Illustration
Process
Cover Project: Eve Archer Book 1
For Eve Archer, it was important to show a suburban teen, interstellar travel, and magic. The author wanted to combine the energy of Eve’s running pose in Concept A with the narrative elements from the back of Concept B. The flow of the composition made it reasonable to incorporate a wormhole effect that aided with separating the vignette of Eve riding the dragon from the primary illustration of Eve running.
Concept Sketches
Color Schemes
Reference
My direct reference material includes using myself as a model as well as 3D models. I use existing 3D models, kit-bashing, and elements sculpted from scratch. The dragon’s wings come from an existing rigged bat model and the body is a separate model that I divided into movable pieces and customized (mostly the head and tail). I work primarily in Blender with some figurative model reference in Daz3D in my work.
Final
Cover Project: Mists of Mbali
Mists of Mbali was a book cover redesign. The former cover was having trouble resonating with YA and fantasy audiences, so I guided the author in ways to fit the genre. The focus was to portray the protagonist, an element of magic-wielding, and a reference to the mythic white elephant, which plays a major role in the novel. The author decided to go with Concept A to make the protagonist’s eyes a greater focal point in addition to a clear view of the elephant necklace.
Concept Sketches
