Book Cover Illustrations

I’ve been getting emails warning of a coming “Government Censorship of the Internet” and threats of “Government Blacklisting.” Strong words there. After reading about the proposed US bill “Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act,” I’m afraid I’m about 90 percent for the measure. Here’s why. The bill basically blocks US access to sites that are […]

I recently watched a video in which the speaker suggested that creative people could minimize some of the emotional upsets that seem to go hand-in-hand with the creative process by externalizing the source of their creativity. In other words, adopt the ancient notion that creativity came from the whisperings of a muse, not from the […]

Time is money — and you can also live a lot more life if you don’t waste large chunks of it. And a lot of time can be wasted on a computer. No, I don’t mean surfing and such (though if the shoe fits…), but rather squandered time lost through extra keystrokes and needless mouse […]

Another wolf illustrations. This one isn’t for the Werewolves of New Idria (which I continue to produce illustrations for…) but was originally created for John Phillip Backus’ science fiction novel The Gathering – After The Fall (book two in his series). In the end it didn’t match the layout well, and has since been dropped […]

It’s no secret: I prefer reading text with ebooks as opposed to reading print books. For me the ebook is easier to hold and read in all sorts of lighting conditions from sunlight to total darkness (my reader of choice is an old eBookwise “eBook Reading Device” that I picked up years ago for just […]

While I have tended to plaster information about my painting techniques throughout my web site, every once in a while someone sill writes to ask if I actually paint my pictures with oils or acrylics or if they are digital paintings (which is fine – sifting through the website for one single answer is likely […]

I recently saw a writer asking, “So how do you have book signings with ebooks?” Good question. You can only get so many signatures on an iPad, right? But that got me to wondering if an author might produce a different version of their book with “value added” features such as deleted scenes, alternate endings, […]

Another pair of book illustrations. Each created as a part of the cover artwork for John Phillip Backus’ science fiction novel The Gathering – After The Fall (book two in this series). The crow eventually was employed on the cover (with its mirror image self) while the dog didn’t make the final cut because if […]

As some readers may know, I often alter typefaces, and sometimes even design new fonts. I’ve made one of these typefaces available (free for personal use) at dafont.com. I named it “Back In the USSR” due to its Russian influence on its design (and as a backhanded salute to the Beatles’ song by that title). […]

A character concept sketch which will become a part of the book cover illustration for John Phillip Backus’ science fiction novel The Gathering – After The Fall (book two in this series). The final cover will employ a number of faces, “sliced and diced” into a somewhat surreal design. ===================== Duncan Long is a freelance […]