Evolution of a Cover: A Study in Design

Behind-the-Scenes: Early Cover Designs.

A special thanks to the author of aftermathasagabegins.wordpress.com who shares the evolution of the cover of his book from his first concept sketch through influences of other artists to his final design. It’s interesting to follow how the reality evolves from the first idea in the writer’s mind to the final interpretation.

As writers, we create beyond the words on the pages. Finding the right artist to help us translate our story into an encapsulating image is a labor unto itself. I appreciate this little look behind the scenes to prep me for what lies ahead.

Are you on the verge of e-publishing or self-publishing your book? You may want to read the article by using the link above. The more input you get, the better your output will be.

More Cover Design AND Video Marketing Ideas for Your Book

Today I found the blog of “Ink Slinger in Inner Space” Karen Gadient. She is both author and  graphic designer. A single post on her blog stimulated this entry.  Karen designed the cover jacket for a recently released science fiction book.

Stimulating Thought Number One: Here’s another source for an illustrator for either cover design or for the innards of a picture book. Mark this post for future reference. Karen has a portfolio tab on her blog. I loved the quality and detail of her art. The art on the book cover shows another dimension to her style–her diversity–since the cover is completely different from the illustrations in her portfolio.

Link: http://karengadient.com/2012/11/02/debris-dreams-the-kickstarter-book-trailer/

Stimulating Thought Number Two: Karen provides a link to the young author’s promotional video trailer for his book. What?! Promotional video??? I thought video trailers were solely for hyping movies or rock albums. What do I know? Not much, evidently. Now young authors are using YouTube and such to distribute promotional videos touting their books. Brilliant. Free Advertising. And if you are clever or creative enough, you sell books!

Stimulating Thought Number Three: An author can ask for money for marketing from the public. Karen introduced me to Kickstarter, a web site devoted to connecting artists of all sorts with persons interested in funding the arts. Indie authors needn’t starve to promote a quality project. But I’ll write more about Kickstarter in a future post.

Wow, Karen! All those great ideas from a single post! Thank you!

Helping Along Another Creative Spirit

I just found this indie musician, Christina Grimmie, after she’s been seen by more than 2 million others on YouTube. (Always a follower, never a leader: ho hum.) Anyway, her voice has such texture and range that I HAVE to bring her to your attention. She vocally manipulates a melody as I want to manipulate the storyline in a novel: she haunts, teases, powers up, then floors the listener. Enjoy.

If the video is missing, you can see it on YouTube by going here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA4fdiOqNMw

Quote for 9-4-2012

“I hope you make mistakes. If you make mistakes, it means you’re out there doing something.”

–Neil Gaiman

A special thank you to Lightning Droplets for introducing me to Neil Gaiman through a video clip on her web site. The video is of a commencement speech of Gaiman’s and gives budding authors–and other artists–priceless advice. Find it at the link below (May 23, 2012 post):

http://lightningdroplets.wordpress.com/

 

Totally Obsessed

If you are a car aficionado as I am, then you may have caught Motor Trend’s review of a new hand-built sports car:

But that’s not what makes the Pagani Huayra special. What makes it special is that it’s the singular product of one man’s singular passion. “We are a design and research company based on the Renaissance theory of art and science working together,” says Argentine-born Horacio Pagani. “That’s not our idea — it’s 500 years old. We take our inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci.” Pagani has thought through every single detail of this car — his one-on-one walkthrough of the Huayra’s technical highlights lasted more than three hours. He is truly autodom’s Renaissance man (he named his first son Leonardo): part designer, part engineer, mostly self-taught, totally obsessed.

The last line of the paragraph defines the creator. I think I am going to claim something similar to it as my motto and get it printed on a T-shirt.

“part artist, part wordsmith, mostly self-taught, totally obsessed”

As a writer, it’s the only way I can be.