I'm wrapping up the loose ends with my SkyHeart project before I send it off to the printers. This week I finished the cover!
I had already designed and illustrated a cover for the book. However, I did it BEFORE I ever drew the book. I created it for the Kickstarter to show people what the finished book might look like. I had just barely figured out the designs for most of my characters, and I hadn't finished the story yet.
After I had finished the book, I revisited the cover and realized the character designs were off, and there were elements on the cover that never ended upr in the book. I felt like the cover could do a better job at reflecting what was in the books pages.
The original cover design was more of a mood piece than anything. It was meant to capture the feeling of what I wanted the book to be, and to try and sell that idea to potential backers. Now that the book was finished I realized I needed to redesign it. I really liked the vibe of the first cover so I pretty much stuck with the same composition and color palette.
Here's a comparison of the two:
I think it definitely gets the designs for Wake and Mal Threck right. And I like what's going on with the tengru better in the background. Yahna's character pose better reflects her attitude in the book. And the ship at the bottom is the right color. There's some color stuff that I couldn't quite repolicate with the second one. Sometimes illustration is just alchemy and I have no idea how I get a certain effect. All in all, I'm pretty happy with the revised cover.
I'm launching a pre-order for the book on May 21. So if you want to get in on this print run be sure to pre-order then.
If you'd like to be notified when that pre-order launches, just click here to sign up for the list.
-Jake