Book Cover Illustrations

Many illustrators start with pencil sketches that are scanned and then used in a digital environment to be fleshed out for the final book illustration.

Back in days of yore, I loved working with pencils. Today I find it much faster to start with the digital tablet (Wacom) rather than pad and pencil, entering the material directly into the computer so it can grow into the final illustration the client will be using. The digital format also makes it simple to send early sketches and ideas to my clients.

I do find it important to save at various points along the way so I have earlier versions to fall back on should I go down a route that isn’t working, or if a client decides to head a different direction with the project. At those times having all the work in digital format can prove invaluable.

I am not sure when the transformation from physical to digital occurred, but one day I realized I wasn’t using my drawing tools and just boxed them up, with my t-square (once a treasured friend for my technical drawings and given to me by my dad) hanging in the closet unused for at least a decade now. Pen, ink, pencil… all seem like a dream of another age.

Sadly my drawing skills can be overshadowed by digital work. On a recent vacation I took a sketch pad and pencils thinking I’d do some work that I could later scan and use. But I quickly gave up on using them since all I produced paled in comparison to what I do on the computer. I just tucked the pad back into my suitcase and took the time off to enjoy life.

I suspect that was also a better use of vacation time.

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Duncan Long is a freelance magazine and book cover illustrator who has produced illustrations used by HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, American Media, Fort Ross, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, and many other publishers and self-publishing authors. See more of Duncan’s book cover illustrations at: DuncanLong.com
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