As the old saying goes, “You can’t judge a book by its cover…but everyone sure loves a gorgeous cover when they see it!” (Or something along those means. *wink*) The responsibility of creating an eye-catchy cover rests on the shoulders of the graphic artist assigned to the project, and there’s usually much more involved in the process than most folks realize. Stockphotos have to be purchased, fonts licensed, a composition designed, typography set, etc. And etc. And etc. Hours of hard work and love go into making the perfect cover for a story, but the effort is always worthwhile to get a great comment from an author or reader.

Making Magic: The How’s, What’s and Why’s of Creating Covers

April: I should be exempt from ever having to tell how I made a cover. After all, more than anyone else I know, I’ve already described my step-by-step process countless of times—from cartoon covers like Charming the Snake and The Wilder Brother, to 3D covers like Passionate Destiny and Still Waters, to photo manipulation covers like Love and Magic, Bone Deep, and Laying a Ghost—and for all I know, I could have given away all my most valuable trade secrets in doing so.

But to humor everyone, I’ll just say that every cover is different. Some are quick and easy. Others are drawn out and a pain. It all depends on so many variables that it’s sometimes hard to predict. The most common denominator, however, is the cover art request form … or the art brief. Without it, we artists might as well be doodling for ourselves. And from there, it’s just a matter of coming up with something that fits.

Sometimes we know where we’re going. Sometimes we’re just as surprised with the results as the author is. It’s kind of a journey and a process of discovery.

If that answer doesn’t satisfy, feel free to click the links.

Frauke: After reading the cover art form, the photo hunt begins. Usually I purchase more images than I need in the end. I don’t have a fully outlined image in my head, a lot of ideas come when I’m actually working on the cover itself. Let’s face it — I’m not a plotter, I’m a pantser! So while I have a general basic idea, everything is fair game and can change till I find the ‘wow-factor’. If I reach this point, it needs a strong author or art director to get me to make changes - and I admit, sometimes my ‘wow-factor’ needs corrections. LOL. You could say this is the ‘drive each other insane’ phase, and there are a lot of authors, I like to drive insane and vice versa. Hope you are up for a banter or two? *smile*

Anne: I have a pretty cool checklist I follow as part of my workflow. It looks something like this…

Step 1 - Read request form. If there’s not enough info, or way too much, scream.
Step 2 - After getting any details from the author that might be needed, hunt down photos (for a photomontage cover) or make sketches (for drawn art).
Step 3 - Eight+ hours of work later, it’s draft time. Start bouncing ideas off art director and/or author.
Step 4 - Celebrate - the design has been approved! Move on to Step 6, or…
Step 5 - (hopefully optional): Bang head on desk - the design has been poo-poo’ed. Make revisions and resubmit. Repeat this step as often as necessary to make the best cover possible, then go back to Step 4.
Step 6 - Post artwork to online portfolio and link to the publisher’s page to help promo the book.
Step 7 - Eagerly wait for next assignment.

About the Guilty Parties

April Martinez is a freelance artist and graphic designer, art director for Liquid Silver Books, and cover artist for Loose Id. Visit her website here.

Behind CrocoDesigns is one woman who loves crocodiles as much as her design work. She holds a degree in veterinary medicine and has worked in all kind of jobs related to publishing and book promoting. Design was a hobby that’s now a full-time job and she enjoys every minute of it. So if you can’t find her reading the latest romance novel, she sits in front of her computer working on the next project, but always it’s all about the books. Check out her website here.

As a cover artist and illustrator, Anne Cain freelances for several publishers. Whenever she’s not chained to the PC, writing a new story, or doodling away in a sketchbook, she spends too much time reading yaoi and watching anime. Check out her gallery here!

Stay tuned for Day/Topic #4: Ch-Ch-Changes…

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 10th, 2007 at 9:46 pm and is filed under Guest Author, Show and Tell. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.