🦅 ELVIRA VANCE 🦅
hey hey!
and here's a version with the title done by yours truly (hand drawn and everything)
and here's a version with the title done by yours truly (hand drawn and everything)
note: this is a preview file without bleed, the final file has extra space and bleed :)
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hey hey!
good news! I've finished the cover! :D
I'm super happy with how this one came out, and I'm kind of hoping there will be more Elvira books in the future since I kind of fell in love with the characters :D
these are preview images, once everything is approved I'll send the high res files!
there are some notes under the images
good news! I've finished the cover! :D
I'm super happy with how this one came out, and I'm kind of hoping there will be more Elvira books in the future since I kind of fell in love with the characters :D
these are preview images, once everything is approved I'll send the high res files!
there are some notes under the images
I kind of want to see an animated show of this now :D
the only thing I've changed is that I've removed the spooky eyes in the windows. I thought it was a bit too childish and distracting. I think this works a lot better.
Since there's no budget for a jacket I figured I'd quickly mock up something that could work pretty well, and will take me all but 10 seconds to fix for you guys.
the only thing I've changed is that I've removed the spooky eyes in the windows. I thought it was a bit too childish and distracting. I think this works a lot better.
Since there's no budget for a jacket I figured I'd quickly mock up something that could work pretty well, and will take me all but 10 seconds to fix for you guys.
Turning off layers is not that time consuming, so this is an easy but still cool looking solution I think!
when everything is approved I'll send over the final files!
when everything is approved I'll send over the final files!
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hey hey!
I've adjusted Maribel to make her more wolf-like.
I also roughed out the back of the book! I thought it would be a good idea to show a bit more of the setting, because the trailer could be anywhere. I took south Texas as an inspiration point (I think this is based on the Big Bend national park over there)
I've adjusted Maribel to make her more wolf-like.
I also roughed out the back of the book! I thought it would be a good idea to show a bit more of the setting, because the trailer could be anywhere. I took south Texas as an inspiration point (I think this is based on the Big Bend national park over there)
the text is obviously a placeholder
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Sketch 2
and here's sketch 2!
inspired by chapter 12 where the crew goes into the jackalope's lair.
there are some notes under the image
inspired by chapter 12 where the crew goes into the jackalope's lair.
there are some notes under the image
this is still very rough, but I think we can do some really cool things with the lighting and atmosphere here.
I thought it would be cool to not show the Jackalope but to do something cool with his silhouette. an inverse shadow if you will.
it could be cool to have a sort of evil-ish face at the top made out of rocks and pebbles. Elvira would be holding one of the books they're after.
we could also have some books strewn about the floor, but I'd prefer to keep it relatively "clean" to emphasise the silhouette and the face made out of rocks.
It'll be a difficult choice between this one and the previous one, I really like both sketches
I thought it would be cool to not show the Jackalope but to do something cool with his silhouette. an inverse shadow if you will.
it could be cool to have a sort of evil-ish face at the top made out of rocks and pebbles. Elvira would be holding one of the books they're after.
we could also have some books strewn about the floor, but I'd prefer to keep it relatively "clean" to emphasise the silhouette and the face made out of rocks.
It'll be a difficult choice between this one and the previous one, I really like both sketches
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SKETCH 01 UPDATE
heya!
I've updated Maribel, she's pretty different now, but still pretty Chupacabra-like (and prettier in general too).
I've updated Maribel, she's pretty different now, but still pretty Chupacabra-like (and prettier in general too).
She's more humanoid and a bit more feminine now, but definitely still monstrous. I've also gave her a sporty outfit! I'm more than willing to tweak her more if Kacy has a different idea of what she looks like! just let me know :)
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✏️ WORKFLOW ✏️
Heya!
I have a bit of an unorthodox workflow, especially when it comes to sketching, so I thought it would be a good idea to show you what I'll send over as sketches and what the final image eventually looks like :)
I don't really sketch in the traditional sense. I don't do the whole sketching with pencil thing. I usually go straight to shape, color and mood.
Here's some examples!
I have a bit of an unorthodox workflow, especially when it comes to sketching, so I thought it would be a good idea to show you what I'll send over as sketches and what the final image eventually looks like :)
I don't really sketch in the traditional sense. I don't do the whole sketching with pencil thing. I usually go straight to shape, color and mood.
Here's some examples!
CHARACTER DESIGN
the first step is usually character design, here's an example of what to expect and what my roughs look like
as you can see I really don't worry about the finer details in the sketch phase. things like hands (which are pretty difficult to draw anyway) and other small things are not something I'm too concerned about at this stage.
colors are always subject to change, but you'll find that it's still pretty close to the original palette.
note: for this particular drawing there was no client to give approval for the sketch, so it's a bit rougher than usual.
colors are always subject to change, but you'll find that it's still pretty close to the original palette.
note: for this particular drawing there was no client to give approval for the sketch, so it's a bit rougher than usual.
ILLUSTRATIONS
here's a few examples of how I set up scenes, so you sort of know what to expect (and hopefully won't be too shocked by the choppy sketches)
The image above is personal work and I designed the characters after coming up with the scene. If the characters are already designed before I sketch out the illustration I usually rough them in instead of using single color blobs.
so the scene pretty much stayed the same from sketch to finish, adding all the small details and lighting does bring it to life a lot more of course :)
so the scene pretty much stayed the same from sketch to finish, adding all the small details and lighting does bring it to life a lot more of course :)
sometimes I'll do a couple of variations on the same theme/composition before deciding what works best.
COVER EXAMPLES
here are a couple examples of book cover sketches and the finished illustrations
as you can see the sketch is still missing a lot of the cool little details and the characters still look pretty rough. I ended up changing the girl on the right completely since I really didn't like how she looked in the sketch.
here you can see how the sketch is still a bit flat and has a lot less contrast. I always try to make sure to make things as easily readable as possible and make certain things pop in the final version.
I also hand lettered the title for this cover.
and here's an example of a full jacket illustration. again a good example of me making sure things pop.
so this is how I work! :)
I hope you've got a good idea of how things start out and end up, so you won't be too shocked about the choppy mess I'm about to show you :D
I hope you've got a good idea of how things start out and end up, so you won't be too shocked about the choppy mess I'm about to show you :D
ELVIRA COVER SKETCH
I usually do a couple of different sketches, but while I was working on this one a couple of questions popped up (and admittedly; I really like this sketch)
So I figured I'd start by sending this one over already so we can tweak the characters. If you'd like to see some other sketches I'll do them for sure, but I'll need some more guidance concerning what the characters should be doing (fighting monsters, running from the sherrif, eating ice cream etc you get the idea) and where they should be doing it.
there are some questions/notes under the image
GENERAL NOTES
this doesn't look flashy yet but I think we can do some really cool atmospheric things with the lighting here. The text is (obviously) placeholder, but I like how it wraps around the illustration.
I thought it would be cool to show some monstrous figures in the windows of the trailer, it's pretty basic right now, but we'll make it look cool eventually!
ELVIRA
since there were no clothing or hairstyle (besides the white streak) suggestions in the brief I just free-styled it, we can easily change it up should it be something more specific. I gave her a little bit of pointed teeth to still get some hints of a monster in there and I thought it would be a good idea if her nose was a little bit beak-ish (still cute though).
I personally was pretty proud of this little detail:
I thought that was a funny touch to still reference her being part Siren. It's not obvious but I think the more observant reader will spot it.
MARIBEL (THE CHUPACABRA)
I'm 99% sure I need to change this character (which is completely fine!), but I've got a couple of questions about her:
the description said she was "purebred" which I assumed means she's just a straight up chupacabra, not a human with chupacabra features? I can easily change her into anything you'd like but I'll need a little bit more description of what she looks like (does she wear clothes, is she humanoid, what color is her hair etc)
the description said she was "purebred" which I assumed means she's just a straight up chupacabra, not a human with chupacabra features? I can easily change her into anything you'd like but I'll need a little bit more description of what she looks like (does she wear clothes, is she humanoid, what color is her hair etc)
and I didn't know this, but apparently there's 2 versions of the chupacabra, the south-american one which is more lizard like and the south-US one which is more wolf-like. I obviously went with the south-US one since the story takes place in Texas (coincidentally the only place in the states I've visited myself).
EMILIO
again just free-styled it since his only descriptors were: wears black and does photography :D
I can change it to anything you'd like but I'll need some more info!
I can change it to anything you'd like but I'll need some more info!
that's it for now! Let's just take it from here. I'll edit the sketch as soon as I get more info/feedback and then we can see if you'd still like to see some other options!