Making of a cover. Part 1.

Some thoughts and a bit of the process that goes into creating a cover.
I'd done about 5 sketches, different ideas, just getting a feel for it really
and sent them to Dave West (writer Extraordinaire) about his thoughts...
I got a favourite image but I wanted Dave's take on it...
It didn't take too long and we both pretty much settled on this one.

So I went back to the drawing board to do some figure sketches of the 4 characters: -

                                                        I really like the tentacles here.

                             To get Black to look like he was sinking was more difficult than I thought.

To get the proportions right and just to get the look of Black floating/sinking in the water (and believe me when I say it wasn't easy).
 Also, I wanted to nail the look of the mermaids and I really liked the look of them in the third image, with tentacles at the side of their mouths...
The better to grab on to Black's face but then I thought it might become a distraction, especially when the image is reduced to comic size...
Or worse becomes so indistinquishable as to what they were it would unbalance the picture.
Your eye would be drawn to their faces.

So finally, a bit of lightboxing and a lot of eraser use later and I get this image.
And I'm ready to ink.
I upload it in Manga Studio...create an inking layer and begin.
You can either reduce the transparency of the image or change it to another colour to make it easier.
Took it nice and slow and fourty minutes later...

 I like what I'm doing so carry on, if I hadn't I would have deleted it and started again.
And now I got this finished image of Black

Now I know I might have to alter the size later so I leave Black on a layer on his own and open a 2nd layer
for mermaid no 1...

Like so. Then opened another layer for mermaid no 2...

And finally a third layer for Mermaid no 3...

So that's the image finished (and the third mermaid is blue to help me see where she overlaps the other mermaids)..I can take out the blue anytime and turn it black again.
I need room for the title and credits, so I scale, twist and turn the three mermaids (each on their own layers) so everything will fit, like so...

For one final finished cover.
It now goes to Matt Soffe so he can work his colouring magic on it then to Andy Bloor who'll dazzle us with his design skills and add the title and credits.
And when I get those back I'll post 'em on this here blog.