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| Ki'shto'ba reacts to learning the truth about its misdeeds. (Click for larger view) |
I'm presenting the new cover art that I concocted for The Valley of Thorns. I honestly like it better than the other drawing, which I'm inserting at the bottom so you can compare. The new drawing shows a scene from late in the book, but I can't tell you more about what's happening than I put in the caption. It's enough to say that Ki'shto'ba isn't really murdering Di'fa'kro'mi and Za'dut no matter how it looks, but it is quite dramatic! They are in the desert here, not in the Valley of Thorns. The main thing I don't like about it is the depiction of the extinct volcano -- it lacks depth. I may tinker with that a little.
I can give you this much of a quotation, without revealing too much of the plot:
“You used the Great Spear on Pai’it’zei,” I said,
dreading what was coming. “You killed no
one else with A’zhu’lo’s blade.”
“But … I killed … more than the General,” said
Ki’shto’ba.
“You killed other Warriors in the battle,” said
Za’dut, quailing.
“That is not it!” Ki’shto’ba jumped at us so suddenly that we both cried out, and it caught our necks in the grip of its forelegs, its mandibles thrust into the sand between us. “Tell me the truth! What did I do? What words did you say to me there at Min’seip’u, Di’fa’kro’mi, standing close like this?”
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| Back cover, color adjusted to match the new front cover. (Click for larger view) |
I'd really appreciate some feedback! Which cover should I use? Be sure to click on the images and look at the larger versions.
The 2nd (bottom) is better for me. It's clear there's a struggle going on. The top cover certainly illustrates the excerpt, but it looks more decorative than active.
ReplyDeleteI've had three opinions in different places now - one for #1, yours for #2, and one that liked either! I'll see what else I collect! Thanks for commenting, Marva!
DeleteHi Lorinda, All three drawings are lovely; however, I agree with Marva: I like the drawing at the bottom better for the cover as it's more evocative of the title. Just my take, but the drawing at the top seems lighter -- in color and mood. The first thing that popped into my head on viewing it: Isopteras in OZ -- "We're off to see the Wizard...la-la-la-la-lah!" That said, in such matters as this, I expect the author's opinion is the one you'll want to heed. She usually knows best.
ReplyDeleteInteresting reaction, Jack! It's certainly not Oz (unless you mean Australia with its sandy deserts!) Seriously, the desert is a white sand desert with a white limestone escarpment and yardangs sticking up (as at the upper left), and then a black extinct volcano. So even though what's happening is quite dark, the background can't be. Probably the drama is lost in the light background and in all those danged legs! They always get all jumbled up. The first drawing really comes through as more dramatic, I guess, even though I don't think the fight at the front is as good as it could be. I'll probably go with the original and use parts of the second for other purposes, because I do like it. Thanks for weighing in!
DeleteI'm agreeing with the above opinions. Just based on first glance, I preferred the second one. After looking between them for a while, I still preferred the second one.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and commenting, Cairn! That just reinforces my decision! I'm going with original drawing of Lug'tei'a fighting the Demon-Warrior.
DeleteDear Khlorinta,
ReplyDeleteFor a book cover I prefer the second image, the one that depicts the battle. Not only is the composition itself interesting (with a battle surrounding the title, two warriors in the foreground, and a symmetrical skirmish), but it tells the reader a little what to expect in the book itself. This isn't to say that the first image is bad -- I think that it's quite nice and certainly would like to see it as a chapter illustration. The gold in the middle draws the eye. However, the second image seems to do what a cover illustration should.
If I may suggest something, if you could add some bold colors -- some blues or reds, for instance, to the cover, that may help to draw the eye in. I don't know what color the Shshi are supposed to be, so perhaps it would not appropriate to give them bold color, but one could imagine some bright greens, for instance, in their armor, or perhaps they have purple blood, or something like that.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you can use the actual shape of the termite aliens to aid you in creating a dynamic composition. This may be difficult to explain, and I may just have to draw some sketches, but the placement of the legs can be used for great advantage to create a flowing line for the eye to see. In other words, rather than seeing six legs as something that just needs to be drawn, they can instead become an integral part of the drawing.
I'll use a couple of illustrations from our own terrestrial art. Take a look of Michaelangelo's "Creation of Adam." If you reduce the two figures to stick figures, you'll notice that Adam's legs are both pointing towards God the Father (as well as Adam's face and hands), but also that one of Adam's legs is parallel to God the Father's. The use of limbs here is a good example of how to create a flowing composition.
I'll give a more mundane example. Back when film posters were paintings, they were often very interesting works of art in and of themselves. The classic poster for the original Star Wars has a very simple but effective composition. Luke holds his lightsabre, Leia posing beside him, Vader is looking on. What I find interesting is that Leia's legs form a line that lead up to Luke, whose arms of course rise up to hold the lightsabre. It's a simple pyramidal composition, but really no different to what one finds in Renaissance Art.
Therefore, I'm sure that the look of the Shshi could be used to create images where the limbs are used to their great advantage.
Are you using a computer program to draw these images? I'm trying to teach myself traditional art techniques, and, despite their difficulties, I do recommend them. There's a certain liveliness to pen, ink, and pencil that I love. If you are so inclined, drawing the Shshi with pen and ink you may find quite rewarding.
I appreciate your comment, Puey! I have decided to use the second image. I realize it's a little drab, but it's laid in a grim valley with dark volcanic cliffs and dry, desert-like vegetation. And my Shshi (termite) people are the colors you see in my drawings (see other covers in the sidebar). The bodies are light-colored and the Warriors' heads are darker, orangey-tan. I can't add colored armor because they don't use armor - just their natural exoskeleton!
DeleteI'm familiar with the compositional techniques you mention. A friend who was an art major told me once I had a pretty good sense of composition. When I was very young, I used to draw by hand, but I never got any good at it. I immediately want to change a line after I put it on paper, so my drawings end up a mush of eraser smudges. Now I just use the Word drawing tools, something that has brought me a certain scorn from some people, although quite a few others like my drawings. With those tools, I can change lines, shapes, colors, etc., without any problems. If you want to see more of my drawings, you can find some of them by clicking here: http://termitespeaker.blogspot.com/search/label/Illustrations%20for%20SM
It won't let you click on that URL, but if you scroll down to the Labels in the sidebar, you can click on Illustrations for SM.
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DeleteYour illustrations are very interesting; I'll study them further when I have the chance. I'm not familiar with the drawing tools on Word, but if you are interested in traditional art techniques, don't despair! It takes a lot of practice (just like writing), far more practice than most folk realize. I've only been studying drawing seriously for half a year, but I have already come to the conclusion that it was much easier for me to translate the entirety of "Alice in Wonderland," "Through the Looking-glass," and "The Hunting of the Snark," into my language that it is to learn the basics of drawing. Visual language has its own rules which just have to be learnt.
In the meantime, I've set up an account on DeviantART in hopes of improving my technique. There are plenty of digital artists on that site, if you're interested in joining or just in looking at the artwork of others.
Okay, I've got to go now. Right now I'm redrawing a series of illustrations that I made some months ago.
Actually, my problem is so much arthritis in my hands. It's easier to manipulate a mouse than to grip a pencil or brush. So I'm going to stick with the computer. I also have GIMP but I've never learned to do anything with it other than scale the DPI on my covers. The Word tools use vector drawing, which allows you to manipulate points on lines, and there are some free drawing programs that do that also, but GIMP uses something called raster graphics. Don't ask me to explain - I'm no expert! I just know that the vector system is really easy for me..
DeleteHi Lorinda,
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say that I agree with the above opinions, the new cover depicts your text but I prefer the colour and layout of the bottom version, I think it catches the eye more. Hope this helps.
Teresa.
Thanks for responding! I have indeed decided on the bottom version. The majority of my contacts preferred that one!
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