Book Cover Illustrations

When my book and magazine illustration project deadlines aren’t too pressing, I often take some “down time” to experiment and hone my skills. Yesterday was one such day. I created some characters that (hopefully) will eventually be used in future art projects. The digital painting above (and the two below) are three I created, experimenting with different facial and metallic textures that could be applied to the basic 3D model, as well as painting light effects, glows, and LED displays.

Once a 3D model like this is created, I can then pose it as needed, render the image, and export the rough version of the picture to my paint software to further modify and refine the image. One plus of using the 3D model is that it does away with the expense of hiring a human model and engage in a photo shoot (which is both time consuming and expensive). It also makes possible body shapes and clothing styles that would be impossible to duplicate in an actual photo shoot.  Basically, with the 3D modeling, I can “cut to the chase” to skip reference photos, instead posing my 3D figure(s) to render the basic layout for painting an illustration.

The two renders/paintings below use the same 3D model as the one above, only with different skin and metallic finishes (in the modeling software).

Now I’m all set for that next illustration project in need of a human-faced cyborg or space gal in a tight metal spacesuit. And in the meantime, I’ve honed my 3D modeling skills so I can work a little faster and smarter when creating artwork for my next book or magazine cover project.

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Duncan Long is a magazine and book illustrator who has done cover work for HarperCollins, Pocket Books, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Muse, Amazing Stories, and many other presses and self-publishing authors. See more of his illustrations in his Book and Magazine Art Portfolio.