Illustration for book covers...

An open letter to Book Cover Illustrators, from an old-school designer.

Back when I worked in the ad game as a graphic artist and packaging/identity designer, we brought illustrators in on projects from time to time. Most of our projects required photography, as we were doing a lot of corporate work and consumer packaging, but there were always specific areas where illustration was the better solution. Of course, we always had to weigh the realities of the cost of original illustrative materials in both turn-around time and in art fees, against the budget the client agreed to. If the budget could not be tweaked to afford it, we would instead search out stock material or flat color illustration, as opposed to full-color for process printing.

There were always lots of variables, just as there are now, but those days were long before the advent of video gaming and CGI graphics. Those two sea-shifts in technology and the resulting consumer awareness have made it a Golden Age for original illustrators. Still, some similarities remain and those are the reason for this letter. Illustrators now have more opportunity than ever before, especially in the publishing industry. There are quite a few, high-sales genres that almost require illustrated covers, so between the needs of self-published authors and small presses, who normally use outside talent for illustration, there are lots of ways to keep busy. For the purposes of this letter, we'll assume that you are familiar enough with your own creative process that you can safely estimate the amount of time you'll need to develop a project, but also an acceptable amount of time spent in tweaking the results, which is inevitable. So, moving forward from the point where you can ethically offer your professional services, there are a few things that need to be addressed, at least in this old marker-jockey's mind.

Book cover illustration is a collaboration between the images and emotions a writer creates in words and the images that proceed from an artist's process. However, unlike art created for purely personal reasons, book cover illustration has one more silent collaborator -- the reader who is the target of everything that emerges from the mix. There may only be one or two opportunities to engage the reader, so in cover design and illustration, there is little room for haphazard thinking or accidental solutions. The goal should always be motivating the reader to want to read/buy the book. To that end, the post-creative production processes involved, should be players from the beginning and that should include an idea of what the target reader will respond to.

Back in the day, the illustrators we always preferred working with were those that kept the actual needs of production, as opposed to the vagaries of the creative process, in the forefront of the entire process. We always provided extreme detail in spec’ing out a project to provide all the working knowledge the illustrator would need, but also to elicit possible discussion if the illustrator had additional ideas that might affect cost or the final work, based upon what the client's needs were and the illustrator's prior experience. Thirty years ago, in only rare cases when a package was going to be shot for TV advertising, did how it appeared on a monitor even enter into the discussion. Those were the days of expensive full-color ink proofs and small runs on sheet-fed presses to tweak color and coverage.

Today, of course, the monitor is where the work is created and viewed, until it's ready to proof if it's going to be produced in print. But color on a screen doesn't look the same as color on a reflected surface -- then or now. Today, I would hope that an illustrator working on a book cover which will appear in eFormats as well as print, would take the extra step of proofing their work in the CMYK color model, on paper, to their own satisfaction as well as in RGB on screen. Final files should be submitted in both RGB and CMYK full resolution versions, adjusted for the best appearance. For print use, the resolution at the trim size, plus bleed should be 300 dpi. For screen use only, a smaller file in RGB is adequate, but the 300 dpi resolution will give maximum flexibility for a series of optimized cover files for various online uses from thumbnail to large size listing art.

The fact that there may be substantial variations in size should also be a key element to the composition of your illustration itself. Too much detail, especially in low-contrast situations will provide plugged-up, muddy results in small sizes. Use enough detail to hold the reader's eye, but not so much it destroys the effectiveness of the subject. Keep it interesting and fresh. It's a tough balancing act, but part of the illustrator's job.

Another important consideration is that book covers' typography. In fact, the title and author name blocks are often important selling points on their own. Your illustration is actually there to support the title and hold the reader's eye long enough to inspire some response and a specific behavior -- to find out more, and click the buy button. Your illustration, therefore, needs to be conceived to allow room for that typography during the conception, not as an after-thought.

Of course, the type will "float" above the artwork, but what lies beneath is critical to how legible the results are. If the type -- especially a somewhat busy typeface -- floats over a complex, detailed background, it will fight with the typography for the reader's eye, which is not a result anyone wants. In small cover sizes,  it may make the typography illegible or hard to read, so think of the type block areas from the beginning and keep the illustration behind where the type will go as simple as you can. Consider also the relative brightness of these areas. If the mood of the cover will be bright, then the typography selected to superimpose over the background should be dark enough to create contrast, "popping" the typography out into the foreground. The reverse holds true if the mood is dark.

One technique that I especially appreciate is when an illustrator plans for the typography from the beginning, allowing some interaction, visually between the illustration subject and the type. Especially effective in Fantasy and SciFi illustration, where a portion of detail can actually fly out, into or above the type to suggest some extreme motion and further engage the reader. It may take the form of a composition that holds the eye on a circular pattern, for example, working with both the type and the subject to suggest eye movement folding back in upon itself. In any case, the longer a reader's eye and interest is held, the more opportunity for emotional response and reaction.

Which brings me to my first request. Learn how to work with typography. Know the names of fonts, and where they can be purchased. Understand the difference between a font designed for the screen and one designed for the page and a range of display and text families. Learn how to make a title effective with the right line breaks and the right size. Too often, I've seen a perfectly good illustration ruined when the typography is applied in an amateurish manner.  Keep in mind what the "picture" you're rendering is for. It's not to be hung in a gallery (although it may indeed be fine enough for that) or used as a screen-saver. It's packaging for a book, and it should be designed to engage readers, give them pertinent information, hold them long enough to suggest reactions and sell books. If you prefer working with a designer for typography, make sure your client knows that. If adding the typography after the fact is an option you can hand-off to the client, make sure they know that as well. Finding out, after the fact that the illustration is not proportioned to fit the print format with typography added is an expensive discovery that should have been taken care of when you began to conceive the overall composition.

For the best results when I'm working on a cover, I generally import an illustration into a vector-based program for the final design, adding of typography, etc., because bitmap-based paint programs do not handle typography as well as a vector program with its layers can. They always provide clear, sharp edges in any needed size, that can easily be seen once exported as a bitmapped image again. If you've never used a vector program for page composition and design, my second request would recommend that you learn to do so to offer your clients a more professional range of services.

Finally, ask questions. There will be many things that an initial meeting may not cover, that will need to be nailed down in order for you to work most effectively. Try to familiarize yourself with the kinds of illustration styles, tones and moods are working in the genre this cover will be used in before you begin. The client, may or may not be fully aware of all the variables, but you should be able to add to the discussion based upon your own process, and how much information you need to move confidently before you commit stylus to pad. This will minimize the do-overs that can turn a profitable project into a disaster. Remember, your client may not be conversant in the area of graphic arts, so part of the entire project will be to educate them as much as to absorb what they need and what they want. Several productive meetings will always be well worth the time as when conversations flow, ideas do, too. Time spent before the creative part of the project begins is never wasted, and much less expensive than going back to plug the holes. Keeping that in mind leads to my third request. Please don't underestimate the time this all will require in order to get a job. Rush jobs are never a good way to begin a relationship.

In the circumstances that you have an edge for a particular project that will allow you to pare off some of the time required, you will need to consider carefully if you will pass this along to the client or if you will be a hero and come in faster than you initially estimated. Every client wants the work tomorrow. Agreeing to a severely limited period of time to produce a project almost always guarantees that it will not either be what the client has in mind, or your best work. Neither of those will instill confidence for future consideration. Many self-published and small-press writers write in series. That means they will be establishing (if at all possible) a product brand with some recognizable level of uniformity in cover style and design. It is in everyone's best interest for the initial project to be beyond the client's expectations and within budget. Don't make the mistake of low-balling a project to get your foot in the door only to find you don't want that door open. This is a business of referrals, and a disappointed client won't recall whose fault the whole mess was, only that the project failed.

Finally, I'd like to thank you for the fine work that you are doing. The new reality as self-publishing establishes more choices for every reader, will mean more projects for accomplished illustrators. Sure, those at the top will find video and gaming applications much more profitable than book cover illustration, but for those who enjoy collaborating with writers and expressing stories in a single frame in shorter-term commitments, opportunities will be there for you. Know your gifts as well as your limitations and go forward into the security of a career doing what you love. I am still quite moved, after all these years later, when I see my own work on a shelf in a bookstore, or in an online listing I didn't set up. Books endure, and with some focus, ongoing learning and applied business considerations, so will your contributions.