Cover and new character

[joakimhagstrom]

So this is a cover I made for pt. 4 of "fenris goes to hel".
I did alterations to the title and tried to work more on my coloring and inking, also based on some tips from you guys.
far from perfect, but it's getting there...


Any tips and crits appreciated! It's supposed to depict a person from the main protagonist's past. The left as he remembers her on earth, the right as he encounters her in Hell.
Inks on A3 Bristol, colors in Krita.

[Gurkan]

Nice work! Part 4 sounds like you've done quite a few pages, impressive How many pages now?

Inking and textures are well done! The green+dark red colors of the title feel a bit off for me personally. I find it hard to come up with entirely new color schemes myself, so I usually look at art I've previously saved and sample colors from that. Doing that almost always creates a nice color scheme

[joakimhagstrom]

Nice work! Part 4 sounds like you've done quite a few pages, impressive How many pages now?

Inking and textures are well done! The green+dark red colors of the title feel a bit off for me personally. I find it hard to come up with entirely new color schemes myself, so I usually look at art I've previously saved and sample colors from that. Doing that almost always creates a nice color scheme

thanks!

I’ve finished part 1 (27 pages) and scripted part 2. Part 3 and 4 are outlined. I do the covers a bit ahead as a focus for what that issue will be about. Or I’ll trash it as a cover and put it as a panel in part three. Time will tell.

This might sound a bit whiny, but…the title is one of those things I keep getting new views on. And keep getting new bids on how it would look better. Perhaps a different colour scheme is better, sure, but I think it’s going to simmer with me for a while, because honestly I can’t seem to come up with a version that looks good to other people.

[Simon Eskildsen]

Nice!

I feel like there could be more changes between the left side and right.. maybe the yellow cape is completely worn out, the color is faded and stenched with blood. Maybe the armor pads are broken and mangled.. would be nice with that type of stuff on the right.

Just a quick thought. Well done.

[joakimhagstrom]

Nice!

I feel like there could be more changes between the left side and right.. maybe the yellow cape is completely worn out, the color is faded and stenched with blood. Maybe the armor pads are broken and mangled.. would be nice with that type of stuff on the right.

Just a quick thought. Well done.

good idea! Story-Wise she shouldn’t be too tattered, but aesthetically it could make the theme of the image more clear. I will make a version that emphasizes the “being in hell” bit more.

thanks for the input!

[Smitty]

Gotta add my vote to Simon's comment. Other than the face I see no reason to "split" the drawing, one side is identical to the other.

A cover needn't be a perfect representation of an interior scene. The point is to bite the reader in the eye so they buy the book. If the only change we get is half a face then zero in on the face and crop everything else out. If something in the story has actually changed, let's see something change. Along with beating up the character give us two different BGs. Trees and flowers and singing birds at left; fire, brimstone and sulfurous explosions at right. Something that says we're going to Hel.

[joakimhagstrom]

Smitty @Simon-Eskildsen fair point from both of you. I'm going to play around with this. I especially like the idea of making the background speak more clearly to being in hel. Also a fair point that I could just have done the face, since that's the only place where there's really a clear difference. I will try to put to mind that I need to have a more clear idea of what i'm trying to convey, and that i should use the most effective way to convey that. I find so much joy simply in drawing things, i sometimes forget i'm trying to do it purposefully.

[Simon Eskildsen]

I find so much joy simply in drawing things, i sometimes forget i'm trying to do it purposefully.

This is essential I think - of course cc is good, but also keep having fun and doing your own stuff on your own terms

but I love the idea to change the background a lot as well.

have fun!