I was approached by Jim Hoover, an art director at Viking Press who thought I'd be a great fit to illustrate this southeast asian inspired world where the people have spirit animal familiars and the technology is powered by magic flux.
The concept was to have the two main characters and their familiars entering a bustling city filled with people, lights and magic and being a bit overwhelmed by it all. I put the characters into a dark, narrow alley that almost feels like it's going to close in on them, played up their distinct personalities and brought the city to life with lots of atmosphere and bright neon signs.
I really enjoyed getting my head into this world and bringing it to life and working with Jim was a real pleasure. This was a super fun and rewarding project from start to finish and I'm really happy with the result. It's scheduled for a Fall 2011 release and I can't wait to see it on the shelves!
came out great Nigel! I would definitely stop to see this cover closer on a shelf. Really great to see some new work from you. I hope life is good and you are all getting on swell :) Talk soon my friend!
ReplyDeleteyes, I am so glad you got to post this. It is great work, nice to see it large.
ReplyDeletethx for sharing.
I can't even begin to express how much I love this cover. Thank you for coming up with something so absolutely perfect.
ReplyDeleteThis turned out great. Another banger!
ReplyDeleteI love it. You really brought life to the environment with the neon lights. Completely agree with scott too. I would have to pick this up to look closer at everything, like i did just now :)
ReplyDeleteHey thanks everyone!
ReplyDeleteBeth, I'm really, really happy to hear you are so pleased with the cover! I was lucky to have such a fantastic world and great characters to inspire me, and Jim's direction was brilliant. Thanks to you for creating the world I got to play in!
Nigel, I told everyone at World Fantasy how much I loved this cover. (My quote: "I love this so much, *I* want to buy the book.") I hope to see much more of your work.
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