Monday, March 14, 2011

Sketch Redux (No Hero)

Here is a piece I just finished for Nightshade Books called "No Hero"

Description:
Action flick meets cosmic horror/alien invasion. Cover should mimic an ensemble cast action movie poster.

British suburban street. Oxford. Shops, apartments. A few cars. A "WWKRD?" (What would Kurt Russell Do?) bumpersticker on the closest of them (undercover Ford Escort). Something exploding (double decker bus?). Tentacles (maggoty, pale) creep in from the distance, wrapped around buildings/cars.


first pass at thumbnails

The A.D. had this to say
Hey Erik, LOVE the action movie feel on these, I can totally picture Jack Burton in there :)
I'd go with the middle comp on the left side, but if we could add in the exploding of the bottom left corner? Tie that level of drama and action into the middle left composition. Let me know, thanks!

thumbnail revision

Awesome, looks great!

Final Sketch

Hey Erik,

yeah, just had to get notes from the editor. Sketch looks awesome! I have
a few notes to keep in mind for the final:

Tabatha (with laptop) is Pakistani, dark-complected with white ink
tattoos: angels, devils, & heavy metal icons, and Kayla (the
swordswoman) wears her bangs so they cover her eyes

Also, There's concern over the car looking "British" enough. NBD on this
one, but maybe just to keep in mind.

But yeah man, looking fantastic! Thanks!



Final Illustration

Hey Erik,

So I do have one note on the piece from (the editor in chief).
Basically he just wants to see some details fleshed out a little further. I
know we were pushing you on this one with a short deadline and I think the
piece looks fantastic overall, but his concern is the tentacles. Basically
just love em up a bit more, particularly those in front of the explosion. I
love the finish on the main figure and the buildings, and his concerns are
mainly just the disparity from those areas to the tentacles (what with them
being a compositional tool and story delivering focal area). Thanks Erik!


This was actually music to my ears, because I wanted to give the whole thing one more pass. Especially the things mentioned and the explosion.

Final Illustration Revision

so awesome, we are fully approved!

7 comments:

emanio art said...

So awesome Erik! That last pass really set it off. Great design.

Lucas Pandolfelli said...

Awesome work Erik. Its nice to see what the AD said during the process.

thexmedic said...

I haven't had your email to contact you, but just wanted to express how supremely happy this cover makes me. Phenomenal work. Really just mind-blowing. You really nailed it. Extremely happy to have your art grace the cover of my book.

-Jonathan

E.M. Gist said...

Jonathan- Thanks, that means a lot. I enjoyed reading your manuscript, hopefully we can do it again someday.

E-

thexmedic said...

Thanks! And I'm about halfway through the (contracted) sequel, so here's to hoping. I'd count myself very lucky.

E.M. Gist said...

Jonathan-If everything works out, that would be great. Good luck.

Gabriel Hunt said...

Agreed, the last pass had the right finishing touches.