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A Graphic start…

Well, I’ve have a pretty hectic time at my full time job this week.  Not had much extra energy to do any more illustration work.  However, today I sat down and challenged myself to come up with a new book cover design for Bill Bryson’s Notes from a Small Island.  This is mainly because I never liked the illustration on the cover - and it happens to be the last proper book I’ve read.  I’m a bit disappointed with my cover, however… I seem to have made a very graphic cover, when I really wanted to showcase my illustration.  I think I’m just easing myself into the whole thing - I create more graphic material at work at the moment, so it probably feels safer to me.  I’m hoping to take the next month to develop my whole process - working out the easiest way for me to approach a new illustration project. 

In any case, I thought I would show you the cover I have made, even if I’m not terribly happy with it at the moment (it is, after all, just an excercise).

Here is the original cover design which I’m not too fond of:

And here is my cover:

Any comments welcome, of course…

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 2nd, 2008 at 11:46 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “A Graphic start…”


  • George
    March 3rd, 2008 09:15
    1

    Hi Sarah,

    In my mind I would love a really colourful picture of a seaside resort by Martin Parr ;-)

  • MadSilence
    April 11th, 2008 09:47
    2

    Interesting how a book’s cover can reflect its contents, or not. I’ve read Bryson’s book and enjoyed it immensely. The original cover design seems to capture the content as well as Bryson’s style of writing, his humor and sense of whimsy. Sarah, your cover conveys a very different message. If I hadn’t read the book, and seeing your cover, I would expect a very different literary experience. More formal, more of a travelogue, less humor. I do like your design more but it doesn’t capture the tone of the book.

    MadSilence

  • admin
    April 15th, 2008 04:30
    3

    Thanks for your comments…
    (sorry - i’ve only just moderated them, didn’t realise they were waiting for me!)

    I agree with you MadSilence, about the cover I produced. I wasn’t very happy with it, but I wasn’t sure quite why at first. I am eager to give myself some more trial work, to help me establish a better process.. I will need to think harder about the tone of a piece before I start. Thanks, again for commenting!

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