answer but it is true. I am a tinkerer by nature. For instance, I have a pile of old rusty stuff that I turn into robots, and I love spending hours figuring out how the pieces from various sources can fit together into a cool looking robot. Really I do the same thing with my art. Trying to fit various things together in a pleasing way.
Cover of the upcoming Gene Wolfe book, "An Evil Guest"
SWR: I read that you are a trained musician. How does music inform your artwork?
I think the arts are all related. My music is put together much the same way as my rusty robots, and paintings. A unique arrangement of bits assembled to strike an emotional cord with the viewer.
SWR: You’re also a children’s book writer. How does it feel to create a story in words as well as images?
There is nothing like it. The marriage of words and visuals is the ultimate to me. And when I am working on the children’s books or chapter books, and a burst out laughing in an empty studio about what I am working on… well it is a great day at work!
SWR: What, if any, are covers you consider iconic or influential?
Robert McGinnis has to be one of my all time favorites. His blending of design and painting chops in unrivaled to this day.
SWR: Finally, if you were given the opportunity to create the cover for any book ever published, what would that book be and why?
A Wrinkle in Time. Because the book is that great, and trippy. And what a great chance to get a bit cerebral in the art.
And, now, for fun…Scott was game enough to take the Pivot quiz and here are his answers:
What is your favorite word?
Dude.
What is your least favorite word?
Can’t
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
My wife!
What turns you off?
Deadlines, but they are needed!
What is your favorite curse word?
I’d say the F-bomb. When my computer crashes and I lose hours of work on a piece of art because I forgot to save, no other word will do.
What sound or noise do you love?
The sound of the coffee pot.
What sound or noise do you hate?
The buzz of a mosquito in my ear.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Kids TV show host!
What profession would you not like to do?
The guy who scrapes the gum off the sidewalk. And where does all that gum come from anyway? I find it hard to believe there are that many people out there spitting out their gum where people walk.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Go back you are not done yet.
***
Scott has a brand new blog where he talks art and technique.
You can also find him at his official website and Twitter.
You can learn more about the Sirantha Jax series at the website of the author,
the fabulous Anne Aguirre.
And a shout out to SpazP for inspiring this post and for reminding me of how truly great these covers are!
Shelf Candy is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely Five Alarm Books. This meme gives us an opportunity to highlight a cover we love and the artist who created it. Please click the button above to find out how to participate and to see what other covers are being discussed this week.
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Today’s feature is actually a collection of covers…The Sookie Stackhouse covers. I really don’t think these covers need an introduction.
WHY I LOVE THESE COVERS:
The Sookie covers are very different from others in the genre. They are so unique that they have become iconic for those of use who read urban fantasy/paranormal books. There is a quirkiness and a whimsy to them that I think really mirrors the tone of the stories. And the fact that these books got me hooked on the urban fantasy/paranormal genre is enough that the stories, and their covers, will always have a special place in my heart.
Cover Artist, Lisa Desimini
The artist responsible for this work is the wonderful Lisa Desimini, an acclaimed author and illustrator of children’s books. She is also a well-known cover artist for adult fiction, having created the art for the Sookie series in addition to works by Barbara Kingsolver, John Nichols, and Sharon Creech.
Please welcome Lisa Desimini!
SWR: Can you describe the moment you realized you wanted to make art your life and profession?
I started drawing on my own when I was 10 years old. When I got to high school, I was known as the artist and was asked to work on all the posters and art committees. My classmates said to me, “you should be an artist when you grow up.” I thought that sounded like a great idea. I went to the career advisor and she had index cards describing the different types of artists. As soon as I heard about a career illustrating covers for books and articles in magazines, I knew that’s what I wanted to do. I love to read!
SWR: How did you get involved with cover art, and the Sookie Stackhouse series in particular?
After I graduated, I immediately set out making appointments with art directors at publishing houses. Soon after, I got my first cover, “Reasons to Believe: New Voices in American Fiction” It was sheer heaven for me to read a book then come up with an image for the cover. It still is. In 2000, Judy Murello, the art director at Berkely Publishing, called me about doing a cover for a book called “Dead Until Dark”.
SWR: Had you read the series prior to creating the art, and, if not, what kind of direction did you get from the art department in creating the first cover?
No one knew how popular the Sookie series would become, but I could not put the book down, so I wasn’t surprised by its success. After reading the manuscript I came up with a couple sketches that I thought had the right mood for the book. The art director chose my favorite image, the one that wound up on the cover, and then I did the finished image on the computer. I scan in photographs, different textures and fabric. Then I can draw and paint using Photoshop on the computer.
SWR: The covers for the Sookie series are so different from other covers in the genre. How would you describe your style?
My style is a bit surreal. It can have a whimsical and quirky feel, although I can do a darker mood too. The art director felt that the books were quirky so she thought I was a good match. I just love making sure that the covers I illustrate have the right tone and mood and don’t give too much of the story away.
SWR: Where do you find your inspiration?
I’m inspired by books, music, nature and all kinds of visual art. I’m a big fan of folk art. I love when something feels like it’s coming straight from someone’s sub-conscious–when there isn’t too much editing coming from the intellectual part of their brain. I love poetry that creates strong visual images and evokes strong emotions.
SWR: What is the most exciting aspect of creating cover art? What is the hardest?
Reading is one of my favorite pastimes. So it is very exciting that I can be in my pajamas, reading, and it’s part of my work. The idea that my cover is the first thing you see when shopping for a book, is very exciting. Even after all these years, it’s still a challenge to come up with a great cover, but I never get tired of it.
SWR: You are also a children’s book designer. Are there particular challenges that are specific to children’s books as opposed to adult books? And have you done other covers in the Urban Fantasy genre and what challenges are specific to that genre?
Since I’m not a kid anymore, sometimes it’s hard to find the right tone to appeal to a child. I especially like children’s book that have a timeless and universal quality and these are the hardest to write. I have illustrated the covers for the Urban Fantasy short story collections, edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner and they were a lot of fun. The challenge is walking the fine line between magical and mysterious but not being silly.
Two examples of Desimini's other cover work.
Finally, if you could be given the opportunity to create the cover for any book ever published, what would that book be and why?
What a great question! It’s exciting just to think about. It would be “A Prayer for Owen Meany” he is the ultimate earnest character and I love Alice Hoffman’s books because they have a magical realism that would conjure up interesting imagery.
The Snowflake Sisters
Anansi Does the Impossible - An Ashanti Tale
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Lisa was game enough to try the Pivot quiz and here are her answers:
What is your favorite word?
Nevertheless (3 words put together that mean something entirely different)
What is your least favorite word?
Pumps
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Earnestness
What turns you off?
A bullshitter
What is your favorite curse word?
Asshole
What sound or noise do you love?
Hearty laughter
What sound or noise do you hate?
Nail clippers
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Alternative medicine.
What profession would you not like to do?
Salesperson
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
“Come on in. The library is over here, your painting studio is over there and you can have dinner every night with whomever you like.”
***
Special thanks to Lisa for participating in this week’s Shelf Candy! Please visit Lisa at her site and take a look at her wonderful work. If you are a true Sookie fan, you will be happy to see prints of the cover art for sale!
Visit Lisa at her favorite spots:
Let’s get to reading!
Shelf Candy is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely Five Alarm Books. This meme gives us an opportunity to highlight a cover we love and the artist who created it. Please click the button above to find out how to participate and to see what other covers are being discussed this week.
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This week I’m featuring the cover for Vicki Pettersson’s The Taken, the first in a new series called Celestial Blues. Since the book has not been released, I actually tweeted the author to learn the name of the cover artist – Larry Rostant. He is a UK-based illustrator/photographer who has probably done a majority of the covers that you know and love. Rostant has done cover art for Pettersson, Stephen King, George RR Martin, Anne Bishop, and Jacqueline Carey to name a few.
WHY I LOVE THIS COVER:
It’s beautiful. I saw this cover floating around the blogosphere and I knew I had to read the book. That let’s you know the cover did it’s job – it caught my eye and got me interested. I love the fact that it has a period feel to it. In fact, when I first saw it, I thought it was a UF set in the 1950′s. When I read the synopsis and found out it wasn’t, I was even more intrigued.
The model is beautiful, your eye goes to her immediately. I love how she is full of color but the background is desaturated. And the best thing? Those smoke wings. I had to look at it twice to fully get it. And I like that. It was a brilliant choice.
Today's Shelf Candy
Please welcome Larry Rostant to the blog!
SWR: Larry, you’ve worked on covers for Stephen King, George RR Martin, and other big names in the field. Can you tell us a bit about how you got into the world of cover design?
I did a degree in graphic design, specializing in illustration. And when I left college, I was an advertising illustrator. In those days, I used to be an airbrush illustrator. Then along came Photoshop and I transferred to doing all of my work on Photoshop because the way it works is quite similar to airbrush, and it was quite an easy transition for me to make. So I transferred over to doing Photoshop, and because of that my work became more and more realistic. And so it’s ended up being almost photographic now. I got into book covers because I found that book covers gave me much more creativity in that I was able to just be given the manuscript and I was given free range to decide what I would like to do on the cover, which is how I now work. So I had complete creative control which is much more rewarding than in advertising where basically you are told what to do. I decided book covers are much more interesting to me. So I started working in book covers, and it grew, and grew, and grew. That is I how I ended up where I am now.
SWR: The one thing I was surprised to learn in all my interviews with cover artists is that you actually have very little contact with the author. It’s mainly the publisher’s art department and the cover artist that communicate on the design. What exactly is the working relationship between the Art Director and the Cover Artist?
Well, that’s very interesting, because I think that is sort of changing over time in that when I initially started doing book covers it was very much the Art Director had a vision because they understood the marketing involved in the book. So they had a vision of what was currently selling. And therefore the Art Director would come up with a concept. They would then brief the illustrator. And they would have gotten to know these illustrators over years, or through agents or whatever. So they had a group of illustrators that they liked working for them, or whose work they liked. That’s how I started out.
But what then has changed, I suppose, is as you become better known as an illustrator, quite often the Art Director will say to you, “Well, we like what you’ve done on these other covers, what can you think of to do on our cover? What can you bring that’s new to this cover?” And I’ve luckily gotten to the position where a lot of Art Directors, not always, but often, they’ll say to me, “We just like what you do, what could you suggest that would work well on this cover?” And it’s my job as an illustrator to know what is currently selling. And a lot of that has to do with popular culture of the moment. All the Twilight books, and then the films, and all the vampire stuff. When all that started, the look of the film posters, and the television series, and all of that affects the popular culture, and therefore, your covers need to tap into that. They need to look like that. So it’s about knowing what’s popular across culture. All things. Film, Television, Art. Everything, basically. It’s knowing what the zeitgeist is at the moment, tapping into that, and then reproducing that for a book cover.
SWR: How did you get involved with the Vicki Peterson cover specifically? Was this one of those cases where the Art Director said, “What do you want to do with it?”
No, with this one, they knew exactly what they wanted on this cover. With this one, I don’t think it’s only the Art Director. But it’s the Art Director and the Editor that work very closely together on these covers. They are a team I think. And I think it’s the editor who had a very strong view of what she wanted to see, and then talked that through the Art Director. They then came to me because I had done lots of work for them in the past for lots of different authors. And they said, “This is the vision we want to bring forward.” But then again, it taps into all those things that are currently popular. I understand the way that the color and the lighting are done on the “Twilight” posters – the fact that this is a noir-ish cover, so we need to borrow a bit from the film noir posters, and what those films look like. So, bringing together all those things. They had their vision, and talked to me, and said “This is the sort of thing we want. What do you think?” And I reinterpreted it with my own sort of spin on it, as it were.
SWR: Well, I love it! I love the smoky outline of the wings in the background. I thought that was fantastic. It’s a beautiful cover.
There was some debate from the art department whether that looked obviously like wings. There was some discussion about whether they should be a bit more obviously wings. But I quite like them, it’s sort of subtle. I didn’t want it to be too obvious. I think next time, if there’s another one in that serious, I’ll have to make them a little more obvious.
Sometimes I like to do things a bit more subtly than the Art Director would want. And they’ll come back to me and say, “Well, we like it, but for our readership, we need to make that point a bit more obvious.”
SWR: I loved the subtlety of it. I don’t think it needed to be obvious. I thought it was great.
That’s what I think! And that’s exactly what I’ll argue back with them. I’ll say “Well, come on. Let’s make it interesting for the reader.” So they’ll take one look, and don’t notice it, and take one look again, and then see something. So you get those layers of interest throughout the cover. So, I’m always trying to add those in. And to bring new things to the party. To say, why don’t we try this, and why don’t we do that. But then, I guess their view is, we’ve got to sell this in a mass market. We want everyone to get it every single time. So they’re pushing in the other direction. And I’m pushing in one direction. And then, between us, we come up with the cover.
I know this art director very well. We’ve worked together for a long time. I have a lot of respect for him, and the editor. So there’s never an argument about it. It’s just about, I’ve got my style, and they’ve got theirs. And it’s about meeting in the middle.
At the end of the day, quite frankly, it’s their say that goes. I respect what they think, and, hopefully, they respect what I bring.
SWR: What did you think was the one key aspect that needed to be conveyed on this particular cover?
For this cover, we were going for dark but also sexy. The model I found, I was very pleased with her. I’ve used her a few times and I thought she’d be perfect for this. So it’s got to be this overall dark, intriguing feel. But also be attractive, and sexy in a certain way.
SWR: I noticed, looking over your website and past covers, that it seems a lot of your work has period detail. Even in The Taken cover, when I first saw it, I thought maybe it was series set in the 1950’s. What’s the key to achieving that level of authenticity?
I do covers for all different genres of books. So, I do a lot of period fiction and romantic period fiction whereby we have to have fairly authentic costuming. I do historical fiction where the costuming has got to be absolutely accurate. And everything in between. I do action and adventure. I don’t just do book covers. I also do games, and advertising, and other things as well. So getting the right costuming is never a problem.
They did talk me through the influences for this. They liked the Dita Von Teese-type look, and Betty Page slightly. We actually shot two different dresses on the model to have a choice of what was right for her. And with him as well, he had to have that right. The book is meant to look like a noir-ish book even though it’s a contemporary book.
SWR: I know that the main character is supposed to be into the Rock-a-billy lifestyle and I think the model looked perfect.
She’s great. I’ve used her before a number of times, and I thought she’d be perfect. And she was.
SWR: How would you describe your style?
I think I interpret what is currently attractive to people, and then I reproduce it for book covers. And I have different styles for every kind of genre. Every genre has got its own look, and I will reproduce whatever is appropriate for that genre. A lot of my influences come from film posters, I would say. I spend a lot of time watching films. The lighting and styling of films. I watch all big films that come out. Lots, and lots, and lots of films. I watch four or five films a week. Even if they’re rubbish, its just to learn about the lighting and what’s currently interesting in styling. What do monsters look like? What do vampires wear? How are they lit?
So my style is based on that.
SWR: That gets to my next question. I was going to ask where you draw your inspiration. So would it be fair to say you draw your inspiration from film?
Not only film. I look at a lot of photographers. I love photography, and I love illustrators. So I look at them. I look at fine artists. I’ll go to the National Gallery and look at Caravaggio. It’s about being interested in all aspects of art, really. They all feed in to the final thing. If I go down into the underground, I spend just as long looking at all the pictures and posters and things just getting to where I need to get.
SWR: How do you think the e-book revolution has impacted cover design?
It’s having an effect on publishing. I think it now has about 20 percent of the market. I’m not sure. I only work for the mass market. For the hardback, the paperback, and the print market. And then they reuse my covers on the e-books. I give them permission to use them on the e-books. I’ve never been commissioned specifically to do an e-book. Because so far, there isn’t any budget for that. The budgets are quite small. But the way I look at it is if a new author comes along and releases a book, they’ve got to market it somehow. What a book jacket is, is the marketing, the advertising for that product. Attached to that product. And unique to that product. It’s a fantastic sort of thing. A new author, how else are they going to market their product, if they don’t have a cover?
I don’t think the publishing world quite yet knows the answer to that. And I think everyone is looking around wondering what is going to happen. I don’t think they’ve quite got there yet. I don’t see how we can do without a cover. Even if it’s not attached to the physical book. Even if all publishing in the future is digital, it’s still going to need some sort of marketing device. It might be that the new marketing device is a film. A short little moving film. I’m interested in doing that. So maybe the book jacket stops being a physical printed thing, and becomes a little film, or a little animation that does the marketing for the book.
It’s an exciting time to be an illustrator or a photographer. I’m not sure what I am at the moment. Whether I’m a photographer or an illustrator, I’m not sure. But it’s a good time to be it. It’s an interesting time to be in the business.
SWR: Do you have any upcoming projects you can tell us about?
I generally produce about three book covers a week. So there’s always work coming on, and I’m always booked up several months in advance. But editors don’t really like me talking about it. They don’t like me mentioning it until they’ve been out. But there’s lots of work coming on. Lots of it, very interesting. I’m excited about the idea of doing motion for something. A couple of big authors, two very big authors, I’ve just done their covers. I can’t tell you about them yet. But they are looking good.
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Special thanks to Larry for taking time out to speak with me! Please take a moment to visit his site. You won’t be disappointed. His work is very cinematic and his site features some beautiful imagery.
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please visit Vicki Pettersson to learn more about The Taken, the first book in her new Celestial Blues series, due for release on June 12, 2012!
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Now, let’s get to reading!
