I realized that I didn´t post a painting process here in a while. Actually I have utilized tumblr as sketchbook for insights in my process, but sometimes it is better to show a process coherent as a whole. This isn´t a tutorial, but I try to explain as much as possible and if you have questions to any of the steps below, I´d be glad to answer them!
One very recent character-driven cover artwork I did was for Kyle Stiff and his Heavy Metal Thunder book. It is kind of a different story, because it is a'choose your own adventure' styled book, but... you better read on Amazon what this genre or better said; the book is all about.
The title as also the description he gave me was all directing towards heavy metal, but mostly targeted at the physical representation.
The main character "Cromulus" is a mix of El Topo and Rasputin type of persona and a soldier, nicely packaged in a black-armor, equipped with pretty archaic weaponry and a jetpack on his lonesome journey through outer space.
1.) Character / armor concept
1.) The first rough draft was merely a concept sketch, an approach to find out in which direction I should go with the armor, weaponry and especially the jetpack design.
2.) Stance and jetpack studies
2.) The stance above is based on the idea that the cover should reflect the jetpack as much of a burden as it is a display of power. The sword and the gun are placed in a position that allows the eyes to flow into the image from the lower left corner, leading towards the title, back to the character and author name.
3.) Crop and sketch based on given specs.
3.1.) Eye-flow-plan
3.) The sketch I have done on pencil and paper was scanned into Photoshop. I used the polygon-lasso to select just the figure and placed it above a digitally sketched background. The aspect ratio used is a 6x8 format, which is quite good for later use as e-book which is around 600x800px, so that there is plenty of space above the character for typo. The idea that developed in this stage was, that he stands in front of a wall and on the left there is still space that shows the interior of a ruin / uninhabited spaceship. 3.1.) This is an Eye-flow-map (more info here), it is possible to engage a specific eye-flow with lines, contrasts and various other composition techniques, no one can guarantee that it works as intended, but it is always good to have a plan, instead of hoping the best for a good outcome.
4.) Scene sketch with typo
4.1.) Further developed scene with typo
4.-4.1) To see if there is enough space, I added the typo as a "mock-up" at this point, because now it is still possible to change anything. To get a better impression of the weight the font has and the image, I added some shading and contrast to the painting. Right now there are some flaws that show up, which were not that visible before, such as the head size and the stance which looks more burden than powerful and his right arm that looks too short.
5.) roughly colored version
5.) In this stage, his right arm still looks weird, but now it haz color! I changed the stance and added a complete layer-group to add colors and some lighting effects. Custom-brushes were used at the bottom, lighting on the character was essential to show the coldness of outer space on the one side and some mysterious blood red on the right side. From a technical point of view; there is a color-layer-group behind the character for the background only, since I have separated the character from the background (like mentioned before). There is also another group of colors on top of the character, in step 5.) it consists only of lighting with red and blue (Check 7.1.) for the layer palette how this actually looks).
6.) This colored sketch shows the refinement as a whole
6.1.) This map shows the hot spots where the most work went into
6.-6.1.) These two images show where the most work went to refine the whole painting. We are getting closer but still: "way to go".
7.) This step shows my workspace which is a bit bigger than the actual image
7.1.) Cluttered layers in uncluttered groups
7.) This step shows a bit more of my workspace area, which is actually bigger than the image itself, for mixing colors, brush tests and temporary reference image placement. I always keep the character separated from the background, until the image is 90% done. So at this stage I have made a duplication of the character layer and made it about 20% darker, then I erased the parts that should stay brighter, to add depth and more contrast to the lighting, this is visible if you compare the version 8.) with 6.) . 7.1.) This shows my layer palette at this point, still a bit messy, I´m used to reduce layer groups, once they´re approved. To keep safety while working back and forth, I save different versions every now and then, so I can import a layer group from a previous version to go back if necessary.
8.) Added detail and color adjustments
8.) This piece shows the almost finished artwork, it is clear where the main work went; the face expression as also the details in background and the lighting from the sides, plus a vignette layer to change focus to the upper half of the work. But still, there are sime minor things that separates this from being a final work.
9.) Added fog, frozen blood and depth-of-field...
9.1.) Close up #1
9.1.) Close up #2
9.1.) Close up #3
9.1.) Close up #4
9.) Fog, frozen blood on the sword and depth of field to the background add the drama I was going for, another fancy effect are the various lights that are visible on the armor and jetpack, the i-tip is the black smoke on the gun, which is only visible in the version without typo. 9.1.) These are some close-up´s, pretty self-explanatory:)
10.) Final version of the cover art with typo
10.) This is the final version with typo, it shows that the font, bolt and the limited typo effects go well with the sci-fi theme.
I hope you liked this digital painting walk-through, check out the others here and here too.
Comments are always welcome.
Someone who follows my blog regularly notices my passion for social media and new technologies, my last post regarding a site was about google+.
While I´m very fond of the way´s different networks work, I learned to embrace Pinterest as a new place that can top it all, for several reasons:
In my humble opinion it is the ease of use and the simplicity of the design, that makes it so addictive and valuable at the same time.
I´d say it is facebook without all the ugliness, because people always want to share great stuff and surround themselves with beautiful things, it is all natural to display a set of things that we would want, if we either could afford it or recreate ourselves. This is where Pinterest comes into play.
It´s clean, uncluttered and fast.
The service allows you to collect, share and surround yourself with people who are passionate about beautiful stuff. And it is a true labor that pay´s off to re-pin all the hidden gems on the web. The Fancy is another site with the same interest, more targeted at mobile users with a less wide layout. It seems there is a decent demand for this kind of site and I wouldn´t wonder if facebook´s user activity will drop within the next 2 years because of that.
I started to pin some of my favorites from deviantart, until I found it was also useful to share on another board the complete funny and hilarious things that are often meme´s on the web and worth sharing too.
In the aspect of re-pinning, it is very similar to the way Tumblr is used, but way easier and you don´t need to worry about the copyright if you are pinning from an original source, because all sources are included in every pin and re-pin.
There is a wide variety of uses for this networking site and it is just in the beginning, or better said in "beta-mode" and invite only. Design-shack has a nice article on "how to use Pinterest for design-inspiration".
One usage that came to my mind was to create an art book wishlist, because no one knows how to find me on Amazon, this is easier to localize, pop´s up on facebook after a pin is added. As a true art-book-addict, very easy to use with the bookmarklet, once I come across a lovely book. Very often I forgot where I have seen this or that book and when I had the time and money to purchase, I simply forgot the name of the bookmark, etc.
While I can agree and encourage to use these tip´s wherever possible on all social networks, Pinterest has a whole lot more to offer; with a public version and the option to have boards hidden or set to private, it would make a great way to collaborate online. A direct use is to gather references, I can imagine setting up a board and pinning every image that can be found on the web regarding a specific project. This can sometimes take a couple of hours - but has to be done either way. Yet it is a difference if an Author or Agency has to download and attach every single picture on a mail or sharing a pin-board that can be extended and updated at every given time.
Embracing new technologies can either result in a waste of time or with a win thereof, it always depends on us how we see things. I made it a daily habit to see only positive things. I don´t say that it is good to close the eyes in front of all the ugliness that is happening in the world, but to be honest, for this - there is still facebook.
And as artist it is absolutely vital to surround us with things that inspire us, instead of things that disturb our moods or goals.
My personal conclusion to the question at the title of this post:
If someone has a strong ability to limit social media and interenet use in general, Pinterest can be a very valuable tool, for everyone else I´d suggest to try it and if it takes up more than 30 minutes of your daily time, consider to stay away.
There is however a concern making the round about copyright issues, it might not be unimportant to add a line of warning to this article, a photographer and lawyer has written an "understandable" article, argumenting about whether to use or not to use here.
Honestly, I don´t think there is anything we can do about that matter, instead of fair-play. My assumption is that once a private-mode will be available, which allows to hide boards from the public, many artists and photographers will be just highlighting their own works and hide the others, to not hurt anyone. And the rest of the world will keep on posting funny stuff from the interweb without even thinking about the original source.
I have to admit that there is a potential danger when using Pinterest, another discussion I followed brought the valid reason that artwork would be devalued if just "consumed" through Pinterest, while this statement holds truth, it always depends on the user: I can also watch a T.V. transmission of a football game or I can buy a ticket and watch them live, it all depends on me.
When I decide to use Pinterest, I decided to make this out of a time-saving intention, not to hurt anyone or infringe copyright. It is for sure still an option to download inspiration and go through them folder by folder, but it is the same thing, just off-line.
My guess is that a "private-mode" is absolutely necessary, for collaboration AND to retain copyright.
Wouldn´t it be nice if everyone has their priorities pinned on their forehead, or better in the shape of shiny sliders floating over their head?
Yes, silly idea, but it would make life so much easier.
During the last year I have deepened my understanding of psychology, marketing and social phenomena to find the most intriguing topics the outcome based thinking and personal values.
Everyone has values or priorities, in doing freelance business I found that it is vital to learn your clients values, this makes it easier to satisfy a customer and it brings the fun back into work at the same time.
Basically everyone has a set of sliders, just the settings develop and adjust as we grow older, through experiences, through persuasion, belief and through advertising. In fact: media and advertising have a great impact to our slider settings and how we perceive the world.
When does this affect you?
Everyday.
If you learn to see the sliders besides or in relation to everyone you have -or want to deal with, be it your parents, your boss or your best friend, this will help you gain an even better understanding of their values.
And let´s be honest, to please somebody you want to convince is easy if you know what exactly they want.
The big question is how to get this information, or the "slider-parameter", especially if someone is not specific about an inquiry?
Well this is something you have to ask for. It is professional to ask questions. It is not unethical if it serves to deliver a better service or product. And it shows sincere interest in the clients needs. I can just speak about freelancing business and therefore services, but this applies to so many other businesses as well.
It just hurts to see people bothering about their colleagues or bosses or even clients, this isn´t just a problem, this shows that at some point they havn´t asked the right questions.
Value based communication is the key here.
If you know what your opposite´s values are you can´t seem to fail - theoretically, at least if you don´t intend it.
And it is definitely communication that is causing such issues.
Wrong communication methods are the first instance of a problem in most cases.
This is the reason I mostly insist of communicating through e-mail, if I have a question that might be answered beforehand, I can go back and review it, if I send a reply, its nearly a commitment, a promise to "get-things-done"! While a phone call just steals time in many cases, it is unpleasant to find yourself later with an unanswered question, and more often than not we didn´t want to bother with a follow-up call, but a follow-up e-mail isn´t such a bother, it shows interest and is proof of active listening.
So many problems could be avoided if we learn to communicate effectively. In my opinion this should be a school-subject of its own. On the other hand it takes time to find your best communication method.
I found out that I´m not really good at talking on the phone (for a first contact), my personal or direct contacts still need to get better as also the ability to speak in public, I feel most comfortable by writing, because this way I don´t forget anything that might be important.
Another noteworthy thought about that matter perfectly illustrated in the picture above, is to find out if a prospect is acquiring something from you because he wants to, or because he has to.
The latter is more promising, because time might be short, or a company is behind him but it also tells me that less creative freedom is in a project. If someone is asking because he is self-publishing and is directing the art all by themselves - less money might be an involved, but more freedom and the chance to create something really outstanding are a deal for me.
Outcome based thinking is in my opinion something that artists invented, it is being told that Michelangelo started to work on his famous sculpture of David after a year of just imagining it from the rough block of stone. This is outcome based thinking in its purest form, visualization and the feeling that it will be good in the end are the main ingredients for a great result.
Very often we effectively make use of this techniques but don´t even know it.
We also create and live in our very own reality, we feel most comfortable with people whose reality seems to be very close to ours. In terms of business this is an opportunity as also the key to rejection. Any application letter and CV will be judged to see if you fit into their corporation keyholes, if your data doesn´t fit, you will most likely not fit.
Easy as pie.
Doing freelancing business appears to be even more complex, but after 3 years of doing this successful, I can say it is not. Because no data is required to gain rapport with your clients need. Sure, data is helpful, but what is most important is the rapport and personal values.
However, there is a chance of a mismatch here and there, we all went into this trap at least one time, but what helps in a case of doubt is the simple rule: "Win/Win, or no deal at all". If there´s nothing in for everyone involved, it is better to walk away and not accept to do work continuously.
I don´t talk about money here, collaborations seem to be always a Win/Win situation if you learn something out of it. Many businesses require that you do an intern at your own cost, the only thing you can earn is to learn something.
Make the world a better place and be aware of your values and take care of others.
It is just not worth putting your face into the sand because of failure in communication...
For this book I have to thank Paul Peart Smith for asking me to participate and the team of ILEX for gathering awesome talents and tasteful imagery for a really inspiring coffee- table book. I´d say this is a book that is for sure a conversation starter if you have it on the table when your mother-in-law visits you. In a positive way:)
I think I don´t need to say anything big about the quality of Ilex- books, they are hardcover with a dust jacket, bound really strong and even the hardcover is printed. A fabulous print, paper and color quality sums up the obvious brilliance, the paper is a semi-glossy heavy one that flows nicely without reflecting light too much.
Below you find some interior shots I did with the camera, just to get a glimpse of what you are missing out if you don´t get yourself a copy. You can purchase the book directly via the publisher ILEX-Press or Amazon.
Did you ever notice, wherever you state in a conversation that you are doing well, the conversation is soon dying? No? Then try it for yourself.
People like to small talk and sometimes we enjoy a little compassion too.
And that is totally OK, because the human nature is that we are sincerely interested in solving problems.
We are most eager to solve problems we have created by ourselves.
I hear outcries like: " It´s crisis, how can you do well?" or when the newspaper write about another catastrophe here and there.
To be honest, I care about problems that people carry to me with passionate interest in creating an outstanding solution, why should I waste time with problems I can not fully grasp, especially when they happen to take place far, far away?
Sure thing, terrible things happen in the world, every day, every hour and every minute, and an equally number of great things do happen at the same time in the same world, how is this possible?
Simple answer first: Ying and Yang. Black and white, cup half-full and half-empty. Day and night.
Makes sense, right?
It always depends on how we see things and if we are able to change our worldview through others. If you believe in the BS television will make you believe, its your own fate, and please don´t wonder why the cup is always half-empty.
Its totally important to know your conversation partner, because you can´t tell heaven from hell, blue skies from pain and a green field from a cold steel rail. (From Pink floyd - Wish you were here)
If I do well, for whatever reason, its my own luck and its absolutely crucial to know with whom I share this luck. With the right people this luck can double, with the wrong people, it can grow anger and envy.
In this regard, the lyrics and hidden advice from Pink Floyd are golden, like so many of their songs.
An interesting thing I noticed, is that it is vital to share any positive vibe and happenings with clients and true friends, with people who enjoy hanging out or working with you. These people are multipliers for positive mindsets and "doing well"- notifications because they invest, time, money, or both and love to see you grow.
I think its good to know that, and its important to filter what you share with people around you.
Last but not least its also important to treat the people who invest in you with appreciation and not forget their confidence in you.
If you do that, there is no competition, only collaboration, only full or half-full cups and always a steady change of days and nights.
So what can I say about the book and am I supposed to say even something?
Well, I am a collector of artist books myself and I have seen a lot, my current collection counts over 100 art books! Standards of expections are often depending on the price and with $29.99 its not a steal, but its also in the middle field for a book of around 150 pages with pure inspiration, especially for a book on demand.
I know I could have got a pdf as a complimentary copy but when it comes to artbooks I prefer printed and physical books, which was the reason I supported Craig with this project.
For artists, especially illustrators working in the genre art, sci-fi and fantasy sector, its important to get published and these artbook compilations are a nice way to get exposure for little to no cost. Ballistic books gives every included artist a free printed copy of the book and even entry is free, but its important to note that Ballistic does no book on demand and has the financial background to handle shipping and around 150-200 copies to artists worldwide.
Spectrum on the other hand has a fee on entries, no ftp submission - so basically artists have to pay in advance per piece + shipping costs for no certainty to be included. Some other publications like "Illustration Now" from Taschen are invite only, which is a system that in my opinion can´t show the true gems of what´s great out now, only what the editors know, and that can, but has not per se be to the best in fact.
Now to a little scarcity of the book that isn´t really an issue: the quality of the print is definitely great, just the paper of the interior is matte and has a mild structure. Which results in the impression that the prints are roughly rastered, but they are not! Its just the light on the paper structure that reflects oddly.
Other than that the colors are pretty great and the resolution of the printed images are excellent, opposed to some fuzzy pictures from the "Kris Kuksi" -artbook, which seem to be shot with a 3megapixel camera (which is a pity to say the least, but especially considering the price).
Sometimes it feels so tempting to shout out loud what we think about a situation or a circumstance.
The most recent example I can tell where this happened to me is when I contributed some of my works to art communities.
Actually I don´t care if my work is accepted in the CGSociety/CGTalk* gallery, because otherwise I would have much to do ranting about what kind of "art" is accepted over there... I also know that most colleagues there have also just 50% of their works accepted. I guess they agree its funny to read their reasons for rejection and the suggestion that we might consider to submit a finished and printed image to the "work-in-progress forums".
Honestly, I have better things to do, but occasionally when this happens, I think about how others feel about such a reaction, artist who might not have the self-confidence might take this very personal.
When it comes to work, I have learned to take things never, ever personally!
I had submitted a piece once to the epilogue.net gallery which took me a long time to finish and it got rejected for some minor lighting issues, I thought that its not my problem if their eyes are hurt from looking at 10k images a day that cause severe eye injury and I tried again around 6 month later without changing the work at all, that time the image got an editors pick, how´s that possible?
Because the first attempt was most likely bad timing.
When it comes to rejections in our life there is one thing that counts, persistence, Randy Pausch said in his last lecture: "Find the best in everybody. Just keep waiting no matter how long it takes. No one is all evil. Everybody has a good side, just keep waiting, it will come out."
No comments about a work -can be a critique too, but only if you don´t know how to deal with it. The art communities, be it deviantArt, Artwanted, Artician, are all nice and fine, but they can give artists only a glimpse of a general opinion. A good portion of luck and sympathy also decides if your work gets featured or awarded, but if not, don´t blame yourself, it might be just bad timing.
Personally, I know that my commissioned work does only sometimes become the attention they deserve in these communities, but these works allow me to make a living as artist. Also these works help me to get better at painting and sharpening my skills on a daily basis to deliver quality work in return.
Personal versions of client based artworks are not necessary at all, so why do I make them?
Because it feels great to make a good artwork even better, to play the "Director´s-cut" and it shows very good that I don´t take my artistic self too serious.
Which brings me to a last important saying: "Never take yourself too serious, because no one else does."
*For those not familiar with CGTalk: Its a professional platform for CG-artists,(http://cgsociety.org) every submitted image can be directly submitted to a user portfolio and is visible over there, (for example: http://fantasio.cgsociety.org) but along with the submission process it can be submitted to the cg-gallery for discussion / additional exposure and to take part in the regular cg-choice awards.
When I write about people, its only because I see something that is worth learning from.
If you start out as freelancer or artist its good to see how successful people have done things before us to adapt and apply it as far as possible to our own business and time. This is why I recommend to read biographies. Warhol and Dalà where also great entrepreneurs who were equally personally connected with their art until today.
I guess the one of Steve Jobs will be a great inspiration to geeks, artists and entrepreneurs alike.
One common thing all great artists share is the passion and the sense to put the status quo into question. This is not an option, this is necessary!
When Jobs decided to connect himself with the "product" publicly on the stage for the first time, he eventually acquired a taste for attention.
I guess the change of the target market, from creative people and designers to mainstream in the last 10 years, made the product no less than a productivity tool, but additionally a status symbol. And like it or not - this is art.
Changing the way we interact, communicate and see things, is art.
Making connoisseurs out of customers is art.
Building companies whose goal it is to always raise the bar (Pixar, Apple) ... is art.
Moving an audience with moving images is art.
Giving always the best and pushing others to do the same is what makes great art possible.
Promises and shipping deadlines go very well together if you can focus and Steve definitely knew how to focus even in hard times.
The one difference between Coca Cola and Apple will always be that everyone will know who (Co-) founded Apple, but only few know who founded Coca Cola ( its John Stith Pemberton btw.) The other difference between Coca Cola and Apple is that Coca Cola will probably stay the same in 50 years, because they only need some campaigns and a new product every 2 years, while the market of Apple develops so fast its even possible that a big company just starting out will buy Apple in 10 years, who knows.
Sure, we don´t need the founder of a company to know that a Ferrari is worth the bucks, their vision is incorporated in the products through strict principles that are there to maintain the quality even when they are gone. But in the most cases we only know the products, or did you ever saw Mr. Starbucks giving a keynote, or Mr. Lufthansa talking about the new airbus? Its not necessary, and yet we embrace if a company comes through with personality. But personality is just there to create momentum, what stays is the product, maybe a biography and a lot changed minds.
I don´t know how Jobs was personally and I never saw a Keynote, but eventually I don´t need to know all this to see a great inspiration in him.
Only a few entrepreneurs are brave enough to start over just because they have to and do it successful.
The only person which I recall that had done something similar is Richard Branson who created a magazine with the age of 16, later Virgin Records and an airline.
When reading quotes from Steve Jobs, he stated that money wasn´t the driving force. But when you know that money is the thing that makes new inventions possible and keep a company running, he eventually did it all for the money.
Satchel Paige once said:"“Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching.” I think Steve did all this and even more, and I guess he had a more fulfilled life than others with 80+ years.
And in the end the amount of money a person earned in his life isn´t important at all, it only matters what he/she does with it. I think its important to realize that we always have the chance to do better, to get better at the things that matter to us, but we have very limited time.
The worst scenario I imagine is to have ideas for a whole century and just a few days left.
"Stay hungry, stay foolish." - (only a fool will accomplish what everyone else thinks is impossible, because only a fool will try)
OK, lets make one thing totally clear:
"I don´t know it all!"
That´s why I´m here, writing about the stuff I´m passionate about and do my best in order to improve.
Here´s a little story about my youth that explains a bit about my ongoing fascination for cover art:
When I was a teenager, I often went into that indie- record store in town, with some mates after school. It was totally clear that we weren´t able to buy all these great albums with their great painted cover art. But while my friends enjoyed to listen to the albums, I picked up always one that stood out the most, studied every detail for a long time and when I got home later, I did a colored pencil drawing from memory. I did that regularly. Later on in school I learned the raster tracing technique, I applied this when I was able to buy the albums to do my own poster art of them.
Back then, I was intrigued like most in my class, by Iron Maiden covers, later by the covers of Front Line Assembly, Testament and Skinny Puppy, not long until I found out that these were done by my all time favorite inspiration: Dave McKean. From this day on it was really clear to me that I wanted to create a similar impact on others and that awesome stuff could be achieved with the means of a computer.
Today I have to come up with gorgeous ideas to create covers that communicate and I use nearly the same technique like what I did in the record store - just in my head - my mind comes up with some great ideas and I just pick up the one that I think is worth to be done.
The reason to write this post was inspired by a link from Jason Kristopher to a post about self-publishing cover design mistakes, which I find is a good starting point for any author. I don´t care if a book is published by a big company or by an author, the reason for me is that I embrace the freedom to create things that are new, taking chances and working with authors who are pioneers - instead of doing the same thing over and over. I mean, what Francis Ford Coppola says in his Interview inspires me, and also proves that I´m right.
So I decided to publish this little and hopefully helpful list of cover design principles, if you are in the process of finding a cover artist, read further and keep these aspects in mind for any decisions regarding book covers.
The purple cow - weirder = better
This might be helpful to some genre, such as belletristic, science fiction and fantasy, but probably not in nonfiction books. Ask yourself if your content can benefit from such a stylistic exaggeration or if it suffer from it, if there is the slightest chance that your book can suffer from it, simply stay away. There is also a pitfall in having a purple-cow-cover - it cannot stand out in a row of other purple cows, research the competition and find your niche.
(Exception to rule: Some scientific nonfiction books can benefit from science-fiction or character driven art to stand out)
The rule of consistency
For a story that is split into more books, its for sure the best way to make a whole series recognizable. This is common practice and for a reason, but its important to know if it is good for your content and how to incorporate the recognition factor from the onset, is it a specific color? An item? A character? Different characters? A specific mood? A specific typeface? (The exception to the rule of consistency would only be an intentional different look or if you´d be forced to find another illustrator, I am able to match styles and have finished a series another illustrator couldn´t finish, but this should be an exception)
The mighty face recognition machine
When deciding what to have on your cover, keep in mind that we humans have the ultimate "face-recognition-mode" - always turned on. This article illustrates quite good the mechanism and the power of faces in advertising, it can be powerful to catch attention and to draw a viewer into a composition. The only valid reason to stay away from this, would be if your content is about plants or animals, but even then I´d suggest to find facial features, as abstract as it may sound, when people recognize faces in clouds by accident, they´ll be happy to pick up a book with a plant that shapes a face by intention.
Sex sells - not always...
..but very often. I´m more for the teasing aspect of this one, because it allows to be applied and shown to all audiences and there is nothing wrong if its done nicely and alongside a content that can benefit from the tease. This is even more a question than a fact: "Can your content catch up with the tease and come up with a golden thread in the readers mind?" If not this is definitely a thing to think twice about. (The golden exception to this would be if you don´t care what readers think or if you are out for a short term sale)
Less is more
I´m all for simplicity, it has been said that your book has only 3-5 seconds to attract prospects from the shelves or from the thumbnail, its important to focus and use contrasts, colors and simple compositions to create the "tease" and create that important "first impression" that makes the viewer interested into your book. Sure some can come up with a fancy type or "that awesome idea" that turns out to be a whole universe as you get closer, but its rare that it works. I won´t say a fancy or sophisticated cover won´t sell, but advertising is about the catch, "if you chase two rabbits, you will lose them both" - go for the one simple eye catcher that communicates the message in a split second and create the golden thread with your content later. (Sorry, no exception to this rule)
These principles - or rather a combination of all these - help me to get the most out of my work and I´m sure it will do the same for you, regardless if you are an illustrator, editor or author. They are part of my daily process when I work on covers and if necessary or possible - I discuss these specific points with my clients.
As artist or designer you have probably heard about the new product Wacom is promoting currently, the "Inkling", with a specific pen and hardware that can interpret the movements on paper you are even able to digitize sketches on the go:
The idea is good but when viewing this "promotional video" with the "why-how-what" principle in mind, I realize there is no why, no actual reason for me to say "Yes" to this product - big fail from the marketing department here.
When viewing the enthusiasm around me about this fancy thing, I realize that Wacom created a really big wave, which is not bad. But its connected to a big promise, and as far as I can see they show everything the product can do in the spot. The problem with promises is that they require to be kept. The success of any Keynote from Steve Jobs was that he picked just a few of the great things any new product he showed can do, so that customers find out a big list of additional goodies themselves, any promise was overdelivered, with any apple product ever made. Simple tactic and it still works.
But back to the promise:
Sure would it be great if my idea can start as traditional sketches and immediately become digitized, but can you tell me one reason why I should not stick with the sketch-on-the-go-and-scan-later-at-office practice?
The reason I predict this product to be a fail (please note: this is my personal opinion) is that the benefit for artists in general is much smaller than the costs and that it targets at artists of all classes but forgets that only digital experts can think in invisible layers.
The benefits that are evident at the first glance might be time saving aspect and the ability to digitize on the go.
This might be true if you are a comic artist and if inking digitally over pencils is a pain for you.
I´m not bothering about the prize here, this gadget might be good for any doodler or early adopter who wants to show something fancy to their friends, but professionals who have to deliver on a tight deadline need a better reason.
Above all it requires from me to get used to a clumsy pen. I wonder what happens when the battery is empty "on the go" and if you even can see the layers you are creating, some people have even issues with layers they see in Photoshop, what about "invisible-layers" then?
I can only speak for myself and I work on sketches with an F or H pencil for a rough and an HB mechanical pencil for detail works. Its comfortable enough to scan the sketch and work from there in Photoshop for shadings, coloring and finalizing the work. And I know the workflow of most professionals who still work on paper is similar. The main problem is time for a really good workflow, changing the workflow means less productivity, in the worst case a failed investment and even worse: lost time.
Show me a presentation where an art-director utilize such a gadget to demonstrate the use of it in a meeting for example or a comic book artist who really can benefit from working into vector inks directly from a sketchbook.
This would be for sure a smaller target audience, but the promise wouldn´t be too big to keep, just realistic.
But Wacom, I will not leave you in the dark about any reason for sales reluctance:
If you can find a better reason for artists to use such a device and say "YES" to your product, you are on a good way. Or if you learn to target a specific audience within the artist community, instead of speaking to all artists with one Ad. And by the way; not everyone is an expert in imagining invisible layers:)
MY prediction for an epic-win would be pressure sensitive stylus (or support) for the iPad, but I´m saying this since years and no one is hearing me, go on you fingerpainters and inklings, in a few years you come back to this blog and say:" you were so right" :-)
