Book Cover Illustrations

I just got word from editor John Freeman that five pieces of my artwork have been selected for inclusion in the Ilex Press’s upcoming book SciFi Art Now which Freeman is editing. I’ve posted one of the illustrations (above) and will post the other four in upcoming blogs. Created in 2000, Ilex Press has gained […]

As readers of my past posts know, I occasionally work as a graphic designer, laying out books I create illustrations for. One such book was Richard Thieme’s Mind Games which I also “published” under my Duncan Long Publications imprint. With all the work that went into this book, it is a bit nearer and dearer […]

I’m often asked how in the world I can produce so many illustrations — and one questioner recently suggested perhaps I started my career at age three. That may not be far off the mark. My parents can attest that I did start at about three, but it was more caveman sketching on my poor […]

A B&W variation of the illustration from two posts ago — and the last of this group for those who are getting bored. Often adapting color illustrations to B&W makes it possible to illustrate the inner pages of a novel or other book without the added expense involved in producing colored pictures. I find that […]

Digital painting presents almost unlimited possibilities for variations on a theme. The picture above is one such variation, a more painterly version/portrait of the figure from yesterday’s post. ===================== When he’s not creating artwork for his own enjoyment, Duncan Long is a freelance book cover illustrator. You can see more of his book cover illustrations […]

Sometimes an artist just has to create what’s rattling around in his brain. This is such artwork… An illustration without a home (as of yet). Binary suns. The suns are mirrored in the glowing globes in the forgotten mechanism at the base of the painting, and in the broach and forehead jewelry of the heroine. […]

I recently read an interesting blog posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen (here). Vandermeulen was a bit taken aback by a “reviewer” on Amazon.com who suggested the author tooted her horn too much in her book Promotional Tips for Authors. What an odd criticism. If ever there was a books in which an author should “toot her […]

It isn’t rare to read a book and discover that the cover illustration didn’t have much to do with the story. One reason for this is that with many publishers cutting back with their budgets, cover artwork often suffers either in how well it is done (you do get what you pay for) or in […]

I’m currently working on a book cover illustration for author James Johnson. There are some real challenges in this since the light for the returning Christ needs to be ultra-bright — yet we still need to be able to see details in his face and figure as well as hints of a Heavenly army behind […]

I keep seeing this suggestion that with technology, all change is good, that new is always better. Perhaps slow-to-adopt-new-technology folks simply have a sense of history. They’ve perhaps read about (or experienced) changes that were technological dead ends: Eight tracks, Betamax, the latest Hi-Def standards… These new technologies arrive with glowing promises that often fail […]