BEHIND THE SCENES // looking for a COVER image!!! (Patreon)

Hello my fantastic Patrons! Once again, THANK YOU for being there supporting my art, reading my books and my posts ... it really means a lot for me!

SO: my new book is almost ready for sale, we started presenting it in book fairs and the feed back is fantastic ^_____^ looks like we started in a good way, even if this crazy european situation makes everything uncertain and absurdous.

I want to talk to you about the process of choosing a cover image. This is the WORST part of the process of making a book for me :D I HATE it for I feel totally uncapable of making a good cover image. Luckily there are people around me for helping me with their suggestions: my editor, my co-writer, my lovely wife, my kids and friends ... I ask everyone's advice! I think I am a nightmare for them XD 

The point is: a good cover has to resume the book - the universe, the mood, but also the target (who's this book for? Age, gender etc of your ideal reader).  A LOT of information in one image.

And characters of course. In "Les soeurs Grémillet" we have 3 main character. The first ideas where about showing just the three sisters in a very simple way.

In 1) I tried a very simple image of the three sisters with a little detail of their background, an old european town. There are the sisters, the ancient wall, some nature and the cats (two of the main elements of the story).

Then I tried to focus on the sisters: in 2) and 3) close ups, no background. Good for marketing purpose, said my publisher, but not enough to illustrate the complexity of the project. He told me to try showing the "magical" side of the story.

So in 4) a test for a night scene, the girls in "explore a magical landscape" attitude, magical natureand floating jellyfishes... rejected! Too dreamy! This magical part only occupies a little part of the story, so maybe better going back to everyday-life. But magical. And dreamy. But not too much. Easy, uh? XD now you understand why I hate covers!!!

So with 5) and 6) : I finally get near the solution. The girls in "exploring the mistery" attitude, the botanical garden as a background (it's the background of the climax), but with the magic touch given by the floating jellyfishes.

But I still felt it was too "three girls in the jungle" , loosing the urban mood of the story. 

In the next post I'll tell you about the final solution and I'll show you the step-by-step proces for creating the definitive illustration ready for the printer.

Stay tuned!

A.