Creating the Cover Art for Heritage Avenged

At the Speculative Salon we often discuss fantasy art, so I’m going to, once again, reveal some of the steps taken in creating the latest cover art for my Enchanted Bookstore Legends. Like before, I started with a watercolor image of the heroine, but this time I spent much more time on digital painting steps. *GIVEAWAY CONTEST at the bottom for chances to win a free copy of Heritage Avenged*

 The background began as a photograph.

                                        After alteration with filters it became this.

The figure began with a very simple watercolor. I spent far more time on the line drawing, to get the action pose correct.

This was scanned, lifted from the background watercolor paper, and edges were adjusted and smoothed.

Then, hours of digital painting and playing with shadows were spent to get the look I wanted, one that would complement that of the first book, Seeking a Scribe.

 

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~ ~ ~ Marsha A. Moore is a writer of fantasy romance. The magic of art and nature spark life into her writing. Read her ENCHANTED BOOKSTORE LEGENDS for adventurous epic fantasy romance: Book One, SEEKING A SCRIBE, and Book Two, HERITAGE AVENGED. She has also authored the Ciel's Legacy series, with fast action mermaid/pirate storylines: TEARS ON A TRANQUIL LAKE and TORTUGA TREASURE.  For a FREE ebook download, read her historic fantasy, LE CIRQUE DE MAGIE, available at Amazon and Smashwords.

Writers Need to be More than Painters

A couple of months ago, Nathan Bransford featured a post on his blog, entitled Writers Aren't Painters They're Magicians. His post was a response to the saying, Writers are Painters. I was impressed by his ideas, and they stuck in my mind. His ideas came back to me as I created my newest cover art for Heritage Avenged: Enchanted Bookstore Two.

Essentially, he pointed out that for a writer to really capture readers, he/she needs to do more than create a word-painting. An accurate, detailed character portrait, or in the case of fantasy writer—amazing world building, can be beautiful and admired for its own sake. But to really engage a reader, you need to challenge those perfectly rendered characters. It is the evolution that is so compelling. 

 

He suggested, instead of likening writing to painting, this comparison: "Writing is a performance, it brings things to life, it surprises and awes the audience."

 

As I composed the design for my cover art, I thought of his words and wanted to capture a sense of that urgency toward change. I drew my main character, Lyra McCauley, reaching and connecting her power to that of a star. The back edge of her skirt and cloak billow up in her hurry to gain its magic. Cover art should also hint at the fascinating evolution that lies within the pages.

~ ~ ~ Marsha A. Moore is a writer of fantasy romance. The magic of art and nature spark life into her writing. The first of her epic fantasy romance series, ENCHANTED BOOKSTORE LEGENDS, is now available--SEEKING A SCRIBE. She has also authored the Ciel's Legacy series, fantasy romance with fast action mermaid/pirate storylines: TEARS ON A TRANQUIL LAKE and TORTUGA TREASURE.  For a FREE ebook download, read her historic fantasy, LE CIRQUE DE MAGIE, available at Amazon and Smashwords.