Book Cover Illustrations

This is the concept art I did to create the background for my Tree Clan illustration. Actually, it’s two or three sketches combines… First, I got the sky figured out, then a separate layer forming the tree-like structures and bridges, another for the small figures standing on the structure (useful for giving it some “scale” […]

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. […]

Portion of a matte painting I’ve been working on. You can see more of my matte work at: Duncan Long’s Movie Matte Gallery. ================= Duncan Long is a freelance magazine and book illustrator. His artwork has appeared in publications from HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, Ballistic Publishing, American Media, Fort Ross, Asimov’s Science […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]