Book Covers

I wanted to get one last post in before the end of the year because somehow three posts in 2013 seem better than two, which is what I've done to this point. So here are a couple of covers that I did for books that came out this year.

 

Cover for the last book Michael Grant's Magnificent 12 series. Link

 

This has been a fun series to work on. The books are humorous action/adventure stories, and I liked the challenge of coming up with a dynamic and adventurous composition that fits the tone of the book. Like with the previous cover, I went with a crazy perspective, this time with the kids climbing on the top of the Golden Gate Bridge.

 

 

A full wrap cover for Apache Portal, by Carl Grimsman. Link

 

I never imagined that I'd ever get a chance to paint a cover for a Western/historical fiction/teen romance/fantasy adventure novel, going for an updated take on the old Western movie poster look, but that's what happened here. This cover was designed by the author who self-published it, so he gets credit for the composition. But he did let me tweak a few things to make it all flow together better, and we both like how it turned out. 



Musically inspired image

I did this almost a year ago but didn't post it because it felt like the time for posting fall colored  pictures had passed. But it's fall again so I'll post it now. So last year in the digital painting class I teach we did the assignment where you illustrate a piece of music. I told them they could do a narrative of the lyrics or just try to capture the feeling of the music itself. I decided I wanted to do the assignment too, so I did this based on the song "Landed" by Ben Folds. That song has elements of sadness, hope, excitement and emptiness all rolled into one, and it's in the music, not just the lyrics. I wanted to try and capture the way that music makes me feel in an image.  I don't know if it really worked, and for that matter, I don't know if visual imagery can ever move people as powerfully as music can, but music can certainly paint a picture in my head. And my class came up with some really good stuff on this assignment so it must have been a good exercise.

Pacific Rim Lighting