Cover Art

Things are moving full speed ahead with UK production of the book. ARCs (Advance Read Copies) are set to go on press soon. ARCs are usually a cheaply made version of the book, printed on newsprint-weight paper in a very no-frills fashion. The purpose of ARCs is for reviewers and famous authors to get a chance to take a look at the manuscript in advance of the reading public and give their two cents about how awesome I am (or am not).

Charlaine Harris called it “Tremendously readable!”

The final UK cover is still evolving, but I got permission to share some of the preliminary art. First off, here is the fist pass of the cover:

The first thing that struck me with this cover is how proportionally big my name is! Several times bigger than the title itself.

This used to mean that the author was really popular, and their name meant more than the book title in terms of sales, but obviously that is not the case here, since it is my first book. I guess because they bought a whole trilogy, they are looking to brand the author rather than an individual title, which I guess is smart. It’s just odd.

Wasn’t crazy about the background, though. I get that the artist was trying to go for an ominous setting sun look, but it kinda looks like the Painted Man is walking away from an explosion, Hollywood style.

He looks badass, though.

I remember when covers were just a painting of a specific scene in the book in which all or most of the main characters are clustered together. Those days are over, though. Both the US and the UK go for more iconic looks, now.

I asked them to put the “V” in my name, which will make me easier to google, and will differentiate from other authors named Peter Brett, like that “How-to guy” in the UK.

This is the current, but still not final version. They swapped out the red sky background and grounded the figure by putting mountains in the background, which keep him from seeming like he is floating in space. The desert setting is appropriate to the book, and I think it looks a lot better, despite my general dislike for the color yellow.

They threw the “V” into my name, which was nice, and made the title a little bigger; also nice.

There are still some color changes due, like to the Painted Man’s Frankenstein pale skin tone and the background, but nothing major, I don’t think. This is more or less it.

Which is fine with me. It looks awesome.

This B&W halftone one will be on the ARC cover, while they work out the final details. I think it looks pretty sweet.

I am so psyched for the ARC, I can’t even tell you. Even with all the crazy stuff that has gone on with the book, I have still felt it was all rather surreal. It’s still hard for me to believe this is really happening. Having a printed book in my hand, even one in 2 colors and low-grade stock, is going to have a profound effect on me, I think.

They are also using my interior art on the ARC, so I get to see how that looks in action. I spent the last week endlessly drawing and photoshopping to finish the character avatars in time. It was really hard, because all my photoshop skills are largely self-taught, and things that might take a real artist seconds to do take me HOURS. Still, I am very happy with the results. I will post them on the site soon, as part of a major update.

Posted on March 30, 2008 at 9:34 pm by PeatB
Filed under Craft, Writing
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