One That Got Away: “The Last Song” Book Jacket

I don’t normally get calls for mass-market titles, so it was a bit of a disappointment when this cover for best-selling author, Nicholas Sparks, didn't work out. Well, apparently they are still using the torn-edged paper panel with the faded music for the title type, so I guess it is not a total loss. The Last Song (the title may change) is the story of a young woman who falls in love for the first time while spending the summer with her estranged, (secretly) dying father, who lives on the North Carolina shore. No explicit imagery for the cover, just something beautiful and beachy. I am told the author liked these comps, but felt they were not quite consistent with the cleaner look normally associated with his titles. Hard to argue with that.





CLIENT: GRAND CENTRAL PUBLISHING
ART DIRECTORS: ANNE TWOMEY, FLAG TONUZI

"Crazy School" Book Jacket Illustration

I had bought these butterflies online a couple of years ago, thinking they would soon start showing up in my work, but instead they just sat there on the wall. So I was happy to get a call from Brigid Pearson at Grand Central Publishing, requesting a butterfly image for the cover of the novel, The Crazy School, by Cornelia Read.

In this comic drama, the gates to the Santangelo Academy for Emotionally Disturbed Teenagers are adorned with a wrought-iron butterfly. Above is the finished cover (type design by Brigid Pearson), and below are the comps I presented initially.

CLIENT: GRAND CENTRAL PUBLISHING
ART DIRECTOR: BRIGID PEARSON

“On Viney’s Mountain” Book Jacket

On Viney’s Mountain, a young adult novel by Joan Donaldson, is the story of a young woman's coming of age in late nineteenth century Tennessee.

The art director asked for an image of the character in her environment. Due to logistical limitations, photographing the model in the actual setting was not possible. To get around this, in the past I have either constructed a diarama, such as in Snow Angels; or, I have created a virtual environment in Photoshop from personal photos as in Crossing Stones. In either case, the figure is photographed separately, attempting to match the lighting as closely as possible, then stripped in on the computer.

In this case, I decided to create the environment in Photoshop from personal photos, because I had some images of trees I really liked. The problem was that I ended up having to shoot the model in her apartment because it was about 10 degrees outside, and the text demanded she be barefoot. So, despite my best efforts, I ended up with the dreaded inconsistency in lighting, where the lighting on the model does not quite match the lighting on the environment. This gives the somewhat odd effect that she is walking across a stage set, rather than the actual environment, though I still like the image.

Below are the original concept sketches submitted.

CLIENT: HOLIDAY HOUSE
ART DIRECTOR: CLAIRE COUNIHAN

“Age 14” Book Cover

In the young adult novel, Age 14, by Geert Spillebeen, a fourteen year-old working class Irish boy impersonates his older brother to enlist in the army in World War I. Before long, he is sent to the front lines in Belgium, where the nightmarish reality of life (and death) in the trenches quickly obliterates any romantic fantasies of military glory.

Below are the initial sketches shown. The client chose the last sketch, with the only request being to change the helmets to hats. The author pointed out that at the time of story, 1915, the soldiers were not yet wearing helmets. It was only after huge numbers of shrapnel head injuries occurred early in the war, that helmets were then provided. Thanks to the excellent reference provided by the author, I was able to closely approximate the exact uniform the Irish soldiers wore.





CLIENT: HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
ART DIRECTOR: SCOTT MAGOON

“For God And Country” Book Jacket

The novel, For God And Country, by Jerome Prescott, is set in present day war-torn Iraq, where a gallant and dedicated American army chaplain ministers to battle weary soldiers. Much of the chaplain’s time, though, is spent alternately praying and dodging bullets. Above is the finished artwork, and below are the sketches. I like to challenge myself, but still felt lucky they chose the 2nd sketch, which was by far the easiest to produce.



CLIENT: BERKLEY BOOKS
ART DIRECTOR: RITA FRANGIE

“Seen The Glory” final cover

This is the final approved version of the cover discussed in the December 9, 2008 post. Below are the various solutions proposed previously. The author pointed out that I had placed the gun on the wrong shoulder, and also that the hammer mechanism on the musket was historically inaccurate (oh, you experts). With the author's helpful reference, I replaced the hammer, and we flopped the photo to get the gun on the proper shoulder (thus, I also had to place the hammer on the other side of the musket).



CLIENT: SIMON & SCHUSTER
ART DIRECTOR: MICHAEL ACCORDINO

“Second Nature” Book Jacket

In Alice Hoffman’s novel, Second Nature, a woman falls in love with a man who has been raised by wolves. Published several years ago in hardback, this cover is for the paperback edition.

Berkley Books art director, Lesley Worrell, asked for an image that would suggest the romantic, whimsical aspects of the book. Below are the initial pencil roughs.



After choosing sketch D, the image below was my first crack at the finish. Although I felt pretty good about the image, which I created largely from images in my archives, Lesley felt strongly the woman appeared too sad, and also asked for much more color, along with more conventional “forest” foliage. Given the changes requested, I felt the only way to fix the problem was really to start again from scratch., so that is what I did, with a new model and different foliage. At top is the final approved piece.



CLIENT: BERKLEY BOOKS
ART DIRECTOR: LESLEY WORRELL