Isabella 1e

Often it’s necessary to create concept sketches for a book cover design (or game, movie, or other art project). The basic purpose of concept art is to assure that everything is on the right track before it speeds toward completion.

Concept art generally lacks the refinements to be found on the final project. Quick and dirty. The artist spends less time on it and thereby avoids wasting a lot of time if he’s on the wrong tangent.

That said, concept artwork can be quite attractive in its own right, perhaps in part because it demands the viewer add details within their own mind.

A good example of this is in my recent character concept shown above (produced for Mindy MacKay’s Peacebreakers). The figure has more detail in her face, yet lacks refinements especially in the hair, fingers, dress, and so forth. And the background is basically missing.

Yet the picture works. The mind does a wonderful job of bringing such a sketch to life, and this magic is one reason that art has survived despite photography and its ability to capture precise details. And as a special category of painting, concept art basically paves the way for the refinements that will be added later as this book cover artwork is completed.

Now… Back to work.

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Duncan Long is a freelance magazine and book cover artist for HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, American Media, Fort Ross, Asimov’s Science Fiction, and many other publishers. See more of Duncan’s book cover artwork at: DuncanLong.com