Cover Story
What goes into the creation of a cover? That’s what I am learning. The first step is the rough sketch of the cover. It gives the author, me, an idea of what the cover may look like. Bruce McCorkindale is the artist working on the cover for The New Phenomenon. Pictures 1 was a starting point, and picture 2 took into account some adjustments. (scroll down to follow the whole story.)
Rough sketch 1
Cover sketch 2
After the initial rough sketch, the publisher and the author give feedback, and the artist tweaks the sketch. After the concept sketch process, the artist will start work on a more polished product. Being new to the world of an author, I am learning as I go. You get to share in the learning process with this blog.
March 4, 2011
Bruce sent me the next step in the cover creation process. It arrived in my inbox after midnight, so I guess Bruce does his best work during the late hours. I was officiating men’s flag football while he was sketching last night. Yes, men’s flag football. It can be fun and irritating at the same time.
Cover Sketch #3
This sketch is the main character, Christian Pearson, coming out of the water in the background. The beckoning hand remains an unknown, until you read the book. There are a number of characters who could own that hand; the suspense is killing you, right?
I am not sure if Christian should be rising from the water like he is, or if he should be standing firmly on two legs. You will have to check back later to find out which direction the artist and I decide to go.
Amazing how much is involved in putting a book together. I am glad Bruce is running the artwork, or you would all be looking at stick figures and ashtrays.
Thanks Bruce for your hard work!
March 18, 2011
March 18 update on the cover
Well, some miscommunication delays the process, and I was probably the communication glitch. I think I want Christian standing firmly on the ground.
Now the questions arise about the looks of the character and what he should wear. Is the hand going to be femine or masculine. What else does it need?
I am assuming the next pictures will be with much more detail, and I hope I am not forgetting anything important.
Stay tuned to learn more about the cover story.
April 6, 2011
I am finally getting this posted. A couple days ago, I received the latest artwork for the cover. I think this will be it for the Cover Story, but I will post if that changes. (See below.
This will be very cool to watch the transformation from sketch to final production.
oooh, cool! Is that the truck that was in the first cover floating downstream behind the guy running? This is so exciting.
Hope it will be in color when finalized. Second sketch that has figure running away in a “glowing aura” brings much more impact to the cover – still not sure about the big hand – looking forward to future iterations.
Both are good, but I like the 2nd one better. Already, it makes me think it’s an intriguing story.
W.
More detail, very cool. I can’t wait to scrapbook all these.
I thought the boat and trailer were attached. I like him emerging from the water but running takes a bigger place in the scene. Kinda like the comic book quality of sketch 2.
How cool to see the entire process!
That’s really neat to see the progression! Who knew??
So does he redraw the entire picture each time?
The finished product is terrific, can’t wait to read this book!