Book Cover Illustrations

Concept art can take a variety of forms, but basically it’s a sketch an artist creates to give a customer (or 3D designer) an idea of what is needed in the final product, be it book cover, game character, or movie scene (or character).

Concept art is of necessity quickly done. And that rapid turnaround from artist to art director can not only save a lot of time by keeping everyone from heading down time-wasting dead ends, it can also allow the exploration of alternative “looks” for characters and scenes.

Although rapidly done, often concept art has a very pleasant, engaging look since it’s basically stripped down and somewhat stylized. It’s the “just the facts, mam” art.

I’ve show the sketch (above left) I did to get the face of the character for an illustration I was working on (the picture on the right is a detail from that picture — you can see the complete picture at my “Tree Clan” blog entry.)

This is perhaps a tad more refined than some concept art, however it’s not all that unusual, either.

Once the client or art director approves the concept sketch, the artist may complete the illustration (as in the case of a book cover), or go on to another project if someone else in an organization will be developing the sketch into a character (as in the case of a movie or game).

Concept art is fun to do, and it’s one of the useful “tools” employed throughout the entertainment industry whenever new characters are being developed.

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Duncan Long is a sometimes concept artist and book cover illustrator. His book cover artwork has appeared on titles from HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, Paladin Press, and many other publishers and self-publishing authors. See more of his concept art at: http://duncanlong.com/illustration/movie_concept_art/movie_concept_art.html
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