Sorry it took so long, but we're back with part three of our little tutorial, and this is more about the creating than the pricing of a cover. I really want people to see what goes into it! So here is part three:
Pesky Pricing- Illustrated Cover Creation.
I say illustrated covers, because there are many kinds of covers out there and I tend to deal more with the hand-drawn elements. Sure, I've added some jazz and lighting to a few of my projects, which I call Doodles Gone Digital, but I prefer the cartoon or comic approach to my designs making my clients mostly children's authors. No complaints there, I love the stories and the themes behind them. They inspire me, no joke. This does not mean I won't embark on a digital spree once in a while. I'll create pretty much anything if I can, but doodles are my ultimate favorite. In fact, one of the reasons it took so long to get back to you all was the fact that I needed to actually draw out each element in the cover I'll be showing you. Each piece had to be doodled and then laid out in such a way... Problem was: There were over 86 slides and that would have made for a very long post.
Nonetheless, it had to be shown. People had to see all the work that went into the project dubbed:
Back to School Blues.
I found the name fitting, as per the current status in many households. People had to see that it takes more than ten seconds to create the scene and ensure that all the important elements were there. It took a bit, but I figured it out, added a catchy little tune called 'Getting it Done' and I set to work.
Cover Creation has many of the same principals as Scene Creation, as covered in part two, but there are certain elements that must be factored in. The main elements of a cover are title, author name, synopsis, bar-code, spine text, any characters you wish to portray and a basic background. You may want to add in details to add a little flare to your background, or add your author logo, the logo of the illustrator, a wicked review or award you have won, etc... These are all things you will discuss with your illustrator prior to starting the cover, and are considered secondary detail. It's all about the client's needs and making sure the cover is just right for the story. More detail = More layers and the client controls the layer count. So, let's get this video started...
Sound Bite care of "Getting it Done" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
That was a lot of work, not just the illustrations and coloring, but the organizing and finalizing of the video, too! Like I said in the video, it's not as easy as you would think, and we didn't even cover sizing, resolution or the kick-backs and error messages you get for your publishing platforms like Kindle, Ingram, etc... Perhaps I'll have to create a few more tutorials? I wonder if we can get the folks at Plaisted Publishing House to do one on what they do on the editing and formatting end of things? I may have to investigate this, but for now, next time you come across an illustrator or cover artist and you like their work, let them know, for a lot of work went into creating that piece.
Until next time, happy reading, everyone and don't forget to visit me on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CoveredbytheRose
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