New Assignment: Book Cover for "Holes"

This month, our assignment came from Susan M. Sherman from Charlesbridge Publishing. We have been asked to design a book cover for Louis Sachar's Holes. It should be fresh and graphically strong. I thought it was interesting that she selected a book that was vastly popular as was its movie adaptation.She really challenged us to stretch and think about how to illustrate this story differently.

I began with the lizards because I'm a reptile lover but just couldn't get anything to work right. I tried it with the holes "raining" down on Stanley with a hot desert sun blazing down on him. Didn't read clearly. About 1:00 am,  I started doodling after looking at some of the artists that inspire me and came up with this sketch.

Played around with some filters in PS to make him look sort of mirage-like. As an after thought I added the lizard (which I need to redo).

Three Little Pigs Final

This is for a very special family project. I can't wait to see everyone's pictures. Further explanation forthcoming.

Yet Another Fred

One more of Fred to try out a mouse color. The mouse is roughed in to see if the colors work. I've had some feedback from concerned children that the mouse might be real so I went with the polka dots as well as a strong color to dispell any worries. Anyone who knows me, knows I would never put a dead mouse in any picture. (I even take spiders outside rather than kill them). Hopefully, I will receive approval for the picture soon and I can finish up in time for printing. Remember this is a photo; not a scan. Colors are slightly off due to lighting.

[EDIT: Author requested that I go back to the grey tones on the cat tree and I changed the mouse colors again. Sorry Erinne. Had to go with my instincts on this one].

Update on Fred

I decided to warm up the cat tree with some yellows and browns and it brightened up the picture. Added his collar and more detail throughout. Still working on fur and eyes. Now...the mouse. What color should YOU be??

New Book Cover

I have another book cover commission. This one is about Fred, A Grand Cat. I'm using pastel on an Ampersand panel. I first applied a coat of acryla gouache to define the background and the dark values on the cat. Next I began the application of the pastel, beginning with the harder, Nupastels and then followed with softer pastels. It may be messier than colored pencils but it's sure alot faster. I plan to finish the cat tree and mouse and then work on the background and fill in more detail on Fred on the morrow.