Does the latest digital software mean no need for art school or to hire a pro?

by Aidana WillowRaven

I have lost count how many times I've seen on Twitter: "Anyone can be an artist/illustrator if they own Adobe Illustrator or Daz/Poser. You don't need art school or to hire a pro."  I'm sorry, but WRONG!

I agree that most anyone can buy, and learn to utilize, almost any software. And I agree that there are some amazing tools out there to help one create great works. What I disagree with is that these programs and tools can be acquired by a novice and used to replace a crucial aspect of publishing ... the cover artist or illustrator.

These programs take practice ... months ... years of practice, before attempting to do your own cover art or illustrations, unless you have a strong art background already. Of course, as with anything, there is the acception. But odds are, you're not it ... lol.

Even for a 'digital artist,' an understanding of composition, light, balance, and form, is only learned through practice and training (even if it's self-training trough tutorials or online classes). And these things make a difference in your final product. Let me give you an example.

I was formally trained in fine art and design for six years at two universities. Even so, when I started playing with Daz Studio ( a 3D rendering software), I had A LOT to learn, and still do. To prove that these programs do not make you an instant artist, I'll share an early piece, done about a year and a half ago, and my latest pieces. Trust  me, you'll see a huge difference (and keep in mind, I am formally trained).

On the left here, you see an early practice render. You can probable see what I did wrong right away, but first let's go over what I did right.

My training tells me the composition is balanced by the pose I have chosen, as well as my placing the fan staff on the left, to balance the tree on the right.

My training also told me the 'S' curve in her pose is more prefered than a straight pose, and placing that 'S' to the left also puts more weight there, to further balance that big tree.

So what's glaringly wrong? The lack of light and shadow. Real life, even at night, has light and shadow. Without it, the Sarangheti slave girl, looks like a maniquine or waxed figure. Plus, the environment looks contrived.

So regardless of my six years of training, I had to take a year plus to learn how to simulate light and shadows. I know the artists in the Daz forum felt like they were beating their heads into the wall trying to help me, but it has been an ongoing lesson.

Let's see what I did this morning to this same scene. I changed nothing in the pose or scene except I applied what I have learned so far about lights and shadows. Of course, if I were doing this image fresh, I would have changed so much more, but the fact that it's taken me this long should tell you that it's not something you pick up when it's time to slap a cover on your book.

If I were to do this full scene now, I'd add animals, or more textures, or SOMETHING to make this more life-like and unique. Because thousands of 3D artists have this model, this hair, this backdrop, this costume, this prop. I'd want to make it unique in some way. But, at least now you see real life shadows and terrain.

Yes, all it took to make her look 'real' was learning to use the lights and buying a higher powered system (these renders take loads of RAM), but that took me a year. And the new render still doesn't have the brushstrokes and nuances I add to my published cover art in Photoshop. Those are whole other lessons that had to be learned. As is, this revised image is NOT cover ready and is NOT publish worthy. But you get the idea, I hope.

With each new project, just like for writers, my craft should grow and improve, and going through my portfolio every-so-often shows me where I have improved. And browsing portfolios of my favorite artists shows where I still need work. Both are crucial if I want to create good covers worthy of publication.

So what makes authors, whether self-publishing or working with a PH that allows self-illustration or cover art, think they are qualified to buy a program and whip up a cover and not trust the task to a professional? Bad advice and ego, that's what.

Now, I know I am not the best cover artist, but I thought you may like to see a what a pro, who's been formally trained, and practices her craft every day, does with the software...



Emperyeal Fate ~ Being released by 4RV Publishing in Spring 2012



Today's point? Don't cut corners on your cover (or on any aspect of publishing, for that matter). Trust in those who do that craft for a living. Trust your publisher. Trust your editor. Trust your artist. If you've done your research, you'll know who to trust.

Aidana WillowRaven

Art Director & VP of Operations
4RV Publishing

Creating a Detailed Character & Setting Outline Doesn't Just Help the Author.

by Aidana WillowRaven

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a writer. And, if I ever do successfully write a book, I doubt I'd consider myself one then, either ... lol. I also completely stink at outlines. I hated doing them in school, and hate them today. Good thing I'm not a writer, huh? But, for a writer, I've read over and over how crucial they are to the writing process, whether it be before or after the story is written. Do you know who else can benefit from your character or setting outlines? The cover artist or illustrator in charge of giving your book a visual 'life'. 

If the author is writing well, a lot of character and setting description, unless you're building an alternate world, tends to get twiddled away with editing. The more the author slips into 'show not tell,' the more the repetition of character or setting detail should disappear. This is a good thing, unless you are the cover artist having to literally dissect a manuscript trying to figure out if the main character, who's being recreated for the cover, has long or short/straight or curly hair. 

Even if you're one of those authors who just sees the whole story in her/his head before setting pen to paper, try to remember that the artist doesn't have your entire story and back-story engraved in her mind, too. It would be a great help to them, while saving time and potential misrepresentation of your character, if they were presented with an outline of the characters, scenes, and settings.

I bet your thinking, They should read the manuscript.

Truth is, except for very short books, like picture books, very rarely does the artist get to read your manuscript. In most cases, they are handed a rough outline or description by the publisher, or only get to see a scene or two before starting a project. This goes a long way to explain why a cover will often not match the text.

At smaller PHs, we may be allowed to see the MS, but rarely have the time to pick apart a manuscript for that one line of text that may tell us what the main character's hair should look like.

Not to pick on my friend Beverly, but the latest cover I did for her for a book coming out soon, is the perfect example of what I mean. First, let's compare the new book to the previous cover I did for her.

With the book Just Breeze, the entire premise of the story was based on the main character's looks, and how she perceived herself vs how others perceived her.

The book itself acted as an outline. I knew EXACTLY what Breeze looked like, and exactly how to show her personality through gesture and pose.

She has vivid, wild, gorgeous red hair, chews her nails (lacquered in blue nail polish, to match her toe nails), feels tall and gangly, and has blue rubber-bands on her braces.

I drew Breeze in less than hour, I was so confident I knew her.

When I was presented with Beverly's manuscript for Life on Hold, I was excited to be working with Beverly again, but also wanted to be sure I didn't mimic her covers, since I knew this was not a series.

I couldn't have had less reason to worry. The two books are COMPLETELY different. Not only are the characters different, but the book's focus was different. Looks were not the main topic. Emotion was.
Now, illustrating emotion wasn't my dilemma. That is done through gesture, expression, pose, and believe it or not, color.

Besides being conflicted as to how much detail to add to the scene, or even what scene to use that portrayed not just one event, but the book's mood as a whole, I didn't have a blaring detail from the text as to what my main character looked like.

I did see early on that she had 'camel' colored hair:

• I opened my eyes and weighed the possibilities. My father was my father. I was tall like him. I had his hair—caramel brown, Mom called it. Okay, he had blue eyes; I had gray. Wasn’t gray a shade of blue? My mom’s were brown. Did eye color prove anything, anyway?

That's good, but I needed a little more.

I gathered that she was of average weight and height by the fact that it wasn't really mentioned otherwise.

But was her hair long or short? Was it curly or straight? I hadn't the foggiest. And, I had the advantage of having the rough copy of the MS, and still didn't know.

After reading and re-reading, I found it:

Cass eyed me. “You have to get ready for the concert.”

“And with your long hair, it’ll take awhile to make you glamorous,” Taffy said.

I held up my hands, palms out. “Just a sec.”

Taffy looked at her wristwatch. “A sec is up. Do you want me to curl your hair or leave it straight?”

“I’m not going to the concert. Someone misinformed you.”

 Finally. Months of trying to visualize this character was finally going to result in cover art. Whew! I was starting to sweat this one.

Once I had those two sentences (in red for you to see them better), it took one late night to do up Beverly's cover for Life on Hold. One night after months of uncertainty.

So the lesson for today?

Creating a character outline, no mater whether you need one to write or not, is a very helpful tool to have in your tackle box, when it comes to publishing.

• It helps some authors gather their thoughts prior to writing. 
• It helps other authors be able to pitch their books easier. 
• It also helps the artist who has the important task of attracting 70% of the book buying population to your book in a much more efficient manner.

So what ya waiting for? Go get that outline ready for me ... lol.

Aidana WillowRaven

Art Director & VP of Operations
4RV Publishing

"How do I get into the business?"

by Aidana WillowRaven

I get asked this a lot. Artists see that I am a cover artist, and a book illustrator, with over 100 books in print with my work on or in them, and inevitably ask me how I got started.

Honestly, by networking. But how did I know what those that would hire me want to see? And how would I get those that I wanted to see my work, see it?

Again, by networking. But networking to the right people, in the right places, showing the right material is the key. The next few tips apply to authors just as much as artists, just maybe in a slightly different way.

• 1. READ!

I can't emphasize this one enough. To be a cover artist or illustrator, it takes something more than being able to 'create pretty pictures.' It takes being able to tell a story. If you can't effectively tell a story, whether it be with you art or your writing, you're not going to get too far. And how do you learn how to tell a story? You read. A lot. Then you read some more. It just makes sense, for both authors and cover artists/illustrators.

• 2. For the artist who wants to be a cover artist or illustrator, you also need to study the covers on your favorite books (even on your not so favorite books). Haunt the library and bookstore.

How does the composition differ for a book rather than for a stand alone piece?

How does it differ from genre to genre?

How does it differ from book style to book style (paperback to hard cover)?

How does this cover tell me what I can expect to find inside?

All these questions must be asked an answered for every book. I mean, admit it, we still judge books by their covers. Regardless of what we're taught.

Now, the best cover artists have learned how to make their art be able to stand alone, while still being suitable for a cover. But how do you know if your work is suitable for a cover?

This is a stand alone original recently done just for my portfolio. Could this double as a book cover? Why or why not?

Is there room for a title? A by line? The blurb on back? The spine? Believe it or not, an Art Director or Editor will be looking at that, just as much as your style, technique and story telling ability, when looking at your portfolio. And when I say 'room', I don't mean blank or negative space. But rather, unimportant elements. Things that can be covered by text without ruining the 'story'.

So back to the first problem. How do you get the Publishers, Art Directors, and Editors to see your work. Work that you have purposefully built to be cover art friendly?

• 3. Remember that word 'network'? 

• You read everyday.
• You work on your art everyday.
• Now you must mingle everyday.

But who with? I see a lot of artist hanging out with other artists. They put their work up on sites like Renderosity, Deviant Art, Zazzle, ImageKind, and many more. Which is good. But, publishers and Editors rarely lurk in those galleries or forums looking for artist to outsource to. Not never, mind you. But rarely.

• 4. You need to think of it like a business. Who is my customer? 

• Authors. 
• Publishers. 
• Agents. 
• Editors. 
• Art Directors.

So where do you need to hang out? WITH THE CUSTOMERS.

• Join author groups that welcome outsiders (many do not - so pay attention).
• Befriend writers, publishers, etc. on Facebook.
• Follow authors and publishing pros on Twitter.
• Get TweetDeck, and keep search colomns up of keywords publishing pros use when putting out calls for artists.
• Lastly ...  PUT YOU WORK EVERYWHERE.

You need to be an artist (or author) first. At least in public networking. Taking about your cat is fine, but what do you want someone to see if they stumble across your FaceBook page? Certainly not how many games you play all day or how you got wasted last night at that party.

Keep it professional at all times. And people will see you as a pro.

• 5. Oh yeah ... and READ!

Aidana WillowRaven

Art Director & VP of Operations
4RV Publishing

Don't sabotage your book from the start with an ugly cover.

by Aidana WillowRaven

This topic was inspired by an artist's recent submission. Because we are considered a small house, authors and artists alike tend to think we'll accept mediocre work. That, or they just have no sense of aesthetic or quality ... AT ALL.

I won't show you the horrible example that the artist attached to his submission, but I will duplicate some of the things he did horribly wrong, resulting in my immediate rejection (being the Art Director, he has to pass me to get in the gate). I didn't even visit his website to see anything else he may have had in his portfolio. If that was his best (which I can only assume any twit would submit their best work when wanting to get hired), then I didn't need to go any further.

Further more, what author or publisher would ever accept such an ugly cover for their book? I can't repeat this statistic enough: The cover is responsible for 70% of all book sales! The last thing you want is a horrid book cover. Let me show you what I mean ...

(I’m using 4RV Publishing’s recent release, Aldric & Anneliese, by Harry E. Gilleland, Jr, for the example).

I hope it's painfully obvious which cover is the real cover. Just in case you are one of those authors/artists that thinks 'bolder and brighter is always best', let me educate you. The cover on the left is one that is the real cover. The one on the right is the one that mimics many of the amateur errors made by untrained authors or novice wannabe designers.

First rule: Font. Always, always, always make sure the author's name is easy to read. A close second is the title. Font can be stylized to suit the feel and theme of the story, but it has to be easily readable. On the left, the title font fits the period of the story, somewhat calligraphic, like written with a quill pen in the middle ages. The one on the right does not match the story at all. It looks more like a western themed font. This title would imply a ranch setting, not a medieval one. Also, the font on the left is solid and easy to read, not clear and obscured by varying background colors, making it harder to read.

Second rule: Color. Yes, you want your book design to be noticeable. Yes, you want it to stand apart. But, ... let me try that again … BUT, don't hurt the eyes, people. If you mix jarring colors together to shame any tinker (by the way, I am Gypsy, I can say that), it's going to make your book look cheap and amateur. Besides, the background is part of the story, too, not just the title or main element, in this case, the coat of arms. One on the left, the background is designed to look like parchment. What does that red do to tell you about the story? The turquoise? Nothing.

Third rule: Everything. Yes, everything. Everything I do for a cover design means something. It says something about the story found within. In this case, the one on the left tells us the story takes place in a time that shields, swords, and parchment covered in calligraphy were the norm. I even made the shield look like a heart (hinting that it’s a love story, too). Every color, every letter, every element down to how many swords I included, have clues about the story. Even the double, yet crossing, rose vines. Everything must have a legitimate reason for being put there other that to attract attention. If you want your book cover to stand out, let it stand out because it's a great design. 

Don't sabotage your book from the start with an ugly cover.

Aidana WillowRaven

Art Director & VP of Operations
4RV Publishing