 mo' books...
posted: March 9, 2010
I've spent the last week working on my type/design sense, which resulted in this new cover, as well as revisions of some of my old covers.
  And just for fun, a mock-up for a paperback version of my 20,000 Leagues cover.               post a comment |
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Blogosphere
posted: February 16, 2010
So it's been a big week for my books and I
First off, Charles Brock made me designer of the week on Faceout Books (one of my favorite book design blogs)  then Charles sent my link to Michael Bierut, who gave it a "wow", and poster my name on Design Observer...  The Book Designers also took notice...  And Canada's National Post gave me a write-up in their "Afterword" book section and so did Nonsuch Book, Between Clark and Hilldale, Karen Horton's Daily Design Discoveries, and NFG Graphics (even though I can't read it) I've never been so flattered or appreciative. The internet amazes me... Ely Project 2/2
posted: February 10, 2010
As promised, I give you the second half of my Jules Verne series:  for Around the World in Eighty Days, I decided to put a pocket watch on the jacket. Incorporated into the watch is a spin-dial that tracks the characters' journey around the globe. The idea is that as you read, you can turn the dial to correspond to where you are in the book. Underneath the jacket, the cover is designed in the style of vintage postage stamps, and so are the endpapers.  (back cover)  (front cover)  (the spin-dial in action)  (flaps and endpapers)  (detail of front cover)  From the Earth to the Moon. Here I stayed with the "interactivity" theme, and designed the jacket to have a pull-slide tab which reveals the rocket speeding to the moon. The cover features the rocket against a simple star field and decorative border.  (back jacket)  (pull-tab action!)  (flaps and endpapers)  (front cover)  (back cover)  (front cover detail)  (back jacket detail) And there you have it. One of my favorite designers, Chris Ware, once told me that an education in illustration (or art school in general) would destroy my soul. He was almost right. I'm convinced that in this program, if you have time to eat, sleep, or pay your rent, you are not working hard enough (and will be verbally reminded of this regularly) In spite of all that, I'm happy with the way this project turned out, and it taught me how to learn from my teachers. In art school, you essentially get a random assortment of instructors, some of which inevitably will not know very much about/ not share your tastes concerning the field you want to work in. In order to avoid an arbitrary head-butting compromise-fest, the only solution is to be obsessed with your field, and know what you like. When you know this, you know what to take, what to leave, and most importantly, know when you are done. And I am happy to say, I'm done.
My eternal thanks to Joe, Jon, Matt, Gina, Ralph, and Eleanor for helping me figure out how to do this right.
Book Cover Process
posted: January 25, 2010
I recently posted this book cover "how-to" on my personal blog. I thought it would be interesting for non-artists to see how I do what I do. You fellow artists might find it amusing as well, if you ignore the obvious advice, and embarrassing lack of the sketch stage :
I decided to document my process for this book design. Every project has its own unique problems, but I generally go through the same basic steps, especially when I'm just working for myself, instead of someone who is paying me to do what they want. Be aware that this probably isn't the most efficient way to work, it's just the way I do things. 1. Choose a book. I usually try to stay away from recent and/or popular books. The reason for this is that recent books are usually still associated with a certain image, whereas older books have usually released by multiple publishers in multiple editions, and have multiple cover designs. This allows you to make your own version without stepping on anyone's toes, and if you do a good job, it will really stand out from the crowd. Obscure books generally work better than popular books, because you won't have to fight against as much pre-existing imagery or icons associated with the story. It's also a good idea to avoid re-designing a book if you already like the current cover. I chose The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino. I really like this author, and have wanted to design one of his covers for a while. Unfortunately, this Picasso isn't doing anything for me.  2. Find a Dummy. This is an important step, because you will need to know your exact measurements before you begin designing. You should stick to a dummy that is a realistic size for the book you are designing. For instance, if you are making a new cover for "War and Peace", don't use a copy of "The Stranger" for your dummy. Ideally, you should just use the book itself, but since I don't own a hardcover version, I chose this similarly-thick dummy.  3. Sketch. Now... you should do a few sketches before you settle on one (as you will soon find out), but since this was a self-assigned project, and the sketch gradually developed from some doodles, I just went with one. A good trick is to actually wrap the book in graph paper and draw right onto it. This will eliminate any careless measurement mistakes, which I am very prone to.   4. Finish Drawing. Depending on how you work, transfer your sketch and begin rendering your elements. I happen to work mostly with ink, so I traced my sketch onto vellum, and will assemble and color them later on the computer.   If you make a lot of mistakes like I do, it might take a few tries to get things right. This sheet of lettering is actually a very clean one for me. There are usually about 3 times this many arrows and X's.  5. Panic. Sometimes the image in your head doesn't look as good on paper (or screen).  This is where better sketching would have helped. In this case, I usually scramble around trying different solutions. I ended up re-arranging the snails, and adding some yellow. It seems to have done the trick. Lay out the necessary typography, and ask a trusted friend what for an opinion.  6. Print, relax, repeat Once you're done, print a copy, wrap it around your dummy, and make a blog about it.    |
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