Book Cover Illustrations

Normally the summer is a slow time for publishing. But with many authors now going the self-publishing route, this summer is proving to be an exception – busy, busy, busy. Which is just how I like it because I love my work — and there’s always a need for a little more money, right?

This blog is going to be a sort of catch all, displaying various projects in various stages of done. Above is the hard-back version of Brightworking, the first of the books in the Brightstone series by Paul B. Thompson. It’s always a thrill to hold the print version of a book and see how the cover illustration turned out. Hopefully that explains the crazed look on the artist’s face.

Below is another print version that came in: Dr. Max D. Younce’s I Know Who Holds Tomorrow. You can also see where I got the reference model for the hand on the cover.

It looks like Werewolves of New Idria is (finally) about to get into print. A two years wait on this one, and at times I had serious doubts whether it was going to get into print. But Moonstone Books sent word this week that this graphic novel should be out in a couple of weeks.

Finally, several of the book covers I’m working on now that are nearly complete (at least in their layout):

People have been hounding me to prove the flying monkeys that work in the Duncan Long Art Studio actually exist. So I captured the likeness of Ralph, the head monkey to prove they are here, hard at work helping to create my book illustrations and graphic designs:

I got word from reporter Ashley Fetters that she had several quotes from me in her article about book covers and publishing that appears at the Atlantic Magazine website. It wasn’t too much of a surprise given she’d interviewed me a few days ago. But I was happy to see I was quoted extensively in the piece.

Yes, it is a thrill. Doubly so since she never mentioned that ugly incident with the crossbow.

You can find the article here: Book Cover Clones: Why Do So Many Recent Novels Look Alike?

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Duncan Long is a graphic artist and illustrator who’s been in the publishing business for decades. You can see more of his book cover creations at Illustrator Duncan Long’s Book Cover Portfolio.

A few days ago I listed my favor science fiction artwork I’d created over the years. This post will be some of my favorite fantasy artwork I’ve created for books and magazines — along with a few unpublished pictures as well.

Again the caveat that a book illustrator is not necessarily the best judge of his own artwork. (Nor are the studio’s flying monkeys, I hasten to add.)

So… Without further ado… the artist’s favorites in the fantasy illustration category.

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When not directing Anti-Aircraft Artillery at flying monkeys in his art studio, Duncan Long illustrates fantasy novel covers (and other genres as well). Discover more of his fantasy artwork in Duncan Long’s Science Fiction Artwork Gallery.

Over my years of illustration, I’ve created quite a number of paintings. Some never really “grab” me. But others seem to have a place in my heart. Or nightmares. And I thought I’d take a blog to share those in the science fiction category, with the caveat that often a book cover illustrator (like any other artist) is not necessarily the best judge of his work.

That warning out of the way, here the ones that I’m most proud of in the science fiction category, with a mix of about half and half between those that have been published, and those that have not.

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Duncan Long illustrates science fiction and other genre novels. You can see more of his science fiction artwork in Duncan Long’s Science Fiction Artwork Gallery.

Self publishing authors and indie press operators often wonder what the illustration rates paid by big publishers of books and magazines are. Fortunately the answer to that question isn’t a big dark secret these days.

In fact the industry rates for magazine and book illustrators are pretty standard (and sadly have not gone up much over the last few decades — good news for self publishers and small presses wanting to hire pros, not so good for the illustrators). The pay ranges vary according to the complexity of the artwork and the skill of the illustrator. Also note that the prices below are for only the right to use the illustration in a publication one time (additional rights dictate higher prices):

$250-$500 for a small illustration within a text layout

$500-$750 for a half page illustration

$1,000-$1,500 for full page inner illustration

$2,000-$3,000 for a two-page spread

$1,000-$3,500 for a cover illustration

It should be noted that for text layout, embossed covers, wrap-around covers, and other additions and complications to an illustration, there are additional charges. The above rates just apply to a basic illustration.

Graphic novels generally see lower prices per picture (otherwise the creation of these books would be cost prohibitive). In fact, one might argue that graphic novels by and large are a labor of love. That said, for a professional job a publisher can expect to pay $250 to $1,000 per page depending on the complexity/style of the artwork.

Finally, big name illustrators often expect double or triple rates for their work. However publishers find these extra costs often pay for themselves due to increased sales to fans of the artists’ work.

(Here’s a little bit about my rates and more details on the process of creating a cover if you wish to hire me to handle a book or magazine illustration project for you.)

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Writer / artist Duncan Long has worked in the publishing industry for several decades, wearing a variety of hats from editor to illustrator. You can see more of his artwork at: Duncan Long’s Online Art Galleries.

The “Great Raven” blog reprinted my article “How to Kill a Book Cover” — which also gives a few tips on how not to ruin a book cover.

If you’re hiring an illustrator of graphic artist to design a book cover for you, you’d do well to read this article before investing your hard-earned cash.

Here’s a nice interview with my favorite book cover illustrator (me, of course): Portrait of a Book Illustrator: Duncan Long

Arguably I’m a bit wordy… Sue Bursztynski only asked four questions, and I spun out the answers to the point that it formed her entire column.

Of course you can see more of my book illustrations and graphic artwork in my portfolio: Duncan Long’s Artwork Portfolio

A society’s morbid fascination with zombies can be interesting — if not horrifying. And like the subconscious worries that generated stories about alien invaders and “pod people” during the Cold War era, it’s very possible that today’s popularity of zombie stories reflects a subconscious fear of the foreign invader, illegal aliens, and similar problems of the real world.

Or perhaps the fears are even closer to home. Experts on the relationships of our dreams to our waking life suggest that dreaming of the undead or zombies discloses that you’re worried about your inability to express yourself ad/or that you’re disconnected emotionally from those around you. Certainly a sad commentary on our lives in the 21st Century..

Of course sometimes life imitates art; and thus a recent spat of zombie like behavior — complete with cannibalism — in the news.

Sometimes zombies climb off the silver screen and creep down our streets and hallways.

Regardless of the meanings behind the monsters, illustrations of the undead has become a moneymaker for artists and illustrators. And ever interested in the money making side, I thought I’d display a few of my horrors on these pages (and, yes, all are available for purchase for a magazine or book cover).

But be forewarned: The zombies are trampling through your mind and ready to jump out of a dark corner when you least expect them — perhaps to warn you of the shortcomings or fears of your waking life.

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When not agonizing about the psychological origins behind zombies, illustrator Duncan Long creates a wide range of book artwork for various genres including science fiction, fantasy, and horror. You can find more of the artist’s work at Duncan Long’s Portfolio.

Have just added the finishing touches on the cover illustration for the third book in Paul B. Thompson’s Brightstone Saga being marketed by Enslow Publishers. The process was a tad convoluted (and I’ll not bombard viewers with the many variations produced).

We had a series of ideas. Originally the concept was to have a werewolf (in wolf form) and the two human beings in the fantasy tale running through the dark, with one carrying a sword and the other the magical/robotic head discovered in the first book of the trilogy.

Leading first to a concept sketch I created with the characters running toward the viewer. This didn’t turn out well (and I’m so unhappy with the outcome I’ll not post the pictures — and try to keep from shuddering as I recall my efforts). The next step was to have a side view of the three running through a storm. Here are two variations of this concept:

This worked — but not as well as had been hoped for. Leading me to try a few with just single elements from the book cover picture.

Sadly the werewolf looks more like a cartoon version of the Big Bad Wolf — leaping through a wormhole or something. And the robotic head seems terribly disconnected from anything that might interest the target audience.

So… Still not anything that would work for the Brightstone Saga. So I decided to create a simple “portrait” of the characters as if they were posed for a publicity photo. The key to making this work was to build a “pyramid” layout with the sword at the top point, with the characters then filling out the form (more or less — it is perhaps a lopsided pyramid).

This worked for all involved in the publisher’s cover concept, including the author and art director Ben Rosenthal (who is the paragon of patience and panic-free when the artist he has hired seems lost in a creative wilderness). Here’s the final version:

Yes, I was very happy with the detail achieved with the final digital painting. So I’ll end this post with a couple of sections lifted from the young heroine’s face to give an idea of the detail that will be in the final print version of the book cover:

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When not painting youngsters running recklessly in the dark with sharp objects, artist Duncan Long creates book cover illustrations for a number of publishing houses as well as self-publishing authors. See more of his artwork in his Portfolio of Book Cover Artwork.

For decades The Sun supermarket tabloid has been a familiar sight for those standing in checkout lines at Wal-Marts, grocery stores, and other businesses. Owned by American Media (also the owner of The National Enquirer and the non-defunct Weekly World News), The Sun regularly carried stories that were sensational and (let’s be truthful now) far-fetched if not outright concoctions. Toward that end, the masthead of many issues included the disclaimer that readers should “suspend belief for the sake of enjoyment.”

But the sensational stories did provide a lot of laughs from the skeptical and perhaps a few frights for the more accepting.

As one might expect in looking over my artwork, some of my illustrations seemed well suited for the magazine’s stories. Not surprisingly then, about a decade ago I was contacted by art director Susan Chapel who asked about the possibility of using my artwork in their magazine. I was just starting in the illustration business, and taking on The Sun (as well as the Weekly World News which was still publishing at that time) as clients was a godsend.

Working with the publications did have a few surreal moments, and often it seemed that reality had parted to give me a glimpse into some alternate universe where bat boys lived in the attic and Aunt Edith had been given a ride home in a UFO. It was not rare to find myself in a very matter-of-fact discussion of what was needed in the way of aliens, werewolves, or other creatures to be covered in an upcoming story.

Once the surreal took a deadly turn; in 2001 photo editor Robert Stevens who worked with pictures submitted both to The Sun as well as Weekly World News became the first victim of the anthrax attacks that occurred that year (many think that American Media was targeted due to a less-than-complimentary story did about Saddam Hussein).

I’m sad to report that last week I got a call from Art Director Susan Chapel telling me that The Sun would be going out of business, much as had with its sister publication Weekly World News a few years earlier. It was an end of an era for both the print industry as well as for me.

Recently looking through the collection of illustrations I’d sent to American Media for use in its publications, I was struck by just how strange some of these pictures are — and decided to do some sharing of the better ones. So without further ado, here are a few of the illustrations I created for both The Sun as well as Weekly World News.

First those aliens and their spacecraft:

Of course demons and Satan were represented in a few stories:

Skeletons were surprisingly common — sometimes in roving bands, and once with Satan (himself armed with a submachine gun and with a face looking suspiciously like that of the artist):

Occasionally the stories proved dead on, such as one about romances developing over the Internet as well as one about how airport security might become very obtrusive in the future (basically leaving passengers “naked” due to new invasive equipment). Today those stories don’t seem so far-fetched.

A few pictures seemed seriously warped. I’m not sure what the stories were about as I didn’t have access to the tabloids. But perhaps the speculation is nearly as much fun.

And a few illustrations with death and things that had risen from the grave:

I had a lot of fun creating artwork for the wild and wooly stories appearing in these tabloids. My encounters of the strangest kind with The Sun (and the folks working there) will be sorely missed.

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Artist Duncan Long creates magazine and book illustrations. You can see more of his artwork in his Illustration Portfolio