Book Cover Illustrations

One of the neat things about illustrations is that they can leave a little — or a lot — for the viewer’s imagination to “fill in.” Possibly this is one reason that an illustration can be more real and moving than a very precise digital recreation or photo which may offer more realism, yet be less engaging to the viewer.

A times an illustration can become almost minimalist, barely fleshing out the important details and leaving all else to the imagination.

Of course a book illustrator needs a brave editor to go along with this. The concept that “more is less” sounds good, but gets a bit iffy when it is your book and its earnings on the line. So such minimalist illustrations don’t appeal to everyone, and especially those who might be faint at heart.

And the bare minimum generally calls for a plain background to work. When the background gets busy, the partial constructions in the foreground become easily lost and the picture confusing.

But when everything clicks, these minimalist illustrations become powerful. They’re also very useful for story telling since the illustrator can place the important elements of pose, expression, and props in a variety of positions — and leave everything of no importance out.

That tree in the background or bird in the sky or whatever isn’t distracting because it isn’t there.

This “story line” of picture prompts the viewer to engage with the artwork, creating the storyline in his mind. For example, in the picture above, the viewer is free to speculate on what might lie inside the box, what the relationship is between the guy and gal, why they aren’t together, what they are thinking, etc., etc.

At first it appears things in such a picture are simple, yet as the viewer starts to ask questions, to study expressions, and such, he is (hopefully) drawn into the picture and pushed toward creating his own story.

Or, in the case of a book cover, he can be enticed to buy the book to see what the story is about (and whether his speculation about the picture is correct).

So what story does this picture inspire in your mind?

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See more of my book illustration work at: DuncanLong.com

I came into the magazine and book illustration business through the back door, first working as a writer/illustrator, creating drawings of things that couldn’t be easily photographed as well as the artwork for black and white advertisements for the books I sold through my own mail order company.

Eventually I was selling writing and illustrating books for other publishers and closed down my mail order operation so I could devote my full time to creating books. But I still illustrated with pen and ink for many years.

Then one day things changed.

I tried creating a couple of book illustrations using a computer rather than pen and ink. This was followed by an “Aha” moment when an editor mistook my drawings for photos. “How in the world did you get photos of that?” he asked.

I explained they were drawings. He thought I was joking at first.

Now my pen-and-ink work was passable. But no one had ever mistook my drawings for photos. So from that moment, I was hooked on creating illustrations digitally, and basically never looked back, boxing up my drawing pens, ink, various templates, French curve, and T-square, never to use them again. My drafting table soon was collecting dust in the basement, a Wacom tablet taking its place.

My switch to digital drawings was one of those pivotal moments that eventually led to a variety of book illustration jobs and techniques.

Not only were the results more realistic (when needed), they were also faster. Where I was looking to do two major drawings in a day, I could now do six or more in the same time, and with less wear and tear to my body since I was no longer hunched over the drafting table.

And don’t even get me started on how handy the undo command is when creating a book illustration.
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See more of my digital drawings for magazine and book illustration work at: Duncan Long’s B&W Digital Drawings and Paintings

A couple more B&W digital drawings to give a “world premier.”

Hopefully this type of drawing skill can soon be put to use for illustration work with magazines and books.
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See more of my digital drawings for books and magazine illustration at:
Duncan Long’s Drawings and Paintings.

I’m continuing to work on my black and white illustration techniques and thought I’d post some of my latest undertakings. A few are modifications of old work that was originally in color; others are new. While these are likely to appear in magazines or at web sites, I am hoping they may make their way into novels.

Novels?

Yes, novels occasionally display illustrations not only on their covers but inside the book as well. These inner illustrations are almost always black and white rather than color. The reason for the lack of color in novels is that only one color of ink (black) is used to print the text, so a color picture requires printing the picture separately and then inserting it into place during the binding process, not an easy task with automated printing equipment. With black and white artwork, the same ink that’s printing the text of a novel can ink the picture as well.

Color pictures were sometimes popped into books during the early 1900s (N.C. Wyeth’s work perhaps being the best examples of such illustrations). But color artwork on inner pages is pretty much of a rarity in modern novels.

When present, black and white pictures often appear in the front matter of novels (older readers will likely remember those beautiful line drawings in the front of many of the Edgar Rice Burroughs novels produced by Ace Books and others in the 1960s and 1970s). More recently even occasional black and white pictures have become rare in novels as publishers try to cut costs wherever they can.

One exception to this is TOR’s recent offerings (such as Pleasure Model: Netherworld Book One) which are loaded with pictures making them a bit of a cross between the graphic novel and the regular novel. Whether these experiments will prove viable or merely an interesting exercise remains to be seen.

Because publishers generally can’t afford to pay a lot for inner illustrations (and thus artists making a living can’t spend a lot of time producing the work), black and white pictures in novels tend to be simple line work and may be quite stylized. These sometimes rough-around-the-edges pictures aren’t without charm, and black and white drawings can be starkly powerful.

Will TOR’s semi-graphic-novel succeed? Stay tuned….

Of course I’m hoping TOR’s experiment pays off. It would be nice to have a new sort of book for authors and artists to play with, and as a new treat for readers.

But it is an experiment; sometimes these creatures which are neither fish nor fowl struggle to fly for a time and then sink into the murky depths never more to be seen like some monster from a 1950s B movie.

In the end, publishing, like many a business, is part science, part art, and part trial and error. Yet, as Thomas Edison noted, even a failure teaches because it brings one step closer to discovering what does work.

So even when publishing’s bold experiments falter, each will take us a little closer to something that will work. And hopefully that something will have new and entertaining illustrations for the reader to enjoy.

Maybe something like those you see at this blog :)

You can see more of my black and white book illustrations at: Duncan’s Drawing Gallery.
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Duncan Long is a freelance magazine and book illustrator for HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Ballistic Publishing, Solomon Press, American Media, Fort Ross, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, and many other publishers. See more of Duncan’s book cover illustrations — as well as his B&W work — at: DuncanLong.com

The Hubble telescope has given mankind a taste of what space looks like, from exploding galaxies to beautiful dust nebulae. And graphic artists often use these pictures as references for creating the look of deep space, especially for science fiction book covers and similar illustrations and artwork.

This is my latest exercise in painting a spiral galaxy. Since I’m mainly a book cover illustrator, I just about had to add a character and a distant, unearthly city to the picture. And a spaceship flaming above the city (sadly that last detail doesn’t show in this web resolution, but does in the original). Hopefully this will eventually grace the cover of a science fiction novel. But, even if it does not, it was good practice; I can now create a “deep space illustration” with a minimum of fuss.

And if you need such a picture for your book cover, I’m hoping you’ll consider letting me create the illustration for you. Here’s my contact info: Duncan Long and here’s a link to my online galleries and portfolio: DuncanLong.com

I’m not sure who came up with the idea of alternate histories in science fiction; I think the first writer I noticed using it was Robert Heinlein (perhaps in part to make his stories all conform to the “history” he employed to link them together — arguably a good sales gimmick if nothing else).

Steampunk is one of the latest of these alternate history forms, dating back to the 1990s or perhaps even the 1980s. It’s a sort of H.G. Wells meets the matinee movie of the 1950s sort of thing, where gentlemen still play by the rules, ladies are capable of dispatching a monster without messing up a hair on a pretty head, and the cold scientific mind can unlock any puzzle, create any gadget, or save the world from the worst of mustached villains.

This is my contribution to the Steampunk mix, created for a book that is being assembled to showcase science fiction illustrators (I’m not certain this picture will make the cut, so to protect the publisher’s reputation, I’ll not mention any names).

As you can see, the iconic “professor” confronts the mechanical man that somehow can be automated with clockwork and an almost magical source of power, enabling the mechanism to cope with almost anything the good guys might employ in an attempt to destroy it. However, as with all good matinee fair, the good professor has invented a new explosive that he has packed into the bullet he will soon fire into the monster’s mechanical heart.
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Duncan Long is a freelance magazine and book cover illustrator for HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, American Media, Fort Ross, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, and many other publishers. See more of Duncan’s book cover illustrations at: DuncanLong.com

Space surfing… Riding the wake of energy released from a ship dropping out of hyperspace… Doubtful physics, but fun to think about what such a surf board might look and how it would need to have its own (here invisible) bubble of gravity and atmosphere. I went ahead and gave it the ability to conform somewhat to the rider as well (hey, it’s my idea, I’ll make it the way I want).

This is a possible illustration for my book Wrong Side In — which I’m getting ready to re-write (for about the 8th time) with a few new chapters to present another character — who is shown here. I think this is likely the 8th cover I’ve created for this book as well; nothing ever seems to be quite finished with this writing project.
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Duncan Long is a freelance magazine and book cover illustrator for HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, American Media, Fort Ross, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, and many other publishers. See more of Duncan’s book cover illustrations at: DuncanLong.com

At least in the US, the “book return” policy of most large publishers is unlike anything in most other industries. The practice started in the Great Depression here in the US and made it possible for book sellers to sell books without fear of losing their money. It worked well in the 1930s, but has since outlived its usefulness. It’s a “fix” for a problem that ended over half a century ago.

The problem with this practice is that the whole book isn’t returned for a refund. With most titles you’ll find in a book store, grocery store, or anywhere else that stocks many titles, the “return” of the book means that in practice the cover of the book or magazine is ripped off and sent back to the publisher for a full refund. The rest of the book or magazine goes into the dumpster.

That’s almost 100 percent waste for each “returned” publication.

With even popular titles selling only perhaps of 40 percent of what’s printed and sent to book stores, the book you buy has to be priced several dollars more than it otherwise would be to cover the waste (since the price for printing the tossed books has to be passed along to the customer if the publisher is to remain in business).

It’s amazing that the book industry has been able to continue over all these years with this policy putting about half the books and magazines printed in the US going to the dumpster. Imagine what the car industry would be like if dealers can return the windshield for full refund, with the rest of the car sent to the junkyard. (And just imagine what a new car would cost – you’d need a 20-year “car mortgage” to buy a vehicle.)

Of course book stores would be crazy not to take advantage of returnable books. They can buy more than they need on the off chance of selling them all, can create massive displays that make it appear they sell many more books than they actually do, and all the while have little to lose since a huge number of book covers can be mailed back for refund in exchange for the price of a few stamps.

For the consumer as well as smaller publishers, doing away with the out-dated returnable book policy in one way or another could level the playing field of the industry somewhat, making things more prosperous for almost everyone involved. More importantly, it would usher in a much less wasteful system for the publishing industry, and eventually greatly lower the cost for both consumer as well as publisher. (Talk about “going green” — imagine how many trees are sacrificed to feed dumpsters with unsold books.)

I suppose the perfect solution for all parties would be a POD (Print On Demand) system in each bookstores (I know there have been experiments with such systems, but I suspect the technology/price break is not in line to make it a viable option at this point).

With a POD machine at your local bookstore, you could visit the store, scan a few pages previewed on a monitor to see if this or that new title strikes your fancy, and (if one did) pay for it and have a copy (color cover and all) ready for you to take home a few minutes later.

The shopping experience would be comparable to today’s, but with far less waste and a level playing field for publishers big and small. And for authors, there’s the potential to have a book in print for decades or longer rather than just a few months as is too often the case today.

I will cross my fingers and hope this future may be coming to a book store near you.

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

Vietnam - Light At the End of the Tunnel

My home town of Alden, Kansas, was a village with a total population under 300 (and that may have been counting a few dogs and cats). My high school had a grand total of 40 students in it.

Two classes ahead of me was a kid named Norman Small, a farm kid who was quiet, unassuming, and unworldly. Built like an ox, he was gentle as a lamb. Somehow an army recruiter must have convinced Norman to sign up with the army upon graduation. Or maybe Norman signed on out of a sense of duty.

Whatever the reason, I could never picture him as a fighter.

So I wasn’t surprised to hear shortly thereafter that Norman had been killed in ‘Nam – I figured the whole experience of boot camp and then being tossed into the jungle halfway around the world must have been overwhelming for a poor kid from the middle of nowhere.

Today, the only reminder of his having lived in my small town and of having died to serve his nation is a tiny plaque on the base of the flag pole in the what passes for the “city square,” and his modest gravestone in the tiny cemetery.

I have thought of Norman off and on over the years and just how unfair his death seemed. So it was good for me to discover his page at The Virtual Vietnam Wall. Visiting his page, I took a moment to remember how gentle and kind he was, and what he might have become had his life not been cut short. And then I had to consider how, too often, the war machine chews up and spits out human lives with little or no regard.

How often was his story repeated during the Vietnam War as the disadvantaged from urban and rural settings were sent to “serve their nation” by choice — or through the draft? And what about those “smart kids” who found refuge through deferments, often attending school or getting married simply to avoid what looked like a no-win war?

Don’t get me wrong. I think freedom must often be purchased with blood. Such freedom is worth dying for. And perhaps Norman was one of those who died to preserve our freedom. But I have my doubts.

I do believe we must fight terrorism (heck, I was all for using tactical nukes in Afghanistan after 9/11 — so don’t make the mistake of thinking I’m not a hawk).

Yet Vietnam. Did we really belong there? Or were we just helping the West save face after the French were forced to flee their colony, beaten by a tiny third world nation? Or were some perhaps interested in the rich oil fields off Vietnam’s shores? I wonder how history will look at a nation that takes on conflicts like the Vietnam “police action.”

And what about today?

With our unemployment and a job market where illegals are both exploited for their labor as well as a way to keep wages low, are we turning young men into hoods, bums, or soldiers in order to survive. And in the case of those who opt to become soldiers, are they perhaps too often just as seemingly clueless to the dangers as Norman was?

I guess those are questions for historians and those in power. In the meantime, I will remember Norman Small, a gentleman and a soldier who risked and ultimately sacrificed his life to make the world better for his having been here.

It’s funny how sometimes a picture can spring into an artist’s mind fully finished (for all practical purposes); no question about the layout, how the character will hold his arms, what colors to use. The vision appears full grown, like armored Athena springing from the head of Zeus.

Sometimes such illustrations are triggered by a dream, more by often a story. In the case of the illustration (above) that I created today, the picture was triggered by John Chadwell’s novel Werewolves of New Idria.

In his story, Chadwell mentions (briefly) that the magic sword (christened “Tizona”) was created by master bladesmith Alejandro Delgado. The blade is based on an actual historical weapon which eventually was carried into battle by El Cid when he defended Spain from Moorish invaders.

Now the character is minor; the story didn’t really need an illustration of the swordsmith making the blade. Chadwell hadn’t asked me to create it. But the moment I read about Delgado, the illustration was there in mind and I felt compelled to create it, using the pose and colors that had been there in my mind, waiting to be painted.

When I was finished, I sent a copy to Chadwell who kindly added it to the gallery at his site (and I’m adding a slightly larger version to my online galleries as well in the Werewolves of New Idria gallery).

While I’m on the subject, I should note that you can read Chadwell’s novel of werewolves, magic, and mayhem online (as well as see some artwork to go with the story) at: www.werewolvesofnewidria.com.

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Duncan Long is a freelance magazine and book cover illustrator for HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, American Media, Fort Ross, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, and many other publishers. See more of Duncan’s book cover illustrations — including a few with werewolves — at: DuncanLong.com