Project 4: Book Cover Final

This is the final result to my book cover! I'm fairly satisfied with it, I just had problems with the font for the synopsis. I know it isn't the best font, but when I have more time, I will try to find a more fitting one. 

Other than that, I'm happy with it.

Now, onto the final stretch!

Project 4: Creative Brief

I will put up the finished product later in the day, but for now, I present to you the creative brief!

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Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book is about a boy named Bod who grows up amongst supernatural creatures—his adoptive ghost parents, vampire caretaker, werewolf educator, and witch friend all help the toddler grow into a fine young man. Meanwhile Jack—the man who murdered his human family—is on the loose and in search of him. The readers get to witness and, in a way, simultaneously experience Bod’s life lessons as he learns them. Neil fills the pages with spooky adventures, tender moments, and rich characters.

In my cover illustration, I reference Bod’s adventures with the ghouls and their way to Ghûlheim. Throughout the book, there are many important moments that helped Bod develop a sense of self. However, it’s through the ghouls that he learns to distinguish good beings from bad. He also begins to understand the importance of memories. I find this to be a pivotal point that gets to the core of the novel and exhibits what the book is about.

Because of the macabre nature of the book I find a cut-out silhouette approach to be appropriate. The ghouls areunappealing, shriveled and ragged; I treated the ghouls with rough cuts to their clothing and enveloped them in wispiness to convey the idea that they are spirits. Bod, however, is a living boy, and so he’s represented as a solid being. The scene is the tail end of the ghoul gate (which is surrounded by a wall of graves) that leads into the desert trail to the crooked ghoul city Ghûlheim. Even though the scene is a scary moment for Bod and the readers, it still maintains wit and a child-like quality with it. With these factors, I tried to incorporate those ideas into the cover with the handwritten font and the simple details into the graves and desert.

Project 4: WIP

Currently, I'm working through the base layers, trying to decide if the graveyards will be one big silhouette or many separate ones that are layered over each other. 

We'll see what I come up with. 

Project 4: Sketches and Scan For Cover

Last week, I was collecting information for the book cover. I didn't have my book with me, so it was a little difficult to find text online. But, I managed. So, here's a page of mostly writing. I divided the scenes, the ghouls, their mannerisms, and Ghulheim.

Then, I did start sketching out vague ideas. They're very light, so I had to mess with the midtones and contrast and brightness. Apologies for the wonkiness. 

Today, I finally figured out how I want the cover to be. I think I also want the illustration to kind of be a wrap around, so the graves continue on the back cover, underneath the synopsis.

I want the illustration to be made up of mostly silhouettes, and if I figure it out, make the ghouls kind of wispy and see-through.

The description for this scene is that the ghoul gate is met with a wall of graves. eventually the wall ends and an open desert is met, scattered with bones and rocks. The sky is a sickly red and the sun is small, cold, distant. The three ghouls toss Bod back and forth and the make their way over the graves and road. 

Project 4: Update

I'm so sorry, guys! Blogging totally slipped my mind last week. I think it's just from the workload that's recently kind of been extra heavy. 

I unfortunately have anything that I'm willing to show, yet, because of said workload, but! After everything today, it just got a little lighter, so I'll be working on it diligently until critique day Thursday.

Here's what I can tell you about the book cover:

I've acquired a book with the right measurements to use for the critique. I've also figured out what I want on the cover. I've narrowed it down to Bod and the ghouls. It will either be the scene where the ghouls are flying and carrying Bod between them, or it'll be the other scene where they are all huddled around a fire, and Bod is looking up to the sky in search of night gaunts.

Here are some of the artists' renditions of the ghoul [UK and US book versions]:

Project 4: Influences and Synopsis

Synopsis:

It takes a graveyard to raise a child.

Nobody Owens, known as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a graveyard, being raised by ghosts, with a guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor the dead. There are adventures in the graveyard for a boy—an ancient Indigo Man, a gateway to the abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible Sleer. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, he will be in danger from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family.

I've been poking around the internet, looking at what other people have done, and I've come across some lovely things! Photos, sketches, paper cutouts...

I'm trying to decide what scene I want to focus on as the cover art. There are so many pivotal moments that people have captured, but there are also these tiny moments in the book that I enjoy, like when Bod befriends the witch, or when Silas brings Bod food from town. So many ideas..

Project 4: Book Covers

The book I want to do for the next project is called The Graveyard Book and it's by the wonderful Neil Gaiman. I love all of his works, there isn't a single terrible one; or if there is, he's very good at hiding it.

But The Graveyard Book. It's my favourite one. This is the cover that I've always been used to: 

US version

I did some research, and there a great many of covers! Like the:

UK version

Alternative adult version

Alternative US version

And another

Special Edition version

With pages that have alternative covers in them

Yet, another alternative [I'm not sure if this one is a real cover, though]

Then, we go into international quarters.

Polish version

Italian version

French version

Another French version

Chinese version

Russian version

Lastly, there are the fan-made versions!

It seems I'm not the only one who loves The Graveyard Book. There are a lot of sources and influences for me to look through, which is awesome, and hopefully ideas will start going through my head.