Book Cover Illustrations

As can likely be seen by studying some of my previous posts, I’ve been working on creating “starscapes” of cultures that might (in a science fiction sort of way) exist far from Earth. This is my latest exercise (and another book cover illustration without a home) that I hope will eventually be employed for a […]

Another digital watercolor of a previous realistic book cover illustration I did. (The original is displayed and discussed here.) The change in feel between this and the realistic book illustration is not quite as profound as the watercolor sketch in my previous blog entry, but it still conveys a slightly different feel. =================== Duncan Long […]

It is often fun to play around with the media styles of artwork (well, I find it fun). In previous blogs I’ve displayed some of my digital “pen and pencil sketches.” Now a “watercolor.” It’s actually a version of the photo-realistic painting I did a few days ago (you can see it here). And I […]

For fun I often create book cover illustrations – without an actual story to illustrate. Oddly enough, these often eventually find a home or attract attention of a publisher or author needing a similar book cover illustration. Plus they’re fun to do. Here’s the latest, a science fiction book cover illustration, presently without a home. […]

The Hubble telescope continues to inspire artists, bringing new styles and skies to science fiction as well as astronomy. I tried my hand at duplicating (in a rough way) some of the shots from Hubble, and then went ahead and created a “world” where such a sky might exist, adding a tiny fire and character […]

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 […]

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 […]

People regularly ask what software and hardware I use for creating book cover illustrations and other artwork for magazines, CD covers, and interior illustrations in books. So I will digress in this installment of my blog to answer those questions. I come from a background of working with pen and ink as a technical writer/illustrator. […]