{"id":79,"date":"2013-09-14T19:18:31","date_gmt":"2013-09-14T11:18:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.haguepublishing.com\/?p=79"},"modified":"2013-11-03T14:36:48","modified_gmt":"2013-11-03T06:36:48","slug":"ebook-covers-part-3-the-developmental-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/haguepublishing.com\/blog\/ebook-covers-part-3-the-developmental-process\/","title":{"rendered":"eBook covers: part 3 – The developmental process"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the final part of this series on eBook covers I want to get a little bit ‘arti’ and move away from the technical stuff I’ve been talking about to date. So in this blog I want to walk you through the process we followed in getting to the final cover.<\/p>\n

Firstly the artist. David Lecossu<\/a>, a\u00a0French freelance Concept Artist\/Illustrator who worked for the videogame company \u2018Gameloft\u2019 and who works now\u00a0for clients like Applibot Inc, Fantasy Flight Games and Catalyst Game Labs. David\u00a0<\/span>approached us in February 2013 to see if there was any work. At the time there wasn’t but when we were looking for an artist for Shelley’s “Lights Over Emerald Creek” we approached him to see if he was still interested.<\/p>\n

The original specifications I provided him were slightly more detailed than usual, see the following<\/p>\n

Shelley was imagining a highly\u00a0realistic, but magical pic of a\u00a0girl sitting in a wheelchair. We\u00a0see her from the back. Her long blonde hair hangs down her back.\u00a0It is night. The wheelchair is\u00a0on the banks of a creek. Tropical palms can be seen, and in the distance, blue-black shadows of mountains are silhouetted against a starry sky. Above the girl’s head is a ball of weird, magical light. It’s about the size of a football but the glow is much bigger. It is a brilliant blue\/white and radiance drenches her. The light is a portal, but at the moment of the picture, all we can see is that some unearthly light is over her head. Further along the creek, two smaller lights, the size of tennis-balls, one blue and one orange, hover just over the water.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We then had to negotiate over price. Our initial offer was for $150 but David’s base rate started at $300. Given his credentials we decided to pay his rate. We have since increased our base rate to $250.<\/p>\n

Two months later David provided the following draft sketch<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"First<\/a>

First Draft<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

While extremely close to the concept we wanted there were a number of changes required.<\/p>\n

Shelley’s comments were as follows<\/p>\n

The cover sketch is really amazing.\u00a0It’s everything I could dream it to be. Where\u00a0will the name and title go? I love the\u00a0realist\/magical integration, which is exactly\u00a0how the book is. The feeling is right, so my\u00a0\u00a0thanks to you and to David for re-imagining so\u00a0\u00a0much based on a simple cover brief.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In my own response I provided specific\u00a0suggestion to bring it closer to\u00a0the book.<\/p>\n

My only concern is that the scene isn’t\u00a0\u00a0Queensland. Shelley has provided some links to\u00a0\u00a0pics of the general vicinity where the book is\u00a0\u00a0set, so you might be able to add a few rocks,\u00a0 and the kind of palms and ferns found in that\u00a0area, as well the bush (Australian for forest) that would extend to the hills and mountains.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Shelley’s links\u00a0to photographs from the area:<\/p>\n